Rose

Rose

[2005, Season 27/Series 1, Episode 1]

How do you begin the return of a low-budget sci-fi show that, other than an unsuccessful TV movie, has been off the air for 16 years?  With cool titles created with dazzling effects and topped by an amped-up version of the familiar theme.  And then a great F/X shot of the Earth and the Moon, slowly zooming in on London.  It’s back, and this time with effects worth of the title “special”!

The montage that follows introduces us to Rose Tyler, and writer Russell T. Davies shows why the return of a long-cancelled show could work so beautifully: it remembered that the most important element of Doctor Who – and almost all the best television shows of any kind – is character.  Rose is complex and well-written; she can be self-absorbed and even narcissistic to the point of unlikability, but she’s also funny, brave, good-hearted, and very sunny.  She can be totally appealing and usually is, and her character flaws aren’t about plot conveniences like so many character flaws, but simply because she’s a person.  Davies also gets one other crucial element: she’s lonely.  She has a loving (if overbearing) mother and a dedicated boyfriend, but she’s also somehow very alone in this world.  She’s the center of this story – and, indeed, the entire first season – and through her eyes we meet the Ninth Doctor, who, as it turns out, may in fact be the loneliest creature in the entire universe.  It’s this element above all that makes this one of the most intriguing and moving of all the Doctor/Companion relationships, and that isn’t to be taken lightly.

And the gorgeous Billie Piper nails the character right from her first moment.  The casting couldn’t be more perfect.

It isn’t five minutes in the episode before she’s being attacked by living manniquins… and saved by a mysterious, anachronistically-dressed man, who tells her just one word:

“Run!”

And with that, the Doctor has returned.

Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is an odd one: although it isn’t revealed for some time, it eventually turns out that this Doctor carries a terrible burden.  He ended the most horrific of wars in the most horrific of ways.  He had no other choice, but it’s a terrible burden nonetheless.  Eccleston does seem like a curious, adventurous alien, but he’s much darker than his predecessors, very intense, making his serious moments edgy and his silly moments somehow even edgier.  His silly faces have a strained look and a hidden tragedy.  It’s not how I’d want every Doctor, but one of them this way is fine, and it’s fantastic with an actor as good as Eccleston.

The characterizations are terrific, as is the relationship, even in this limited time.  It’s both funny and dramatic, and pulls both off very nicely.

            Doctor: What are you doing here?

           Rose: I live here!

 

            Doctor: Well, what do you do that for?

The scene when Rose first enters the TARDIS is excellent.  There’s the sense of wonder from the whole “bigger on the inside” aspect, and the inside of the ship is great.  Not quite as good as the original ’63 set or the stunning ’96 vision, but still very cool.  But better is the dialogue that follows.  Rose comments on the size, the Doctor acts all non-chalant while totally failing to hide his delight, and then Rose starts crying.  The Doctor assumes its part of the shock of entering such a wild place, but…

            Rose: Did they kill him?  Mickey, did they kill Mickey?  Is he dead?

            Doctor: Oh.  I didn’t think of that.

Rose: He’s my boyfriend.  You pulled off his head, they copied him, you didn’t even think… and now you’re just going to let him melt?

It’s a great little piece of characterization in just a few lines.  And this, above all, is why the new Doctor Who works as well as the Old.  After all, without any money to spend, the old had to rely on characterization and imagination to be compelling, and that’s what sustained it for so many decades.  Here, character is priority one, and it nails it.

Unfortunately, with only 45 minutes instead of the old 90+ for the story, the plot has to be left behind for the characters.  This would be perfectly fine if the plot that’s here wasn’t so lame.  RTD made a great decision emphasizing character, and in theory, the decision to use the Autons as the villains was a good one.  After all, they’re terrific bad guys, but they weren’t on the old show much, so there’s no globs of mythology to bog things down in exposition.  Unfortunately, they’re just not very scary, at least not in comparison to the old times.  In Spearhead From Space, they’re terrifying.  In Terror of the Autons, they’re not as effective, but they’re still eerie and threatening.  Here… they’re just plastic things going around.  Particularly lousy is the far-too-obvious plastic copy of Mickey.  It’s ridiculous that Rose doesn’t figure out the ruse sooner, even as self-absorbed as she is.

