Doctor Who S1E01 "Rose" Semi-Live Blog

Since I have to wait a year for more Doctor Who (minus the Christmas episode), and since I want to learn to appreciate Moffat's takeover, I'm rewatching all six seasons of Doctor Who, and blogging my thoughts as I do so!  For my enjoyment, if not for yours.

Yay old theme song!  I want you for my phone!
Wow, no wonder I didn't get into this episode the first time.  The music is all kinds of awful.
I really love the fast forward through Rose's day.  It establishes her normal/boring life, gives us the first glimpse of the episode's baddies, and makes us relate to and sympathize with Rose--all in like, two minutes.

And in those two minutes, we can already tell that Mickey likes Rose far more than she likes him back...he's always trying to touch her, and she's always pushing him away.

Don't go into deserted basement warehouses by yourself, Rose!  C'mon!
RTD is kind of like Whedon here, subverting the classic "blond in distress" trope.  Yes, Rose gets saved by the Doctor, but she is anything but a victim.  By the end of series two, she is an absolute BAMF.  Actually, that should be the Doctor's callsign:  Turning victims into BAMFs since 2004!
Speaking of...there's the Doctor!  Hello Christopher Eccleston!  I missed you.
And there's the hand hold and the "run!", which basically defines the Doctor/Companion relationship.

The Doctor is a little dumb here.  Shouldn't rule #54 be "don't keep any part of an Auton, no matter how seemingly innocent it is?"  You should be smarter than this, Doctor!
Hehehe, Nine is so sassy.  I MISS YOU.
Is it common for the Doctor to blow up buildings?  I wouldn't think so....
Booo CGI.  This is also why it took me so long to get into the show.  Crappiest display of a building blowing up that wasn't created by a bunch of 10-year-olds.

Don't keep the arm, Rose!  Why would you want to anyway?  Aren't you weirded out by the arm on your comfy chair, Jackie?
BTW, hello Jackie!  I didn't like you much the first time around, but I grew to love you!
And hello Mickey.  I didn't like you much the first time around, and that never changed.

Day 2!
Hello Doctor!  You never do anything normal, do you?

HAHAHA Jackie.  Your inappropriate flirtations never cease to amuse.  Stop hitting on the future love of your daughter's life, Jackie Tyler.

"I'm in my dressing gown.  There's a strange man in my bedroom..."
"Yes, there is."
"Anything could happen."
"No."

So this is the first time Nine has looked at himself?  Only later Clive shows a bunch of pictures of Nine throughout history.  Did he just never come across a mirror?  Oh well, I don't care, because this is the beginning of the ear jokes!
Geez, they are already rolling around on each other, and hahaha Rose hitting him on the arm.  They already have great chemistry.
More sassy Doctor!

"Is that supposed to sound tough?"
"Sort of."
"Doesn't work."

And they walk in tandem!  I will find subtext in every scene!
Regardless of my rampant shipping, I think it's fairly obvious that while they are not yet in love, they are definitely intrigued by each other.
Oh, Doctor.  You can't give an epic speech about clinging to the earth and falling through space, then say, "Now forget me."
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE FORGOTTEN.  I see your manipulation.

And hellooooo TARDIS!
Rose theme music!  Love it.  Especially in the midst of the rest of the soundtrack mess.

Mickey, if you are worried about Rose being murdered, go in the house with her!  Sitting in the car won't help until it's too late.  Ugh, you're so useless.
And your tough face is obnoxious.
"His one constant companion is...death."  Or Sexy, the TARDIS.  But that's for a later season.
Mickey and the waste bin.  If only he had ended there.

Rose is obviously not into Mickey if she can't tell there's something very wrong with him physically and verbally.  She's so caught up in her life, and the mystery of the Doctor, that she doesn't notice that her boyfriend who she supposedly loves is made of plastic.  Good sign that relationship is not going to last.
Hahaha, Doctor.  You can't be discreet by pulling a guy's head off in a crowded restaurant, even if he is made of plastic.
Lookit you being so sly, inviting Rose into the TARDIS, for "saftey".

"The inside's bigger than the outside."  Like Eleven, I really like when people say that.

"You're alien."
"Yeah.  That alright?"
"Yeah."
I LOVE THEM.
Oh Doctor, not remembering that her boyfriend is maybe dead.  And not even caring when you do remember.  Why do I love you for your callousness?
The grin!  "Fantastic"!
And more handholding.  Really guys, it's easier to run without holding hands.  Get a room!
I'd forgotten how much initiative Rose showed in the pilot, figuring out the wheel and the entrance to the Nestene Consciousness.  Makes sense why the Doctor asked her to join him.

"I'm not here to kill it.  I've got to give it a chance."

I adore the Doctor's aversion to violence unless absolutely necessary.
First mention of the Shadow Proclamation!
More Mickey, booo.
More bad CGI, booo.
Ooo, and the first glimpse of the Doctor's grief.  "It wasn't my fault!  I couldn't save your world; I couldn't save any of them!"
:(

Aww, goodbye Clive.

I really like how Rose, Jackie, and Mickey look like normal people.  Shopping in their sweats.  Cheap dye jobs.  Reacting to chaos with panic.

Mickey:  "Just leave him!  There's nothing you can do!"
Rose:  saves the world

Yeah, girl.  Don't listen to Mickey Babypants.
lol at the random gymnastics and swinging.
Apparently anti-plastic makes the autons break dance and do the Robot.
C'mon Rose, don't be rude, hanging up on your mother's trauma.
Oh, Doctor, trying not to show how lonely you are, or how desperately you want Rose to join you.
The Doctor and I agree on Mickey, at least.

"You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go...anywhere."
 "Is it always this dangerous?"
 "Yeah."

And that quote is why I love this show.  I see you pushing my wanderlust button!
OMG Mickey hanging on her waist like a child.  At least TRY to be awesome, okay?  You're making it so easy to dislike you.
Rose only agrees to go with the Doctor after he tells her it's a time machine too.  That way she's not abandoning Jackie or Mickey.  She can go off and have adventures, then return as if only five minutes had passed.  Best of all worlds!
Of course, later she won't care about that at all.  L'amore.

Worth noting the Doctor wanted Rose so bad, he 1) asked her to join him, and 2)  Came back to reconvince her to join him.  Must keep track of those things for future companions, because I'm pretty sure Rose is special.
HER FACE as she runs!