Gavin WintersThe use of Soft Cell and Britney Spears on the soundtrack was a real slap round the chops to us old-schoolers. No stronger indication that this was a whole new style for #DoctorWho! đ
I really like the effort they went to with the font seen in this episode. At first glance it looks unfathomable and alien, then you realise you can read it. Subtly suggesting that the TARDIS is translating for the audience too. #DoctorWho
Cassandra is such a uniquely RTD creation. I couldnât imagine any other showrunner having invented her. #DoctorWho
The Unquiet Dead: this completes the initial past/present/future trilogy, showing the seriesâ potential.
But I like how, this early into trying to show all of space and time, they went âah, screw itâ and set an episode in Cardiff, with Welsh actors and Welsh accents.đ#DoctorWho
The Doctorâs directions to Rose about where to go in the TARDIS, including âpast the binsâ was another quick eye-opening moment that made me very aware of the new style and had me thinking âWell⌠JNT wouldnât have had him say that!â #DoctorWho
Rose literally setting foot in the past illustrated by the footstep in the snow is a great touch, as is the snowflakes falling from the TARDIS when it dematerialises at the end. #DoctorWho
They seemed to be trying to establish a spooky character trait in these early episodes of the Doctor quietly and mysteriously entering a scene (like popping up in a doorway) without anyone noticing until he speaks, which gets dropped later on. #DoctorWho
As enjoyable as this is, the unfortunate and unintentional message of âdonât trust refugees, theyâll come in and try to take over!â just gets more and more noticeable every time you watch it. Really should have been spotted at script stage. #DoctorWho
It only took 42 years, but finally a supporting character, Charles Dickens, asks the very sensible question about how exactly is it âgoodbyeâ when the Doctor and companion walk into a wooden box to leave at the end of an adventure.
Why did no one ask that before?? #DoctorWho
Aliens Of London / World War Three: our first proper full-on alien invasion story of the revival, and they take full advantage of the bigger budget and better production values to really flesh it out and show the worldâs realistic reaction to such an event. #DoctorWho
I always think that RTD having the Slitheen farting was a case of, in those early days of figuring out how to make #DoctorWho popular again, throwing *everything* at the show to try to make it appeal to kids. But it probably wasnât necessary as everything else worked well enough.
Jackie slapping the Doctor is still very funny. As was Mickey being unable to get a date for a year because everyone thought heâd murdered Rose. đ #DoctorWho
One thing thatâs suddenly very noticeable on this rewatch: the audio around the Powell Estate. Always full of sounds of people and families chatting, shouting, dogs barking etc. Gives it a real atmosphere of an actual place. Subsequent eras never bothered doing that. #DoctorWho
The tension and buildup of the âalienâ on the loose⌠followed by the reveal of the space pig, is hilarious. I donât think anyone at the time was expecting that! #DoctorWho
Hello Trinity Wells!
And UNIT! Proper âUnited Nationsâ UNIT too, none of yer âUnifiedâ gubbins! #DoctorWho
Iâd like to think that the actual security on a submarine with missiles is a bit stronger than something that can be hacked by one guy using a universal password that then allows him to blow up Downing Street⌠đŹ #DoctorWho
Dalek: now this is a textbook example of how you bring back an old enemy and make them powerful and relevant again for modern audiences.
You can tell they took delight in subverting all the tired old criticisms about sink plungers, stairs, etc, one by one. #DoctorWho
I was so glad to see Rob Shearman (on Confidential, I think) saying how he wanted to bring back *the Daleks*, not any of those silly CGI spider-Dalek things weâd seen suggested through the 90s. It just had to be the original design. Otherwise whatâs the point? #DoctorWho
Ecclestonâs acting in this episode, in scenes like his first encounter with the Dalek, or the âWhy dont you just die?â moment, are among the finest by any Doctor actor up to this point. #DoctorWho
Henry Van Statten. Hmm, a âgeniusâ tech billionaire with an over-inflated ego, who uses his vast fortune and resources to acquire something powerful that he doesnât really understand, and gives it a silly name (Metaltron) because he thinks it sounds cool⌠đ¤ #DoctorWho
The Long Game: this was possibly the only episode of season one without a particular âhookâ to it, like âfirst outer space oneâ or âfirst historicalâ or âa Dalek!â. Itâs been a bit overlooked, but its theme of media and news manipulation has only become more relevant. #DoctorWho
Itâs still obviously a bit of a budget-saving episode though, with some fairly noticeable re-used sets. #DoctorWho
I donât personally count Adam as a companion. Heâs the one who messed up and âfailed the auditionâ. Plus he doesnât actually share that much screen time with the Doctor across his two episodes. #DoctorWho
I think heâs only there to give Eccleston and Piper (who previously were in most scenes, either together or apart) a bit of a break while he goes off and takes up screen time with his subplot involving the chip in his head. A forerunner to the âDoctor-liteâ episodes. #DoctorWho
Fatherâs Day: I was always a big fan of Paul Cornellâs New Adventures novels, so was looking forward to seeing him finally write for TV #DoctorWho. He was the right choice for a story like this, that illustrates how the revived show now had a greater emotional depth than before.
