New Earth

After waiting what feels like a lifetime IT’S BACK and what re-entrance it made back on to our Saturday Night TV screens, but first before I discuss the first episode I must just say that I only started watching Dr Who last year and because of that Christopher Eccleston will always be my Doctor and I will always believe he left the show way too early.

Right back to Saturday (Yes, Can I go back and watch it again). I had very mixed feelings about the series returning. I, like everyone else, watch The Christmas Invasion, which I thought was quite lacklustre but had some great moments in it, like Rose’s grief and The Doctor’s trauma in getting over his re-generating, so I was almost dreading Saturday, hoping to god that the BBC and RTD had not turned the whole thing into a circus with the Rose/Doctor relationship being the focus of everything and every episode being about them getting together and sleeping together (don’t we have Torchwood for the sex). But New Earth set my mind at rest. I think it was the perfect opening for this new series. It the time when we really get to meet the new Doctor (really it should be the “new new new new new new new new new Doctor” and what a guy. He will never be better than Chris Eccleston but he does bring something new to the role. He brings a slightly different humor to the Doctor and he is definitely more relaxed as if Rose/Bad wolf bringing an end to the time war in POTW has allowed him to release some of the pain and guilt that he had been holding on to, but you still get glimpses of a dark side (“HOW MANY!!!!”). I had also wondered if Billie could grow and develop the character of Rose or whether we would be subjected to an emotionally stunted nineteen year old girl who had not learned anything but I could not be more wrong. Billie has returned fresh as a daisy and her characterization of a Cassandra-possessed Rose was to use a ninth Doctor term FANTASTIC. It was amazing to see the change from her being just normal Rose to Cassandra-Rose without resorting to visual trickery, you could just tell that she had changed, her mannerisms changed, her voice changed, her whole stance changed and her performance was excellent, putting her on a total par with her leading-man.

I think the visual effects team deserves an award for bringing the city of New New York to life. It seems the team has got better since last year and made our first visit to an alien planet very believable. I also things the costume and make-up department need a big round of applause as well for the Cat Nurses, The Sisters of Plentitude, they were amazing and spooky and a lot better than the all the monsters and aliens from the last series but together apart from the Daleks of course.

My only complaint or comment was that there was not enough back-story. I don’t mean about the Doctor and Rose, you could tell at the beginning of the episode that it picked up straight after the Christmas Invasion and that they had not been on any other adventures in-between. But I feel that there was not enough back-story or any explanation given as to how Cassandra got off Platform One. How did Chip get her into the hospital and how did she create him because I think that would be a bit hard if she was holey piece of skin and she is also missing vital things such as arms and why would anyone want to save her and also my other comment (ok I have two comments) is the end of the episode and the Doctor taking Cassandra/Chip back to meet herself, why did that not cause a paradox because even though Cassandra was in the body of Chip she was still essentially the same person. Also wouldn’t it change Cassandra’s history, what if now by being told by Chip/Cassandra that she is “So Beautiful” she does not become a flat skinny bitch who tries to kill everyone on Platform One, wouldn’t that then change the Doctor’s and Rose’s history as well. Ok now I am nit-picking and probably being stupid, so I will say that the episode was an excellent starting block for the new series and if then last series is anything to go by then it can only get better from here.