The Adventures of Doctor Who

Travelling through time and space on board the TARDIS, the Doctor and his companions began their adventures on November 23rd 1963 when two teachers followed a mysterious pupil into a blue police box, and discovered her alien grandfather and his remarkable TARDIS.

26 years of television adventures followed until the series ended in 1989. After the 1996 TV movie, the Doctor was again lost in time and space until the series returned to the BBC on March 26th 2005, starring Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler.

Follow the longest running program and relive the adventures with Doctor Who Series 2 Collectible Plates. There are three to collect.

The Adventures of Doctor Who.
The Cybermen.
The Doctor.

Produced in a limited edition of only 1000, each plate comes complete with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity.

Who's The Best?

Last night's triumphant return of Doctor Who is the perfect cue for a top ten.

*Tom Baker
*David Tennant
*Peter Davison
*Jon Pertwee
*Patrick Troughton
*William Hartnell
*Christopher Eccleston
*Colin Baker
*Paul McGann
*Sylvester McCoy

Jon Culshaw deserves a special mention for his immaculate impression of Tom!

It should come as no surprise to see that Tom's at the top (innuendo aside)! David Tennant secures the number two slot due to his esoteric performance.

Rose

The how and why of the online leak for the first episode of the new Doctor Who series (allegedly sourced from a Canadian broadcaster) isn't the subject of this post. I've covered the issue of P2P before. No, this is a review of the first episode as shown to the Press (the post production appears to be complete). Rose.

The opening title sequence marks the welcome return of the Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker main theme arrangement and sent chills down my spine. The CGI TARDIS, blurrily tumbling through time and space, recalls the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy eras. The logo is the work of someone who has never heard of Photoshop! Why not update the classic diamond logo?

The subsequent montage introducing Rose pays homage to BBC franchises EastEnders and S-Club! The producers make excellent use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound and make reference to gay and popular consumer culture.

Billy Piper's pop career still haunts this reviewer and I'm ashamed to admit that, gulp, I liked "Because We Want To"! However, before Piper's pop career she was trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts (BBC taps this rich reservoir) and once she encounters the good Doctor, amidst an Auton attack, their chemistry is electric. Somehow Piper disarms you and the Doctor is, well, the Doctor! I couldn't help smiling and thinking Christopher Eccleston was a canny choice. He's funny, but there's an edge waiting to be explored.

The Autons (controlled by the plastic manipulating and octopus-like Nestene Consciousness) were an infamous enemy and irked parents and the self-appointed moral guardian Mary Whitehouse following the broadcast of Terror of the Autons (1971). I saw the latter in 1983. Terror was screened at the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary convention and followed by a Q&A with the principal actors (including Jon Pertwee) and production crew.

I could opine that the production values of the new series are not on a par with Angel, Buffy, Battlestar or X-Files. But this is a postmodern parody and Rose is loosely based on Spearhead From Space (1970). So, international audiences may be left out in the cold at its superficial lack of sophistication. I defy any Doctor Who fan not to be deeply moved by the sight of the TARDIS and its familiar sounds.

All in all I'm delighted to see the Doctor back (sans episode cliffhangers) and so should you. Just in time...