An attractive blonde girl investigates an abandoned basement. She hears a suspicious noise. "Is there someone there?" she asks nervously. So far, so "Scream", but then you realise a shop dummy has started to move behind her. She backs off, questioning if this is someone's idea of a joke, but then other plastic assailants spring to life. They stand before her arms raised...

"Run."

Okay, the mysterious stranger who saved her was always going to be the Doctor, but how wonderful that in an instant, generations who grew up with Doctor Who KNEW that this new, leather jacket Northerner WAS the Doctor.

Fairly obviously much has changed since the Doctor and Ace strode off into the sunset, but I would argue Russell T Davies' "Rose" is very much singing from the same song sheet. First the differences:

Plot and characters aside, the pace of the episode is frankly dizzying, although never off-putting. The time taken in later episodes such as "Curse of the Fenric" just would not be possible for today's "Buffy" fed market. The relentless pace of the first ten minutes does slow when Rose asks the new man in her life who he is and why she has been attacked by a plastic arm, although I feel the pace is an excellent way of demonstrating The Doctor's effect on the mundane life of a normal girl. 

This brings me nicely to Rose. I feel the nicest suprise of the lot. I was a teenager when Billie Piper assaulted the music charts with offensively sugary pop tunes such as "Because We Want To" so was understandably nervous upon hearing her casting. My fears were unfounded, Piper shines as the very human Rose, a character who finds her blinkers removed in the space of two days. She cannot believe the TARDIS yet goes back inside it. She doesn't believe in Living Plastic but follows the Doctor regardless. She phones her Mum before attempting to save herself. Now it's hard to see how we ever cared about the other human companions who were in many cases plot devises. Rose is unique in that she has a life and I very much felt Rose's dilemma at the end of the episode, Piper's performance was charming as she obligingly chose her normal life, ("Because She Had To") and uplifting as she raced towards her new life in the closing seconds ("Because She Wants To").

Of course, Rose's success is down the the obvious chemistry with the new Doctor, another real plus to the episode. We knew Eccleston could act, but I was surprised at how unpredictable he was, very hard to get a handle on and I rather like that. Peter Davison was charming but utterly predictably and in the end even Tom Baker could be relied upon to do something silly. This ninth Doctor seems to find such joy in his vocation but his ready smile often flashes out of darker moments as when Rose questions his morality and before the Nestene Consciousness. An fabulously intriguing start, and I have now forgiven the rather dull costume. Essentially we know Rose, but along with Miss Tyler, I can't wait to travel with our new Doctor.

Other goods? The music is better after a few listens. The TARDIS interior does work and I'm sure as the weeks go on it will grow in "character". The Autons were suitably chilling, especially the junior dummies. Jackie was excellent and for the most part I enjoyed Mickey, especially his "Gansta" face on arriving at Clive's.

Now, no part of the episode really made me cringe or hide from my TV and I never stopped enjoying the experience of having Doctor Who back, although if I could have a whinge it would be on the smallest of plot details. Firstly I'm glad I knew what the Nestene Consciousness was before I started as The Doctor's explanation was a touch brief given the "blink and you'll miss it" nature of the whole episode and I understand the function of the Wheelie Bin totally given the fact I'm a teacher of ten-year-olds, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Further the scene in Clive's shed seemed to quite coldly blank the fact that Clive knew there had been other Doctor's, but wasn't sharing. It seems insane to deny there used to be a series with same name. You don't have to be a big fan to want nods to the past. My Mum for example would have loved some less subtle acknowledgement of the old show. I guess the Dalek show may be the big test of how much RTD is willing to indulge.

All in all, whats not to love? It's Doctor Who! It's the same, but new! The debut has so mush promise...An alien with secrets, a human with the strength to share them? A machine that can take them anywhere, anytime. The next three moths will be a real treat.

Chris Eccleston IS the Doctor. Perfect casting. Such energy...it was like Tom Baker & Pat Troughton rolled together. I think every 8 year old boy is going to want a leather jacket for the birthday or Christmas.

