The DOCTOR WHO Rewatch Project - Season One (Patreon)

I haven’t written about it much, but I’d say Doctor Who is…

Probably one of my favorite things of the new millennium? I mean, it’s certainly my favorite thing from what you could call popular “I.P” But unlike a lot of the nerdy things I grew up with, this one wasn’t even something inherited from youth. Heck, the only time I really absorbed anything from Doctor Who was either in Simpsons references or the fact it was a random obsession from my older brother’s High School girlfriend (this back in the mid 90s). I knew things like “phone box” or that he “wears a scarf” and there was some business about Daleks. But, like a lot of Americans, I didn’t come on board until the 2005 reboot and even then it was a couple seasons into the run. It’s just that within all those nerdy comic-y segments of fandom (before we seemingly destroyed pop culture) there were endless recommendations to get into it. So we started Netflix disc-ing, baby! Ah, those were the days!

But it was safe to say I was immediately hooked. Sure, we were warned all about bad effects or this and that, but it didn’t matter. The appeal of the storytelling was just so damn apparent. It was sharp, full of dexterity and humor, and grounded in genuine empathy. And such things go light years beyond any so-called limitations. So for years after I watched along with folks as they dominated the tumblr-spheres and shipped this and that and everything in between. I even went back to sporadically explore prior incarnations of the show. But again, I felt very little need to write about the show outside of the general recommendation that people watch. Why? Well, much of the reason it is great is evident in its twists, turns, and constant appeal to our greater nature. Just as much of the fun online writing about the show was rooted in the easter egg explanations from those who knew its history. Besides, it seemed like any real argumentation about an episode’s qualities likely came from the deeper passions of fandom (which is also something that I, quite frankly, often like to “just let be”). Meaning there just wasn’t that much to get all that critical about in the deep dive sense. It was great because it was so obviously great.

But that remained true even when my interest in the show started to wane. We’ll get into the specifics later, but it wasn’t really until the last Capaldi seasons that I could feel the rust of things and Moffat feeling spent. Then I had to stop watching the Whitaker seasons because, well, I didn’t quite have the heart. She was great and I was so rooting for her, but it came down to the Chibnall of it all. A guy who seemed like the right choice from the resume alone (given that he worked with her on Broadchurch), but it was wrong in the simple fact that I never liked his writing approach for the show. That may sound dismissive, but Doctor Who is probably the hardest show to write for in the world? Especially because it ultimately relies on having both continued inspiration AND the deepest technical sense for execution. That’s the thing about a show with such a high degree of difficulty: you can show your whole ass in an instant. Which was equally true for the all great showrunners prior. But because of that, it really seemed like the massive interest had dipped... That is until…

Russell T. Davies returned and everyone rightfully started losing their minds.

You really can feel the buzz again. Not just for Tennant’s return in the upcoming specials, but for Ncuti’s new season along with it. And while talking with a friend about it, they asked whether or not I was going to do a rewatch and I thought hmmmm, maybe. But that’s when I realized a fun little wrinkle… Our collective good friend Landon hadn’t seen the show before. And doing a rewatch with someone who hadn’t seen the show before!??! Getting to live those huge moments through someone else’s eyes!?!?! Don’t mind if I do!

So this is going to be a pretty simple approach for covering it. It’s not going to be full episode recaps, but more of a general talk about each season/ some of the episodes, along with more granular little observations. But I’ll discover the best format probably as I go along.

With that?

Run!

SEASON ONE - Fantastic!

Oh, Goodness - Let’s be clear about one thing, season one is GOOD. Even back when I first was told to watch the show it came with all these warnings about the VFX being bad, it not hiding its stride until Tennant seasons, or it just being “cheesy” in general. Granted, I get why there may be comparisons or that people latch onto the tangible details. But I genuinely don’t care about any of that. For one, the digital effects have aged in this kind of fun and cheeky throwback way. But for two, and much more importantly, the writing is sharp from moment one. It so absolutely showcases what makes Doctor Who so special, because it’s about the ability to go anywhere and tell any kind of story. And this season really gets the balance and rhythm of going from the end of the world, to Dickens, to everything in between (and I’d argue the one offs are even better overall in season one than the following, save for one obvious episode). Moreover, this season shows the most amazing thing about the show, which is the way it can crack people open to discover a deeper understanding of man, their humility, and so much more.

