Rose

Major spoilers throughout, so if you haven't seen it DON'T READ THIS!!!

First of all we have the new titles, which I found slightly unoriginal in that it is just an updated version of the old slit scan going down a tunnel idea (apart from the brief moment where the TARDIS materialises into real space), presumably showing the TARDIS' flight through the time/space vortex. I might have preferred something more abstract; weird shapes that morph, like a constantly evolving Rorschach inkblot. Something more like the original "howlaround" titles from the 60s maybe.

That said, the effect is nice and the colours pleasing, and the titles are hardly the most important element of a show anyway.

As for the music, well I was expecting to hear the music from the "ride of a lifetime" trailer, which I rather liked as it retained the exact same main melody from the original version of the theme and added a new backing. I find the final version is lacking the power and eeriness of that one, although it still may grow on me, and it's such a classic piece of music it is hard to really ruin it.

In all the titles and music aren't bad at all really, and still beat the McCoy titles by a mile!

Onto the show itself now and we start with a shot of the Earth from space, the POV of which falls through the atmosphere and comes to land in Rose Tyler's bedroom! This is very well designed and effectively executed.

Next we have a very fast sequence of brief shots which succinctly sums up Roses' busy day to day life as a London shop girl. The music here is rather naff, but this is forgivable. The department store she works in is called "Henrik's", presumably not a real store (the lettering puts me in mind of Harrods, probably intentional). Rose takes the lift to the basement to run a last-minute errand and we know that the fun is about to start!

Of course the basement is deserted and underlit, and the lack of music (just a few strange noises) as Rose creeps warily about looking for Wilson helps the suspense immensely. The animation of the Autons is nicely done, they move slowly at first and we hear the dry plasticky squeaking of their limbs (also one apparently male mannequin has its shirt open, revealing a considerable pair of manboobs!). This is the cue for the Doctor to appear, snatching Rose away from a deadly Auton karate chop (these Autons don't seem to have guns) that severs a lead pipe!

Interestingly, the first contact between Rose and the Doctor is him holding her hand to lead her away from danger. The "action" music here is a bit tacky, but we are transfixed as an Auton tries to grab the Doctor through the closing lift doors. The Doctor wrenches the Auton's arm clean off and Rose is alarmed, especially when he throws it at her! It is here we see the first glimpse of the Sonic Screwdriver!

As Rose attempts to rationalise what is going on the Doctor appears defensive and unwilling to say too much, he has his arms tightly crossed, something he does several times during the episode. He gives Rose a quick and (to her) incomprehensible explanation and rushes her outside so he can plant his bomb alone, seeming to only tell Rose his name and that she should run as an afterthought. The possibility that the Doctor is a terrorist must have crossed her mind surely?

The subsequent CGI explosion is fairly well achieved, as the transmitter goes up and the top floor windows blow out. How many viewers were glad the action didn't switch to 16mm film of a 2 foot high model erupting in slow-mo? As Rose runs, we get our first look at the TARDIS too.

Back at Rose's house, and we are introduced to anorak-wearing boyfriend Mickey, who isn't painted as the most thoughtful or caring beau, but the playful nature of their interaction suggests that she does have affection for him. I suspect the leather-jacketed stranger isn't far from her mind though. Does she keep hold of the Auton arm because it is connected to him? Maybe not, since she tells daft Mickey to get rid of it (which he oddly does without question).

We know the Doctor will pop up again soon, but the exact location is unexpected, and it's pretty amusing. Rose's mum is flirting with the Doctor, but his answers to her remarks are perfectly innocent (he is "strange" because he's not human!). We learn that the Doctor takes coffee with just milk, and either there are no mirrors in the TARDIS or he has just regenerated.

The Doctor's actions with the magazine, book and playing cards reminds me of Doctor 4's showing off to Harry Sullivan, but it's a shame Rose doesn't notice, even when the Auton arm is attached to his neck. Eccleston's facial reaction is a bit over the top, but less so than Pertwee's reaction to the old school Nestene's tentacle attack, and I found this pretty funny and the effect is rightly achieved without CGI this time (I think).

Once the arm is deactivated the Doctor is keen to be off again, and it's only due to Rose's persistence that he reveals more about himself. We get the one-day-famous "falling through space" speech and more hand-holding. This time the hand-holding seems symbolic of their brief relationship, as he finishes the speech he lets go of her hand, as if to accentuate the fact that he has to leave and they will never meet again.