Billie Piper turns in a convincing performance. I wonder how much of Billie is in Rose, because she doesn't appear to be acting, just someone who gets caught in the events happening around her. No screams, or "yes Doctor, no Doctor" here.

The opening scenes work brilliantly. The fast pace sequence was a nice way to show "a day in the life" of Rose. 

The new TARDIS is wonderful. I love how TALL the interior is. The door has always been a tough concept: going from the police box doors to the huge doors of the console room. What a smart idea to borrow the white interior police box doors from the Cushing movies. Being able to see the interior from the exterior perspective really gives the feel that its not just a box. I love it.

Mickie was a mistake. Maybe it was how he was directed, or played, but I found myself wondering what she sees in this guy.

The climatic scene where the Autons are holding the Doctor seemed to drag to me. I was alittle disappointed that the Autons seemed to be a backstory, not the plotting villian we're used to. But then it hit me: the episode is called "Rose" for a reason. RTD was using this as a tool to introduce the companion. Of course the Autons were minor point!

At the end, it left me wanting more, which it should.

When I first heard the show was coming back last year, and that RTD was going to be head writer, I said that I would save my judgement until I saw it, that I would give RTD a chance. I know that some people were concerned that it wouldn't happen, or that it'd be a mix of Queer As Folk and Coupling and so forth. If Russell's a fan, then he'll know how it should be done. I'm pleased to see that I was right. Keep up the great work Russell & Team! Wonderful stuff!

"Rose" must have been one of, if not the, most anticipated Doctor Who TV stories of all time, matched perhaps only by the anticipation of the 1996 TV movie. It had a heck of a lot to live up to in terms of expectations by both fans and more casual viewers and the obvious question is; does it deliver?

The answer has to be a resounding yes! I watched 'Rose' as a dedicated long term fan, with me were my wife who is a casual viewer and my nine year old who has seen the old series and enjoyed some of it, but not the dated effects. pon viewing 'Rose' all three of us came to the conclusion that we had very much enjoyed it, so much so that we watched the BBC 3 repeat on Sunday evening.

Perhaps more than anything else what made this episode so good for us all was Christopher Eccleston's amazing performance as the Ninth Doctor. For me, personally, Mr Eccleston has become my second favourite Doctor solely on the strength of that performance, beaten only by the great Tom Baker. Without relying on an outlanish costume or other frippery Eccleston totally convinces as a nine hundred year old alien tim traveller. He has a madcap quality that reminds one of Troughton or Baker (Tom) but which is completely different from either of those predecessors. There is a wonderful lust for life, a genuine sense of wonder, an infectious enthusiasm - the grin says it all. Eccleston very much gives us a Doctor for the nineties, yet a Doctor who is immediately recognisable as the same Time Lord we have known and loved for 40 years. Perhaps the ultimate accolade I could give is to admit that, for most of the episode, I forgot there was an actor playing the Doctor, for me this was the Doctor in the same way that Tom Baker was the Doctor when I was a child.

The titular heroine, Rose, is very much a companion for the twenty first century and telling the story from her point of view was a master stroke. She proved in this one episode, both to the viewers and the Doctor that she has what it takes to be one of the all time great companions. I had my reservations about Billie Piper's acting ability, but I am happy to be proven completely wrong. She proved she could scream with the beast of them in a moment of genuine terror, but also proved to be gutsy, resourceful and to have the courage and intelligence to be, in amany ways, the Doctor's equal.

The supporting cast were uniformly good, though I found Mickey more than a little irritating. A pity he wasn't one of the stories fatalities!

Finally, the story itself. For a fan who has been reading the New Adventures / EDAs it was a lot more simplistic than the stories I have become used to of late, but somehow it didn't matter. I loved it. Perhaps more importantly, my wife (the casual viewer) and nine year old daughter both loved it. My daughter in particular laughed at the intended jokes and jumped when the Autons crashed through the shop windows. For myself I thought the story an excellent way to re-introduce the concept of Doctor Who and feel that it was certainly good enough to keep the 10.5 million viewers who reportedly watched the first story coming back for more. If the other twelve scripts meet or exceed this high standard then TV Doctor Who looks set to have a long and healthy future.