Nope, nothing obviously evil and inhuman here.

I mean, they're a little creepy, but not very much.

The storyline follows a series of minor mysteries, but they never really come together in any meaningful or interesting way.  To be honest, the plot is just a thread to hang the character stuff on and a way of spinning the wheels long enough to get to the climax.

The Doctor’s showdown with the Nestine Consciousness starts out well; it doesn’t let us hear what the Consciousness is saying, only the Doctor, and not only does Eccleston show the tremendous authority you’d espect, but what he says is wonderfully intriguing and mysterious.  The consciousness is represented by a CGI creature that looks imperfect and cartoonish but nonetheless imaginative and impressive.  In the end, though, the Doctor doesn’t really do much in the climax, just gets captured until Rose too easily rescues him.  I mean, it’s nice to flip the tables and have the companion rescue the Doctor, but not when the Doctor doesn’t actually do anything or it isn't really clever.

Everything is solved in a brief and unsatisfying matter after an interesting build-up.  It's a clumsy, anti-climactic way to end a potentially gripping showdown.

So the character stuff is good, the plot isn’t.  Still, it’s a pilot episode, which are always a struggle. This particular journey may not have been particularly impressive, but at the end, we’re off on brand new adventures with characters we’re already interested in. 

And the next episode does a vastly better job of showing us what Doctor Who is all about and why it’s awesome.

RATING:

* * ½

SIDENOTES:

• After that awesome remix of the title theme, Murray Gold’s score unfortunately degenerates into little more than irrelevant and distracting techno and rock beats.  There are times when Gold’s music for the series is terrific; this, unfortunately, is far from one of those.  It seems more concerned with sounding “modern” and “big” than “dramatic” or “having anything to do with what’s going on onscreen.” 
  
• I like the subplot about Clive.  He's a guy who, through vast amounts of research, actually has a pretty good idea of who the Doctor is.  You'd expect the two of them to meet up, but that doesn't happen.  His beliefs are rewarded in a tragic way, and he never meets the man he studied for so long.  It's one part of the finale that does have a real impact.

Terror of the Autons

Terror of the Autons

[1971 – Season 8, Serial 1]

We begin in a circus.  Luigi Rossini, the owner, is stopped in his tracks by an astonishing event.  A sound familiar to us occurs: the whine of a TARDIS – but not the Doctor’s.  A van appears directly in front of Rossini.  Out of the trailer steps a man dressed in black.  He introduces himself, saying he is usually referred to as The Master.  Rossini, assuming this guy is a conjurer looking for a job, tries to throw him out.  The Master turns towards him an hypnotizes him with a single look.  Rossini is his to command.

And with that, we are introduced to the man who would become the Doctor’s arch-nemesis: fellow Time Lord, childhood best friend, now lost to evil.  Roger Delgado could not have been more perfectly cast; his Master is magnetic and fascinating.  While the Master would eventually lose some of his effectiveness through overuse, he makes a knockout impression here.

In his first story, he is working with the Nestine Consciousness, head of the Autons, those horrific plastic creatures from Spearhead In Space.  He aids their attempt to conquer the earth for reasons known only to him.

Terror of the Autons is, in many ways, a milestone Doctor Who story.  It completes the UNIT family by introducing Captain Mike Yates.  It introduces Jo Grant, who would be the Third Doctor’s companion for three years.  And above all, it introduces the Doctor’s archenemy.  The Master comes off very well; writer Robert Holmes makes the mix of friendship and mortal rivalry between him and the Doctor compelling and fun.

