#6 (1.7): The Long Game.

Adam (Bruno Langley) makes a fateful decision.

1 episode. Approx. 44 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies. Directed by: Brian Grant. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

It's the year 200,000, the time of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. The human race at its height, the center of a vast interspecies civilization.

Only things are wrong. The TARDIS materializes aboard Satellite 5, a space station that transmits news an information to the hundreds of channels on Earth. The reporters have technology implanted in their heads, allowing their brains to be used to directly process the data. It's incredible technology...

Which the Doctor also recognizes as wrong. "Something has set the human race back about 90 years," he realizes. History is being manipulated through the news, Satellite 5 being used to keep humanity from advancing. 

Perhaps the man known as "The Editor" (Simon Pegg) has the answers. But The Editor sees all, and he is already tracking the Doctor's progress!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Early in the episode, the Doctor bundles Rose and Adam off while he investigates. He is extremely cheerful as he urges them: "Throw yourself in, eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers." Then he turns away, and the cheer drops from his face an instant, replaced by grim determination. He knows history has been tampered with, and he pushes until he discovers why. Even when captured, he keeps thinking. He notices that Cathica (Christine Adams), the reporter he and Rose befriended, is lurking outside the door as the Editor interrogates him.  He makes sure to insert a few very well-chosen remarks in his replies to the Editor, essentially telling Cathica what to do to save him without tipping the villain off in the process. 

Rose: The Doctor gives Rose enough information to "show off" to Adam, letting her pretend to identify their new surroundings when they arrive on Satellite 5. Rose enjoys being allowed to essentially playact being the Doctor, though she happily hands things back off to the Doctor when a more complex explanation is required. Here, it's fairly charming, though in retrospect it's the first real sign of the smugness that would mar the Doctor/Rose relationship the following year. She is patient and sympathetic with Adam's culture shock, but it's clear she wants to help the Doctor. Clear to Adam too, who observes that "it will take a better man than (him) to get between" her and the Doctor.

Adam: After what was very much a background role in Dalek, he gets pushed forward in this episode. He mainly acts as a contrast with Rose, and by extension with future companions. While Rose and later companions will tend to act selflessly when presented with crises, Adam sees the level of technology here and focuses on how to use it to help himself. The Doctor responds decisively to Adam's transgression, dumping him off at his home and leaving him there, doomed to an average and quiet life.


THOUGHTS

The Long Game plays much better in retrospect than it did at the time. On original broadcast, it seemed like an adequate bit of filler, a mid-season runaround that was dwarfed by the episodes on either side of it. But writer/executive producer Russell T. Davies pulled a deft sleight of hand, making this apparently innocuous episode one of the key building blocks of the season, an episode that would directly feed the season finale.

Even disregarding that and just looking at The Long Game in isolation, it holds up much better than its initial reception would indicate. Like most single-part Who episodes, the story unfolds at a rapid pace. Unlike too many episodes, though, it doesn't feel rushed or overstuffed. The way in which the story is resolved is planted ahead of time so that it makes sense and feels like an organic part of the narrative. It's well-structured and holds together, with no sense of things being skipped over to fit 70 or so minutes of material into 45.

Simon Pegg is effective as "The Editor," the most visible villain of the piece. His performance mixes camp and menace in equal measure, particularly when he faces down a would-be assassin with cries of "Liar!" when she attempts to hide behind her cover story. It's a disappointment that his confrontation with the Doctor is such a short scene, as watching Pegg and Eccleston go at it is a prospect with much more potential than their screentime here can capitalize on. 

I wouldn't begin to argue against this being a second-tier episode. The self-contained narrative is very simplistic, amounting to having to defeat a monster on the Satellite's top level, and the attempts to work in social commentary about media manipulation aren't nearly as sharp as they should be. Still, this is well-made and highly entertaining, with Eccleston in particularly good form. A solid episode, in my view, far better than the "weak link" in the season it generally is remembered as.


Rating: 7/10.

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#4 (1.4 - 1.5): Aliens of London.

The Doctor has the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Again.

2 episodes: Aliens of London, World War III. Approx. 87 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies. Directed by: Keith Boak. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

The Doctor returns Rose to her London council flat, present day... er, ish. A mix-up with the dates has him delivering her 12 months after they left rather than 12 hours, which makes Rose's homecoming more than a little awkward. Before there's much chance to try to smooth things out, something much bigger happens. An alien ship appears in the sky, smashes through Big Ben, and finally crashes in the Thames.

