The End of the World

                                         
Compared to the last episode, The End of the World was a big improvement. While it still suffered from a slightly painful dialogue ("What's that old Earth saying? Oh yes, burn baby burn! HAHA!"), the pacing and character development took a step forward. The one major feeling I got from this episode was an overwhelming sense of sci-fi. Rose got it right when she said, "They're just so...alien," describing the aliens. With strange sentient creatures, malicious robots, space ships, and trademark alien music, this was a heavy stereotype. Oddly enough, I think it worked. This is, after all, the classic sci-fi show. I kind of got the feeling I get when watching old and outdated television shows--that while no one else really finds them interesting, I enjoy them even if they're boring on account of the authenticity most modern shows seem to lack.
     Let's recap the episode quickly. The Doctor shows off his machine to Rose by taking her to the last day of Earth's history. Everyone has evacuated, and the richest aliens watch the destruction of the planet for entertainment. We get a look at some strange aliens, many of whom come into play later- The Face of Boe and Cassandra show up in upcoming seasons. Cassandra is the last pure human, but has been turned into a flab of skin through centuries of maintaining. Gifts are given by all, and some sketchy hooded men give everyone metal balls that soon, undetected, become small robots that attack the ship's functions. While the Doctor investigates with a sentient tree woman, Rose gets knocked out and put in a room with the solar filter slowly getting turned off. Just before she dies, the Doctor saves her in the last minute. However, all the defenses begin to shut down as the Doctor realizes Cassandra is behind it all, trying to get money with hostages. While the plan was foiled, she would instead merely reap the benefits of the stock increases from their competitors. The Doctor and the tree lady go to turn the defenses back on, and as the tree holds down a lever, slowly burning, she reveals that she knows who the Doctor is. He walks through the fans she's slowing down with the lever, and with Time Lord powers walks through one as it spins at full power. He turns on the defenses, brings Cassandra back, and watches as she dries up with no one to moisturize her. He goes back to Earth with Rose.
     That being said, there were still some scientific inconsistencies, which I can't stand in shows that specifically try to justify their plots through the world's laws. Cassandra is a stretched out piece of skin with a face on it. How exactly does she talk, again, with no lungs? How does she breathe, for that matter? Later in the episode, as the Doctor is walking through the fans to switch on the shields, the glass in Rose's room cracks all over and nearly falls apart. Realistically, wouldn't this force all the air out of the room and kill Rose immediately? Picky, I know, and not necessarily accounting for future technology, but it made me wonder.
                                     
     I found one line particularly noteworthy. A robot welcomes people onto the ship, and reminds them that religion on board is prohibited. This seems to speak for the series itself. One of my main problems with Doctor Who is the strong atheistic tone. While I'm all for shows having their own set of beliefs, I think it should always stay in the realm of belief-- that in order to buy into a story, you don't have to make adjustments to your world views. For instance, in one episode, Tennant quips that you'd never believe what actually happened on Easter morning. Therefore, in the Whoniverse Christianity is factually false, and I don't think they should force the viewer into that position.
     What really held this episode above the previous one was the insight we got on the Doctor. It's easy to forget by season seven that there was a time (in the modern series) when what the Doctor is was a mystery. It was refreshing to have an episode in which Rose doesn't know about him being a Time Lord, or what that means. I remember one of the highlights of Eccleston's era was the slow understanding that underneath the goofy alien traveller, there was something far more powerful and tragic. The mystery was well developed in this episode, where we don't know much- only enough to keep our interest in it going strong. What made this cheesy tv series- scratch that, what makes this cheesy tv series- so amazing is the complexity of the Doctor. Each actor thus far has shown with great skill the tragedy of the Doctor, which roots the series in the realm of being taken seriously. What Eccleston is best at is establishing the character for the oncoming seasons, and this episode began that for me.
     On top of the Doctor's mystery and the episode's plot, there was the underlying theme of the Earth's fragility. Our lifestyle is by no means eternal, which reminds us to rethink what's important in life. There was also the daring idea that our race might live on- that this mania we have over the Apocalypse or Nuclear Wars isn't actually going to wipe us out. I think the main takeaway was that culture is temporary, but humanity will never die. I think this is a pretty strong theme, considering the fact that the plot was weak.
     Lastly, did you notice an alien speculate whether this was the "Bad Wolf" emergency? I'll try and spot a reference in every episode.

