Rose

I watched 'An Unearthly Child' before 'Rose' and you can really see the contrast between the two eras. Where Hartnell is grumpy, unheroic and perhaps mercenary, Eccleston is joyful, dynamic and even sympathetic to the Nestene Consciousness. While 'An Unearthly Child' was written beautifully with well rounded characters who revealed themselves gradually throughout the 100 minutes, here, bits of information are thrown at us in witty and visually impressive ways. Doctor Who has indeed moved on, and after couple of viewings of the 'Rose', I liked it a lot.

My first overall impression was the pace of the story. It felt like it only lasted about five minutes! It developed at an unbelievable frenetic pace, with dialogue that even Aaron Sorkin [writer of 'The West Wing', a favourite programme of RTD's] would covet! Perhaps this feeling was due to my watching the first ever episode which definitely goes at a more piecemeal pace. Or perhaps it was because of the fact that I didn't want the episode to end.

The actual plot was probably a dumbed down version of 'Spearhead from Space' but very enjoyable nonetheless. The anti-plastic antidote was a bit of a quick fix but the story's climax wasn't without tension. The first scenes of Rose in the department store storeroom was very chilling, and well executed. And the scene where the Doctor asks Rose to come with him but she declines, only to have him return sent a chill up my spine as if I felt like I was Rose. Indeed, what I really liked about Rose's character was that she was (for want of a better word) so human and normal. Dead end job, overprotective mother and an annoying boyfriend. Being a recent university graduate myself, without much career focus, I certainly felt sympathy for her and wished that the Doctor would ask me to accompany him on his travels! Some things never change. No matter how old you are....

Christopher Eccleston is indeed an amalgamation of previous Doctors, but he certainly feels like he is capable of anything at anytime which is nice. He has Tom Baker's grinning danger, Paul McGann's orgasmic excitement, Troughton's wink and McCoy's darkness. I did feel he was trying to do his utmost best to be happy and joyful - to get rid of the image of Eccleston as a miserable actor and it did feel weird seeing Eccleston so happy all the time. However, he has the edge to be a great Doctor. I'm looking forward to his development. Billie Piper is beautiful and I kept wishing that I was her boyfriend! Even when she got out of bed she looked great! She's in for a few shocks on her travels with the Doctor isn't she? Piper was a joy and I'm looking forward to seeing such shocks.

What didn't I like? I suppose I would have liked to have taken a breathe once or twice as it was fast but on second viewing it was a lot more easier. Hearing Graham Norton bleeding through was a bit annoying but anyone with "a sensitive ear" will notice that you can hear the producer chattering from the gallery in the first episode of 'An Unearthly Child". People have said the music was quite intrusive but I found it to be higly complimentary. Then again, this is from a person who loves the 'Remembrance' and 'Battlefield' scores! The plot could have been a bit more sophisticated but I'd be lying if I really cared about that in the first episode. Episode One is about establishing the series in tone, style and scale. This did it and it looks very promising.

I'll let you read the other reviews now as I sum up; fast, energetic and DEFINITELY Doctor Who as we know it. Eccleston is brilliant but weirdly joyous, Piper is drop-dead gorgeous and a character who lives in all of us. Welcome back old friend. It's been a long time.