I don't want to be too harsh on the first episode as a doctor's debut is typically not the best you can expect from the actor. I thought Christopher Ecclestone was very good though the fairly obvious and deliberate leaps from Tom Baker-like gurning to Pertwee gravitas will hopefully give way to a more relaxed and personal portrayal over time. Billie Piper lived up to her reputation as a fine actor - I was very impressed with her naturalistic performance and likeable portrayal of Rose.

Overall it was a very good piece of television though it seemed very much aimed at an extremely young audience - perhaps too much as I can imagine 10 year-olds still finding it a bit patronising. It did look a bit too bright and comical throughout and any parts that might have been exciting or make the hairs on the back of you neck stand up were ruined the bouncey up-beat incidental music. The dialogue was pretty witty throughout but really let down by clangers like, 'so all the stories I've heard are true' from Clive before he was shot.

There were some lovely touches like the Doctor's desperate apology to the nestene consciousness for not being able to save their planet in a previous war which we know nothing about, and the fear inspired in the Autons by the 'superior technology' of the TARDIS (wonderfully at odds with the ship's exterior).

However the Autons were terribly under-used - almost written off as not worth being a baddie and more of a joke. It's true that the idea of plastic coming alive and attacking people is very much rooted in the 1970s and the burgeoning environmental movements of that time when Pertwee battled them - but I feel that some fantastic oppourtunities to send shivers down our spines were missed here. In this introductory episode it seems as though the Autons were reduced to a vehicle for the audience to meet Rose and the Doctor - fair enough, but I do find myself feeling a bit bereft of chills.

Perhaps the series creators are aiming to welcome a predominantly young audience at first and when they decide they like the series, to deliver some more thoughtful and darker stories. This is what I remember form watching Doctor who as a child - it made me feel grown up and introduced me to quite advanced political, ethical and scientific ideas at the same time as being wonderfully exciting. As people to whom this series matters a more than any other television (ever) we're going to have to get used to a new stylistic take on the show and a new (almost too pacey) format (where's the story gone?). But in the spirit of optimism, I think we're just being asked to sit back and enjoy the relationship between Rose and the Doctor, and the fun of seeing new places and races over the next 12 weeks and to suppress our nit-picking. That doesn't sound too bad - plus the TARDIS looks very cool.

ps- How could RTD miss the 's' of 'dimensions' in TARDIS?! How could he!?!

Doctor Who is back! And it’s being ridiculed by everyone I speak to. What went wrong?

Contrary to my initial fears, it wasn’t Billie Piper. Rose came across as likeable, capable and intelligent. Christopher Eccleston on the other hand, disappointed as our hero. His antics in Rose’s flat were silly (although his struggle with the Auton arm was played perfectly, since Rose was meant to think he was pratting about like Mickey before him) and his asides (such as the oft-quoted “run for your life” line) were delivered flatly and without conviction. I know Eccleston’s fantastic, ‘cos I own half his CV on video, but he does nothing to justify that reputation in this episode. The rest of the cast were great, with the sole exception of Mickey, whose idiotic grinning as an Auton replica just made Rose look stupid for not spotting him straightaway.

The plotting owed more to literary Who than any previous televised outing, with the Doctor in the thick of the action from the outset. Having Clive fill in his background was a very fannish idea, but was superbly handled, and I look forward to the Doctor’s upcoming adventures with Krakatoa, the Titanic and JFK. The pace was fantastic, and the plot holes (where does the intelligence get the plastic to recreate Mickey and how does it transport him to its lair?) barely showed as we were catapulted from scene to scene. Unlike the 1996 TVM, we actually had a decent monster tale this time round, but the Doctor’s speech with the Nestene was appalling. This was a chance to give Chris some great lines as he faces down the monster-of-the-week, but he’s just left stuttering about some war or other. Suddenly it felt we were watching a sequel to something we hadn’t seen, Silver Nemesis style, and as with that story, it just didn’t work.

