Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023

The Unquiet Dead: this completes the initial past/present/future trilogy, showing the series’ potential.

But I like how, this early into trying to show all of space and time, they went “ah, screw it” and set an episode in Cardiff, with Welsh actors and Welsh accents.😄#DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023
The Doctor’s directions to Rose about where to go in the TARDIS, including “past the bins” was another quick eye-opening moment that made me very aware of the new style and had me thinking “Well… JNT wouldn’t have had him say that!” #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023
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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023
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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023
As enjoyable as this is, the unfortunate and unintentional message of “don’t trust refugees, they’ll come in and try to take over!” just gets more and more noticeable every time you watch it. Really should have been spotted at script stage. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 23, 2023

It only took 42 years, but finally a supporting character, Charles Dickens, asks the very sensible question about how exactly is it “goodbye” 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

Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
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 world’s realistic reaction to such an event. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
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 wasn’t necessary as everything else worked well enough.
Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
Jackie slapping the Doctor is still very funny. As was Mickey being unable to get a date for a year because everyone thought he’d murdered Rose. 😄 #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
One thing that’s 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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
The tension and buildup of the “alien” on the loose… followed by the reveal of the space pig, is hilarious. I don’t think anyone at the time was expecting that! #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023

Hello Trinity Wells!

And UNIT! Proper ‘United Nations’ UNIT too, none of yer ‘Unified’ gubbins! #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 24, 2023
I’d 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… 😬 #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 25, 2023

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

Show threadGavin WintersJul 25, 2023
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 we’d seen suggested through the 90s. It just had to be the original design. Otherwise what’s the point? #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 25, 2023
Eccleston’s acting in this episode, in scenes like his first encounter with the Dalek, or the “Why dont you just die?” moment, are among the finest by any Doctor actor up to this point. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 25, 2023
Henry Van Statten. Hmm, a “genius” tech billionaire with an over-inflated ego, who uses his vast fortune and resources to acquire something powerful that he doesn’t really understand, and gives it a silly name (Metaltron) because he thinks it sounds cool… 🤔 #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 26, 2023
The Long Game: this was possibly the only episode of season one without a particular “hook” to it, like ‘first outer space one’ or ‘first historical’ or ‘a Dalek!’. It’s been a bit overlooked, but its theme of media and news manipulation has only become more relevant. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 26, 2023
It’s still obviously a bit of a budget-saving episode though, with some fairly noticeable re-used sets. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 26, 2023
I don’t personally count Adam as a companion. He’s the one who messed up and “failed the audition”. Plus he doesn’t actually share that much screen time with the Doctor across his two episodes. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 26, 2023
I think he’s 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 ‘Doctor-lite’ episodes. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
Father’s Day: I was always a big fan of Paul Cornell’s 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.
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023

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

Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
As is the Doctor *actually* being killed and eaten by a monster! #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
Once again at this point the show was wary of using too much baffling technobabble that might alienate casual viewers, so we just get “it’s a paradox!” as to why Rose should not hold the baby version of herself. No ‘Blinovitch Limitation Effect’ any more! #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
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. Wouldn’t happen again until ‘Blink’.
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
There’s a few of Moffat’s now familiar tropes - the fact that ultimately it all turns out to be caused by malfunctioning technology being the most obvious one, and the ‘background sound you gradually realise is something scary’, done twice in the space of minutes! #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
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 Clara’s mouths. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023

“People think your wife’s messing about with the butcher, but she isn’t, is she? You are…”

