Here's what you need to know; Rose Tyler is a perfectly ordinary 19 year old from London who's life is turned on it's head when she meets a mysterious man named the Doctor, and gets swept up in an invisible alien invasion that only they can stop.
What I liked immediately was the introduction of Rose, as it shows her living in a flat with her mum, hanging out with her boyfriend and working as a shop assistant, perfectly setting up her ordinariness, before throwing her into the shit. This intro also makes her relatable, again due to how normal she is. Then she meets the Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, who is brilliant; in his very first appearance he oozes coolness, he's fast, he's smart, he's witty, he's just cool, but at the same time he's ominous and mysterious, which only adds to the coolness and the dangerousness that attracts Rose to him. Rose is also very good, being unsure and sceptical about the Doctor and naturally somewhat spooked, while at the same time being smart and capable on her own. Side characters like Mickey and Jackie are less interesting, Mickey specifically, who's a bit too goofy and dopey in this episode, and makes for a very creepy Auton clone. Speaking of Autons, they're not the coolest Doctor Who aliens, but they serve as a passable reason for Rose to team up with the Doctor, and, depending on how weak willed you are, will make you even more afraid of shop window dummies. Apart from supporting roles, I do have few more issues; when I watched it recently on DVD, this series as a whole really showed it's age and made-for-TVness. Just like The Thing, this isn't the series' fault, but out of date special effects do distract from the quality of the production, that is sadly undeniable. However, it distracts, not detracts, and this episode and series as a whole still has a lot going for it. Overall I think this was a solid introduction to Doctor Who, it does a good job introducing the characters, and has a cool sci fi story about Rose and the Doctor meeting and stopping the Auton invasion. While some of it's characters are a little flat and, it being a 10 year old TV episode, has some pretty out of date effects, this is still a good place to start for anyone interesting in Doctor Who that hasn't actually watched it yet.
From now on in addition to Thunderbirds reviews I'll be doing weekly reviews of Doctor Who. And by request of a friend, I will do some negative reviews, starting with a game review; the Order 1886, which will come sometime this week. It will also no doubt be followed by a bunch of requests by R, he loves really bad movies and games, and knows that I really don't. so much joy to come, I guess.
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