Series 1 Overview

The BBC has brought back Dr. Who in an inventive and entertaining way while retaining its tried and true qualities from the old series. The theme song is virtually the same, the opening title is similar, with the view of a time vortex filling your screen. The outside appearance of the TARDIS, as the beloved blue 1960's Police Public Phone Box is just how you remember it.  The noise the TARDIS makes is how we memorize it to be.  They've brought back one of the old series favourite villains, and thrown in some new ones for good measure.  And the writers have managed to use the best qualities that we loved from the previous eight Doctors, and filled out the character of the ninth Doctor played brilliantly by Christopher Eccleston.

Reading the Season 1 Dr. Who Collector's Edition Episode Guide, and from watching the 'Dr. Who Confidential' DVD which is a behind the scenes look at the making of the series, the viewer can see the passion, the drive and the hard work that went into this new series.

The idea of the new series of Dr. Who was aimed to make the series more modern by using less studio filmed scenes, and more outdoor locations.  Indeed, the scenes of either London, Cardiff or Swansea (for a 19th Century version of Cardiff) almost becomes as integral to the story line as does the dialogue and the characters.  The cinematography of the new series is impressive and does exactly what it was designed to do, convey a mood, a scene or an important clue to the episodes' story line.  There is the use of London landmarks in many of the episodes, such as the London Eye or Big Ben, and even with the red double decker buses careening past on the streets or being ridden on by one of the characters. 

The way the writers, directors and camera crew use the streets of London and Cardiff is similar to what they wanted to express through the character of Rose, the ninth Doctor's new companion.  The writers such as Russell T Davies wanted to put a new spin on a dearly loved Brittish institution of a sci-fi series.  Rather than just some feeling of being 'Lost in Space' where the Doctor and his companion spend all of their time off world and among alien races, he wanted to create a contrast; make the episodes relative to our day and age, so we can relate to the series.  What they do in these new episodes, is bring many of the alien encounters down to Earth, literally, and humanize the story lines that way.

With the new series of Dr. Who using out-of-doors sets and on-site filming locations, they use geography to make the series more modern and also, more real.  They also use the Doctor's companion Rose, to follow through on this very idea.  Russell T Davies said of the character Rose; "The most important thing I wanted to do was to make her real.  Give her life.  And that's why I made a mother for her, a boyfriend, and not only that, a story structure.  It means we keep coming back to that.  We keep exploring Rose's life against normal life.  To keep it real to be honest, so you've always got a touchstone."

Rose is almost the perfect contrast to the Doctor; he is 900 years old (as he repeatedly reminds her) and she is 19.  But as Billy Piper who plays Rose, is quoted; "He's 900 years old and she's 19, but they think alike." The two compliment each other like Yin and Yang, harmonizing with each other and using their differences to balance the other out.  The Doctor thinks he's always right, and Rose doesn't always think this is so.  Christopher Eccleston made this comment on the Rose/ Doctor dynamic; "The notion is that the Doctor's lonely and Rose is bored.  He loses some of his loneliness and she loses all of her boredom when they meet." When the Doctor offers Rose the chance to get away from it (the real world) for a while… away from her Council flat she shares with her single mother family, her boyfriend, her previous retail industry career, the mundane routine of it all… she jumps at the chance. 

As the Doctor tells Rose in the first episode of the season titled 'Rose'; "You could come with me.  This box just isn't a London offer, it goes anywhere in the Universe, free of charge.  What do you think?  You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go… anywhere."

And this is where Russell T Davies, Christopher Eccleston, Billy Piper and the rest of the cast and crew and writers of the new Dr. Who do take the series… anywhere and everywhere.  It's upbeat and funny.  It has action and horror.  It has sadness and drama.  One minute you're curling up into a ball on the sofa and almost hiding your eyes behind your hands, the next you're holding your side from laughter. 

The last of the old Dr. Who series ended in 1989, but it lived on with its fans.  Novels and comic books were produced, and even Dr. Who audio adventures started in 1999.  There are Dr. Who exhibitions.  There are Dr. Who questions in game shows.  But the on-going appeal of this broad range science fiction story is that it has grown from a cult TV show that has moved from a steady demographic of viewers to a large scale arena of the greater public by also growing and changing with the times.  Our time.