As mentioned elsewhere, I recently introduced my David Tennant/Nationaltreasurejohnbarrowman-loving wife to the very first episode of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child. She grew up on Sylvester McCoy-era Doctor Who and therefore - as she tactfully puts it - “Never got into the show”.
She loved An Unearthly Child enough that she wanted to watch more old episodes, and after watching Tom Baker classic, The Ark in Space, we're now watching Christopher Eccleston's run.
Now I'm on record as not especially liking that first series of nu-Who. But re-watching these episodes again, I'm realising a few things:
- BBC3 has a sense of irony: my copy of The Long Game turned out to be the over-run of an England v Wales rugby match
- Nationaltreasurejohnbarrowman really could act - I wasn't imagining it. Clearly, Torchwood sucked the life out of him. I'm hoping he recovers soon, since he is a national treasure who livens up our screens.
- Christopher Eccleston and his Doctor were quite fun at times - at least in the beginning. Maybe he just got gloomier as the Daleks turned up towards the end: I'll update when we've finished the rest of the series.
- The scripts weren't as bad as I recalled. The End of the World was quite good, as was The Unquiet Dead. In retrospect, they're all not bad at all, bar a few poor performances here and there, and I liked the characterisation and character development that occurs during that first series. Even the farting Slitheen aren't as embarrassingly bad as I'd remembered.
Have I mellowed? Have the goalposts been shifted by later series' extravagances? Has repeated exposure reduced the impact? With the weight of expectations placed on that first series gone, am I more tolerant of its flaws? Or did I have Who-phobia after years of officially “not liking it much” that I needed to overcome?
What do you think of the episodes? Have you re-watched the Ecclescake episodes recently and changed your mind? Did you always like them? Or am I just going soft and need to go to a reviewing boot camp?
Updates and related entries
July 14, 2008:
We're now re-evaluating series two of Doctor Who
July 11, 2008 | Reply
Dalek is an excellent episode, bar, perhaps the stupid end bit where Rose's brain goes walkies. If there'd been no daleks between that and series 4's finale, that would have been fab.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
We watched right from the beginning, and we've also rewatched series one several times (children never tire of repeats). I can remember feeling really anxious about what they were going to do with it because husband and I both shudder at the Colin Baker/Sylvester McCoy years, and then being totally blown away. During series one we hadn't quite educated friends and family to understand that when Dr Who is on they are not to call around so I missed bits of lots of the episodes which was really annoying (although not in the case of the Slitheen which I thought was crap but the kids liked). I can remember highlights for me being The Unquiet Dead (but I'm a big Mark Gatiss fan) and The Empty Child (children were all TERRIFIED for the first time and went round the house for months saying Are You My Mummy?) and I loved Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways. Oh and also really liked the one where Pete Tyler died.
I can actually remember thinking how is David Tennant going to match this, because I'd enjoyed it so much. But actually I prefer him now, because in the end I got a bit irritated with Christopher Eccleston's jokiness.
Oh and we also liked the episode that caused all the controversy where he tortured the dalek. But then we're like that...
July 11, 2008 | Reply
I always liked them. In fact, it was the first time I'd ever liked Doctor Who - I saw it here and there as a child/teenager (Pertwee, Baker, Davidson era) and didn't care for it much - though, oddly, I had two Target books based on it which I really enjoyed - one was about the Loch Ness Monster. I've never warmed to Tennant's performance to the same effect (unfortunately, as he was great in Casanova so I thought I would like it) and to some extent I'm still watching now chiefly because of that 'first' series, in the hopes that the programme will grip me as much again. Here and there it does, there have been some brilliant episodes, while some of the ones in the first series were indeed poorly written. The Slitheen were ghastly, the wheely-bin alien, etc. But the overall tone of it, Eccleston's performance, the characterisation of that Doctor, the relationship with Rose (sickening with Tennant's Doctor) - all much better. At this point I'm really looking forward to the next actor to take the role; also to see what Tennant does next, because I do like him, just not in this role.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
I just remember watching 'Rose' with a big grin on my face, so thrilled to be enjoying DW again after such a long break (long long break if you discount the mixed bag of balony that was the McGann movie). I too had Jane Henry's thought about wondering how Tennant would step into the shoes of Ecceleston: I don't think I thought of it as 'jokiness'. Eccleston's great on wry-ness and dourness and tragedy but I'm not fully convinced he gets comedy.
