Doctor Who – Series One

Who?

If you haven’t heard of doctor who then I have no idea where you’ve been! However this could be due to be obsession with the doctor. Doctor who is a British production which is broadcast on the BBC and has been since 1963 inconsistently. Sadly I wasn’t around when doctor who first came out and I started watching it when series 1 first came out. So after 16 whole years (apart from the one off movie) the doctor returned in 2005 with Series 1 of what ended up being a very successful series and fortunately resulted in many more series.

MAIN CHARACTERS

The Doctor

Doctor Who had been around for so long that this doctor would be the ninth one. Christopher Eccleston was the lucky actor who took up this role and for the entire series he played it wonderfully. His acting of the doctor was really good and this was the first time I met the legendary doctor and he definitely made an impression. The doctor is a fun and exciting individual who travels around in time and space. He is the last time lord in existence and takes on the responsibility of saving different races and planets from attack at various time in the past and future. The doctors planet Gallifrey was destroyed in the great time war and being the only time lord left he is now lonely and can get quite upset thinking about his past. His sense of humour and quirkiness is brilliant and spreads a great sense of adventure however the doctor has been through a lot and sees so many sad tragic incidents that he also has a very serious side and can become very sad when life is at stake, perhaps due to the fact his entire race were killed.

The Companion

The doctor travels with a companion the majority of the time, in this series Billie Piper plays the role of Rose Tyler, the companion. Billie Piper is actually a better actor than I expected and in my belief, not that I know any other companions, I believe that she takes on the role of the companion well. She is excited by travelling in time and is eager to see all the places the doctor has to offer. She also turns out to be quite helpful and quite often helps the doctor out of sticky situations. However back on earth she left school early, works in a shop and has no particular intentions. So when the doctor arrives she can not wait to take up the opportunity to go travelling. Rose Tyler has a mother, Jackie Tyler, a single mother who at first is very suspicious of he doctor and doesn’t want her only little girl travelling around with this stranger. Rose also leaves behind her boyfriend Mickey whilst travelling, he is often hurt when Rose leaves him to go travelling with the doctor but always supports her and provides a lot of comedy to the show.

TARDIS

Tardis stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space and is basically the doctor’s time machine which allows him to travel through space. These time machines can not built and have to be grown making them very precious. The tardis looks like a blue police box on the outside however on the inside it is much bigger and contains the heart of the tardis.

THE BOX SET

The newer box sets are just a normal se of DVDs as you get in normal series with the picture around the box being the tardis with the doctor and Rose standing in front of the entrance. However I believe the old ones are square in shape and open up to reveal the inside of the tarids with the discs attached to the walls. I think the older box set was much cooler but the newer one is easier to store especially with all your other DVDs. Each of the discs contains different episodes in order and also has extras. Although there is an overall story and themes running throughout the whole series, each episode can be watched separately and doesn’t require previous knowledge from the others (except for the occasional story that run over two episodes). Episodes are usually 45 minutes long which I find is a good length as you can usually find the time to watch them without them being so short that you can’t have a really good story.

*Disc One*

Rose
In the first episode Rose meets the Doctor when she is trapped in the shop where she works surrounded by mannequins that seem to have come to life. The doctor helps Rose again when the real Mickey is kidnapped and replaced with a fake Mickey. The Doctor and Rose found out that the fake Mickey was controlled by the Nestene Consciousness and it’s up to them to try and stop these monsters before they kill the entire human race. I thought this episode was a good introduction to doctor who and set the scene well for the episodes. I gave this episode 8/10.

The End of the World
In this episode the Doctor and Rose go into the future, to the year five billion, and land on a space station where they meet a range of creatures as well the “last human” who is just a stretched piece of skin with a face on, her name was Cassandra. She is a really annoying character and you can’t help but dislike her. It isn’t long till death occurs and the Doctor has to save the Earth from the sun. I thought this episode was quite good, it was very imaginative with all the different creatures and great special effects. The episode shows the sun burning up and it is a really emotional part of the episode and was done with great thought. I would give this episode 8/10.

The Unquent Dead
This is the first episode where the doctor takes Rose back in time, all the way back to Charles Dickens. In this episode there are gas creatures which are attacking the dead and causing fear amongst the population. This was a great episode with the dead coming back to life. This episode was quite scary but definitely in a good way. I love the episodes that go back to the past and the use of a historic figure combined with the increased fear was great. 8.5/10.

