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Doctor Who:First Season Appraisal - ROSE
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Now the dust is beginning to settle after the last episode Parting of the Ways, I thought it might be interesting to find out whether anyone had gone back and viewed the earlier stories and if your original thoughts/feelings had changed since you first watched it.
Rose worked for me in many ways but equally flawed in some many others. The pace of the story felt at times very rushed considering there was so much to cram into the 45 mins...explaining the police box/TARDIS and other aspects of the history whilst still maintaining the narrative of the here and now. The choice of locations with the London Eye was inspired as was it use as a plot device and the estate where Rose lived really captured the isolation and boredom that she was feeling.
The Autons were nicely realised in the menacing shop dummies terrorising the streets but there were points in the action where they seemed to hesitate in killing their intended target...for instance Jackie..whereas with Clive he was gunned down on the spot.
Clive was superbly played by Mark Benton though I was left feeling that his death was a mistake and he would've made a nice re-occuring character that could pop up and confound the Doctor either in this series or a later one. You couldn't help but speculate who RTD based the character of Clive on...
Jackie and Mickey didn't come across very well in this story. Think they both suffered from poor direction from Keith Boak who I will come to in a minute and some sloppy lines delivered courtesy of RTD.
Rose was an interesting start to the season and certainly with the sfx was a taster of things to come later in the series but what let it down was the time constraint of 45mins...the first story could've done with being feature length to embrace the history but keep the pace of the narrative of the Auton storyline.
Keith Boak might be an accomplished director but some are not suited to a series like Who and this shone throughout this episode compared to Euros Lyn/Joe Ahearne/James Hawes who did a sterling job in their respective stories.
When I watched this first time around I did not warm to CE at all but after a second viewing I actually enjoyed his performance a lot more. If only he wouldn't mug the camera so much is my only criticism of his first outing.
The basic premise of the story was great but there were certain elements that were not explored as fully as they could have been..again I felt this suffered to time constraints. On the whole it had it's faults but after a second viewing I found more to like about it than dislike.
Over to you...
Rose worked for me in many ways but equally flawed in some many others. The pace of the story felt at times very rushed considering there was so much to cram into the 45 mins...explaining the police box/TARDIS and other aspects of the history whilst still maintaining the narrative of the here and now. The choice of locations with the London Eye was inspired as was it use as a plot device and the estate where Rose lived really captured the isolation and boredom that she was feeling.
The Autons were nicely realised in the menacing shop dummies terrorising the streets but there were points in the action where they seemed to hesitate in killing their intended target...for instance Jackie..whereas with Clive he was gunned down on the spot.
Clive was superbly played by Mark Benton though I was left feeling that his death was a mistake and he would've made a nice re-occuring character that could pop up and confound the Doctor either in this series or a later one. You couldn't help but speculate who RTD based the character of Clive on...
Jackie and Mickey didn't come across very well in this story. Think they both suffered from poor direction from Keith Boak who I will come to in a minute and some sloppy lines delivered courtesy of RTD.
Rose was an interesting start to the season and certainly with the sfx was a taster of things to come later in the series but what let it down was the time constraint of 45mins...the first story could've done with being feature length to embrace the history but keep the pace of the narrative of the Auton storyline.
Keith Boak might be an accomplished director but some are not suited to a series like Who and this shone throughout this episode compared to Euros Lyn/Joe Ahearne/James Hawes who did a sterling job in their respective stories.
When I watched this first time around I did not warm to CE at all but after a second viewing I actually enjoyed his performance a lot more. If only he wouldn't mug the camera so much is my only criticism of his first outing.
The basic premise of the story was great but there were certain elements that were not explored as fully as they could have been..again I felt this suffered to time constraints. On the whole it had it's faults but after a second viewing I found more to like about it than dislike.
Over to you...
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The only thing that really bugged me was the amount of times we kept going back to Rose's Mum and boyfriend, I'm sorry but I really didn't like either of them very much!
Would have liked to see more places, rather than just mainly swapping between Earth and Satellite 5.
Overall though, beat my expectations by a mile!
However, she gave a very good performance throughout the whole series, and when you saw her reactions to things, you felt as though she was actually surprised aswell. I hope he charatcer of Rose is developed further in Series 2, and we get to see how she reacts in different worlds, and with the new creatures we are promised.
