Rose (Doctor Who)

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This article is about the Doctor Who episode. For the titular character, see Rose Tyler.
157 – "Rose"
Doctor Who episode
Rose (Doctor Who).jpg
The Doctor and Rose escape from the Autons
Cast
Others
Production
Writer Russell T Davies
Director Keith Boak
Script editor Elwen Rowlands
Producer Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s) Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner
Mal Young
Incidental music composer Murray Gold
Production code 1.1
Series Series 1
Length 45 minutes
Originally broadcast 26 March 2005
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by →
Doctor Who "The End of the World"

"Rose" is the first episode of the Series One of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak. It was first broadcast on 26 March 2005.

In the episode, Rose Tyler meets a mysterious man called the Doctor in the department store where she works, while being attacked by shop window dummies called Autons. She then starts to investigate him and together they uncover an alien plot by the Nestene Consciousness to take over the Earth. Rose and the Doctor manage to beat the invasion together and she accepts his offer to travel through time and space with him in the TARDIS.

This episode marked the debut of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler. This episode was the first Doctor Who episode since the last series in 1989 and was also the first since the television movie in 1996. It was seen by 10.81 million viewers in the UK and received positive reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot [edit]

The episode opens by showing a day in the life of Rose Tyler, a young woman working in a shop. As she is about to leave work for the day, a security guard stops her and sends her to the basement to deliver money for the lottery to her boss. Unable to locate him in the basement, she finds herself being chased by mannequins that she initially thinks are college students trying to scare her. She is rescued from them by a mysterious man who introduces himself as "the Doctor". The Doctor tells Rose to get out of the building, as he intends to blow it up to destroy a transmitter on the roof. As Rose leaves, the building explodes and burns behind her.

The next day, Rose is discussing the explosion with her mother when the Doctor knocks on her door. Rose pulls him inside to discuss the explosion. As she is making him a coffee, the Doctor is attacked by a plastic mannequin arm that had followed Rose home and then let itself in via the cat flap. The Doctor and Rose subdue and deactivate the arm, and Rose follows the Doctor as he leaves. He tells her that she would be better off forgetting he was there, and disappears into his TARDIS. Unable to let the matter rest, Rose begins investigating the Doctor and meets a man named Clive who has been tracking the Doctor's appearances throughout history. Clive tells Rose the Doctor is dangerous and that if he's there something bad is about to happen. While Rose is talking to Clive, her boyfriend Mickey Smith is kidnapped by a wheelie bin and replaced with a plastic replicant.

The fake Mickey takes Rose to lunch and attempts to question her about the Doctor, but the Doctor shows up and beheads the replicant. The Doctor takes Rose and the plastic head to the TARDIS and attempts to use the head to locate the controlling signal. With the head connected, the TARDIS takes them to the London Eye. The Doctor explains to Rose that he is an alien and the fake Mickey was an Auton, controlled by a signal from the Nestene Consciousness. He shows Rose that he has a vial of anti-plastic that can be used to destroy the Nestene if necessary. Realizing that the transmitter is the London Eye itself, Rose and the Doctor descend underneath it to stop the Nestene Consciousness. They find Mickey tied up but alive, and the Doctor speaks to the Nestene Consciousness. He tries to negotiate with it, but the Consciousness blames the Doctor for the destruction of its planet during the Time War. The Consciousness activates all the Autons at Queens Arcade, where several shoppers are shot and killed including Clive. The Doctor is also held down by a pair of Autons, but Rose rescues him and the anti-plastic drops into the vat where the Nestene Consciousness resided.

With the Consciousness dead, the Autons all collapse. The Doctor uses the TARDIS to take Mickey and Rose home. The Doctor offers to let Rose travel with him but she initially declines, as she feels an obligation to take care of Mickey and her mother. The Doctor leaves in the TARDIS but reappears a few seconds later, sweetening his offer by telling her that he can travel in time as well as space. Rose finally accepts, kissing Mickey goodbye and running into the TARDIS.

Continuity [edit]

The Doctor is travelling alone and already in his ninth incarnation as the story begins. His remarks about his appearance as he looks in the mirror in Rose's flat imply that the regeneration was a very recent one.[1] Jon Pertwee's debut as the Third Doctor in Spearhead from Space also began with him already regenerated and without a companion.[1][2] This is the first (and only) occasion, however, in which the series does not explain the circumstances behind the regeneration.[1]

As Rose enters the TARDIS, a coat stand can be seen by the side of the doors, a piece of furniture that graced the console room in the original series.[1]

Both the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness first appeared in the serial Spearhead from Space (1970).[1][2] The Autons reappeared in Holmes' Terror of the Autons. [1][3] The Eleventh Doctor's companion Rory Williams is turned into an Auton during the events of The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.

