1. Rose

When Rose Tyler meets a mysterious stranger called the Doctor, her life will never be the same again.  Soon, she realizes that her Mum, her boyfriend, and the whole of Planet Earth are in danger.  The only hope for salvation lies inside a strange blue box…

- DR. WHO COLLECTORS’ EDITION EPISODE GUIDE

The TARDIS, although not quite a character (although some fans may disagree) which is the Doctor’s time machine (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) has an important role in the story line of many of the episodes.  On the outside it looks exactly the same, just as we remember it from growing up with the TV series.  The Doctors may change (or regenerate) the assistants and/ or companions may come and go, but the TARDIS is almost forever.  The interior of the TARDIS may have been given a more upbeat look along with the rest of the new series, but of course, there are still the staple trademarks that even the powers that be wouldn’t think of to touch.  The trademark engine noise is still the same, just as in the centre of the control panel the light cylinder that goes up and down, indicating when the TARDIS is in motion. 

Both the new look TARDIS and the new ninth Doctor are introduced to us in this episode through the eyes of Rose.  Rose is an every day 19 year old girl, stuck in a life of an every day routine… her alarm clock wakes her up at 7.30 AM, she kisses her mother good-bye, and then she catches the bus to work.  She works as a Retail Assistant in a London department store, where she spends her lunch hour with her boyfriend, and then returns to work again to fold up clothes and watch the hours while away on her watch.  Only this day is different.  On this day as she has to run the takings of the day downstairs… the shop mannequins begin to move, and not in a very friendly way either. 

Lucky for Rose, the Doctor (as he does) is there to save the day, and after a brief introduction, he warns her to “run for your life!” and unceremoniously blows up the building to destroy the dummies.  Rose returns home, and back to the natural after witnessing the supernatural.  Her mother Jacky carries on that Rose should get compensation.  Her boyfriend Micky rushes to her side, saying that he wants to take her down to the pub to buy her a ‘real’ drink.  Rose correctly guesses, “is there a match on?” Micky confesses that if they hurry now, they can watch the last half.

This episode of ‘Rose’ doesn’t just concentrate on the Doctor’s future companion, but it sets the ball rolling for how the series will use Rose, Jacky and Micky as touch bases as a contrast in this science fiction series.  The first story thread is the danger of the mannequins coming to life (the street fighting during late night shopping is as freaky as it is funny), and the under current is the normal compared against the abnormal.  The Doctor is abnormal.  He rejoices in it.  He later comments in other episodes that, “I don’t do domestic”.  But as Rose travels with the Doctor and sees the amazing wonders of time and space, also thanks to the TARDIS, she knows she also has to keep her feet on the ground for the sake of her mother and her boyfriend.  

The shots of London are just as important to grounding this story of shop dummies coming to life.  Rose catches a red double decker bus to work.  The department store she works in is in the very centre of busy London.  The Doctor and Rose run across a bridge, with Big Ben in the back ground behind them.  The alien transmitter that is animating the mannequins is the London Eye.  Jacky hides behind a black cab during the street fighting scene.  All of these typical icons of London make this episode essentially English, adding to the believability and therefore the entertainment of it all. 

At the end of the adventure, it’s Rose who saves the day.  She swings on a chain in true Tarzan style and knocks the Doctor’s vial of ‘anti-plastic’ into the creature made of ‘living plastic’ even after the Doctor yelled at her to run to safety.  Her bravery impresses our favourite hero, and he offers her the invitation to come and explore the Universe with him. 

As Rose contemplates his offer, she looks at Micky and says; “Thanks.” Micky replies with, “Thanks for what?” And Rose, after a moment says, “Exactly,” and then she runs out of his arms and through the doors of the TARDIS.