So what did you think of the first episode 'Rose' Blofeld?
I felt that this episode had an awful lot to do and on the whole, I think it did it very well.
Many criticisms have been made of individual scenes such as the burping wheelie bin but I thought that was fine and I thought that the special effects were also up to scratch.
When analysing the episode, a lot of people seem to ignore, or be unprepared to acknowledge, the fact that this episode contains some smashing scenes. In particular, the scene where Rose asks the Doctor who he is and he replies by telling her that he can feel the turning of the earth etc, is very well done.
The performances by the two lead actors are excellent and this was, of course, the first episode that laid to rest all the doubts about the casting of Billie Piper as a (non-singing) "Doctor Who" companion.
I do, despite feeling very happy with this episode, have two main criticisms. Mickey was dreadful. The acting was poor and this was not, at the end of "Rose" a character I wished to see the return of, although this did change as the whole series progressed. My second gripe concerns the resolution of the episode. Simply having Rose leap, tarzan-like, at the dummy so that the "anti-plastic" spilt into the vat of monster was really poor! This was one of the episodes where I really felt the 45-minute length was a limitation [after all, couldn't Iraq have launched WMD in that time?!]
Overall, however, this episode did what it said on the tin. It re-introduced us to a brilliant TV creation and clearly was enough to attract new viewers to a great British institution.
And so to "The End of the World"...
I'd add that I thought the storylines and dialogue were clever, wonderful and true to the original concept. Gas mask zombies, Dawn French's brilliant tribute to Brazil, and Slitheen MPs (councillors?) sipping tea and playing dice with lives - all genuinely chilling yet slightly tongue in cheek! So very far from the unsubtle dross that so often passes for science fiction.
i thought the opening episode was ok, not that good. but then, it could have been anything at all, i just sat there for 45 minutes thinking "i'm watching dr who..." safe in the knowledge that i would re-watch it later!
i actually wasnt keen on the urgency of the opening set piece of the show, i like a nice slow build up to my dw, but i guess thats a result of the single 45 min ep format.. i agree with BG that there was a lot to fit in to the ep, but i disagree that we saw much of a reason for rose to feel isolated.. jackie and mickey were annoying, and i agree that it was a mistake to kill of clive.
the autons were nice, but not as scary as the ones JP had to face all those years ago (i remember the ones dressed as policement!), and i actually cringed at the wheelie bin scene i cannot for the life of me think why anyone would think that was a nice touch. mickey's hands turning into hammers was nicely done, as were the effects throughout the ep.
again the time constraints meant that the resolution was too rushed for my liking, in order to get to the scene were rose decides to travel with the doc..
at the time, i wouldnt have dared to have been critical of rose, but with hindsight we can see what rtd has done with the series and i think rose does not bear comparison with a lot of the other eps. i suppose to an extent it had to be done in this way to capture new viewers and get them "up to speed" but it didnt quite work for me
one thing i loved though, was the scene with the doc and rose: "it's like the first time they tell you that the world is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and you dont believe them cos you feel perfectly still..... i can feel it" i think when i heard that, i knew it was all going to be ok for the new series
In Fathers Day, it was questioned whether or not Rose only decided to got with the Doctor after he said it was a time machine; I don't think she did.
If you look at her face, as soon as the Tardis takes off, she's regretting not going with him. When he came back, he could have said anything, from telling her it painted elephants pink, to, "Did I tell you it also goes to Barcelona?" and she'd have gone!
Overall, given the time constraints, I think they did a good job of fitting everything into 45 minutes, with plenty of nods to old viewers - like the Autons - and newbies - Clive giving a potted history, but also reflecting the X Files which they'd be more familiar with.
Sorry to be pedantic
because the show is being produced by bbc wales, it has a different set of production codes, which are not concurrent with the ones from the classic series. therefore as far as the bbc is concerned, this is "season one" of a new show.
as far as true fans are concerned, im sure most wont care whether it is season one or season 27, but personally given the 16 year break and the change of production to cardiff, i think season one is fair enough
but really i dont think it is worth pointing out!
Funster
It was Captain Jack about the defabricator
It was Captain Jack about the defabricator, anyway I'll go watch "Rose" and I'll be back in 45 mins.
