Doctor Who?
I want to start by saying I fully, 100%, blame lyntek for this post, my addiction to the subject of this post and the current lack of space on my hard disk.
This is also your official spoiler warning for Doctor Who, Season One, and a few spoilers for older Doctors!
I've never seen the older seasons of DW so this is my first brush with it. And I have to admit I was hooked pretty fast.
The premise is pretty simple. The Doctor is a time traveler, his ship (the TARDIS) disguised as a blue telephone box. He travels in time and space to watch history happen and usually takes along a companion for the ride. The Doctor meets Rose in the first episode and invites her to come along with him, and she does. Later on in the season they pick up Captain Jack Harkness, another time traveler.
Christopher Eccleston plays the part of the 9th Doctor, but I'll come back to him later. From what I have been told, the part of the 8th Doctor ends with him ending a war between his race and his enemies by destroying them all. The 9th Doctor is the only surviving Time Lord.
I was instantly taken in by Eccleston. It's mostly his grin, like a kid in a toy or candy store; very infectious and I was instantly charmed. I thought his acting throughout the season was great and was already starting to mourn the loss of him by episode 3. I just couldn't see how anyone could make me enjoy the character as much as Eccleston did (and I still can't, but that's not the point). I don't think words can do justice to how much I enjoyed his version of a Doctor I never even knew of before him, and to a certain degree I find it regrettable that he was my first exposure to Doctor Who, because the possibility that I might enjoy the next few seasons less due to the lack of Eccleston is very real. On the other hand, it was a really really good first experience.
Eccleston aside though, I think the Doctor as a character is incredibly cute (wrong word maybe? XD). From the enthusiasm, the jokes and grins and the way he enjoys showing off in a way that's not at all annoying, to the anger that pours off him during certain memorable occasions, I was really just happy watching the character unfold without worrying much about anything else. It was fun to watch, and interesting, and I don't really need more than that to watch something.
I can't mention just one character in here, much as I would like to go on and on and on about the Doctor and Eccleston. However, this review expresses all I want to say about Eccleston in much better words than I can come up with, so I will now turn to the other two that made this so much fun to watch.
I'm going to mention Jack first because I am totally biased. Captain Jack Harkness shows up in episode 9 where he tries to con the Doctor. He fails (obviously XD) and ends up joining the Doctor and Rose along on their trips. I loved the interaction between the three of them that they showed in episode 11, it made me grin; they were like a bunch of hyperactive kids, best friends forever. Of course that doesn't last; by the season ending things go very very bad and poor Jack gets the short end of the stick. He's such a fun character though, what with the constant flirting with anything on legs. XD ♥
Rose's turn. Because lyntek insisted I should watch episodes 9-10 first, I didn't have the best first impression of her. But by episode 2 she was growing on me and I can honestly say now I'll be just as sad during season 2 as I was during 1 because looming ahead is the event of Rose's departure. BBC sucks. Q_Q Contrary to her looks, she doesn't act overly "blond" and ends up saving the Doctor a few times, although she does have her oh-so-stupid moments as well. I haven't completely figured out the relationship between her and the Doctor yet but they seem to be pretty close overall.
I also want to take a moment to mention Mickey, Rose's sometimes-boyfriend, because he has so many awesome moments and probably gets under-appreciated what with all the love for The Doctor, Rose and Jack. ♥
One more character(s) needs to be mentioned - the Doctor's enemy, the Dalek. lyntek described them to me before I got to see them and I kind of laughed at the pictures. They don't really look creepy, but god - the voice really is the stuff of nightmares. XD I think my youngest sister would be completely creeped out by it, and a bunch of them talking all at once doesn't really sound pleasant since they have this tendency to shout "Exterminate!" in chorus. XD The episodes where they show up are my favorite of the season because it's always memorable and the Doctor is always so, so good in them. ♥
I won't say all the episodes of Doctor Who are breathtakingly awesome. Some of them are normal, others are beneath normal. Most are creepy in some way, all except one or two have extremely funny moments. The seasons are 13 episodes each so watching all of it isn't much of a chore. However, if you want the best of the best and don't mind missing out on some things, these are what I would recommend.
Episode 2 - The End of the World
This episode isn't really all that special plot-wise but I thought the idea was amazing. Was already hooked from the preview - the Doctor said "welcome to the end of the world" and I wanted to instantly go and watch. I still really like it although it doesn't compare to the episodes that come later. But it's a good episode and a good way to start.
Episode 6 - Dalek
This is the first episode that has the Dalek. Eccleston was great in here, every second of it. A little bit of the history comes out (I think anyway, am not 100% sure) and the interaction between the Doctor and the Dalek made me extremely happy. This episode also has what is in my opinion the best line of the show.
Episode 8 - Father's Day
This one focuses mostly on Rose and shows how much the Doctor cares for her. It's a really sad episode but the story is good and it has tons of great moments between the Doctor and Rose. Not really critical to the overall storyline though but definitely worth the watch.
Episode 9-10 - The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances
Jack's entrance into the series. I found these to be pretty creepy. :X The story itself is pretty nice but not critical to the overall plot. Recommended because of Jack and Jack and oh, Jack!
Episode 11 - Boom Town
The Doctor in-depth. Kind of depends on episode 4-5 but they show a short preview at the beginning so you can skip those two completely if you want. Not critical to the plot, but since it shows new information about the Doctor and the TARDIS and is overall amusing I still recommend it.
Episode 12-13 - Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways
The end of the season. I love these two the most; there's very little to laugh at, more to cry at since this is the end of Eccleston (for me anyway D:) but gorgeous episodes anyway. Starts off a bit weird, don't let the beginning turn you away; it's totally worth it. The Doctor, Rose and Jack were all so ♥ in these two episodes.
I'll probably start to download the next season soon and hopefully David Tennant will charm me as easily as Eccleston did. *tentatively optimistic*