Eccelston - I love that it took just one episode for Landon to be “Oh wait, he’s GREAT” because he had heard all the comparisons that said he wasn’t as good. And yes, Christopher Eccelston is great in this show. But the thing I was most reminded of during this rewatch is how good he is at turning his emotions on a dime. You’ll see him charge up his rubber face and go for that dopey smile in the most lovely and boyish of ways. And a second later he’ll go stone cold, icy to great and powerful effect. Which utterly reflects the swings of capacity for the doctor at large. But with Eccelston, there was something so specifically pliable about him. Like there was this give, encapsulating the idea of something that could stretch, but still never break. And it’s something uniquely wonderful to his version in that regard.

Rose - What is it about Rose that is so damn compelling? I can remember back when I first watched the show I loved Rose. She has this great slack jawed expression that is mixed with her gum-chewing, finger-biting oral fixation, and delightful smile that so quickly coasts into cheeky flirting. But coming back to her I love it ten times more here. It’s not just all the jokes about her being Chav, but how it taps into something so intrinsically embodies the spirit of the companion. It’s the uncompromising ethos of “Yes. Go. Explore. Listen. Learn. Help. Do.” A thing that just exists within the certain kinds of people who run toward explosions to help because it’s in their nature. And it powers every single one of these stories. Because The Doctor is nothing without the companion. Because what does that word really mean? It’s not just about traveling, but that second definition: “one of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other.” Because yes, there are so many things that are similar between Rose in The Doctor. But there are also key differences. A sense of patience, for one. But also an inherent kindness and lack of flippancy. Because as empathetic as The Doctor is in the grand sense, there’s also a mercurial sensibility that likely comes with having to bang your head up against the wall of people continually hurting themselves (honestly, it sounds like being a doctor in the pandemic). But Rose is just so completely anchored to the moment. To the now. To humanity. And that means Rose is the REASON he does any of this in the first place.

UK / National Centrism - Whenever people try to argue that movies totally *aren’t* propaganda I’m always like “okay, go watch ANY popular entertainment from another country.” Because nothing EVER makes you realize the nationalist ethno-centerism of American media quite like when you see other countries do it, too. Because there’s always some part of your brain that goes, “wait, wouldn’t the aliens go to the white house instead of… ohhhhhhh, right right right.” Because we’ve been watching this kind of propaganda for yeaaaaars and it’s always Americans going out and saving the day by shooting things, etc. Safe to say, when you see other countries do it, you realize the extent to which this TOTALLY has had an effect on you since you were a kid. Media is really, really, really powerful y'all.

EPISODE RESPONSES!

Rose - Good pilots are about establishing why you should care about the show and the characters within it. Specifically, setting up their wants / needs etc., but also setting up their dynamics and conflicts with each other, too. So, go ahead, make fun of the plastic monsters I guess, but this episode is EXCELLENT at all that more important stuff. Because you get all the qualities that I mentioned above. With one “run!” you’re just immediately off on the adventure. And like Rose, at the end of the episode you are running for that Tardis to come with, too. It’s perfect pilot writing.

The End of the World - There’s a saying with the second episode, “if good pilots are about establishing why you should care, second episodes are about ‘okay, now show me how you are a television show’” Meaning how is this going to work every week? What are the shapes of the adventures going to be like? What’s exactly possible, here? And I think this episode is a perfect example of how to do that. Because if you can go anywhere in time and space, you might as well go to the “end” of it right? But of course, the story about the earth dying ends up being a deep existential story about facing death (the phone call to her mom is such an amazing part of that story). Again, it’s not just about the neat sci-fi conceit, nor even the murder mystery at the center, but ultimately the theme that comes shining through.