Extras
To begin with there is an interview with Christopher Eccleston about becoming a doctor and what he wanted to bring to the show. It’s an interesting interview and explains the some of the characteristics of the doctor, well worth the watch. There is also an interview with one of the writers, Russell T Davies, on “Making the Doctor” and gives a great insight into the writer’s opinion behind it all and how he wrote the scripts and filmed the scenes required. Interesting watch for those interested in the behind the scenes work. Another interview is held with the writer Mark Gatiss about the last episode on this disc and how he bought the whole episode together through a variety of ideas. Another interesting extra for those interested on how writers get episodes together. There is another extra which is very similar to this which covers the original idea. Another extra is the advertising campaigns used by the BBC to promote the return of doctor who, exciting but brief. There is a storyboard of one of the trailers which I didn’t find particularly interesting. Finally there is a brieg interview with Mike Tucker.

*Disc Two*

Aliens of London (part 1 of 2)
A spaceship controlled by a pig hits Big Ben and crashed into River Thames. The pig however leads to further alien activity, the Slitheen family, a horrible monster species which look like green sludge in my opinion. However they have infiltrated the government as they take the shape of people and are planning to destroy the world. I didn’t like the slitheen monsters and thought in some aspects they were slightly childish however I think the episodes vary ranging to a wide range of people. I would say these monsters appeal to the younger age groups. 8/10.

World War Three (part 2 of 2)
This episode continues with the doctor and Rose trying to save the world. The battle turns it attention towards 10 Downing Street and the Slitheens attacking there. The doctor realises that the fate of the entire world rests on Mickey Smith. This episode is a good conclusion whilst keeping up the excitement and pace. Even though the storyline was spread over two episodes, the pace of the story was still very good. 8/10

Dalek
Another episode set in the future. The doctor has to introduce Rose to the Daleks. From my mums reaction I realised these are something special about these creatures and I wasn’t disappointed. The time war comes back to the present except this time instead of both races taking part it’s just between one dalek and one time lord. Both were destroyed last time. I think this episode is less about battles and more about death, destruction and the true doctor. 8.5/10

Extras
The extras include Billie Piper’s take on these episodes combined with a little from Christopher Eccleston. It’s a little more exciting than usual as Billie Piper is quite funny, also I never realised she had to change her accent for the series. There is also a reconstruction of the destruction of Big Ben and how a model was used. It’s quite an interesting watch. And of course the adverts for the episodes, a little tedious after you’ve already watched the episodes.

*Disc Three*

The Long Game
In this episode the tardis arrives on Satellite Five which controls the broadcasting of all channels. It isn’t long until the doctor finds out about mysterious happenings and disappearances on floor 500. The doctor and Rose become very curious and embark upon getting up t this special level where they discover more than they were expecting. I thought this episode was ok, not the best by far but it was exciting but I would say it was slightly predictable. 7.5/10

Father’s Day
In this episode the doctor takes Rose back to the sad day when her father dies. The doctor warns Rose not to meddle with the past and that she can only look. However Rose can stand to watch it and saves her father from being run over. However as the doctor would say “someone exists that shouldn’t”. This messes up time and allows the Reapers to enter to try and fix the wound in time, this is done by killing everyone. The doctor has no idea how to stop them and as they run out of ideas the situation only gets worse when the doctor is attacked. This episode is very emotional and just shows the love of a father for his daughter. Although I don’t think very young children would really find it very sad, I found it quite distressing but at the same time it was wonderful and very cleverly though out. 9/10

The Empty Child (part one of one)
London, World War II, bombs dropping everywhere but somewhere a foreign object fell. It fell onto a little boy wearing a gas mark. He walks around saying “Mummy, are you my mummy?” If he touches you, you become like him. Rose meets Captain Jack who join them for this story and adds extra twists to the plot as well as competing subtly with the doctor. Fantastic episode. First time I watched this I was scared, I will admit it. I loved the whole war theme, added excitement and I felt as though I knew a bit about it. Definitely a favourite. 10/10.

The Doctor Dances (part two of two)
A continuation of the previous episode. The story explains further about the child and what’s wrong with it. The tension between the doctor and captain jack intensifies especially concerning Rose. The little boy in the gas mask suddenly becomes more dangerous and the doctor has no way to help. We know the Germans are defeated but can the doctor save the British from this little boy? A gripping conclusion which intensifies the story and has lots of twists and excitement in it. The story continues with its fast pace and frightening scenes. 9.5/10

Extras
There aren’t many extras on this episode with just a brief insight into the production of some of the scenes, a good watch but not an essential watch.