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… 😅 #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
Jack’s ‘self-cleaning’ con doesn’t make much sense if you think about it. If he’s targeting Time Agents, wouldn’t they have access to the same info he has about when exactly bombs fell during the Blitz, or when it’s Volcano Day in Pompeii? #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
The triumphant, celebratory, “Everybody lives!” 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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
For no particular reason, here’s a picture from this story you may like to see… #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 27, 2023
…and another. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 28, 2023
Boom Town: this was very under-appreciated at the time, possibly because it’s a quieter episode following on from the wildly popular two-parter of TEC/TDD, but I’ve always thought of it as a highlight of the season, with some great character moments. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 28, 2023
RTD really loves to milk a gag through repetition, doesn’t he? It started with Eccleston’s multiple looks at the London Eye way back in ‘Rose’, and now we get Margaret’s teleport reversed several times, then all her attempts to kill the Doctor in the restaurant. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 28, 2023
But amongst all those jokes you get the whole discussion of the Doctor’s morality and whether he’s right to deliver her home to her execution or not. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 28, 2023
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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 28, 2023
RTD had planned that we’d 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 era…? #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023
Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways: you can’t 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 “lesser” episodes, lead to this finale. I don’t think any season’s done it better.
Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023
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
Show threadGavin Winters
What a cliffhanger to part one. A real “Fuck you, Daleks!” 😄 It took me an embarrassingly long time to notice that the Doctor’s “Rose, I’m coming to get you!” was deliberately echoing Davina McCall’s Big Brother catchphrase. #DoctorWho
Jul 29, 2023 at 9:08pmWeb
Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023

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. 😄

Until that Dalek outside the window silently flashes its lights in time with four syllables… #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023
Has anything ever topped POTW as a finale? I’m not sure, it’s 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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023
You know what? You WERE fantastic. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 29, 2023
Oh. Hello. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023

The Christmas Invasion: but first a quick detour to the CIN Special, or ‘Born Again’, 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 can’t change back. Well, not this time… #DoctorWho

Show threadDavid M.Jul 30, 2023
@gavinwinters That is an amazing observation. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023

Funny how quick the #DoctorWho Xmas special became a ‘tradition’, 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!🙄

Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023
It’s 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 you’re cheering when the translation thing kicks back in and he finally emerges from the TARDIS. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023
And the other trick of course, (whenever it’s new Doctor, same showrunner) is to surround him with familiar characters from the previous era, to reassure the audience things haven’t changed too much - Jackie, Mickey and Harriet Jones (yes, we know who she is. 😄) #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023

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 there’s really only one option. #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 30, 2023

Incidentally, the original as-broadcast version of ‘Song For Ten’ (not the Neil Hannon version on the soundtrack) was briefly available to download on the BBC #DoctorWho website, which I nabbed at the time…

https://www.dropbox.com/s/60c3lesadnegaxu/Song%20For%20Ten%20%28Original%29.mp3?dl=0

Song For Ten (Original).mp3

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Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
New Earth: not the strongest season opener. I don’t think it was really necessary, but there’s still a bit of ‘reassure the audience it’s still the same show’ as we enter Tennant’s first season, with a return of Cassandra and the year 5 billion. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
There’s some surprisingly poor CGI and greenscreen effects when people are being infected, and in certain other shots too. You can’t even excuse it as being dated, as they looked bad at the time. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
It’s 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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
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
Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
But anyway - a proper CGI werewolf! Things have moved on a lot since Greatest Show In The Galaxy. And there’s another McCoy era throwback with an alien trying to take over the Empire by killing Queen Victoria. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023

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! 😄 #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersJul 31, 2023
Hmm, the laboured “Bet you’re not amused Ma’am?” 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 it’s always a surprise on rewatch. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersAug 1, 2023

School Reunion: Sarah Jane! And as the Doctor said, “K-NIIIIIIIIIIINE…!”

Tennant plays the reunion so well, both as the Doctor and, on the meta level of him meeting a childhood hero. He even seems to be attempting a Tom Baker face here. #DoctorWho

Show threadGavin WintersAug 1, 2023
You can sense the nervousness of the show in bringing back K-9 in the line about “Why does he look so…disco?”, trying to pre-empt any audience mockery. But there’s really no need. His design hardly looks that different from any random robot you might have got in 2006. #DoctorWho
Show threadGavin WintersAug 1, 2023
RTD always cleverly made sure any references to the past work on two levels, for fans and casual viewers. The Doctor here talking about leaving Sarah Jane and then how the Time Lords “all died” makes it sound like she was with him immediately before the Time War. #DoctorWho
Show threadSimon BoyneJul 30, 2023
@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
Show threadtardis.guideJul 30, 2023
@gavinwinters you can tell Russell had the idea for this brewing for many years and he gave it his all. Personally I love Journey’s End more, because it’s full of all my favourite characters, but compared to this it is a bit bloated. POTW is so clever and elegant a finale.