Pearl Lam
Doctor Who?
It all starts with a black hole, flashing blue lights and a decidedly alien opening soundtrack. The introduction braces you for what is to come- from the moment the adventure of Doctor Who and his partner Rose begins, you know you’re in for an exciting ride.
Russell T Davies, writer and producer for Doctor Who had this to say about this latest version of Doctor Who: “The new series will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary – a full-blooded drama which embraces the Doctor Who heritage as well as introducing the character to a modern audience.”
Helmed by a fantastic cast (is played by Christopher Eccleston, who acted as Nicole Kidman’s soldier husband in The Others, and Rose is played by former English pop singer Billie Piper), I wouldn’t expect otherwise.
So what happens?
The first episode, “Rose”, begins when the titular character, a working class girl, meets walking mannequins in the basement after office hours. Just as the mannequins attempt to overwhelm Rose, a tall and lean man magically appears, and helps her escape.
After embarking on a mission to foil the plans of, and hence successfully saving our planet from an intelligent plastic alien who gives life to all forms of plastic, Rose’s rescuer, the Doctor, pops her this proposition: “You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere,” adding that, “anywhere” includes time travelling. That, without a doubt, had both Rose and this reviewer hooked.
As the 2nd episode begins, Rose enters the TARDIS, a London Police box, which allows the Doctor to travel through time and space, and is overwhelmed by interior of the box, which seems bigger than possible. As if exploring the TARDIS wasn’t exciting enough, the Doctor decides to surprise Rose further by transporting them all the way forward to the last day of Planet Earth’s existence.
More adventures await the duo in the next 11 episodes that takes them through time and space.
How’s the series like?
While the series does start with a cliché, episodic sequence (where Rose gets into trouble, only to be saved by the Doctor), both Eccleston and Piper’s convincing acting made the story look like it could happen in reality.
Ecclestson’s ability to punctuate his all-knowing and ever-present character with humour, slang, and emotional vulnerability gives the Doctor a refreshing and contemporary touch.
“He doesn’t like to think about his past – there’s some pain there – and his only concern about the future is that he makes sure it’s there,” Eccleston said of his enigmatic character’s motivation.
The chemistry between the 2 leads, who were friends before shooting the series, is palpable.
Other than the actors, kudos must also be given to visual effects company The Mill, which won an award for the computer-generated images (CGI) for the movie Gladiator, for the commendable effort put into the 800 over special effects for the show. From the blue and greenish pipes inside the TARDIS, to the TARDIS itself, to the aliens – all of which are realistic yet fantastical at the same time.
Ignoring the little uneasiness during the electronic-techno sound effects in the introduction sequence of the show (which was probably there to set the mood of the show), it’s not hard to see why this sci-fi series won the Most Popular Drama, Most Popular Actor (Eccleston) and Most Popular Actress (Piper) awards at England’s National TV Awards 2005.
Rating: 7/10