CE on Confidential
RTD on Confidential
Capt Jack in 'Bad Wolf'
My TARDIS must be broken..........anyway I did watch the episode again and I thought it was better second time round although Mickey and Jackie weren't that good, but Rose and the Doctor were on fine form as usual. Still think the Nestene said/mouthed Bad Wolf, but unless RTD tells us we'll never know. Well off to watch TEOTW now, be back soon......
Half of the story was missing (the Doctor was already there, fighting the Nestene, with some anti-plastic at the ready) long before he first appeared onscreen. Obviously, that was caused by the story structure: having to introduce Doctor, Rose, family, Tardis, etc, and still tell a story. I don't think it hurts things, just for once, to have the story arrive "fully formed".
I LOVE Jackie Tyler. I think Camille Coduri does so much with the character. Some of the biggest laughs, and some of the biggest lumps-in-throat, have come from Rose's relationship with her mum. Who can forget the line "skin like an old Bible"?!
The London Eye is glorious, and the shopping centre stuff very well done. It's a perfect intro to a new series. Probably a bit out-or-sorts with the rest of the series but, then, first episodes always are!
The music isn't too annoying in this one. The stuff about "the Doctor is a legend woven through time" is nicely mysterious. Does the Nestene really say "Bad Wolf"?!
chuff.x.
"Rose" is a scene setter and did it quite well. It intorduced the main characters, their relationships and the Tardis.
Mickey and Jackie are quite bland but that's the whole point. Rose herself is in a rut, nothing happens and everybody just cruises through life. Mickey doesn't want anything else, he's scared by change. Jackie doesn't know what is going on until she comes back for a change of clothes, so they are acting as though life is going on as normal. Even after the Auton attack Jackie is shaken up but her world view hasn't changed much. If I'd just been in that situation I'd be checking out the Fortean Times at the very least!
It's the contrast between them and the promise of something else, something better, that pushes Rose through the door of the blue box.
The copout for me comes in the way Mickey rallies round to help her again in Parting, the ending of Boomtown was promising to turn him to the dark side, but there goes the puppy.
The best bit of the series was seeing the Daleks back. I just LOVE the Daleks!
I was sad to see Christopher Eccleston's Doctor 'change' at the end of the final episode, but as us fans are used to the term 'regeneration', it wasn't so much of a shock.
I found out Chris was leaving, about half-way through the series, just after the ep with Rose going back to see her Father again. He'd done a BBC Breakfast interview, and he said that he was probably going to leave after this.
Lastly, Rose. Billie did herself proud as Rose Tyler. She was great. It seemed so right, Chris Eccleston and Billie together. The pairing was correct from the word go.
Billie and David's pairing was good too. Sad that Rose left in 'Doomsday', but I was excited to see her back in 'Turn Left', plus 'The Stolen Earth' two-parter.
Maybe we'll see Billie again on DW in the future. Who knows?
hello, thought processes of 2005!
Ironically I'm the opposite, I loved the anniversary special but the fact Rose wasn't proper Rose was a big disappointment. She could've been memory wiped and sent exactly back where she was afterwards like The Doctors.
Pairing her with Hurt was a mistake. As soon as Eccleston said now Moffat should've found a way to have her with 10 instead.
A waste.
I like the popularity of Clive in this thread too. I think he's a great fan surrogate in the episode, his look just before he is shot by the auton is an all time classic "I told you so!" dejected stare and it also led to his wife getting the line of the Episode:
"Someone's come to talk about The Doctor.....and it's a GIRL?"
With that line you knew the new Who knew it's place and wasn't going to miss an opportunity to have a little bit of a dig of itself.
Quite right too
We could have the Doctor go back to Bad Wolf Bay on the alternate Earth, for Rose's wedding to the Meta-Crisis Doctor.
That's if the programme makers ever decide to have Rose marry the 'other' version of DT's Doctor.
You like watching those, do you? I can remember watching the Cuprinol TV ads in the early 90s. I also remember the wooden puppet they had, doing all the wood varnishing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RQAP0dLzw4
It's funny, really, what seems to stick in your mind for years.
That would be awful. Why do we need to see a wedding?