Rose

It was somehow appropriate that Rose was transmitted over the Easter weekend. Because of this timing I am staying at my parents house and therefore watched the first new Doctor Who series in over 15 years in the same location where I watched the old series for a decade, in my parents’ living room on a large Grundig telly. 

What of the episode itself? My first feeling was pretty much “my goodness, it is really here and now”. The first impression was that RTD’s Doctor Who isn’t quite like “classic” Who. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the old series would not quite work on today’s audiences and even the biggest fan has to accept that. There were certainly scenes that were very much like traditional Doctor Who, and if the scene in Rose’s home felt out of place most of the rest seemed to fit.

Plot wise the only real problem I have is with the lack of explanation for “anti-plastic”. The Doctor produces it without telling us how he came by it or how it works, even some Baker or Pertwee technobabble would have been better than nothing. Otherwise, given that the story had to fit into 45 minutes the plot and script are pretty good. What we missed was any real build-up of tension, I would prefer to see more two parters in the future. It also appeared that the Doctor knew the problem and how to solve it before he arrived, something missing was the way in which he used to use logic to solve problems. But perhaps, with character introductions done with, we shall see some of that in later stories.

And what of the characters? Having seen some of Eccleston’s film work I thought him potentially a very good Doctor. He still seems to be settling into the role but shows bags of promise. I can imagine by the third or fourth episode he’ll have made the role his own even though there are echoes of his former incarnations in some of the phrases he uses and in his mood swings. One could identify Hartnell, Baker and Pertwee in there with a touch of Davison. Not bad at all! And Bille Piper’s Rose was better than I could have hoped. We have her in the role of cipher, a young woman who is there to ask the Doctor questions we are itching to ask. But we also have a bored, bright girl who yearns for excitement and seems to relish danger, and who has the common sense and strength to be able to get the Doctor out of scrapes when necessary.

Special effects were generally of a high standard, be they CGI or the Auton’s plastic heads and arms. I like the TARDIS interior (not sure about coral growing out of water though) but am lukewarm about the console. Incidental music seemed intrusive at times but I have to remind myself that this is early days. Small problems such as the music can always be addressed in future episodes and series – assuming we get another series next year!

I enjoyed “Rose”, though it has minor faults as a slice of Doctor Who it does succeed as modern family drama and did feel like Doctor Who at times. What of the people I watched with? Well as tradition demanded my mother gave up after five minutes announcing “this is crap” and went to wash the dishes. Bear in mind that she feels anything not a soap or game show is crap. My father (a fan since Hartnell) really enjoyed it and felt it to be some of the best television he’s seen in years as well as genuine Doctor Who. My Wife, who is American and who saw some 4th and 5th Doctor stories on PBS as a child, put down her crossword about 10 minutes in and seemed to enjoy the episode though she feels it doesn’t feel quite like the old series. She’s right, but I feel if she was excited enough to watch then hopefully so will other people who are not die-hard fans.

Over all a good start but perhaps not destined to be an all time favourite. The twin purposes of this episode were surely to keep old fans happy while introducing the whole concept of Doctor Who to a new audience who haven’t seen much of it. In my opinion it has achieved these aims and promises to be a springboard to exciting adventures. Will the viewing public agree? Only time will tell…