This story also sees the first mention of The Shadow Proclamation, an intergalactic police force mentioned several times in the revived series and eventually seen in The Stolen Earth.[1]

The Doctor mentions that the Nestenes' protein planets were destroyed in a war, one that he also fought in. This is the first mention of the Time War, which would be one of the running threads throughout the series.[1]

Production [edit]

See also: History of Doctor Who
A bespectacled man in a black jacket, waistcoat, and tie, pink shirt, and jeans, sitting with his back to a marble-effect wall.
Russell T Davies tried to revive the show since the late-90s and wrote the stories for eight of the 13 episode in the first series, including "Rose".

"Rose" was an in-house production by BBC Wales for BBC One, and produced in Cardiff, Wales over July and August 2004. Beginning with this episode, Doctor Who would be produced in widescreen for the first time, and returned to a 45-minute format for the first time since 1985. Officially, the BBC considers this episode to be "Series 1, Episode 1" as the corporation restarted the numbering of the programme from scratch. Some fans, however, consider this episode to be "Season 27, Episode 1" to reflect the prior history of the programme. The episode was storyboarded by artist Anthony Williams.[4]

The episode was intended to be presented from Rose's point-of-view. For audience identification purposes, Davies wanted the alien menace to be recognisably human, and for Rose to believe for at least the first twenty minutes that it could be human. He felt that there was no need to create a new monster as the Autons met the criteria.[5] The Auton sequences were difficult to film because the costumes were uncomfortable for the actors and so many breaks had to be taken.[5]

Although this episode is set in London, Queens Arcade, where we see the Autons come to life, is actually in Cardiff.[6] Most of the Cardiff locations for this episode are a short walk from each other. Henrik's is actually the department store Howells,[7] the pizza restaurant is La Fosse,[8] next to St David's Hall and the street where Rose joins the Doctor is St David's Market.[9] The area underneath the London Eye where the Doctor and Rose confront the Nestene Consciousness was filmed in an unused paper mill in Grangetown, Cardiff.[10]

Fictional websites [edit]

See also: Doctor Who tie-in websites

Clive's "Who is Doctor Who?" fictional website actually exists and is maintained and updated by the BBC as if the events of the series were real. The site as published in the "real world" looks slightly different from that as seen in the episode, with a different coloured background and picture. On the published site, the caption beneath the Krakatoa drawing reads "DATELINE: 1880, Sumatra", contradicting the date of the actual eruption, Clive's dialogue in the episode and the date on the drawing itself.[11] A subsequent note on the site stated that Clive was killed in the shop dummy massacre. Although his death was not actually seen on screen, it was very strongly implied.

Rose searches for information about the Doctor at a search engine called search-wise.net. While the site actually exists, it was created specifically for use in television programmes and films.[1]

The BBC-produced website for the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce indicates that the events of this story occur contemporaneously with its original broadcast, on 26 March 2005. However, a poster seen in "Aliens of London" indicates that Rose has been missing since 6 March.[12][13]

Broadcast and reception [edit]

Pre-broadcast leak [edit]

On 8 March 2005, Reuters reported that a copy of the episode had been leaked onto the Internet, and was being widely traded via the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol. The leaked episode did not contain the new arrangement of the theme tune by Murray Gold. The leak was ultimately traced to a third party company in Canada which had a legitimate preview copy. The employee responsible was fired by the company and the BBC considered further legal action.[14]

Broadcast and ratings [edit]

Unofficial overnight viewing figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board showed that the episode attracted an average of 9.9 million viewers — 43.2% of the available television audience — over the course of the evening. At its peak, it had 10.5 million viewers, a 44.3% share.[15] The final figure for the episode, including video recordings watched within a week of transmission, was 10.81 million, third for BBC One that week and seventh across all channels.[16] In some regions, the first few minutes of the original BBC broadcast of this episode on March 26 were marred by the accidental mixing of a few seconds of sound from Graham Norton hosting Strictly Dance Fever.[15]

On 30 March, four days after this episode was originally broadcast in the UK, the BBC announced that another full series had been commissioned. On the same day, the BBC released a statement, apparently from Eccleston, saying that he would be leaving the role at Christmas, for fear of being typecast.[17] The BBC later revealed this was not an official statement from Eccleston, whom they had failed to contact before responding to press questions after the story broke.[18]

"Rose" was first broadcast in the United States on the Sci-Fi channel on 17 March 2006. It was aired back-to-back with the following episode "The End of the World"; Davies had originally wanted to air the first two episodes together in the UK, but the request was given to the BBC too close to transmission.[19]

