By Chris Heffernan
Rose 5.5/10
Well, it's certainly been updated. I always said Doctor Who could return to TV with an update, and not a revamping. They've mostly just updated which I'm happy about, though they have revamped some of the ideas.
The Doctor's very first appearance was okay, but for the first few scenes I was extremely concerned as to how CE was playing him. In hindsight, I now know that CE has two modes: serious Doctor and mad grinning/silly Doctor. The first few scenes in Rose (apart from the very first scene) was mad grinning Doctor, and I absolutely hate it. It doesn't work for me at all. Until his "this is who I am" speech, I thought it was Jar Jar Binks all over again. I absolutely love CE's serious Doctor however. I just wish he was always serious. Some previous Doctors (in particular Tom Baker and Paul McGann) could mix the seriousness and silly grinning well. CE just can't pull it off as an actor. When he does that grin and silly acting he just looks like an idiot, and this is the main reason I'm no longer upset he's leaving the show.
A huge nitpick I have is the Doctor's haircut. The Doctor doesn't necessarily need long hair, but he should not have a buzz cut. Something about it just doesn't work. At the time I'm writing this, I've seen 7 episodes, and I still don't quite believe CE as the Doctor. The haircut accounts for 50% of that.
Great bits: the aforementioned "this is who I am speech", Rose's first entrance into the TARDIS, Clive, some of the humour (ie: the Ferris wheel bit), the website
Not so great bits: the Doctor's haircut, the Doctor doing nothing to save the day, the silly Doctor, the TARDIS interior.
The End of the World 7.5/10
This is more like it. This really showed how Doctor Who can look with a bigger budget. I love Doctor Who set in space in the future. The special effects were very "Babylon 5" and while I don't like these kind CGI effects for Star Trek, I think they work great for Doctor Who. I liked the humour for the most part in this story and even CE kept his goofy Doctor in check for the most part. I also liked the fact that the companion was in danger and the Doctor had to save the day. Now I'm not saying all new Who has to follow the same format of old Who (ie: in regards to the companion being in danger and the Doc saving the day), but the show is called Doctor Who, not Rose Tyler.
The aliens were well done for the most part, and I liked the look of the space station. The brief interaction between Jabe and the Doctor was great, and shows how you can do 'attraction' without actually saying anything sexual or being overt. I'll say it once here and then not again (until the rumoured Captain Jack bit later), but there is no room for sexuality in Doctor Who, straight or otherwise. That's not what the show is about. It's about an alien who looks human who saves the universe from villains on his adventures.
The use of modern music worked well, but the incidental music sounded a little too "Simpsons Treehouse of Horror" for me.
Great bits: Raffalo, Jabe, the space station, the Doc saving the day, learning the Doctor is a Time Lord
Not so great bits: last of the Time Lords?, Rose getting mad at Cassandra without much provocation, incidental music
The Unquiet Dead 8/10
This could have been a lot better, but was still pretty darn good. For the most part, I found the sets, costumes and acting very period. The supporting actors were quite good, and it was darn scary. Simon Callow was awesome as Dickens, even if he reminded me of Ian McKellan's Gandalf a lot. The story was very good, and the episode had two or three excellent moments (see Great bits below).
I don't really have anything bad to say about this, so why doesn't it rate higher? I think the problem I have with it is CE. Except for one or two moments (like when he's apologizing to Dickens), I didn't find him very Doctorish (like when he allows himself to get trapped with Rose at the end and it's Dickens who comes to the rescue). If he's not Doctorish, then the show suffers because that's the prime ingredient for Doctor Who. That's why I disagree with all these people who say you can have Doctor Who without the Doctor. No you can't. You can have a story set in the same universe as Doctor Who, but it won't be Doctor Who (like the Sarah Jane Smith audios, for example).
One other minor problem is I don't really believe the Rose/Doctor relationship yet, however they are really pushing it on us and making it seem like they've been traveling for years together and not just days. The Doc is really mean to her one minute, then "I'm so glad I met you" the next. Why is Rose sticking with this guy? It's rubbish. Concentrate on the adventure and not the relationship. That'll come naturally as we get more stories.