Ms. Grant’s debut is a bit more controversial.  Jo is often regarded as a big step back for feminism, with her meek personality, clumsiness, and apparent uselessness.  I think people who see only that side of her are totally missing the point (or only watching her lousy episodes).  She’s very much like a good version of Harley Quinn: a relentlessly cheerful, bubbly girl on the surface, and as a consequence constantly underestimated by everyone.  But when pushed to it, she shows incredible resourcefulness and bravery, and outwits her apparent betters.  I think it’s a joy to watch her, and it’s only helped by the perfect casting.

Katy Manning is so perfectly cast as Jo that it’s easy to forgive her occa… for… I… I… I can’t do it.  I can’t say anything even kindly or slightly negative.  She’s just so cute, so nice, so sweet.  It’d be like kicking a puppy.   She’s perfectly wonderful.  What’s more, her chemistry with  Pertwee is evident right from the beginning; it’s a joy to see these two together.

The other introduction, that of Captain Mike Yates, isn’t so effective.  Eventually, the writers would get around to giving him some interesting stuff to do, but here, he evidences no semblance of personality or character.  But he’s kept in the background, so it’s no real loss.  Otherwise, UNIT is used pretty well.  It’s of course wonderful to see the Brig, and UNIT gets in on the action in some good action scenes late in the story.

The Autons have to share the villain light with the Master, which unfortunately means one of them is going to get the short end of the stick, and it’s the otherworldly plastic abominations.  They barely appear in the story, and their appearance is lessened by the bigheaded masks they wear, making them far less terrifying.

Surely, the face of evil itself.

Still, they have three terrific moments in the story.  The fight in the quarry is scary and thrilling, and stands as one of the great moments of the early ‘70s.  Their attack on Jo with the flower is incredibly unsettling.  And their murder of an unfortunately victim with a hideous plastic doll is both creepy and darkly funny, which makes for quite an uneasy scene.

Given this is a Robert Holmes script, characterization and dialogue is great.  Besides the Master and Jo, he does a perfectly fine job with the Doctor and the Brig, and adds two more characters vividly sketched in a limited time: Rex Farrel and his father, Farrel Sr.  With just one scene between them, you learn everything about their relationship and the younger Farrel.  The father comes across as an overbearing patriarch, disappointed in his son, and obviously unsympathetic, though his strong-willed resistance to the Master gives him points.  But when he goes home to his wife, their dialogue totally fleshes him out into a sympathetic, three-dimensional character.  He only gets those three scenes, none of them very long, but he’s completely humanized in those brief moments.

The younger Farrel gets a bit more screentime, and does eventually become more than the Master’s hapless victim himself.  The portrayal by Michael Wisher is very strong, though fans know he has a much more unforgettable appearance in a later serial…

And the Doctor?  Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor was a man of action, who jumped right into the fray with the full force of his charm, wit, and intelligence.  He’s patronizing, egotistic, funny, and totally heroic.  He’s one of the most three-dimensional of the Doctors; his flaws aren’t limited to the obvious flaws of the Doctor, nor are his good points limited to his power and heroism.  Holmes, not surprisingly, gives him plenty to work with.

Rossini: I don't think my friend's going to like you.

Doctor: I'm sure of it.

Doctor: How much are they paying you?

Rossini: Come, come, Doctor, gentlemen don't discuss money.

Doctor: Nonsense.  Gentlemen never talk about anything else.

Jo: Doctor, stop being childish.

Doctor: What's wrong with being childish?  I like being childish.

I love the way the Doctor turns on the "pen-pusher" in Episode 3, and then pretty much turns him to his side in a few smooth lines of dialogue.  I also love the very knowing look Jo gives the Doctor when he calls the Master self-conceited.

For all its good point, Terror of the Autons doesn’t really amount to much.  It’s another invasion of Earth, foiled at the last minute.  Other than the Master’s last bit, the finale has little tension or meaning.  It’s done very well, of course, but it’s a pretty weak story to hang such wonderful execution on.  Still, great execution of a so-so story in almost every aspect is more than worth a look.  It may not be special or particularly compelling, but it’s very entertaining.

* * *