Has it aged well (if 4 years is 'ageing!)? It certainly is good to recall that JB had better (acting) chops once upon a time -- though he has been better more recently [regular death of the character can't be easy to adjust to] And I can still hardly watch The Empty Child without shuddering - maximum creep factor! barring a few misfires (farting Slitheens: not a highpoint with many after childhood) it was better than we could have hoped though perhaps without some of best delights since then. A few big highs perhaps: The Unquiet Dead, Dalek, Empty Child double bill, and - though it is way big nonsense - Parting of the Ways, but otherwise mostly partial/minor Carusos? See, even the Slitheen story is redeemed by things like the opening realisation about Rose's length of absence and Harriet Jones (MP for Flydale North)...
July 11, 2008 | Reply
It's hard to shake the feeling that Eccleston was uncomfortable in the role. His performance is so careful, almost mannered - you can almost see him thinking 'how am I going to say these words?' Apart from when he's angry, when he's magnificent. Dalek is one of the best performances of any actor playing the Doctor, from the terror of realising he's stuck in a cell with a Dalek through the torture scene and the 'Just die!' rant and finally 'I didn't... I couldn't... Oh, Rose, they're all dead.'
But when he tries to be funny, or wacky, or charming, it falls horribly flat. You could say that was deliberate, that this is a damaged, almost suicidal being who's trying to find the part of himself that could wonder and find joy in his life (and does, at the end of The Doctor Dances) and just can't. But frankly, I think that's giving Eccles too much credit. As good as he is in the right part, it's just outside his range. Tennant is the better actor, and getting better all the time.
I still don't think Eccles was ever intended to do more than one season.
There are some great episodes. Rose is a fantastic script ('Skin like an old bible!' 'I couldn't save your planet! I couldn't save any of them!') spoiled a bit by a burping bin and rotten direction, especially at the end in the Nestene lair. I love Unquiet Dead, and Father's Day still chokes me up (it's the bit when Pete realises what's going on and the Doctor can't tell him he's right, and then Pete has to face up to his inadequacies with the adult daughter he's never going to have). The Empty Child two-parter is utterly brilliant, one of the best pieces of television SF ever and one of the few Who stories that really is SF. I think the reason that Barrowman is good in it is that it's the only decent script ever written for Jack, although he has his moments in the final two-parter ('If you hear us dying up there...').
The Slitheen story is a good one, but the Slitheen are still crap (although Annette Badland is marvellous. Real, unexpected spite and menace there). The Long Game is dull. Boom Town has its moments, but the quarter-hours between them stretch away like road across the Australian desert — not a twist in sight and not even decent scenery. And a deus ex machina ending, which should have been a warning.
And that season finale. God almighty. The most blatant, amateurish, stupid deus ex machina I've ever seen masquerading as a serious ending. It made me want to throw things at the screen, and it still does. Not to mention Russell wasting all of Rob Shearman's hard work in making Daleks scary again, only to have them show up in the last episode as camp ranters (albeit with tremendous firepower). Only redeemed by the appearance of Tennant at the end, who with three lines and a grin managed to encapulate the character of the Doctor better than Eccleston had in 13 episodes.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
I can still recall watching the first episode of Eccelstone's Who with a great deal of fondness, the reintroduction of him was so great. It accepted that people already knew who he was and what he was about and just got right into the action. Same reason I enjoyed the new Hulk movie so much.
But, overall I'm not very keen on Eccelstone's potrayal of the Doctor. He's very manic depressive and reminds me of someone I know (and somewhat dislike) in real life, from the personality all the way to the appearance. Which does mean my own personal opinion is a little jaded.