Great bits: the Doctor realizing the servant girl is dead, the trio after the explosion (Dickens' "more things in heaven and earth" speech, Rose's "no one will ever know" speech), the scary bits
Not so great bits: The Doctor wasn't very Doctorish, and didn't do much, the Doctor does not need a catch-phrase for heaven's sake
Aliens of London/ World War III 5/10
How farting aliens gets from the page to the screen is beyond me, but I didn't mind them as much as some did. This was old school Doctor Who and could have easily been a Pertwee story. I found it funny for the right reasons (scenes like the Doctor and the TV remote, the alien calling the Doctor on his blowing up the alcohol, etc). I'm not entirely sure it needed to be a two-parter though. I don't mind the Doctor being mean to Mickey, but it seemed a little overdone. However, the way it ended (see below) made up for it.
Mickey showed he could be a cool character. I am a little upset that it seems we'll be returning to Rose's normal life every few episodes. This is a revamping aspect I don't like. Perhaps blowing up the aliens was not a good choice, though I found it worked within the confines of the story.
Great bits: the Doctor and Mickey at the end, the Doctor's "Hello!" to the pig, the Doctor taking over the expert meeting
Not so great bits: how many times do we need to see the 'dramatic' unzipping of the foreheads?, almost too much farting (too much for some)
Dalek 8.5/10
Great episode. Very few nitpicks, but enough that I couldn't just sit back and call it perfect. I actually thought the Dalek looked better before he 'juiced' up and got all shiny. They proved me wrong; I always said they could never do new Who with the Daleks looking like the old Daleks, but they did. I think the simple thing of calling it "battle armour" is what did the trick (along with making the Dalek more powerful overall and giving a usage for that plunger). I still hope we see a new Dalek design when they return, however. This is the difference between updating and revamping. Updating will give the Daleks better designs (or more powers as in this episode). Revamping would be to not use any old villains/monsters.
As a one-off, I liked the idea of a Dalek who questions himself as he has feelings/emotions. I certainly hope the Daleks don't return with the "Rose Factor" however. When they return, I want them back to their old selves.
If the Doctor caused the end of the Time War that killed the Daleks and the Time Lords in one second, and this Doctor has just recently regenerated, does that mean it was the 8th Doctor (McGann) who did it? Discuss.
Great bits: the Dalek, some touching scenes (the Dalek in the sun), the torturing of the Dalek, "battle armour"
Not so great bits: "the woman you love", Adam joining the crew (see The Long Game below)
The Long Game 7/10
The main problem with this episode was its similarity in setting to The End of the World. The observation port for example looked identical except for the lighting of the scene. Why does every episode have to be on or in orbit of Earth anyway? The TARDIS does travel in time AND space doesn't it? By space do they just mean within Earth and its orbit? This story could have been exactly the same if the station was orbiting Mars, for example, yet it would have given it that extra sci-fi kick it needed.
Simon Pegg was very good as the giggly madman, and I enjoyed the supporting characters.
My least favourite bit was how Adam was dealt with. Firstly, the Doctor was extremely mean (also the scene where the Doctor sees Adam in the chair he says "what the hell has he gone and done?"; any past Doctor would have first assumed it wasn't the companion's fault, ie: "what have you done to him?" - not CE; only Rose is good enough apparently (even though they've hardly been traveling at all together and apart from her lips, I don't see how she's any better than, say, Tegan)). Secondly, Adam only came with them after Dalek, obviously so the writers could use him as the character who goofs things up and then have a nice little joke at the end in the very next episode. That's bad writing.
My last nitpick is that this was set in the year 200,000 (for no reason apparently other than RTD thought that sounded cool) though it looked more like the year 2,200. There's no way people will probably even be alive in 200,000 and they certainly won't act and look like they did in this episode. Why not set it in 3,000 or something. At least that would have been a little more 'believable' (if I can use such a word for a show like Doctor Who).
Why was it called The Long Game? (update: see last episode)
Great bits: Suki shooting the alien, the Doctor fiddling with wires and futurtistic technology, great guest cast
Not so great bits: the dealing with Adam (in story and out), this whole "Rose is the greatest companion ever" nonsense, the setting
Father's Day 7/10
There's not much I can say bad about this episode except perhaps that Jackie actually looked older in some scenes from 1987 than she does in 2005. There was a sort of lack of action in this episode, and the great performances (especially by Rose and her dad) don't quite make up for that, but otherwise it was great.
I'm not so sure why saving her dad had such huge consequences (why are the Reaper's killing everyone on the planet?) but I liked the explanation that the Time Lords and the Laws of Time would normally have prevented this from happening.
The ghostly car was very creepy and the entire episode had a great atmosphere to it. As mentioned Rose was great in this episode, as was the Doctor, but it was Rose's dad who steals the show.
