Rose

It was almost like a dream come true . Prestigious actor known for playing angry introspective characters gets cast as the most famous icon on British television in a show I'm on record as saying probably works best as a memory . Not only that but the BBC bombarded the public with trailers in the run up to this episode . There was even an news item on the BBC main news pointing out that the episode had been leaked over the net at the start of March 2005 with Eccleston stating that the fans who had seen it had hated the episode

As a fan I didn't hate this episode but I was hoping for more . It's there to set up the characters of Rose , her mother Jackie and her boyfriend Mickey so the plot featuring an Auton invasion is pushed aside and seems very rushed but that's not really important since it's an intro episode . Thankfully my parents did say they were giving it a chance to see if it the series would improve as it went along and I did go on record as saying it was entertaining but there was room for improvement . Not as good as classic stories from the 60s and 70s but certainly an improvement on many of the appalling Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy episodes

One interesting aspect is the in jokes which would be noticed by fans such as The Doctor appearing in the crowd photo on the day Kennedy was shot . If you didn't know President Kennedy was killed on the 22nd November 1963 the day before DOCTOR WHO premiered on BBC television , or that Rose thinks the Autons are a student prank which is exactly what a policeman thinks in the novelization of the 1970 adventure Spearhead From Space . Subtle humour from Russell T Davies though his plotting leaves a lot to be desired

An alien invader (a repeat offender), the Nestene Consciousness, ravenous and hungry for hydrocarbons, establishes itself in London and animates an army of Autons (dummies) to do its cultural assimilations. Simultaneously it empowers a wheelie bin to gorge on a predator and harasser of women (something we didn't know at the time), turning him into a dummy too. Meanwhile an angry regenerated Doctor from the north aims to scupper the invasion and in doing so; a Rose blossoms from the chaos and starts to bloom.

As essential a part of British pop culture as the Monty Python and James Bond, Doctor Who was a massive hit for 26 years (1963-1989), making it one of the longest running TV shows in the world (most serials are lucky to have ten seasons). Plans to reboot the series were always on the BBC's agenda, and after a miscalculated (not to mention Americanized) TV movie produced by Fox failed to capture the magic of the original version, another nine years (Comic Relief spoof and animated mini-series notwithstanding) were required before the ultimate Time Lord could return properly, courtesy of acclaimed writer Russell T. Davies.

Davies' brilliance in reintroducing the character lies in his decision to do so through the eyes of an outsider: Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), a London-based girl who leads a very normal life until one night she is attacked by creatures made out of living plastic. She is rescued by an elusive stranger who introduces himself simply as the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and then disappears after quipping: "Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!". As she gets more and more curious about this "man", she soon finds herself in a whole new world: aliens, invasions, travel through time and space, and of course, the omnipresent Police Box-shaped TARDIS.

The first 45 minutes of the new Doctor Who are almost perfect (the special effects could have used a bit more polishing) because Davies nails two things: the show's unique humor and the two protagonists. The original series' most endearing trait was its blend of spectacular sci-fi and pure British comedy, a hybrid that's hard, if not impossible, to export. Here the laughs are all linked to the conversations between Rose and the Doctor, who come off as fully rounded characters after just one episode. Okay, so technically Eccleston's Doctor is the Ninth to use that name, but he distances himself from the previous eight incarnations by speaking with a Northern accent (the one he uses on a daily basis) and justifying it with a terrific line: "Lots of planets have a North!".

The real triumph of this episode, though, is Piper's performance: in theory, Rose is in her late teens, therefore nearly the same age as thousands of young viewers who had never heard of the Doctor before. Her portrayal of an ordinary girl lost in a new, exciting universe, represents the new generation's reaction to the return of a TV icon, and the chemistry that instantly forms between her and Eccleston is a sign indicating the new Doctor Who is just as good as the old one.

First, fifth, ninth, it makes no difference: there may have been others before Eccleston (and Piper, for that matter) but together he, William Hartnell, Peter Davison and the rest of the bunch are one single character, one so cool he doesn't even need a name: he's THE Doctor.

Since Sci Fi channel has been showing this series, I was hooked from the first episode. I hear a lot of bad press about it but I don't care what they think. I love this show for 2 reasons: FIRST being ROSE (actress Billy Piper). She is sweet, lovable and very beautiful, with an arsenal of emotions and faces. We see the (altered) world thru her eyes, our standard Earther beliefs. It just so happened that she made contact and got to board the TARDIS, but it could have been any one of us. SECOND is "THE DOCTOR". He is trying to save the other species and is giving them a chance to live and do right, compared to our Kill the Aliens politics. He takes Rose and us by surprise by looking at things from a completely different point of view. His out of time, out of the moment, completely oblivious to the situation style of wit cracks me up. Like when he is scorning Rose's kidnappers and between sentences turns to her and gives her a cheerful "OH, HELLO." and return to scorning without missing a beat. He comes off as having a "I don't know what I'm doing, but you don't know what I'm doing either so we're even." personality.

The sets, costumes, props, are all obviously TV grade, not as good as Farscape, but fitting for the show. The "END OF THE WORLD" show had several good aliens and props, but true to WHO. The advertisements show upcoming episodes with robots I remember from the original WHO series in the 70's. I can't wait to see where this series goes. OH, and the theme song is the same for true fans. However I always have to think back to the ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 parody from the TIMELORDS.... Dr. WHO and the TARDIS

It's been a while since I've gone back to watch Rose, and my review is almost 10 years late, mehh. I can remember the anticipation surrounding this one, everyone I knew was counting down to watch it, old and new fans alike. I can remember watching it and thinking 'Is this going to work?' Back in the day I worked in the store where the interior shots were filmed, and there was a bit excitement surrounding the cast's appearance. If memory serves during the initial transmission there was a slight interruption that cut to Graham Norton. Looking back on it now I enjoyed the exuberance of the episode, the mix of sci fi and light humour, so different from Series 8 (the most recently transmitted series at the time of writing this.) Two things I possibly didn't notice back then, one, how much I loved Billie Piper's performance, and two, Mr Eccleston was actually quite attractive. I knew I was going to love Camille Coduri, Jackie was a fantastic character, so much fun. Mickey certainly developed as he went on. I was so pleased to see the return of the Autons, a heads up to the Iconic Spearhead from Space, it was a safe bet to try to appeal to the hoards of existing loyal fans. On the downside I found Auton Mickey and the bin scene would have been better suited to CBBC, would be difficult to imagine that happening in a 2015 episode. Some of the effects seem a little on the dodgy side, the photo-shopping is particularly shambolic. Are they implying Rose is particularly dense? Mickey looks rather plastic and has forgotten how to drive, she doesn't notice. On the plus, I applaud it for hooking in a lot of original and new viewers, many of which would stay with the show for years to come. We got to see Chris smile, a definite plus. We get an endearing companion with a real back story, a family, a job etc. Chris injects a bit of mystery and sadness into the role. There is some very nice music in this episode, in my opinion the music in the earlier series was much better. The opening credits at the time and music were excellent, and the TARDIS interior was beautifully created. The new 45 minute format also seems like a winner. It's hard to find many major faults with Rose, it's not exactly a masterpiece or an iconic episode, but it is fun, pacey and very entertaining, they did a good job, drafting in the lovable Mark Benton was a good move. The positives massively outweigh the negatives. Wasn't it just nice to have the iconic blue Police box back on our screens. 10.81 million viewers thought so and tuned in. A very solid 7/10