As those of you who follow such things undoubtedly know, the BBC, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to make a new series of Doctor Who, under the supervision of Russell 'Queer as Folk' Davies, featuring Christopher Eccleston. This is exciting, as no-one involved appears to be American, and Russell Davies is a talented man. Canada's CBC will be airing the new series starting in April, and there's a very good chance that I'll actually be able to pick that up, close as I am to the border. Ordinary, non-special Americans, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. No-one in America has picked the new series up, so Internet thievery may be the only way to get it in, for example, Iowa. Speaking of which...
As you may or may not know, early this week a rough cut of the first episode, 'Rose', was leaked onto the Internets by forces unknown, apparently operating out of Canada. I watched it. Of course I watched it. How could I not?
So, you may be asking, how was it?
On the whole, I quite liked it. It's aimed at a younger audience, but I can certainly see elderly folk like me enjoying it as a guilty pleasure (which the original was as well, most of the time). In case you go looking for this pirated version, you ought to keep in mind that it is apparently not at all the final edit. That being understood, I think this rough cut shows at least as much promise as the earliest episodes of Buffy. There is much about it to like.
One of these things is Christopher Eccleston. I was skeptical about him before I watched 'Rose', but he's just wonderful. He's so much fun to watch. He's some kind of weirdo. A bit rough, even. Odd. Manic, projecting a sense that he really enjoys all the gallivanting and planet-saving and such, the explosions, the running about. A smartass. But he'd still rather negotiate than fight. He's funny and awkward. It's cute. He seems to have just regenerated (although, if you've never heard of regeneration, you won't find your enjoyment of the episode impaired in the least), and there are hints already of new back-story to explore, something about a war in which the Doctor fought and failed. Also, Christopher Eccleston is strangely attractive. I would bang him. There are no other Doctors I can say that about.
The new companion, Rose, is actually not awful. I didn't hate her. I thought that I would. She's played by some kind of pop star, after all. Spunky teenaged girl, et cetera. But no, somehow she works.
The new TARDIS interior looks great. It's very different, sort of industrial and occasionally organic, mostly in bronze and green. One flaw I will find in 'Rose' is that we don't get to see more of the console room, more systematically. One nice, solid, steady establishing shot, maybe ten seconds, would've added to the experience, I think.
Rose's boyfriend is just embarassingly bad, in both idea and execution, and some of the special effects still look a bit dodgy. The latter may (or may not) be fixed by the broadcast, the former, alas, appears irreparable. The incidental music was a bit grating, too.
The pacing's very different indeed. It moves extremely quickly. Perhaps too quickly, but if that's what it takes to hook the kiddies these days, then so be it. This first episode at least is very light on plot and exposition, but it's meant to be: the audience sees it all as Rose sees it, and she has nothing like the big picture. It's a very thin episode, but it sets everything up, which is what one would really hope for.
And there's continuity with the old series, for those (like me) who care! It's no more inaccurate than the old series' continuity with itself. The Doctor is still a Time Lord. He has a sonic screwdriver. There are old enemies floating around the universe. There will be Daleks later, and other old villains appear in 'Rose'. Continuity will, I suspect, be handled very gently, sort of as Easter eggs to those of us who obsess over such things, but without being in any way essential to the stories. (As opposed to, say, Paul McGann's outing, which was just littered with things impenetrable to the uninitiated.)
Although 'Rose' is by no means perfect, it is fun. Good solid fast-paced escapism, funny and wonderful, even silly, but it does feel as if it's leading one into a world of infinite possibilities. And the Doctor still doesn't carry a gun.
It looks promising.
Posted by aloysius at March 11, 2005 07:00 PM |