Rose

The beginning didn`t bode well. The main titles, both in sound and vision, were poor. The new version of the theme wasn`t strong enough, and was as poor a rendering as the revamped version Colin Baker`s Doctor had for the Trial of a Time Lord season. The visuals, no doubt trying to show the viewer how the TARDIS travels through the time vortex seemed a mish mash of Pertwee`s final season and Tom Baker`s first season, which, though not as hi-tech, were both however far superior. The lack of Eccleston`s face appearing also jarred. What also didn`t work was the two leads names appearing in the titles and the new logo doesn`t stand out at all. 

As the episode began proper, (along with that annoying US TV habit of superimposing producer/director credits over the scenes) the early scenes of Rose`s work/home life worked well. Her mother`s character, played by the wonderful Camile Cordouri, was very well rounded, though Noel Clarke as her boyfriend Mickey, really didn`t have much to do. 

It wasn`t until after the department store had been blown up, that Rose`s character began to shine. Billie Piper started well in these early scenes, and by the time she had met The Doctor, she had begun to display the right kind of confusion you and I would have felt, had we been in her position. The chemistry between her and Eccleston was very good, and I`m sure will get better as the series progresses.

I couldn`t quite make up my mind about Eccleston in this first episode. I feel he is certainly happier (as was I) doing the "serious" stuff than he is the comical, but again that may improve as he develops the role. 

While the production team have spruced up the exterior of the TARDIS, (for the better) they`ve made a complete hash of the interior. It seemed strange to me that the designer designed the set to show audiences how big the console room is, (and the size is impressive) but then took away that size by placing large support structures all around it. What with these, the hanging cables and metal gratings for the floor, the central column, (which is supposed to dominate the console room), just got swamped.

I liked the idea of the London Eye being the focal point to activate the Autons, but I was hoping that the invasion was going to be on a larger scale than it was. I was rather hoping to see a number of establishing shots of other major cities around the world, all with their own equivalent London Eye focal points, activating a worldwide Auton invasion, which would have upped the drama factor that much more. 

The Nestene Consciousness was certainly an improvement from the squid like creature we first saw in Spearhead from Space, and it was nice to see that Eccleston`s Doctor actually wanted to help the Consciousness, rather than just destroy it, (even though we all knew the Anti Plastic virus was going to be used in the end). 

The writing, on the whole, was very good. Some good one liners, "Every planet has a North", and some obvious poor ones. Was everyone waiting for the "armless" joke? Exactly. When the Doctor was giving Rose the brief outline of what the Nestene Consciousness was, and what it wanted to do to Earth, we never heard the words, "I fought these aliens twice before" which I think was a good decision on behalf of the writer/production team not to bog themselves (and the new series) down with too many references to the past. The older fans will get the connection, why try and confuse new fans. Maybe it was me, but did anyone hear the actual word "Auton" being used by the Doctor? 

The Autons/shop window dummies coming to life, (both earlier in the episode with Rose as well as in the climatic scenes) were very well filmed and I got the sense that the writer/director really did want to scare the "little ones", and in both these scenes they succeeded. On the comedy or "light relief" front both fared less. The scene with the Auton arm strangling the Doctor, while Rose is in the next room, totally oblivious to what is going on, was reminiscent of the worst kind of excess that marred Tom Baker`s awful performance, ("My arms, my legs") in Season 17`s Nightmare of Eden.

The direction on the whole was very good, but I think Keith Boak pulled the punches a bit when the Autons began mowing down the shoppers at the end. It`s no good trying to instill horror into a situation, and then not at least show what final effect that "horror" has, both on the characters and the viewers at home.

The incidental music was, on the whole poor. The blend of orchestral music for the suspense scenes and the electro-funk for the lighter scenes jarred with me, and as I was listening to it, I was thinking, "God! What would good old Dudley Simpson have done with THAT particular scene?" 

Like Colin Baker`s Season 22, I don`t think 45 minutes is the best structure for Doctor Who. An extra 15 minutes would have helped this story no end. It would have allowed the characters (and audience) to take a breather from all the frenzied running about and given the Doctor and Rose more time in the "getting to know you" stakes. Mention of the Doctor`s age, where he comes from, etc. would have helped to cement the character in the eyes of the new fans wondering what the hell this programme was all about. The ending, though I suppose satisfactory in dealing with the Autons/Nestene Consciousness, was still a bit rushed, and it would have helped the story more had the writer dragged the suspense out for a bit longer. 

All in all, I give it 7 out of 10. It certainly wasn`t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but equally there were times throughout the episode where I was thinking, "uh oh - didn`t like that" or "no - not sure about that". 

Can it get worse? Possibly. Probably. Oh well, there`s always the Daleks in episode 6/13, I suppose....