NuWho Review: Series 1 Episode 1 “Rose”

By: Russell T. Davies
 

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

         Ladies and Gentlemen here it is – the episode that restarted it all! After being put on hiatus in 1989 (and actually being, aside from the odd telemovie and comic strip, cancelled) Doctor Who languished for fifteen years until the BBC and Russell T. Davies created the revamped series, which aired its first episode Rose on March 26, 2005.


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- This episode begins and quickly establishes the tone that we will see throughout the entire Davies era...metropolitan London. We get a glimpse into Rose’s humdrum life that she seems rather bored to be living. After a three minute montage that effectively establishes the setting, Rose’s job, and her relationship with Mickey – the elevator reaches the department store basement, the peppy music stops, and the real story begins. 

- Rose is looking for ‘Wilson’ – CEO of something or other – and hears a noise from deeper in the shop basement. Now here is a question for you to ponder: why does she go into that room? Why do they always go into the room? Here’s a tip for you, boys and girls: if you’re in a dark basement, all alone, and you hear a noise from a dark room full of creepy dummies – it might just be the time to run the other way. Especially if you're blond. Blonds always die first...

- The tension builds beautifully all the way through this scene, right up until the first dummy starts moving. That is the thing I love about Doctor Who. Something that could be quite corny and painful to watch is turned into the stuff of nightmares. Take the moving shop dummies, for instance. Despite their halting motions and bare plastic chests, they somehow manage to seem threatening. Maybe it’s the blank faces. Emotionless, advancing hoards are always more frightening than a hoard that’s shrieking simply because one doesn’t know how to react. And that’s just what happens to Rose. She backs away, putting her back to the wall in an act that would be smart if she didn’t end up being cornered. Thankfully a guy with large ears and a leather jacket is there to grab her hand and say ‘Run!’ 

- That is our first introduction to The Doctor after all these years and this first appearance of the two-hearted alien is sure to put a smile on your face. Whether he’s pulling the arm off of a dummy or blowing up the department store, Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor does it all with a façade of jocularity and an undercurrent of darkness. 

- And while we’re on the subject of shop dummy arms, let me just say that I love the way Rose runs the whole way home clutching that disembodied arm like it’s a billy club. 

- Also...I wonder if Mickey gave it the idea of strangling people with his decidedly unfunny joke. Just a thought.

- Mickey Smith. I rather think 'Mickey the Idiot' is rather too kind a nickname for him, especially when the rubbish bin eats him (this scene is complete with a rather painful burp). The highlight of this portion of the episode, however, is in the form of Rose talking with ‘internet nutter’ Clive about his conspiracy theories concerning The Doctor. This is a prime example of how the show has received a reboot for the modern era because this sort of thing is the exact reaction that people would have to someone like The Doctor, particularly if they didn’t know the entire story.

- But, oh gosh oh! How doesn’t Rose realize that her boyfriend is now made of plastic? She must really be in turmoil over what Clive said to her not to notice the suspiciously fake shine of Mickey’s skin, or the cheesy mannequin-like grin he now sports when before he had a bad habit of scowling. Maybe she just didn’t look at him a whole lot, though even with that excuse I don’t see why she didn’t notice sooner than she did. 

- On the bright side, though, Rose apparently isn’t completely thick. When plastic!Mickey goes berserk, she at least has the sense to push the burglar alarm before running out of the restaurant. Oh, and while we’re thinking about mannequins, I’m pretty sure the TARDIS was not happy about having that plastic head melt into her console! Maybe that’s why she ‘lost’ the signal so fast.

