The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead (Series One, Eps. 2-3; 2005)
Viewed 27 Nov 2012
Doctor/Companion: Nine, Rose Tyler
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: Rose (Nine, Rose)
Succeeding Story: Aliens of London (Nine, Rose)
Last month, after we finished watching The Angels Take Manhattan, we Ladies weren’t really ready to call it a night. After all, 45 minutes of Who is hardly enough. So, on a whim, we decided to watch Rose.
Needless to say, it was a huge nostalgia bomb. For three of us, it was the first episode of Doctor Who we’d ever seen. You never forget your first. We all enjoyed getting back to our beginnings with Nine and Rose, and so it was decided that we would continue on with them for a while.
So here we are, back at our beginnings.
For most of the Ladies (everyone but me), it had be a long time since they’d seen Nine in action. Much of our evening was thus spent just watching the action unfold on screen, and laughing at all the jokes. But now and again, a comment would pop out.
“Teach her not to be impressed,” jE declared as Nine finished his “welcome to the end of the world” speech. Then came the opening credits. jA commented on how this version really takes her back, and I can’t help but agree; this was my introduction to the entire Whoniverse, and there’s something incredibly special to me about listening to that first Murray Gold theme. It puts me in a special, treasured mental space.
Speaking of Gold and his work, I just love it here. Knowing it so well in retrospect, it’s fascinating to hear the introduction of the bars that would eventually be dubbed “Rose’s Theme” right after the Doctor does his “jiggery pokery” on her phone. That moment is one of several here in End of the World that show the developing relationship between Doctor and Companion, and give a sense of the franchise as a whole.
To start, we see him totally showing off to Rose in the opening moments of the pre-credits sequence, watching her reactions as she’s faced with alien beings for the first time, and yet not allowing himself to get overly attached to her at this point – or, perhaps more accurately, taking his accolades anywhere he can. Neither Nine nor Rose is particularly bothered when Jabe shows a more-than-simply-polite interest in him. He totally would have taken Jabe traveling, too, if she hadn’t combusted helping him save Platform One.
Also, those previously unfamiliar with the Doctor get a good sense of what makes him tick when the Platform shudders and he responds with a “that’s not supposed to happen…” that never fails to remind me of one of my favorite quotes (“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…'” — Isaac Asimov).
Finally, the Doctor is still extremely dark and damaged here. That carries over into The Unquiet Dead when he snaps at Rose for her limited, human perspective. But the fact that he’s unwilling to cut Cassandra any slack at all (jO totally jumped and ew‘d when she exploded), even when Rose pleads with him to help her, indicates just how badly the Time War hurt him.
But one can’t ignore the caricature that is Cassandra. She’s a character we love to hate. And to puzzle over. “Is that her butthole?” jO wondered aloud during one of the few scenes in which we see Cassandra from behind. After the uproarious laughter had calmed down and we’d decided it was the back side of her mouth, jE reassured jO, “I like your version better.”
We continued on to Christmas in Cardiff 1869. “I didn’t remember this one was so early,” a somewhat surprised jO declared as it started up. But yes – after Rose’s introduction to the Doctor, she’s first taken to the future and then the past. She even gets to try on some temporally appropriate duds. “She’s a little scantily dressed for Christmas Eve in the snow,” jE decides. Of course, as we live in the northern US, we Ladies can all well imagine how cold it would be to expose that much decolletage if it was actually snowing. (Good thing for Billie Piper it was actually summer.)
It speaks well to the quality of this episode that the Ladies had very little to say as it unfolded. There were chuckles in all the right spots, but aside from knowing nods when Gwyneth exclaimed about seeing “the Big Bad Wolf” in her reading of Rose (I’d had to point out the much subtler Bad Wolf reference on Platform One), the Ladies were primarily content to sit back and let it roll. That’s as sure a sign as any of quality television.
General reactions:
- jA – “This … is so nostalgic for me.”
- jE – “It’s so cool watching these again.”
- jO – “This was great!”
- mrfranklin – I adore Nine. Looking forward to more – even if it does mean Slitheen.
