Rose [TV/2005.3.26]

★★★☆☆

  I've always had a soft spot for Rose, due to the fact that the general atmosphere (a mix of comedy, domestic drama and horror) and special effects remind me of the Chillogy miniseries of Goosebumps, which I thoroughly enjoyed as a kid. Mickey's plastic makeup is the icing on the nostalgic cake.

  It's fairly simple to see the flaws of this episode, the uneven tone (fluctuations seem to indicate a lack of confidence in their vision rather than a purposeful stylistic choice) chief among them. However, it's easy to forget how monumental Rose actually is; it basically made Doctor Who the franchise it is now, with legions of fans and a wealth of expanded universe material branching off from this 45-minute story. Russell T Davies must have had great pressure to bring the beloved (and a bit niche at the time) show back to life on telly, and when one considers that this first episode succeeded in flying colors, it's indicative that Rose had quite a few things that worked really well. I was surprised upon this rewatch just how fleshed out Rose Tyler was as a character, even in her debut story — all credit to the visions of Davies and Billie Piper. The Autons are neither here nor there, but they provide an ample scare for the kids as well as a callback from the past for fans of the Classic series. The domestic setting grounds the character of Rose even more, and offers a subtle continuation of Andrew Cartmel's efforts with Ace during the Seventh Doctor's run. 

  Finally we come to Christopher Eccleston as the man himself, the Doctor. I've never considerd Rose as one of the Ninth Doctor's best outings, but it struck me during this rewatch that Davies puts a lot of effort to flesh out the Doctor in this episode. We get the usual quips and oddities... and then we have a one-take scene with him and Rose walking outside and talking about who he is and what he does. We clearly see his emotional walls breaking down as Rose continues to be charming and resourceful, smiling even more and offering her a seat in the TARDIS at the end. We even get a teaser of the Doctor's shrouded past, his role in the Time War — and I was genuinely surprised, as I totally forgot about it and had been under the assumption that the War was first mentioned in The End of the World! Eccleston puts so much heart and effort into his role, and I'm happy to say that he succeeds in cementing himself as the Doctor.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  It's clear that RTD had a checkbox approach to writing Rose, with a very operatic way of including elements he deemed appropriate for his new vision for the show. Perhaps that's why the episode doesn't seem as remarkable as it is on initial viewing, but that's perfectly fine. Rose is still a fun episode, and more importantly, it does its job of introducing newcomers to the gigantic, complex world of Doctor Who in a concise and engaging way.