This marked the beginning of the new era of Doctor Who. It was the first episode of the revived s
eries, as well as the first penned by Russell T Davies. An OK episode, but my biggest complaint was that Davies went a bit overboard in his efforts to casually reintroduce the series. Rather than introduce it to the sci-fi community, he started off extemely light on sci-fi so that channel surfers would buy in, too. The show was titled "Doctor Who," but instead of writing an episode introducing the lead character, The Doctor, and the chief antagonists of that story - the Autons - RTD decided to write about a girl named Rose, whose daily life takes a turn for the unusual when she bumps into a stranger calling himself The Doctor. Davies even went so far as to title the episode after what he wrote to be the main character - Rose. Lending further evidence that the episode was mainly about Rose, interspersed with scenes of the Doctor, with Autons sprinkled on top. In contrast, Autons make for great "Earth-based" DW stories, but including them in an episode mainly focusing on the characters seemed a bit obvious - that the Autons were only there so that the script could pass for an episode of Doctor Who.
eries, as well as the first penned by Russell T Davies. An OK episode, but my biggest complaint was that Davies went a bit overboard in his efforts to casually reintroduce the series. Rather than introduce it to the sci-fi community, he started off extemely light on sci-fi so that channel surfers would buy in, too. The show was titled "Doctor Who," but instead of writing an episode introducing the lead character, The Doctor, and the chief antagonists of that story - the Autons - RTD decided to write about a girl named Rose, whose daily life takes a turn for the unusual when she bumps into a stranger calling himself The Doctor. Davies even went so far as to title the episode after what he wrote to be the main character - Rose. Lending further evidence that the episode was mainly about Rose, interspersed with scenes of the Doctor, with Autons sprinkled on top. In contrast, Autons make for great "Earth-based" DW stories, but including them in an episode mainly focusing on the characters seemed a bit obvious - that the Autons were only there so that the script could pass for an episode of Doctor Who. Eccleston portrayed the Doctor very well, with some great scenes hinting at his past personalities - namely when he flutters a deck of playing cards in Rose's flat, when he gazes at himself in a mirror and comments on his regeneration, and when he used a deactivated, disembodied mannequin arm to wave "goodbye" to Rose. There are other memorable moments that I still recite at appropriate times, like when someone suggest pizza for supper, I recite Mickey's Auton equivalent...."Pee-Zah! Puh - Puh- Pee-Zah!"
While the episode mostly focused on Rose, overall it was good. It was too early to tell what direction the series was going in, so I patiently waited to see where the Doctor would be taking us next.
When the Doctor looked in the mirror and commented on his appearance, I thought, "Doesn't the Doctor ever shave? He must have seen himself before that moment." Other than that, I enjoyed having the Doctor back, even if it did feel like he was a guest star in his own show.
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