For the second time this episode, the Doctor and Rose part ways. I get the impression at this point that this Doctor likes to operate alone, maybe because something bad happened to his previous companion? The music in this scene is nice, the vocal element is quite effective, and the dialogue is top notch.

Rose goes to Mickey's flat, but the Doctor is the real reason she is there: she wants to use Mickey's PC to investigate further into his background. Dialogue between Rose and Mickey establishes that he is something of a slob. Rose is obviously not a regular net user, she types "Doctor" into the search engine and seems surprised to get over 17 million results! A few more tries and she finds the site of conspiracy theorist Clive.

The next part is a mixture of good and bad. Mark Benton is a favourite of mine (and RTD obviously). His performance shifts from daft (but harmless) Internet loony to someone we think should be taken seriously quite convincingly, and his lines here establish the darker aspects of the Doctor's character very well. A disappointing aspect of this scene is the photo of the Doctor in the crowd at Kennedy's assassination, it is so glaringly faked that one might wonder if we are to think that this is something Clive has knocked up with Photoshop, rendering all his evidence null and void.

These scenes are intercut with a bemused Mickey's encounter with a moving wheelie bin, which I found amusing at first and a bit suspenseful. The CGI effects here seem undeveloped: the strands attached to Mickey's hands don't blend in with the rest of the bin, and look too glossy. I would have preferred it had the effect been realised physically with the bin lid covered in a tar-like substance. Also I didn't think too much of the burp, but if the kids enjoyed it then that's okay, and it may have been included to soften a potentially disturbing scene for the very young.

There is more daftness to come, the plasticised Mickey effect is too much to allow suspension of disbelief when Rose comes back to the car. Why doesn't she notice the rubber hair, the fixed grin, the bizarre dialogue and the crazed driving and let it pass without comment? Does Mickey often act like this?

In the next scene in the restaurant at least the Mickey copy has managed to improve its disguise, and finally Rose questions his behaviour. I'll admit I didn't recognise the Doctor at his first interruption, but practically cheered with delight the second time (was this because I knew that the Doctor's involvement meant the end of the Mickey clone?). The cork in the face is accompanied by a silly "boing" effect and the CGI effect looks like something from 10 years ago. At first I wondered why the Doctor decided on this method of attack, then realised on the second viewing that his intention was probably to reveal the copy to Rose.

The fake Mickey redeems itself somewhat with the attack on the restaurant (the CGI hands here look dated also, and I can't help but be reminded of T2). We also get a taste of the new Doctor's ruthlessness, grabbing the auton by the neck and wrenching its head off! In fact, he seems delighted by his actions! Rose shows quick thinking by setting the fire alarm off, instead of just standing still and screaming (good girl!). One very odd thing here though, as the Doctor and Rose run through the kitchens, her face seems oddly distorted with effects, seemingly on purpose. Does anyone know why?

Out in the back yard is the TARDIS (this Doctor seems to have perfect control over where it goes these days), and some funny dialogue ("Nah, tell you what, let's go in here" & "You can't just hide inside a wooden box!"). Nicely, Rose doesn't just follow the Doctor into that very small wooden box, but tries other options first. It's only when she runs out of options that she enters, and her reaction in exiting again and walking round the outside seems very understandable.

So, onto the new TARDIS control room, which has already been discussed quite a bit, so I'll say that so far I have no reservations and really quite like it. It's hard to believe that the interior once was the size of a living room and had walls that were studio flats with roundels printed on! I'm intrigued to see how the organic theme develops.

Also here we have quite a bit of explanation for the new fans, succinctly written by RTD, and that nice vocal music again. The alien side of the Doctor comes up again, he's totally forgotten about the original Mickey!

Upon arrival at Embankment the Doctor defends his uncaring behaviour, saying he has greater concerns. He also is obviously very proud of the TARDIS, patting the exterior and grinning as he explains its appearance to Rose. There is an explanation of the aliens' presence on Earth and their plans, and the first mention of a "war" (more on that later), and also a funny scene with the Doctor unable to see the obvious (remember he's an alien!).

