A Doctor Who a Day - Day 12 - Series 1 Review

As I work my way through reviewing each episode and series, I find it very clear that I love this show far too much. I genuinely struggle to slate it. When I do have criticisms, they’re rarely about entire episodes (well, perhaps a few, Space Babies anyone?), maybe the odd moment that makes me cringe, or a line that doesn't quite sound right.

That said…

RTD and co absolutely smashed this. So here is my review of series 1 of Doctor Who.

What a bloody marvellous series of television this was. There’s a reason Doctor Who went on to hit higher heights in the years that followed, and this series laid the foundations perfectly.

Christopher Eccleston was an absolute masterstroke. He’s a fantastic actor anyway, but as the Doctor he’s something really special: dark, scarred, angry, funny, joyful, and almost human all at once. This Doctor feels like someone who has lived, and not always well.

And then there’s Billie Piper.

I guess there are moments in peoples lives and careers when everything just falls into place. Where the stars align, and casting Billie as Rose must be one of those moments. On paper, it shouldn’t have worked, it might have looked like a bit of stunt casting, but in reality it was inspired. Rose is the perfect companion for a revival series. She’s not special, not chosen, not a mystery, she's just Rose. She’s the viewer. Curious, brave, sometimes selfish, sometimes reckless. We see real wonder and real terror in her eyes, and crucially, it feels like we’re on the ride with her. I don’t think we ever quite get that balance with a companion again in the same way.

Rose is an almost perfect relaunch. It eases viewers in gently, starting not with the Doctor, but with Rose’s everyday life. The Autons are silly and terrifying in equal measure, and that basement scene is still brilliant. Eccleston’s Doctor arrives and the magic really begins. We get an amazing first look at the Tardis, and we, like Rose at the end, charge into the Tardis for more adventures.

Which leads us into The End of the World which shows us how the Doctor lives his life. Having fun whilst saving things. Then we go back in time with The Unquiet Dead which is an often overlooked episode. Within three episodes we have had modern life, camp fun, aliens, gone to the future, then the past, things have got creepy, and we have met Charles Dickens.

Then we have some farting aliens. Doctor Who really is a rollercoaster. If you ignore that part though, this is RTD taking a swing at some of our politicians in an underrated two-parter. What do we get thrown at us next? The icons! A Dalek!

The Long Game isn't quite as strong as the rest of the episodes, but it sets things up for the finale. Father's Day brings some emotion to things, and Billie Piper is brilliant in this one.

The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances are still to this day, peak Doctor Who. Genuinely creepy and emotionally satisfying. Just this once, everybody lives, will stick with the Ninth Doctor forever, and rightly so.

Boom Town is another underrated episode, and it really shows how Doctor Who has changed over the years. This episode would never be made today, which is a shame.

Just like that, we are at the finale, and I think it pays everything off. Rose becoming the Bad Wolf feels earnt. It isn't a clever twist hidden somewhere, it has built up through the series into an emotional pay off.

That pay off is all down to how well this series is connected.

Bad Wolf is obviously the main one, but there is so much more. When Rose comforts her father when he dies in Father's Day that leads to her being able to convince her Mum of how amazing the Doctor is in The Parting of the Ways. Satellite 5 felt like a throw away place in a random episode, but actually, the Doctor made a mistake.

Aliens of London and World War Three linked to Boom Town, and last, but by no means least, we have Jackie and Mickey. These two ground the show, and give Rose a reason to come back. They pop up throughout the series, and they really help us feel like we know Rose.

Honestly, I struggle to say a bad word about this series. I really do.

My only complaint is that we didn't get another series of Rose and Nine. Ten and Rose never quite worked as well for me (sorry!!!).

It’s all the more frustrating knowing there were behind-the-scenes issues that mean we’ll almost certainly never see Christopher Eccleston return. I genuinely think I’d have passed out if he’d appeared in the 50th (and no, I don’t count “for my next trick”).

Still, you never do know in Doctor Who!

A Doctor Who a Day - Day 13

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