There is a lot I have to say about this series – and, in fact, I have given a fuller analysis of The Unquiet Dead in a piece I submitted to the Celebrate, Regenerate project – but for now, I’m just really happy to be sharing memories of falling in love with Who with great friends, a couple of whom are my own padawans (I know – wrong fandom). And honestly, that’s what I really need right now: just a bit of fun with my friends.
Verdict: Thumbs up
Looking ahead: Aliens of London / World War Three
Does Take Me Back
Wow, this does take me back. I remember watching it at the end of 2006/beginning of 2007. Almost 6 years ago was my first viewing of Nine! (I started with Ten and worked backwords, momentarily confused – “There’s TWO NEW Doctors?!”)
I mostly remember liking this, but wondering why he turned into Tennant, #10, so quickly. I SO wish we could have seen some of the Time War, don’t you? I still pine for that. The real Time War, not the end of it with the Master (Simm, who I still adore) and Ten?
I also remember turning my brother on to The Doctor, and he now has his girlfriend watch. I had hoped it would be more contagious, but was ridiculed by my other brother and his wife, when I watched it in front of them. I didn’t care, and took care not to watch in front of them again – they didn’t understand it! But at least my one brother, Jere, liked it, and is still as devoted to it as ever.
Makes me also nostalgic for the original cast of Torchwood: not sure why, but remember those early years of both.
Thanks for the memories!
Glad to Oblige!
It’s great fun going back to your early days, isn’t it? 🙂 You should vote in the reader poll – so far everyone has said they started here with Nine and Rose, but it sounds like you actually started with Ten.
Sounds like you also had a fun time hooking others on Who – I love doing that! 😀
Poll
I did vote in the poll, and I checked the wrong thing! As soon as I hit it I realized what I did, but it won’t let me vote again. I meant to hit the Tennant/Rose Series 2. 🙁
Yes, I love it when someone likes Dr Who! Most people don’t appreciate it, though!
Try this…
If you click on “Older polls” and then on the relevant poll, does it give you the option to “Cancel vote”?
Long time to reply
Sorry, didn’t see your comment until just now! It did let me go back and record my correct vote. Thanks! I was one of the two that first viewed Tennant and Piper. It was the 1879 Victorian episode, with the werewolf. I’ll never forget it!
Torchwood
Ah, Tooth and Claw! That one was pretty “visually striking,” as they say. 🙂 It was also the formal origin of Torchwood and a chance for David Tennant to use his natural Scottish accent. Plenty to love.
Yes, love the Scottish accent!
You hit upon the thing I loved most – hearing David Tennant use his natural accent! What a wonderful episode. I like the origin of Torchwood, as well as the humor of the royal family being werewolves. 🙂
Something to love
There’s something to love in pretty much every Doctor Who story ever, even if it’s overall crap (which I don’t think Tooth and Claw is). That’s why the show’s so great! 🙂
Minimal Classic Who References
One thing that stands out to me about Nine’s tenure is how any nods to the classic series were minimal compared to the level dished out in later seasons. I believe this was a deliberate ploy on behalf of RTD. I guess he wanted to establish the series on its own merits and then as people became interested in the show, reintroduce elements, e.g. Series 27 Daleks and regeneration, Season 28 Cybermen, followed by Sontarans, Master, Timelords etc. Of course this could just be a great steaming pile of hooey
Not sure those count as “minimal”
I think RTD tried to draw in a new audience without drawing on the history of the show too much (thus the Time War, getting rid of the Time Lords who are so hard to understand (whu?)), yet titillating the long-time fans with a few, as you put it, “minimal” references. Except that there were scads of references. And he overused the Daleks. They need multiple seasons off, or they become “cute” or even “cuddly” and certainly NOT scary.
So yes, maybe in S27/S1 RTD kept it to a dull roar, but overall I’d say he laid it on plenty thick.
I Think We Agree
Yup, I agree he laid it on lthick once Ten started but I still reckon he was, as you accurately put it IMHO, trying to draw in a new audience without drawing on the history of the show too much, during Nine’s tenure
Indeed
Yet I don’t think he necessarily did the new audience a service by eliminating the Time Lords.