A review by Nalini Haynes
After a hiatus, in 2005 Doctor Who returned with a new series, new creators and a new Doctor. Christopher Eccleston played the Doctor to Billy Piper’s Rose, the new companion.
‘Rose’ begins with Rose having a normal day at work as floor staff in a clothing department store. As she leaves work, the security guard hands her a bag of money to take to the electrician who handles the staff lottery. In the basement, looking for the electrician, Rose discovers mannequins watching her, following her…
Out of the blue, a tall man in a leather jacket grabs Rose’s hand. Telling her to ‘Run!’ he pulls Rose after him.
Thus the game is afoot, with the Autons of old come back to take over the world while the doctor hunts them down. (See Spearhead from Space for the Auton’s debut in Doctor Who.)
This episode features a balance of action, adventure and comedy to engage classic Who fans and a new generation of Doctor Who viewers. Some points are silly – why would Mickey get out of the car? Why wouldn’t Rose realise Mickey is now plastic? – but lots of comedy plays on miscues; this episode is no different.
Unlike many episodes in the Doctors Revisited release, the image for this episode is clear without distortion. Someone told me these early New Who seasons weren’t recorded in high definition but the image is still pretty good; it’s better than DVD quality.
Doctor Who exploded back on to our screens in this episode back in 2005. I thoroughly enjoyed it back then and I enjoyed re-watching the bluray version. I highly recommend this for family viewing. IMDB rates this episode as 7.5 out of 10; I think it’s at least an 8.
