Doctor Who - The Complete BBC Series 1 Box Set [2005] [DVD]

Christopher Eccleston manages to put so much energy, humour and action into his Doctor, and as well as making him accessible to the Doctor Who fans, he has a kind of manic appeal that will make him instantly popular with new Who-fans. Billie Piper proved everyone wrong, and turned in a brilliantly consistent and emotional performance as the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler. The TARDIS looks great also, especially the interior, which won’t disappoint fans at all. There are the return of some old enemies for the Doctor to fight, such as the dreaded legends that are the Daleks, as well as the terrifying plastic/dummy-model Autons, that made two appearances in 1970 and 1971. This set also pioneers some brand new adversaries such as the Slitheen, The Gelf, etc, which all prove to be thrilling, and will keep the children hidden behind the sofa. The special effects are also great; and make big improvement on the laughable sets and models used in the original series.

There are thirteen episodes; and here they are: (* rating out of 5)
ROSE (disc 1, original airdate: 26/3/05): In the first episode of the series, Rose Tyler meets a strange man and battles a cavalcade of plastic shop dummies. ****
THE END OF THE WORLD (disc 1, original airdate 2/4/05): In her first trip through time and space, the Doctor takes Rose to a strange space station, thirty minutes away from the end of the world. ****
THE UNQUIET DEAD (disc 1, original airdate 9/4/05): The setting for this episode is a Cardiff Christmas in Victorian London back in 1860, we sees the Doctor, Rose and Charles Dickens (Simon Callow) take part in a sinister séance when the dead begin walking. (Note: This episode is given a 12 certificate for scary scenes) *****
ALIENS OF LONDON (disc 2, original airdate 16/4/05): A UFO spaceship crashes into Big Ben and lands in the Thames, and the Doctor meets the Slitheen. ****
WORLD WAR THREE (disc 2, original airdate 23/4/05): As the threat of the Slitheen intensifies, planet Earth is plunged into its first interplanetary war, and Rose takes on a dangerous assignment. ****
DALEK (disc 2, original airdate 30/4/05) Its what we’ve all been waiting for… the return of the Daleks; and they’re better than ever! The Doctor meets his most infamous enemy. ***** (Note: This episode is given a 12 certificate for scary scenes)
THE LONG GAME (disc 3, original airdate 7/5/05): Rose and the Doctor arrive on Satellite 5, a sinister television complex, ruled by a hideous creature and the Editor, played by Simon Pegg. ****
FATHER’S DAY (disc 3, original airdate 14/5/05): Billie Piper gives a thoroughly tremendous performance in this emotional drama-based episode, in which Rose goes back in time to meet her deceased father, but unleashes a deadly threat upon Earth as a consequence. *****
THE EMPTY CHILD (disc 3, original airdate 21/5/05): The character of Captain Jack is introduced in the first of a two-part episode set at the height of the London Blitz, where a strange gas-mask clad child is stalking the streets in search of its ‘mummy’. *****
THE DOCTOR DANCES (disc 3, original airdate 28/5/05): The child plague spread in the concluding part. *****
BOOM TOWN (disc 4, original airdate 4/6/05): The Slitheen are back in an episode where the Doctor questions his right to kill. *****
BAD WOLF (disc 4, original airdate 11/6/05): The penultimate episode of the series and the first in a two parter, which sees Captain Jack, Rose and the Doctor trapped inside some horrific ‘games’ and the return of an evil foe. *****
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS (disc 4, original airdate 18/6/05): In the last episode of the series, Planet Earth is involved in a horrific war. This episode is particularly moving, and features an ending you won’t forget.

In terms of special features, there is plenty to enjoy. All thirteen episode are accompanied by optional audio commentaries by members of the cast and crew, such as creator/writer Russell T Davies and Billie Piper. There lots of nice features, including all 13 edited editions of Doctor Who Confidential on Disc 5, Billie Piper’s video diary, Mark Gatiss’ writing journal, Russell T Davies on the first week of filming, The Adventures of Captain Jack, features on the special effects such as Deconstructing Big Ben and much more besides. The discs are presented in a lovely TARDIS box, and there is also a Collector’s Booklet included too. In conclusion then, I can’t recommend this set highly enough, and I want to say a big thank you to everyone involved for bringing back Doctor Who bigger, better and bolder than ever before. I can’t wait for the Christmas Special!