Apparently RTD told Cornell not to worry about every last detail making perfect logical sense, as long as it felt right for the story.
I think the TARDIS becoming just a Police Box might have been one of those. No real explanation as to why, but its a memorable image. #DoctorWho
As is the Doctor *actually* being killed and eaten by a monster! #DoctorWho
Once again at this point the show was wary of using too much baffling technobabble that might alienate casual viewers, so we just get âitâs a paradox!â as to why Rose should not hold the baby version of herself. No âBlinovitch Limitation Effectâ any more! #DoctorWho
The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances: hard to explain to anyone who missed it the phenomenal impact this story had at the time, and the way seemingly everyone was talking about how #DoctorWho had scared the bejesus out of them. Wouldnât happen again until âBlinkâ.
Thereâs a few of Moffatâs now familiar tropes - the fact that ultimately it all turns out to be caused by malfunctioning technology being the most obvious one, and the âbackground sound you gradually realise is something scaryâ, done twice in the space of minutes! #DoctorWho
And in hindsight you can see how Rose is speaking more like a quirky, flirty, Moffat-era companion, with dialogue that sounds more like it should be coming out of Amy or Claraâs mouths. #DoctorWho
âPeople think your wifeâs messing about with the butcher, but she isnât, is she? You areâŚâ
Oh, the debates about that line on the old Outpost Gallifrey forum! With some *insisting* it just meant the two men were involved in black market activity together⌠đ #DoctorWho
Jackâs âself-cleaningâ con doesnât make much sense if you think about it. If heâs targeting Time Agents, wouldnât they have access to the same info he has about when exactly bombs fell during the Blitz, or when itâs Volcano Day in Pompeii? #DoctorWho
The triumphant, celebratory, âEverybody lives!â ending is one of the best ever. And while it may have become a bit of a Moffat cliche later of him being reluctant to kill anyone, at this point it was still refreshingly brilliant and joyous. #DoctorWho
For no particular reason, hereâs a picture from this story you may like to see⌠#DoctorWho
Boom Town: this was very under-appreciated at the time, possibly because itâs a quieter episode following on from the wildly popular two-parter of TEC/TDD, but Iâve always thought of it as a highlight of the season, with some great character moments. #DoctorWho
RTD really loves to milk a gag through repetition, doesnât he? It started with Ecclestonâs multiple looks at the London Eye way back in âRoseâ, and now we get Margaretâs teleport reversed several times, then all her attempts to kill the Doctor in the restaurant. #DoctorWho
But amongst all those jokes you get the whole discussion of the Doctorâs morality and whether heâs right to deliver her home to her execution or not. #DoctorWho
Some say the solution at the end with the TARDIS console opening is a Deus Ex Machina, but you could argue it was set up way, way back in The Edge Of Destruction! #DoctorWho
RTD had planned that weâd see Margaret again a couple of years later, as a newly grown child Slitheen with Annette Badland providing the voice. Maybe something that will eventually happen in his new eraâŚ? #DoctorWho
Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways: you canât fault the impeccable structure of season one, with how it re-introduces the core concepts of #DoctorWho, adds new mythology, and then it all, even the âlesserâ episodes, lead to this finale. I donât think any seasonâs done it better.
