Saturday, October 9, 2010

Dr Who Series 1: Episode 1 - Rose


Just a forewarning this blog contains spoilers. Don't read if you  don't want to know! Also, this will probably be the set up for these comments/commentary/episode guids. I take handwritten notes of the episode and then form what you see below. I'll probably always have some questions about each episode that I will keep track of at the bottom of every post. Hopefully they will be answered through the series. May or may not do some character analysis as I go along as well. We'll see.

Have fun reading!

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Episode 1: Rose

From the get go, I was interested… Mostly because the opening music is still essentially the same from season to season as well as the opening credits [with minor tweaks]. But I definitely need to pay attention because the first 5 minutes or so is jumpy. Girl wakes up, goes to work, has lunch with boy, goes back to work, store is closing, and needs to turn in lottery stuff… Which the lottery stuff alone was strange because most clothing stores in the U.S. don’t sell lottery tickets or anything or the sort.

So of course, the girl [Rose] goes in the super creepy basement with the super creepy mannequins [which I noted before anything happened with them]. It was very horror movie-esque in my mind. Well, except that someone probably knew she was down there [even if said someone would not have been able to help]. And of course, the mannequins start moving and kind of move like zombies [BRAIIINS! OM NOM NOM!]. But when that one mannequin does a karate chop, I did chuckle a bit. Really, a karate chop?

And magically a mysterious man appears, grabs Rose’s hand and manages to help get her away from the [flesh eating] mannequins. And the man introduces himself as the Doctor. I get the feeling he is a little more eccentric than the current Doctor… And has some definite human traits to him [outside of his appearance]. Oh and he blew something up within the first 10 minutes of the show… Pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

And then he is gone. Rose is left with the mystery arm which should have been destroyed right away. But of course it wasn’t. That’s logical.

The next day, strange sounds come from the cat flap… Which I wonder why there is a cat flap in an apartment. The whole concept boggles my mind but I’m also a dog person… And as Rose is investigating the cat flap, POOF! The Doctor appears yet again. We see a little more of Rose’s mom [desperately lonely single woman anyone?] and more strange sounds which everyone assumes is a cat… Which does not sound like a cat at all in my opinion but maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, random attack from creepy mannequin hand and we’re off! As in Rose follows the Doctor to a random place. There is talk of what the world revolves around [which it turns out to be the Doctor] and we get our first glimpse of the TARDIS. <3 Of course, it possibly could have been overlooked if you did not know anything about the TARDIS. Here, I get more feelings that this Doctor is much more of a lone-ish wolf.

So flash forward to Rose randomly showing up at her boyfriend [what’s his face] and needs to use his computer… Which boggles my mind as well because I feel like every person and his/her mother owns one [again, possibly an American thing or a slight time difference thing]. And mysteriously searches [technically not googles because she is not using google] for information on the Doctor.

And finds Clive, who is probably some sort of crazy conspirator who needs a better hobby. Do agree with what’s his face that this man could be a basket case [yellow punch buggy!]. Here we see some photoshopped pictures of the Doctor throughout time… And a people eating trash can. Throw in some speculations of the Doctor and Rose finally decides to leave. In the car of a very different looking boyfriend [but maybe I can tell the difference between plastic people and people people].
Now in the restaurant, the Doctor pops up yet again to take out the plastic boyfriend [not that kind!]. And we finally get to see the inside of the TARDIS! Super exciting if not a little plain. But again, I’m watching this having seen the latest season of Dr. Who. So blah blah blahing… And looking for the plastic super center, there is some hand holding while running to the entrance… Which just draws my attention and I can’t figure out why.

Anyway, we get down the plastic blob and the Doctor tries some negotiations which not surprisingly do not work well. And the attack of the mannequins commences! And since when do mannequins secretly have guns in their hands? Kind of worrisome if you ask me. This is all very Y2K-ish except not electronics going berserker. And I kind of hope Clive will be OK after it all… I know, strange but he does have a family.

But all is well in the end, with the blob getting the anti-plastic and all. And the Doctor offers Rose a trip of a lifetime. Which is first refused which makes me go WTF MATE?! And then, in a span of maybe 20 seconds and the Doctor mentioning that the TARDIS goes through time, Rose changes her mind… And the real adventures begin!

I can honestly say I don’t know if I would have continued on with Dr. Who had I seen this season first. Nothing too captivating with it yet.


Comments on the Doctor:
1.       Blunt and not very whimsical
2.       Forgetful [he’s got a lot on his mind… a conscience perhaps?]
3.       Definitely melodramatic
4.       What a big nose! I didn’t really notice it the first time I watched but the second time… Wow…
5.       The [p]leather jacket certainly suits him. Very Rebel Without a Cause… Except older.
6.       He seems to know much more about the TARDIS than the current Doctor. Kind of assume he’s been in this form for a while then.

Remaining questions:

How old is Rose?
I suspect she is late teens, early 20’s but I can’t really pin point it. If I recall the British/English laws, the age you have at least be 18 in order to drink. Of course, there could be some cultural stuff going on here as well.

How long as the Doctor been in this form?
He seems to know how to operate the TARDIS much better than the current Doctor.

What’s up with the multiple references to the war the supposedly happened?
I assume it was an alien war but war always has a back story. Hope they don’t wait forever to give out some details about it. Maybe let little things come out here and there through the series.

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