- So I’ve talked a lot about Rose and complained about Mickey, but I have yet to touch on the last person in Rose’s life: her mother. Jackie Tyler is one of those rare jewels in that she just jumps off of the page and out of the screen to the point where you feel that she might be your next-door neighbour. Needless to say, I love Jackie. We don’t see much of her in this episode, but from what we do see we learn quite a lot. Jackie is a bit of a flirt (evidenced by her dressing gown comment to The Doctor) and she is very protective of her daughter in her own way (evidenced by her pushing for Rose to get compensation) although I’m not quite sure what to make of her comment about the shop job giving Rose airs and graces. Maybe its just a case of momentary poor writing, but that comment seemed out-of-place with the rest of Jackie’s character. Jackie is a single mother and is also quite the gossip. She is wonderfully multi-layered and I always look forward to learning more about her as the season goes on.

- Now we get to the main villain of this episode which is not the shop dummies but the Nestene Consciousness that is giving the shop dummies life. While not particularly impressive in looks – resembling a marshmallow that has gotten the wrong side of a fire – this blob of living plastic can use the London Eye to transmit its consciousness to every piece of plastic on planet Earth. Why it then goes for only shop dummies is beyond me, but I suppose for a formless globule that is almost strategic.

- I’m very curious to know what the Nestene protein planet had to do with the Time War and why Mickey was so sure that the Consciousness could talk when all we really hear it doing is a few unintelligible (but impressive) roars. 

- How did the shop dummies get the TARDIS across the river to the Nestene's underground hideout in less time than it took the Doctor and Rose to cross Westminster Bridge? Not to mention why mention all of the different types of plastic the Nestene can control (legos, high-chairs, beast implants) if you're not going to use them? Somehow I think activating someone's contacts would be more devastating to them then chasing them down the street with a lingerie dummy. 

- The climax of this episode is good despite a few unnecessary lines from Doctor Exposition ("The transmat beam; it’s transmitting!”) especially with the off-screen death of Clive and then Jackie being menaced by a trio of blond brides. Although it is ultimately Rose to save the day, hereby starting the trend of companions’ maiden voyages ending with them rescuing The Doctor, there is still a fine climax between the Nestene Consciousness transmitting, the Autons wreaking havoc in London, and Rose knocking the appropriately-named Anti-Plastic into the Consciousness’ vat before escaping into the TARDIS with The Doctor and Mickey.

- And then we get a scene that still makes me cringe to this day. And no, I'm not just talking about Mickey's total wimp-out over the TARDIS interior. (Cowering against the wall is a bit over-dramatic, don't you think? I know that being swallowed by a garbage can and menaced by a marshmallow glob is a bit traumatic...but it doesn't warrant shivering and clinging to your girlfriend like a terrified five-year-old, surely!) No, the scene I am speaking about is the moment that should be putting a huge smile on my face: the companion entering the TARDIS to begin her travels. Allow me to show you an excerpt from a direct transcript of Rose so that you can fully appreciate the monstrosity that is the dialogue and attitude of this scene:

ROSE: Thanks.
MICKEY: Thanks for what? 
ROSE: Exactly.
(Rose kisses Mickey on the cheek and runs into the TARDIS.)
      
- That is simply a TERRIBLE attitude to have towards her boyfriend, especially since she spent a good part of the second act worrying about whether or not Mickey was alive! It's not only a jerkish move but it's inconsistent with her character.

- I know that this is just the beginning and Rose is just starting off, so I'm willing to give her the benefit of doubt - but I really, really hope that she grows out of this extremely selfish streak (or that it will at least be addressed within the show). Companions are to be role models, not just pretty faces there for The Doctor to provide exposition to, and so far Rose has had a decent enough beginning up until that point. She was flawed and selfish (like when she hung up on a panicking Jackie) but she also showed a bit of ingenuity (like when she punched the fire alarm in response to berserk!plastic!Mickey). I don't know. Hopefully she will grow and change over the coming series'.

        So how does this episode rate over all? Well, as a season opener and series revival – it did it’s job (introducing/reintroducing viewers to the lore) admirably. There were some weak moments (like the aforementioned garbage can belch or the Captain Obvious moments written for The Doctor) but it dished up some good old-fashioned scary fun with the blank-faced Autons and screaming shoppers. All in all, I give Rose a 3/5 rating. It wasn’t the best, but it served its purpose well enough.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?