The CGI effects were uniformly abysmal, from the failed attempt to blow up a department store convincingly, to the wheelie bin which makes the chair in Terror Of The Autons look good. The less said about the obvious green-screening at the end, the better. It’s as if the FX people were so worried about episode two that they didn’t pay any attention to this one.

The music was sterile and intrusive, and brought back memories of Time And The Rani. The Doctor’s speech about feeling the rotation of the earth would have been far more effective with a silent background. The theme tune – whilst not as bad as the McCoy or McGann variants – was also botched, with an irritating drumbeat destroying any menace or feeling possessed by the original arrangement. The time-tunnel looked OK, but it’s a very derivative idea which was executed with more style in the TVM. The 3D actors’ names look horrid, and I suspect they were only included to make the logo look better by comparison. The logo is still ghastly.

This isn’t to say that the entire episode was bad – the Auton massacre was well-handled, the dash across the bridge looked great, and there’s a wonderfully atmospheric moment when rose turns round and the TARDIS has vanished after she’s left her flat with the Doctor. 

There is much promise for the future, if Eccleston can calm down and inject some much-needed gravitas into the proceedings, and his debut is still a lot better than his two immediate predecessors’. The Next Time trailer looks stunning, and I look forward greatly to April 2nd. But I have to wonder how many of the general public will also tune in next week. The opening night may have garnered 10 million viewers with its remorseless hype, but I know half a dozen who’ll be switching back to Ant & Dec, and I fear they may not be the only ones.

5/10.

My 1st impression was "wow"! Whilst I can't really comment on how it compares to the classic series' as I've only seen a few random episodes on UKTV Gold if I get up early enough on a Saturday morning, I was really impressed! It's certainly very 21st century and had me engaged from the very start. Whilst the beginning could quite easily have seemed incredibly rushed, I felt that it just showed how Rose's life was so monotonous and that to her life would have just sped by without her noticing. It provided a good contrast to how things were when she met the Doctor- suddenly things were interesting and she actually had a purpose. It was actually possible for her to live a life full of excitement and things very much out of the ordinary.

Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor was absolutely superb. He had perfect comic timing and I felt the comedy was suitably understated, making it much funnier. Previous Doctors had their eccentricity in their costume a lot more than Chris, something that he overcame through the sheer watchability of his acting and that infectious smile!

Billie Piper was excellent as Rose. I thought she too shared some of Chris Eccleston's comic timing, though to a lesser extent. Her final lines to her boyfriend, for example, were just classic- exactly the way I'd treat such a wimp of a bloke! It was necessary for Micky to survive- someone had to tell Rose's mum, who would be so much more likely to believe his story considering what she had experienced in her Auton encounter!

I liked the storyline. The script was well written and contained the right balance of humour, seriousness and action.

The special effects were on the whole excellent. Though the wheelie bin was a little cheezy and absolutely hilarious rather than scary- although I can see little children getting a little freaked by their bins at home! I also absolutely love the interior of the TARDIS!

Of course, it wasn't perfect. In fact far from perfect, but that just added to the appeal! I get the feeling that Doctor Who was never meant to be perfect.

My main criticism would be the fact that it's far too obvious that it was filmed in Cardiff and not London. This wasn't helped by the fact that I live in Cardiff and so I recognised every little side street! The London Eye just doesn't suit Cardiff Bay- I kept wondering what happened to the St David's Hotel! But this didn't really distract too much from the story and I'm sure that it wouldn't bother the worldwide audience as much, if at all!

The continuity issue was a little bit of a problem. There was the impression that he had recently regenerated but he still seemed to have had time for a bit of time-travel! 

Apart from that, it was perfect and I just can't wait 'til next week!