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The DVD extras are great, too - particularly the audio commentaries from clearly enthusiastic cast and crew.

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Despite the natural excitement factor in brining back such a much-loved and culturally important programme, the main draw to the show for me was the charismatic lead performance from Christopher Eccleston, who I'd always admired from his performances in things like Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Cracker and Jude. He does exceedingly well in his performance here, managing to seem likable, almost comedic, without ever losing that air of authority and intelligence so central to the role. It was also nice to have a Northern doctor - even though this was mentioned far too many times during the first few episodes - which allows Eccleston to create a more natural character, devoid of flashy acting tricks and distracting mannerisms. As well as carrying the show, often delivering extremely complicated lines of narrative exposition, he also carries the big dramatic scenes perfectly, eliciting a certain degree of sympathy from the viewers without becoming overtly sentimental (I'm thinking of the episode Dalek, and certain elements of Father's Day).

The first two episodes, Rose and The End of the World, were both great introductions to the new characters and the general direction of this series, though for me, the whole thing didn't really take off until episode three, The Unquiet Dead. This was the first episode not to be written by Davies, and it acts as further evidence, along with Father's Day, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, to the criticism that the best episodes were the ones NOT written by R.T.D. The Unquiet Dead was penned by Mark Gatiss - who perfectly combines comedic elements with moments of tense horror, in a way that isn't too far removed from the style of the League of Gentlemen - whilst Simon Callow puts in a great supporting performance as the author Charles Dickens. This leads us perfectly into the first two-part episode of the series, the Aliens of London and World War Three. This was probably Davies at his best in terms of storytelling and characterisation, layering the actual story involving an alien family known as the Slitheens intent on destroying Earth in order to save their own planet, alongside various other themes and events that would reoccur in later episodes (notably Boom Town and Bad Wolf).

After the eagerly awaited Dalek episode (...which introduced the character of Adam, who would have a more pivotal role in the following episode) we saw The Long Game, which is very important to the final episodes and features a great supporting role from Simon Pegg as the mysterious "Editor". The writing here, again, was exceptional, even though I felt that the episode suffered slightly due to rushed CGI effects (...a criticism which, thankfully, cannot be said about the other episodes). Then, we came to three of the best episodes back to back... the one off Father's Day (mentioned above), which had a great performance from Eccleston, as well as supporting actor Shaun Dingwall (as Rose's dad, Pete) and even a strong and emotive performance from Piper (her best in the series, in my opinion). Then we got the second two part-er, with the abovementioned The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, both of which have excellent direction from James Hawes, perfect writing by Steven Moffat, a fantastic Blitz-era setting, the introduction of the flamboyant (and highly pivotal) Captain Jack and a fine set of performances from Florence Hoath (who should take over from Piper in series three... or at least, in my worthless opinion!!) and Richard Wilson. I'm not sure how die-hard Doctor Who fans would rate these two episodes, but for me, I'd say that they're probably the best examples of outstanding 21st century TV that we've seen thus far.

From here we moved onto the last three episodes; the rather slight Boom Town (a real divider for fans, with some relishing Davies' witty dialogue-heavy script and wry plot layering, whilst many complained about the lack of real story, the Cardiff setting, and the fact that no episode could really live up to the wonderment of the three or four proceeding shows). Then we came to those big, dramatic final episodes (Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Waves); a real talking point for audiences, as the proceeding Bad Wolf references finally became clear (...although admittedly, when combined with the somewhat dubious Big Brother/Weakest Link references not everyone was impressed!!), with Davies bringing Eccleston's reign to a close and introducing us to our new Doctor, David Tennant.

This new incarnation of Doctor Who has been everything it needed to be to regenerate the character for a new legion of fans, with strong writing, acting, production and direction all coming together to create one of the very best TV shows of recent years. Hopefully the second series will advance on this, taking the Doctor further into the outer-reaches of the universe to confront even-more deadlier villains!!! At any rate, I think it's safe to say that this has been THE television event of 2005.

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