Rose

I don't want to spoil the party. It really is the last thing I wanted to do. But 'Rose' has left me disappointed, and I do so hate being disappointed.

I'll accentuate the positive first. Christopher Eccleston is superb as the Doctor and Billie Piper looks set to be a fine companion. The episode itself was pacy well shot and well directed; the show has never looked better.

Now, however, the viewers can have their say. Russell T Davies and company, who have been so busy with their mutual back-slapping ever since September 2003, can no longer hide behind platitudes. Telling us that something is fantastic doesn't make it so. And 'Rose' was far from fantastic.

According to Mr. Davies and company, they are taking Doctor Who seriously. If they really are lavishing such care and attention on a programme with so much potential then the burping wheelie bin should have been left on the cutting room floor, or completely re-shot. This scene had the potential to be quite frightening, sinister even; an everyday household object turns evil and attacks people. New nightmares for a new generation. Instead, it was shot and played for laughs. Though I had no problems with the character or portrayal of Mickey overall, the appalling, cringeworthy nature of his duplicate in the car signalled exactly the place where the episode took a turn for the worse. The scene in the restaurant was pure slapstick, any tension evaporating the minute Mickey opened his mouth.

And so to the supposed "Best writer writing for television at the moment," the ubiquitous Mr. Davies. Is a clumsy deux ex machina in the form of anti-plastic the best that he could come up with? I know Doctor Who has resorted to convenient outcomes to wrap up a story in the past, but never has it been employed in so unsubtle and unconvincing a way. When the Auton took the phial from the Doctor, seemingly scuppering his plan, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this would not be the source of the denoument. How wrong I was.

I am well aware that this next comment is purely the fan in me talking, and I really have tried to look at this from a detached point of view, but the main problem with the whole episode is that it is a complete rehash of 'Spearhead From Space'. There is nothing new here, nor is it done as skilfully. The only chilling scene in the invasion set-piece were the child-sized mannequins; top marks for that. I was also sad to see Clive go, a testament to the performance and character. Which is more than can be said for Rose's mother. I really would not have cared if she had been massacred by the Autons (why were they never referred to by name?). And therein lies another problem; supporting characters that the viewer doesn't care about. Both Mickey and mother should have been written out in this episode. I only hope they both meet a timely demise later on in the series.

Oh, and the incidental music. Appalling! Apparently, Murray Gold is "The best composer working in television today". Not on the strength of that tinny and irritating drum machine that he left running at the start of the episode. Music speaks volumes and this was screaming "It's for the kids, y'know!"

I am overjoyed to see Doctor Who back on television. I am glad that it is being made for family viewing and not for the fans. But quality television needs quality writers and on the strength of this episode Mr. Davies just hasn't quite got it. Please prove me wrong!