Critical reception [edit]

"It heralded a fabulous, imaginative, funny and sometimes frightening reinvention of the esteemed, if somewhat time ravaged, Time Lord. Eagerly anticipated, the new Doctor Who was well worth the wait. Like the physics-defying Tardis, it was hard to believe that a humble 45 minutes could contain so many great lines, memorable scenes, shocks, plot twists, special effects and surprises. Even the tiresome problem of exposition was inventively solved, courtesy of an internet conspiracy theorist, tracing The Doctor through history. "

The Stage's Harry Venning[20]

"Rose" has received positive reviews and has been seen as a successful relaunch to the programme. Harry Venning of The Stage praised Davies' script, particularly for taking it seriously and making it scary. He was pleased with Piper's acting and Rose, who proved to be more independent than her predecessors. However, he felt that Eccleston was "the show's biggest disappointment" as he seemed unsuited to a fantasy role.[20] Digital Spy's Dek Hogan stated that production values had increased from the classic series, and praised the acting and characters of Eccleston, Piper, and Clarke. However, he felt that some of the humour — such as the wheelie bin burping after it consumes Mickey — was not as enjoyable as an adult.[21] The Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Robin Oliver praised Davies for "[taking] an adult approach to one of television's most famous characters" and "[overriding] the cash-strapped production values of the past to make his new doctor competitive in a high-tech market".[22] Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times described the revival as "superb" and "intelligent and well-done".[23] Daily Mail writer Michael Hanlon said that "As a fan I really hope this new series succeeds. It's lively, well filmed and the special effects are up to scratch. There is humour, a vital ingredient if the new series is to be a success." He also felt that everything necessary for Doctor Who was present in "Rose".[24] In 2013, Ben Lawrence of The Daily Telegraph named "Rose" as one of the top ten Doctor Who stories set in the contemporary time.[25]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Rose: Fact File". BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Spearhead from Space. Doctor Who. 1970-01-03–1970-01-24. BBC. BBC1.
  3. ^ Terror of the Autons. Doctor Who. 1971-01-02–1971-01-23. BBC. BBC1.
  4. ^ Anthony Williams interview[dead link]
  5. ^ a b "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". Doctor Who Confidential. Series 1. Episode 2. 2 April 2005. BBC. BBC Three.
  6. ^ "Walesarts, Working Street, Cardiff". BBC. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  7. ^ "Walesarts, St Mary Street, Cardiff". BBC. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  8. ^ "Tizano's Pizza Restaurant". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 2011-12-19. 
  9. ^ "Alleyway". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-19. 
  10. ^ "Underground lair". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 March 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-19. 
  11. ^ "Who is Doctor Who?". BBC. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 
  12. ^ Writer Russell T Davies, Director Keith Boak, Producer Phil Collinson (2005-04-16). "Aliens of London". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One.
  13. ^ "Press Statement: UNIT's Position on the London Incident.". BBC. 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2006-11-16. http://www.unit.org.uk
  14. ^ "Dr Who Culprit Fired". contactmusic.com. 2005-03-24. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 
  15. ^ a b "Doctor Who is Saturday night hit". BBC News. 2005-03-27. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 
  16. ^ "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  17. ^ "Eccleston quits Doctor Who role". BBC News. 2005-03-31. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 
  18. ^ "BBC admits Dr Who actor blunder". BBC News. 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 
  19. ^ Nazzaro, Joe (2006-03-14). "Who timing was right". Sci-Fi Wire. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  20. ^ a b Venning, Harry (2005-04-04). "TV review". The Stage. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  21. ^ Hogan, Dek (2005-03-26). "Living in a box". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  22. ^ Oliver, Robin (2005-05-21). "Show of the Week". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  23. ^ McFadden, Kay (2006-03-17). "This is the doctor who is always on time". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  24. ^ Hanlon, Michael (2005-03-09). "Eccleston and Billie, just what the Doctor ordered". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2012-05-26.   – via HighBeam (subscription required)
  25. ^ Lawrence, Ben (30 March 2013). "Doctor Who: the 10 best contemporary tales". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 April 2013. 

Bibliography [edit]

  • Burk, Graeme; Smith?, Robert (6 March 2012). "Series 1". Who Is the Doctor: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who-The New Series (1st ed.). ECW Press. pp. 3–62. ISBN 1-55022-984-2. 

External links [edit]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ninth Doctor

"Rose" at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

Reviews

"Rose" reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
Doctor Who: Auton stories
Third Doctor
Ninth Doctor
  • "Rose"
Eleventh Doctor
Minor appearance
BBV films
Novels
Big Finish Productions audio dramas
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