Also, what on Earth happened to John Barrowman after his appearance in the Empty Child two parter? I've rewatched that two parter and he's brilliant in it, but now he's just rubbish. I guess Torchwood must be to blame, but it's such an easy scapegoat.
btw, I'd like to go on record here saying my favourite Doctors are Peter Davies, The (Ace era) McCoy (why, oh why was it cancelled at that point? :( ) and Tennant. But I have not managed to see that much of Tom Baker to date.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
"Harriet Jones (MP for Flydale North)"
Yes, we know who she is.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
Loved this series at the time, still love it now. The trashiness of Rose, Dalek ("What use are emotions when you will not save the woman you love" etc), the tragedy of Father's Day, Moffat's superlative two-parter, the Unquiet Dead, that stunning ending. I watch it more than series two to be honest. Just something so fresh and raw about it.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
Not sure that John Barrowman was so much better in series 1 than now, it's more the case that he is much better at Doctor Who than Torchwood. I think that when he relaxes in the supporting role, he fits well and brings a different energy (especially in the first series, . When he is carrying the drama, he can't cut it.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
Well, being a fan of Who from as long back as I can remember, when my brother picked it up on bootleg PBS, then spent all out money on each new VHS release I have to
1. defend McCoy's era. Ace kicked ass. The scripts kicked ass. It wasn't their fault it was the 80's...
2. Defend the McGann Movie... NOW I KNOW IT WASN'T PEFRECT, but it was only the "pilot" or "first episode" or whatever. I've seen pilots for successful shows that are WAY worse than the Movie.
--McCoy was in the Movie, passing the torch and filmed a regeneration sequence unlike SOME people (#6)...
--The interior of the TARDIS was WAY cooler than the current pseudo-organic mess...it reminded me of the Wood panel TARDIS console room from Baker's era... loved that...
--There was WAY more continuity than RTD ever gave us...
--Oh, and he had a sonic screwdriver... Haven't seen that since #5 lost it...
It was a rough regeneration, what else can we say? He never had a chance to come into the role. Was Tom Baker perfect in Robot? No... And remember, it was McGann's Doctor that fought in the Time War, so give him a little room to breathe...
That being said, Eccleston was a really good Doctor. The Doctor hasn't had a normal regeneration in who knows how long. I think Eccleston played it well... a little bit offbeat.... I enjoyed the first season. I was wide eyed for all of it. And I'll take a black leather coat over celery and cricket any day...
July 11, 2008 | Reply
The Resident Fan Boy watched the first season of Nu-who avidly, but I didn't go back to it until after watching the second season, having been thoroughly beguiled by the Tenth Doctor. I was pleasantly surprised by the Ninth Doctor, and I have to disagree with Lisa; I think Christopher Eccleston does "get" comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed his first reconnaissance of the Tylers' apartment in Rose ("It'll never work: he's gay and she's alien."), climaxing with his nearly being strangled by the mannequin arm while Rose obliviously makes tea. And his deadpan dinner with Margaret the Slitheen as he foils her assassination attempts is, IMHO, the one thing worth watching in Boom Town.
Bored silly by The Long Game; bamboozled by Dalek; loved Father's Day and The Doctor Dances. As David Tennant himself has pointed out, he'd never have become the Doctor without Christopher Eccleston's impressive revival of the role.
July 11, 2008 | Reply
Four years is a long time and I've not watched it since, so much so that I don't know which episode title goes with which epsiode, but he was definitely good enough to have me literally running home from work very Saturday so that I didn't miss it. The lone Dalek one in particular was a highlight of all four seasons.
July 12, 2008 | Reply
Oh dear, Marie, I think our genocidal tendencies towards daleks are coming out again (see my comments above...)
July 14, 2008 | Reply
Surely the Eccleston season wins out on a re-watch at least partly because we didn't realise then how bad it was going to get? :)
More specifically though
- Davies hadn't wandered into the comfort zone yet; he knew he had to do something special and put some effort in if relaunched Who was to be a success. Now he's coasting, throwing in the kitchen sink and all the fittings because he knows he won't be criticised
- there's a genuine arc in place for this season as opposed to the faux arcs of later years - viewed as a single 13 episode story, season 27 works beautifully with every episode (even those which taken alone are very, very poor) contributing to the whole. It genuinely is the sum of its parts, which is lucky given how quickly it becomes obvious that Davies can't write science fiction.
- Eccleston is a much better actor than Tennant; he can do the entire range of emotions in a way that Tennant simply can't (decent actor though he is). What Stu sees as Eccleston being uncomfortable and mannered I see as precision and deliberation
- wisely the show eschewed the wads of continuity which now cripple the ongoing story, both by choice (precious few references to the old series) and necessity (there was no new continuity to reference yet)
- finally and linked to the first point, Davies uses *all* his good ideas in season 27: as someone pointed out, it's very like a band's first album.