*Disc Four*

Boom Town
This episode is based in Cardiff and includes the Slitheens once again this time one of them is the Mayor of Cardiff. The plan is to build a nuclear power station in Cardiff for alternative fuel, slightly odd you may be thinking, but she is a Slitheen. The doctor tries to find out her true motives for this plan. I feel as though this episode is a filler between the immense excitement from the last one and the season finale. However it is a comical episode and worth watching. Once again the doctor has to face moral dilemmas, I particularly like it when this happens as I think we learn something about the doctor every time. 8/10.

Bad Wolf
The episode starts with Rose and the Doctor being thrown in normal television games as participants but with a fatal twist. They realise if they lose they die. Based in the future, the doctor thinks there’s more to this satellite hosting thousands of television channels and he embarks on finding out where all the people who lose the games go to. I think the start to this episode is very exciting and well done. However after the exciting start I thought the episode slowed down and wasn’t as exciting as I was expecting, however admittedly it was a set up for the next one. 8/10

The Parting of the Ways
Good old Captain Jack is back for the whole episode. The group have made it up to floor 500 only to find that they are under attack from Daleks. The doctor has to make a decision concerning his own life, Rose’s life, the future of the Daleks as well as the future of the human race. With the doctor’s life on Rose’s hands, she shows her love and devotion to the doctor as well as her intelligence. She realises the words “Bad Wolf” have followed them the entire time they have been travelling throughout time and space, but will she work it out in time to save the doctor? A brilliant episode, very emotional at the end and I found myself deeply saddened. I though it was very well written and the bad wolf idea was very clever. 9/10.

Extras
John Barrowman gives a lovely talk about his character Captain Jack, if you have a soft spot for him like me it makes an interesting watch and he even talks about a possible spin off. Very exciting, or most honestly drooling stuff. There is also a feature on the tardis and its construction, this is interesting but quite long and I must admit I didn’t watch to the end of it. Finally of course there are the trailers from these series, I didn’t bother watching these as I had seen them on television many times and had already watched the episodes.

*Disc Five*

Confidential
Doctor Who confidential was shown on BBC3 after every episode of doctor who and covered the makings of the episode and the special effects used. These were very long on tv and have been cut down for the DVD. They are actually surprisingly interesting and are well worth a watch.

Commentaries
Each episode is run through with someone talking about the episode. The people can include the actors and more commonly the writers. They run through the episode sharing their thoughts, for example what was difficult to act or what they really enjoyed doing. My favourite commentaries have to be by Billie Piper and John Barrowman who really got me laughing. The ones by the actors are definitly worth watching.

SPECIAL AFFECTS

Some of the affects in this series were fantastic, from ugly aliens to destruction of buildings they did a fantastic job. Everything looked so life like it was incredible. They really deserve praise for the fantastic job. I hadn’t seen doctor who before but I thought compared to other programmes it was original and sci-fi without being too ridiculous. I think this is very important in attracting females to watching the show. The whole mix of sci-fi and reality was just perfect.

MUSIC

The soundtrack at the beginning is memorable and as soon as you hear that you know it’s time for doctor who. Very exciting and upbeat music ready to start the adventures of the doctor. I also think the sound of the tardis is key, that sound is the sound is also the sound of the doctor. It features in every episode and is definitely a strong link to the tardis. The use of this associated sound allows the watcher to associate and it builds up even more excitement. There are other soundtracks heard throughout the episodes. I think the use of music was very clever and wasn’t overused.

SUITABILITY

Some of the scenes are quite scary, I got quite scared in the Empty Child in particular although it is my favourite. I think younger children may get a little scared in some of the episodes however I think children around the age of eight or nine and above should be ok. Any younger and I would advise watching the series with your child just in case they get scared. The box set has a rating of 12, only because I think the scary scenes, there is no foul language, nudity or inappropriate language. So in my opinion it is suitable for children younger than that.

SUMMARY

Doctor Who is brilliant, I love it a lot! I think the story is wonderful and exciting, the characters are just perfect and the whole idea is brilliant. I think everyone should try and watch some of the better episodes as some of them such as the Empty Child are really good. The extras on these DVDs are well worth the watch and are really interesting. Although I would say not so avid doctor who fans may want to buy the DVDs available in four separate volumes which only have the episodes in as it works out cheaper. Also the all the doctor who confidentials have been aired on television. I would say this series is definitely aimed at families, the range of stories and styles reflects the huge range of people watching it. However I would say everyone can find something they like in every episode. So in conclusion brilliant!

Thank you for reading.