Great bits: Rose's dad's performance, the ghostly car, the overall atmosphere
Not so great bits: not too sure why saving one nobody had such huge consequences
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances 9/10
This was the best one yet. There are only two things that keep it from being perfect: 1) The sexual innuendo - far too much of it, especially for a 'family show'; now on a show like Firely, I'd love it, but Doctor Who DOES NOT NEED sexual innuendo of any kind. 2) Rose. I like Rose, I really do, but she falls for every male she sees and Billie is simply far too good looking for me to take seriously. She's simply too gorgeous to be the 'every day girl' and her under-played sexuality is a bomb that goes off every episode. She's too distracting. Her dancing scene with Captain Jack (or as I like to call him, a poor man's Tom Cruise) was way too long and way too corny/cheesy.
Other than those two things above, this was fantastic (if I may use the dreaded word). CE was totally in his element here and this was my kind of Doctor. The character of Nancy (I can't remember her name but I know the actress from "Fairy Tale: A True Story" - starring Paul McGann strangely enough) was great. The story was witty, sad, funny, scary, moody, atmospheric. Great period Who.
Great bits: "Everybody lives!", the Doctor in the night club, the Doctor at the kid's meal, every scene with Nancy
Not so great bits: Rose and Jack dancing on the spaceship, Rose's googly eyes over Jack (c'mon, he ain't that good looking!), Rose climbing the balloon rope to begin with (did this seem to anyone else like McCoy's hanging from his umbrella in Dragonfire, only in reverse?)
Boom Town 5.5/10
Not bad, but not great. Some great dialogue for sure and for once they got a good combination of characters: The Doctor and the alien, Jack and the TARDIS, Rose and Mickey.
I feel sorry for Mickey but at the same time I don't. Yes, he's losing (lost) his girlfriend and she is too flightly to really care, but he had the chance to go with them in the TARDIS and chose not to. It's his own fault.
The rest of this review is going to be about Rose. I've decided I don't like her as a character. Actually, it's not her character I mind so much as Billie Piper's portrayal. Firstly, Billie is far too good-looking. I don't care how much they tone her looks down; she's got a model's jaw, lips and eyes. She's far too distracting. Also, though her acting is good for the most part, what in the blazes is the deal with her tongue? Why does she stick her tongue out teasingly between her teeth when talking about the most mundane things (like her passport)? It's unnervingly distracting. The directors should tell her that she doesn't have to *try* to be sexy. She is sexy just acting normal. Way back when, there as a rumour of a different actress (can't remember her name) playing Rose, and people said it was either her or Billie Piper. I wish it was the other girl. She was good-looking, but in a girl-next door kind of way. Much more realistic and you could have a crush on her as a young fan, without there being a distraction every time she was in the scene (like Liz Sladen for example).
Great bits: Mickey's "What are you Captain of? Innuendo?", some great dialogue especially at the beginning
Not so great bits: I'm not sure why the Doctor didn't consider other options for dropping the Slitheen off, the aforementioned "Rose problem"
Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways 7.5/10
Really good stuff. Lots of tension in part two, and fun the whole way. I liked the whole game-show thing except for the fact it's set in the year 200,100. This is the same problem I had with The Long Game. This would have been better set somewhere between 2,500-5,000. There's just no way they'd know anything about the 20th century in that year.
The Bad Wolf revelation wasn't too bad, and it was cool, but I think I may have preferred something a little more interesting. Super Rose was cool, but how she became Super Rose was lame. They explained why that other episode was called "The Long Game".
The Daleks were good as usual.
Captain Jack's 'death' was great but by bringing him back to life, you ruin it.
Tennant looks good as the Doctor. We'll see how he does.
Great bits: Jack's death, Super Rose, the seriousness and tension, the regeneration scene
Not so great bits: bringing Jack back to life, Super Rose, the year 200,100
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So my thoughts on the 1st season: I really, really enjoyed it and for the most part I liked what they did. I'm very glad they'll be going to other planets in season 2, and I think I'm going to like Tennant. Eccleston grew on me a little, but I'm not sad to see him go. He just didn't have that "I don't know what" that makes him the Doctor in my book. McGann had it almost instantly. Eccleston had 13 episodes but only hinted at it here and there. I'm hoping there's a few more nods to the old series in season 2. I'm a little upset Rose will be around for the full second season. I like her but I don't like her; it's weird.
Final standings:
Loved:
Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
Dalek
The End of the World
The Unquiet Dead
Liked:
Father's Day
The Long Game
So-so:
Aliens of London/World War III
Boom Town
Rose