Some of the game shows may be a bit specifically dated to what was popular in 2005, but RTD was clever enough that they each represent a particular *type* of show, that are eternally recognisable - reality tv, quiz, makeover show. #DoctorWho
What a cliffhanger to part one. A real âFuck you, Daleks!â đ It took me an embarrassingly long time to notice that the Doctorâs âRose, Iâm coming to get you!â was deliberately echoing Davina McCallâs Big Brother catchphrase. #DoctorWho
I love the awkward, fumbling, mutual liking between the Doctor and Lynda-with-a-Y, teasing us she may be a new companion. With Rose quietly seething in the background. đ
Until that Dalek outside the window silently flashes its lights in time with four syllables⌠#DoctorWho
Has anything ever topped POTW as a finale? Iâm not sure, itâs still one of the greatest anyway. A tiny group of people fighting against impossible odds⌠the genius of the hologram turning to face Rose⌠the punch-the-air moment of Mickey and Jackie with the truck⌠#DoctorWho
The Christmas Invasion: but first a quick detour to the CIN Special, or âBorn Againâ, if you like. A fun, if inconsequential little intro to the new Doctor. But annoyingly half-finished, with missing sound FX.
Ten tells Rose he canât change back. Well, not this time⌠#DoctorWho
David M.@gavinwinters That is an amazing observation. I hadnât even thought about that.
Funny how quick the #DoctorWho Xmas special became a âtraditionâ, even after just one.
RTD sets the template here for the next few years, a riproaring adventure full of Christmas fun. Bizarrely annoying some fans, who wanted something with the complexity of Blink or Midnight.
On Christmas Day!đ
Itâs a smart move to make the audience root for the new Doctor by keeping him out of the action until the situation gets absolutely desperate, so youâre cheering when the translation thing kicks back in and he finally emerges from the TARDIS. #DoctorWho
And the other trick of course, (whenever itâs new Doctor, same showrunner) is to surround him with familiar characters from the previous era, to reassure the audience things havenât changed too much - Jackie, Mickey and Harriet Jones (yes, we know who she is. đ) #DoctorWho
At last, another room in the TARDIS! Well, okay, the console room redressed.
You have to laugh at how, whenever we get a scene of a Doctor choosing their new clothes, every other outfit in the TARDIS wardrobe is completely insane, and thereâs really only one option. #DoctorWho
Incidentally, the original as-broadcast version of âSong For Tenâ (not the Neil Hannon version on the soundtrack) was briefly available to download on the BBC #DoctorWho website, which I nabbed at the timeâŚ
https://www.dropbox.com/s/60c3lesadnegaxu/Song%20For%20Ten%20%28Original%29.mp3?dl=0
New Earth: not the strongest season opener. I donât think it was really necessary, but thereâs still a bit of âreassure the audience itâs still the same showâ as we enter Tennantâs first season, with a return of Cassandra and the year 5 billion. #DoctorWho
Thereâs some surprisingly poor CGI and greenscreen effects when people are being infected, and in certain other shots too. You canât even excuse it as being dated, as they looked bad at the time. #DoctorWho
Itâs funny when you realise how little Zoe Wanamaker is actually in this episode, as 90% of the time Cassandra is being played by other actors. #DoctorWho
Tooth And Claw: opening with the arse-kicking kung-fu monks is a great hook, but er⌠how exactly do they manage that flying through-the-air move? (Supernatural influence from the Wolf?) #DoctorWho
But anyway - a proper CGI werewolf! Things have moved on a lot since Greatest Show In The Galaxy. And thereâs another McCoy era throwback with an alien trying to take over the Empire by killing Queen Victoria. #DoctorWho
I like the unexpected use of Ian Dury and the Blockheads on the soundtrack as the Doctor lists his favourite things about 1979⌠and then pulls a face at the thought of Thatcher.
Cancel this woke BBC nonsense now! đ #DoctorWho
Hmm, the laboured âBet youâre not amused Maâam?â gag is the point where Rose started to become smug and irritating with Ten. To the extent that I actually forget how likeable she was with Nine and itâs always a surprise on rewatch. #DoctorWho
Simon Boyne@gavinwinters it was a massive disappointed when they were on random days after Christmas. I honest had my entire Christmas day bookend by the episode
tardis.guide@gavinwinters you can tell Russell had the idea for this brewing for many years and he gave it his all. Personally I love Journeyâs End more, because itâs full of all my favourite characters, but compared to this it is a bit bloated. POTW is so clever and elegant a finale.