The Unquiet Dead - Doctor Who is all about the juxtaposition so why not swing from the far future to the historical past! To Dickens no less! It’s not that it’s quite a mind blowing episode, but it does all those wonderful little things that make the show special, from to historical jokes, to mining your sympathies from the moment of death. Few shows are better at capturing the fleeting nature of human’s truncated lives. So if you had to pick three episodes to re-start this show and say “this is what Doctor Who can do” I could not think of three that do it better.

Aliens of London / World War Three - The part that works best in this episode is actually them accidentally arriving a “year late” and how much that wrecks everyone around Rose. Because it’s this perfect metaphor for “staying out too late” and losing track of time, etc. But it also showcases how one year may be nothing for The Doctor, but so meaningful to the people stuck on Earth with their slow, static lives. It’s a really affecting series of scenes and shows real consequences for their dalliances. But when it comes to the story? I’ll be honest, as fun as the Big Ben-hitting is / the important world-building with the Harriet Jones character, it just comes down to the fact that I kinda hate the Slitheen? It’s not just the fart monster-ness of it all (I normally love fart jokes, but none of these land because good fart jokes aren’t about farting in and of itself, they’re about TIMING), I also don’t like the clumsy design of the creatures. Like, they’re too awkward to be even vaguely threatening on any level and so much of the execution falls flat. Plus, as far as thematic stuff goes, it’s a reminder of how many media portrayals in 2005 had these 1:1 parallels to the Iraq War that don’t quite feel universal in a way that makes them timeless. I genuinely wonder how they’ll seem to people who don’t do the subject matter? Luckily, it gets much better with the next episode…

Dalek - It’s such a brilliant way of re-introducing the Doctor’s greatest enemy to the show. You make it small and intimate to show how dangerous just ONE Dalek can be in an Alien-like situation. It also becomes the perfect way of addressing so much of The Doctor’s backstory with the time war, learning what happened, seeing how traumatic it was for him, and how much hate it left inside. To the point that the call back of “you would make a great Dalek” hits really hard by the episode’s end. But of course, it’s always tricky examining any “nazi reflexivism” in an age where so much fascism has come back hard and just needs to be stamped out, rendering any discussion of what-about-ism as dreadfully simplistic. Nazis are Nazis because they’re Nazis. But the ending scenes of the Dalek sacrificing itself are really, really well done.

The Long Game - It’s funny revisiting this show because there are some episodes I saw a decade ago that are completely burned into my mind… and then there’s some where I am like, “I have virtually no memory of this.” To the point that I was even surprised to even see Simon Pegg again. Thematically, it’s about the Fox Newsification of things as keeping humanity stagnant and there’s some part of me that’s like “oh god this is quaint, it’s about to get so so so so much worse! Thanks social media!” But as lackluster as a lot of it is, in the end, I mostly respect this episode for the fact it looks at the new almost companion guy and is like “nah, this guy sucks.” And the end gag of the snap is great. That’s really the thing about Doctor Who, there’s always these great little beats that make ANY episode entertaining and they usually have the dignity to end strong (this is the great advantage of making episode television. It’s so much more SATISFYING).

Father’s Day - Just a wonderful, heartfelt episode. There have been so many time travel stories about “I would go back and change X bad thing from happening,” but it’s wonderful when one really nails the grief and thematic aspects of knowing some things you can’t change - all you can really do is understand them and give them grace. Just a lovely episode in every way.

The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances - “Are you my mummy!?!?” And so we get the first Steven Moffat episodes of the show and they are, of course, absolute bangers. And when Moffat is really sharp he’s so good at evolving the weird mystery and creeping you out in the process. Also, the introduction of BI-con Captain Jack Harkness is so wonderful, along with the way he represents everything The Doctor is not. It’s just a superlative two parter that crests into something genuinely affecting… It also makes a good kids Halloween costume.