Next up is a shot to excite even the most jaded Who fan, the Doctor and his assistant running across London Bridge at night, with red buses going by and Big Ben (yes, I know!) and the London Eye in the background. It's utterly cliched, but who cares? London at night looks atmospheric and colourful too. More hand-holding as well!

Once the Nestene's underground lair is located we know we are in for a treat and this part didn't disappoint me in the least. The location is fantastic; large, grungy, and nicely lit too. Presumably this used to be a foundry, very apt since the Nestene this time appears to be a large sentient blob of lava (some nice CGI thankfully). This isn't keeping with continuity, but so what; this is sci-fi!

Interestingly, the Doctor attempts to reason with the Nestene, citing an intergalactic law (and he said to Rose earlier that he wasn't the police?!), and this may have worked too if the Nestene hadn't grabbed the TARDIS earlier. The Doctor maintains he isn't an enemy, but the Nestene reveals the TARDIS to show him that it knows exactly who he is, and the presence of the vial of antiplastic doesn't exactly help back up his story. It is now we come to the most intriguing line in the whole episode...

"I fought in the war, it wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world, I couldn't save any of them!"

This line lets our imaginations run riot, with its mention of an unknown war and the Doctor's no doubt major involvement in it. The idea of the Doctor "fighting" in a war may well challenge our ideas about what the Doctor is and does, and suggests that this situation on Earth may be all his fault. With many future episodes involving aliens on Earth, we can probably expect that their backstories revolve around this war.

And so the Nestene invasion kicks off, as Auton mannequins at the Queen's Arcade come alive, smashing their way out of the shopfronts and slowly rounding on the shoppers, who think at first it's a publicity stunt! This important sequence left me slightly disappointed, due to occasional slack editing and the reluctance to actually show anyone being shot (something old Who never really shied from), resulting in something of a lack of impact.

It would have been nice had the child Autons been used more, an opportunity for some chilling scenes missed here, but we had a few types of Auton, some without facial features, and the brides were a nice idea. The scenes of chaos were realised on a larger scale and more effectively than old Who would have, so I won't be too critical.

I was surprised to see a promising recurring character like Clive killed off here, maybe Mark Benton had a busy schedule and couldn't return? I liked the way he realised all his suspicions were true just before he died, giving his life's work some (brief) meaning.

With the Doctor held captive, it is up to Rose to make an effort. Understandably she is scared and it takes a while, and the speech to herself is a bit daft, but at least it makes her options clear and gets across the need for excitement in her life. With the antiplastic absorbed into the Nestene, the Autons are stopped just in time to save Roses's mum and of course the lair has to explode in spectacular style (and it does, convincingly).

As for the final scene, well, we know how it will end, but it's interesting to see the Doctor practically asking Rose out (rather shyly too, but for an alien he doesn't do a bad job). Mickey is cowering by some bins and obviously needs looking after, so Rose declines. In a nice reversal of action hero stereotypes here, the man is the one clinging meekly onto the woman for protection! We see the interior of the TARDIS through the open door, and then The Doctor's gone, but only briefly. It only takes a mention of time travel to sweeten the pill for her, and she's running for the TARDIS as the end music begins (and I am glowing with pride!).

So after 4 viewings so far, I can only describe Rose as a success (with some reservations). Piper was more than good enough to be the Doctor's companion, and Eccleston himself shows much promise in the title role, only hinting at what might be to come in future episodes. If I didn't like the Mickey clone scenes too much, I won't blame Noel Clarke as his performance is fine in the other scenes (and it was a fairly thankless role anyway).

Effects wise, I think generally they pulled it off, despite the CGI seeming simplistic and underdeveloped in some parts. A special mention here to the Nestene lair scenes, which were excellently realised. The direction didn't stand out especially, and the editing could have been a bit better, but it did the job well enough.

As for the script, RTD must be commended for his dialogue, which had me listening intently even on the 4th viewing. Not that much in the way of a plot, but since the focus of the episode is Rose and the introduction of the Doctor for new viewers, then that can't really be said to be that much of a minus (and there was an extraordinary amount of material packed into 40 minutes or so).

I really liked it. Now I can't wait for Saturdays to arrive, and the series holds nothing but promise for me. If the almost unanimously positive reaction on UK TV message boards, and the 10 million who tuned in is anything to go by, many more will share my enthusiasm.

Doctor Who is back!