With the city in disarray, the streets blocked off, and the Prime Minister nowhere to be found, the government falls into the hands of an obscure Member of Parliament (David Verrey) - whose first act is to cancel the airlift of the rest of the leadership, declaring that they would "only get in the way." Meanwhile, when an alien body is pulled from the wreckage, the Doctor discovers that the alien corpse is actually an Earth pig, altered to appear alien.

The crash has been faked. But the technology is unquestionably alien. So the question, so succinctly put by Mickey, is why aliens would fake an alien crash-landing...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: I enjoyed Christopher Eccleston's giddy enthusiasm after the crash. The Doctor is excited at being there for the moment at which the human race realizes that aliens genuinely exist, and the scene in which he practically gushes to Rose about humanity "growing up" is quite a charming character beat. Another good scene comes later in Part One, when the Doctor looks over the body of the pig that has been altered to fake the alien landing and becomes quietly furious that a frightened animal has been made into "a joke." We also see some of the Doctor's less likable tendencies. His winding up of Mickey, referring to him first as "Ricky" and then as "Mickey the Idiot," is almost totally unwarranted, and probably a way of marking his territory with his relationship with Rose.

Rose: For what I think is the first time in Who's history, the show actually pauses to show that there are consequences to someone running off with the Doctor. Rose returns home to find that her choice to step into the TARDIS has had an impact on both her mother (who was horribly worried) and her boyfriend (who was questioned for her disappearance). It's a no-brainer. Of course if a young woman vanishes - which has ultimately been the case for the bulk of the Doctor's companions - there are going to be family members left to carry the burden of that, and there are going to be questions. But it's also something that's never been addressed before, something that viewers have been actively encouraged to not think about or consider. That in itself is a praiseworthy move on the part of this story and this incarnation of the series.

Mickey: Thankfully, the cartoon Mickey has been replaced by a more believable character. He does still get introduced with a pratfall, but the rest of the 2-parter gradually moves him on from that. He conducts himself very well at the story's climax, effectively saving the day. I also appreciated there being a sympathetic character who refuses to go in the TARDIS, knowing that he just isn't up to it. By the end of this story, Mickey has transitioned from a joke ino a real character, something which will pay dividends in his future appearances.

Jackie: Jackie's characterization shows the same kind of improvement as Mickey's. Her reaction to Rose's reappearance is believable: shock, relief at seeing her alive, anger that she didn't call, rage at the Doctor for taking her away. It all tracks perfectly. When she discovers the Doctor is an alien, she reacts first by running away in fear, then by calling the police out of concern for her daughter's safety.  Her actions are a complication for the Doctor - but they're also rooted in reality, making her at least somewhat sympathetic this time.


THOUGHTS

To get it out of the way up-front: Yes, the farting Slitheen scenes in Part One go on too long. The flatulence does set up a genuinely eerie moment at the episode cliffhanger (the policeman's stomach gurgle) and is justified within the context of the plot. But that one scene midway through Part One, in which the Slitheen stand around farting and giggling for comedic effect, tips over into embarrassing viewing - particularly when Annette Badland exclaims, "I'm shaking my booty!"

It's far from an episode-killer, though, taking up all of about 2 minutes' screentime. Complaints that compare it to Battlefield's "BOOOOM!" are pretty much spot on, though not in the way the complainers believe. Both scenes are bungled moments that make the viewer wince.  However, both scenes are over very quickly, with their impact on the overall stories greatly overstated by fandom. If you're enjoying the story, the brief bad moment is easy enough to overlook; if you're not enjoying it, chances are that one scene wasn't what ruined it for you.

Not that Aliens of London is going to go down as a series classic. It's fairly slight, and the Slitheen simply aren't very sinister. Director Keith Boak returns from Rose, and again seems uncertain as to whether he's directing a science fiction thriller or a science fiction sendup. Fortunately, this is a better overall story than the nearly-plotless Rose was, and there is a lot to enjoy.  But a lot of it is overlit and overly jokey, and the balance of the comedy moments with the suspense would feel a lot more organic if surer hands than Boak's had been on the tiller.

One thing that proves to be a consistent strength within the story is Penelope Wilton's Harriet Jones. With farting aliens in fat-suits and a lot of running about and shouting (particularly in Part Two), it's refreshing to have a guest performance so grounded. The story does a very good job of elevating Harriet from a person of no importance to a person who gradually becomes comfortable with her own, newfound authority.  By the time she is talking to the Doctor as "the only elected official in this room," she is sharing the stage equally with Eccleston, both performer and characer having earned that status.