Boom Town - I genuinely forgot the Slitheen came back. And at first I was pretty bored on the rewatch, but the way it sneakily evolves into a weird, rambling, but somewhat decent discussion of guilt / responsibility / atonement / capital punishment / and what getting a second chance really means. So it is more or less refreshing (especially in comparison to the usual Slitheen antics). Also, it does a really good job of handling the Mickey / Rose relationship and the ways they need to give space, draw some boundaries, but also hold on tighter to the things that matter.

Bad Wolf - I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think the “bad wolf” plotting mechanism adds up to anything, really? Because Rose being the one putting it all there… Why didn't she need to lead it all here, exactly? Like, Bad Wolf was just a saying that popped up, it was never an actual motivation for any of their movements or investigations. Moreover, she didn’t orchestrate any of that bad stuff that used it so it’s like… What did it even do? Honestly, it’s what I call “false structure” where it’s the narrative direction telling you there’s order here! But it’s artificial and not really anything to do with causality, plotting, or even shape. And in that, it exposes some of Davies’ worst story and lore-based instincts. But it also doesn’t matter much either because it doesn’t really lean into the “WHAT DOES IT MEAN!??!?!” mystery boxing of it all, so it doesn’t feel like a let down either. But anyway, the Daleks are back and it’s time for…

The Parting Of The Ways - This is an episode that highlights the feeling that adding “more” doesn’t necessarily make something more dangerous. “Dalek” does SUCH a good job of making that one being feel so menacing and scary. But suddenly having thousands of them doesn’t quite pack the same punch. Granted, it’s more just creating this big threat that facilitates the ending, but that’s also just trying to stack a climax. To wit, always having the “third tier character gun battle while more interesting things are going on” really never helps, but people can’t help but want to go for it in the big climax. But like most things in Who, it comes down to the real ending after it all. And Eccleston’s goodbye scenes are heartfelt, well-written, and to use a word of the hour… Fantastic.

TOP TEN BEST QUOTES / JOKES

10. Doctor: “Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!

9. Doctor: “You lot. You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you’re going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take the time to imagine the impossible. That maybe you survive. This is the year 5.5 slash Apple slash 26. Five billion years in your future. And this is the day— hold on. This is the day the sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world.”

8. Doctor: “The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn’t get through that door. And believe me, they’ve tried. Now shut up a minute.”

7. Doctor: “Go to your room! Go to your room! I mean it. I’m very very angry with you. I’m very very cross! Go to your room! [the infected patients go back to be] I’m really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words.”

6. Doctor: “You let one of them go but that’s nothing new. Every now and then a little victim’s spared because she smiled, ’cause he’s got freckles. ‘Cause they begged. And that’s how you live with yourself. That’s how you slaughter millions. Because once in awhile—on a whim, if the wind’s in the right direction—you happen to be kind.”

Margaret: “Only a killer would know that. IS that right? From what I’ve seen, your funny little happy go-lucky life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many people’s lives you might as well be a god. And you’re right, Doctor. You’re absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go. Let me go.”

5. Rose’s Dad: “I gave you my car keys. You don’t give your keys to a complete stranger. It’s like I trusted you. The moment I met ya, I just did. A wound in time. You called me “Dad”. I can see it. My eyes. Jackie’s attitude. You sound like her when you shout. You are. You are. You’re my Rose.”

4. Rose: “Every conversation with you just goes mental. There’s no one else I can talk to. I’ve seen all that stuff up there. The size of it. And I can’t say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things. And I’m the only person on planet Earth who knows they exist. {A spaceship screams by overhead.} Oh, that’s not fair.”

3. Doctor: “Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving? It’s like when you’re a kid. The first time they tell you that the world’s turning and you just can’t quite believe it because everything looks like it’s standing still. I can feel it. {he grabs her hand} The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. And the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We’re falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world and if we let go… {he drops her hand}. That’s who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home.”

2. Doctor: “I’m looking for a blonde in a Union Jack. A specific one, mind you, I didn’t just wake up this morning with a craving.”

1. Doctor: “Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I.”

Gosh darnit I love this show!

See ya for season two.

<3HULK