Rose

The anticipation was almost overwhelming; the reality of it almost too unbelievable to be true, but yes after 16 long years it was finally back. The years in between had been almost impossibly bleak years of vague hopes, that made even the most ardent of us consign this series to the graveyard of TV history. We went off to watch Star Trek, Buffy, Babylon 5 and the X Files, but sitting in front of the telly tonight I realized that still nothing had stirred the feelings, had quite stimulated those fan boy urges as much as Doctor Who could.

Video recorder poised and we were off. 45 minutes later, it was all over, and time to be honest. Yes it was enjoyable, yes it had some great moments, but no it was not perfect, and nor did I really expect it to be. I had similar feelings to those I first had when watching the TV movie, very modern, very slick but not edge of the seat stuff. At times I felt the series was trying to be too hip, the lightness of tone was perhaps just a little too flippant. But this time I am not worried because there are 13 more episodes to come and I feel sure that any problems inherent in this first episode can be ironed out.

Eccleston has yet to prove himself but didn't do anything to put me off either, I think after a few episodes he should settle in. Piper too, as Rose gave a solid performance as I was always sure she would. Tardis was great, theme tune and titles were the best since the original, and there were some great moments of humour. It was possibly the first Doctor Who where I have laughed out loud and it worked for the most part. 

I am confident this show is in good hands, but I think that the production team should be confident that they have a winning concept and not feel the need to pander to every conceivable demographic. I think this first episode was trying to throw off the stigma some people have of Doctor Who by throwing too many things in the boiling pot, forgetting a little of that atmosphere just like the 1996 movie did. It was great to see the Autons, but they were to be honest shoehorned in and for the most part played for a bit of a joke. The show needs to slow up just a little, and do its own thing. The audience will go with it if they are allowed, but if every episode plays as if it's seeking admission to the trendy club then there could be problems ahead. But well done Mr. Davies and co, you have done the almost impossible thing and reinvented Doctor Who without it being total crap and that surely deserves some praise. Just one request, please start putting the Doctor's face in the title sequence!