As is typical of multi-part stories, the first part is noticeably better than the second. It's just a natural dramatic progression, I think. First parts are always about raising questions and establishing a threat. That's much more inherently dramatic than answering the questions and defusing the threat. World War III isn't a bad episode. But with the action almost entirely confined to Downing Street, it feels smaller than the more sprawling first part. Also, there is a sense of just a bit too much running from the Slitheen - as if there wasn't quite enough story left for a full episode, leaving around ten minutes of padding to stretch out the running time.

But the new series' first 2-parter is still very enjoyable, probably moreso than fandom often gives it credit for. A few directing glitches (from a director who fortunately would not return) and a bit of padding aside, it's decent popcorn viewing.  Judged on that basis, I would rate it a success, even if it's well short of being a triumph.


Rating: 6/10.

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#2 (1.2): The End of the World.

1 episode, approx. 44 minutes. Written by: Rusell T. Davies. Directed by: Euros Lyn. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

Trying to impress Rose as he takes her on her first TARDIS trip, the Doctor decides to go far, far into the future, bringing her to Platform One, a space station orbiting the Earth. It is the day that the world ends... and the end of the world is an entertainment. Very rich and privileged members of multiple alien races gather to watch as the sun expands and the Earth burns.

But something sinister is happening on Platform One. Insect-like metallic robots have been smuggled onto the station, to reproduce and interfere with the station's systems. Soon, the Doctor finds himself pairing up with Jabe (Yasmin Bannerman), a member of a mobile and sentient species of tree, to try to reverse the damage - before Platform One and all of its inhabitants burn up right along with Rose's home world.


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Eccleston brings an edge of manic near-desperation to the opening scene in the TARDIS, as the Doctor becomes determined to show Rose the single most impressive thing he can think of. Any reasonable person would know that the way to a girl's heart is not showing her the destruction of her home. But that such is his notion emphasizes that he is an alien. Also, it could be read as a way of him reaching out, to try to make his new companion understand something of his reality. He has lost his world, so his first act effort to really connect is to show her the destruction of her world. Once she has seen Earth burn, he can reveal to her that most painful piece of himself.

Rose: The euphoria and adrenaline of her first adventure with the Doctor is swept away by the sheer alienness of her surroundings. In the new series' first genuinely superb scene, Rose comes to the realization that she has now tied herself to a man who is essentially a complete stranger. It's a wonderful moment, something we haven't really seen before in more than 4 decades of Who, as the companion realizes that she is completely out of her depth in a situation where literally anything could happen to her. Of course, we know the Doctor is trustworthy... but it's good for Rose to realize that she doesn't actually know this man, and that his turning on her in a bad way is a genuine possibility.

Villain of the Week: Zoe Wanamaker is Cassandra, "the last human." An example of plastic surgery taken to the most nightmarishly ridiculous extremes imaginable, Cassandra's personality fits that profile: greedy, vain, smug, and superior to all around her. Wanamaker is wonderful in the role, voice dripping with honeyed venom.


THOUGHTS

Rose did everything it needed to do as a pilot. But I have to admit that when I first saw it in 2005, I found it a disappointment - and my opinion has not changed since. Had it been the first episode of just some generic new science fiction series, I would probably not have bothered with Episode Two.

The End of the World was the episode that eased my fears, and persuaded me that the new Doctor Who would be a good show after all. I complained in my review of Rose that all characterization there was done in broad strokes. This episode begins filling in the details, giving excellent character moments to both the Doctor and Rose. In Rose, they sometimes felt like cartoon characters. Here, they gain a sense of emotional reality, and both actors' performances are more confident and genuine here than they were in that episode.

It's also an episode that goes to town on the visual element. Rose launched the series in the only way the series could be launched: with an Earthbound story, bringing strange elements into a familiar world. The End of the World is the flip side. Rose and the Doctor are our only familiar anchors in a completely alien world. We have walking trees, blue men, giant faces in giant jars, talking CGI skin... It's like spending 44 minutes in the Star Wars cantina scene! The visual effects of the expanding sun and the space station are wonderfully polished, with this episode effectively announcing that 21st century Doctor Who will be anything but cheap-looking.


Rating: 8/10.

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#1 (1.1). Rose.

1 episode. Approx. 42 minutes. Written by: Rusell T. Davies. Directed by: Keith Boak.


THE PLOT

Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) is a fairly ordinary London teen. She works in a shop, she lives with her mother, she has a nice, if ordinary, boyfriend (Noel Clarke). Her life is running along a fairly acceptable, if unexceptional track. Then, as the employees close up the shop and are on their way out the door, she is tapped to lock up the day's lottery winnings. She heads down to the basement... and is set upon by living mannequins. It's an encounter she only survives thanks to the intervention of a mysterious man calling himself "The Doctor" (Christopher Eccleston).

Intrigued, she uses her boyfriend's computer to learn more about the Doctor. But as her search brings her closer to him, it also brings her closer to the Autons. What happens next will change her life forever - if she survives!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Christopher Eccleston's debut as the Doctor, and he's terrific. Eccleston probably has one of the more successful pre-Who careers of the various Doctors, having played a wide range of roles in films ranging from Elizabeth to 28 Days Later. His relatively high profile helped sell the show's revival to the public, and he brings a lot to the part. He has a manic energy. When he's grinning and joking, there's a sense of something slightly dangerous around the edges. He's strongest when he drops the grinning and is either harsh or sad. I particularly liked the hint of desperation in his eyes as he asks Rose to come with him, his body language and tone of voice trying to project confidence even as his eyes betray his need. It's an excellent debut performance.

Rose: I'll admit up-front that I was never a huge fan of the Rose Tyler character, and was perhaps further alienated by all the hype making her out to be the "best companion ever!!!" Thankfully, years and multiple replacements later, that hype has died down, making it a lot easier to view both character and actress for what is there. Billie Piper does a perfectly fine job of bringing Rose to life. She sparks reasonably well off Eccleston, and she manages to keep the character likable throughout. Characterization is largely in broad strokes at this point, but there's room to build on what's here.

Mickey: Speaking of broad strokes, Mickey is downright annoying in this premiere episode. Noel Clarke is a good actor, but the writing for his character is buffoonish. Things with Mickey reach their low point when he is briefly replaced by an Auton duplicate - who is shiny plastic with a plastic grin - and it isn't until he actively tries to kill her that Rose even notices the difference. The character is the source of one of the few genuinely funny moments, however, when he refers to the Doctor as a "thing," and the Doctor adds: "He's not invited."

The Autons: The Autons are resurrected to launch the series, probably because they are not a monster requiring a lot of explanation ("living plastic!") and because of the inherent strength of the visual - mannequins coming to life. Oddly, despite these Autons really looking like living mannequins, they are somehow less effective than the original Autons.  Some of it may be the frenetic pacing of the episode as a whole, not allowing the sight of them marching and shooting to really sink in the way it did in their 1970 debut. But I honestly think their look less creepy than their original design. In any case, they work in so far as they fulfill their function, but Spearhead from Space remains their most effective use.


THOUGHTS

"Broad strokes" is probably the phrase I would most apply to Rose. The defense of this episode's weak story always seems to be that Russell T. Davies is focusing on the characters. But the characters here are in little more than sketch form. Rose is an "average girl" and not much more (save for an oversold Buffy riff at the end). Her boyfriend and mother are practically cartoons. Even the Doctor is little more than a character sketch at this stage! If characterization is the excuse for the thin plot, then I would at least like to see a few strong character beats. Those will come in later episodes... but they just aren't here in this one.

What the episode does well - exceptionally well, in fact - is to lay down a foundation for the series to build on. The core characters are introduced, we get a genuinely good scene with Clive the Internet guy (Mark Benton) in which some exposition about the Doctor is laid out, and we even get our first mention of the Time War. All of this is introduced with an emphasis on action, making it painless exposition. There's enough new mythology that viewers familiar with Who will not feel like they're having to wait for new viewers to play "catch up" while the episode pauses to lay everything out.

The introduction of the TARDIS is particularly well-done. At the start, we just see Rose dashing past it, barely registering it. Then we see the Doctor walking toward it as Rose walks away from him; when she looks back, both he and it are gone. Then we see the interior, and Rose's reaction to it. Only at the very end do we actually see it dematerialize. It is as good, and carefully paced, an introduction to the TARDIS as has been seen since An Unearthly Child.

Where the episode falls down for me is in tone and pacing, much of which I think can be laid at the feet of director Keith Boak. He just doesn't seem to have a sense of how to pace this show, when to hold on a moment for an extra beat or two. As a result, the pace isn't so much sprightly as frenetic. His direction also hurts the character work. In one very good scene, we see Rose appalled at the Doctor's callousness toward Mickey's likely death. Less than two minutes later, she is running hand-in-hand with him, grinning. These moments simply should not be right next to each other. The shot itself isn't bad, but the placement of it is downright awful.

So a mixed reaction from me. Russell T. Davies' script does what it needs to do as a pilot. The exposition is doled out, the characters are introduced, there's enough action to sell this as an adventure show, and the foundation is laid for better episodes to come. Unfortunately, as an entity unto itself, I just don't find Rose particularly satisfying. It's entertaining, but it's also unevenly paced and a bit scattershot. It's certainly a better pilot than The TV Movie was, but I'm not sure it's a particularly better episode.


Rating: 5/10.

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