Rose

                                            
This is my first entry on Doctor Who! My plan is to discuss each episode and its value. Keep in mind that there will be spoilers for episode, so make sure you watch it before reading this. We begin with Rose, the first episode of the new series started in 2005. Thank goodness the show survived after this painful pilot. With retro music, idiotic characters, and a paper thin plot riddled with holes, Eccleston's era started as a mess. The only thing that kept this show viewable for fans was that the Doctor was instantly likable, as usual.
     The show begins in a strange montage of Rose's day--her looking like a slob, her kissing Mickey, her still looking like a slob, her working...all to a strange 90's beat that at best could be called unique. As Rose descends into a scary lower basement, we dive pretty quickly into action. Truth be told, it is a pretty solid start. The creepy manikins turn their heads toward Rose in an isolated basement, and the Doctor takes her away to run from the monsters in a classic beginning to a Who episode. And then it starts to falter. As the elevator closes on the manikin reaching through the doors, the Doctor pops its arm off.
     Let's jump forward a little. We know from the episode as a whole that the plastic is being controlled by the Nestene Consciousness, giving it life. Something about the plastic allows the Consciousness to enter. The idea of it possessing mannequins comes immediately to mind in a sci-fi show, but we also know that it isn't limited to human forms. Therefore, the Doctor should immediately realize that the arm is going to create trouble. Instead, he cheerfully hands it to Rose as if it's harmless and lets her carry it all the way home, getting to his own silly shenanigans.
     And what shenanigans are those, again? He needs to blow up a transmitter that's controlling the plastic in this building. However, what could the plastic possibly do that's more harmful than blowing up the entire store in a gigantic explosion? And how did he know the building was clear of people, again?
     So Rose goes home, which is an immediate plummet for the pacing of the show. All the characters at this point are unlikable except the Doctor, which makes any scene without him kind of painful, especially the ones with Mickey. The show tries to make us dislike him extremely hard, only to make him one of the main protagonists of the episode.
     The Doctor makes an interesting comment to Rose as they talk the next morning. He can feel the Earth move, hurtling through space. When I first heard this, I thought it was an awesome line. It gives us this idea that the Doctor is someone strange, that he's alien, and the sense that he's powerful. But if we look a little more closely into it, that ability doesn't make any sense. According to physics, we can't feel the Earth moving because we're all going at a constant rate. Therefore, we might as well be stationery, because as long as we're spinning as fast as the Earth, it's unnoticeable. What the Doctor is saying is that he's exempt from this rule-he might as well be saying gravity doesn't effect him. This is never explained or expanded upon, which makes me wonder whether to accept it as a true statement (in the canon) at all. Science is science, and just being a Time Lord doesn't mean you don't have to follow its rules without a good reason.
     After a little bit of brilliant detective work on Rose's part (let's type "Doctor" into google and see what pops up), she goes to find a man who knows all about this mysterious man. We learn some ominous details about the Doctor, like the fact that he's found all throughout history. Ooh, and destruction follows wherever he comes. And one last thing, Rose, before you leave: he always has one companion. Death. As this sinks in, Mickey finds that a garbage can is creeping toward him, which is where we learn that the Nestene Consciousness must be after Rose to get information about the Doctor.
     This is also, however, where the episode just gets cartoonish. The garbage can proceeds to eat Mickey, burp (how is that supposed to work?), then magically make a Mickey replica out of no materials. Somehow, Rose doesn't seem to notice that something's wrong with Mickey, even though he's a plastic doll that can barely talk or drive. Perhaps her boyfriend is so incompetent and emotionless as it was, and she couldn't tell the difference. We proceed to have a battle between the Doctor and this monster, and the cartoon violence gets even more obvious.
     As Rose enters the Tardis for the first time, a great scene at face value, we also learn that the Doctor couldn't care less that Mickey is dead. Doesn't he have, I dunno, some sort of creed against that? I thought the whole point of the Doctor was that he valued life over everything. Rose herself seems to be more concerned with the Doctor's flippancy than the actual fact her boyfriend's dead. They quickly forget this little argument, and find Mickey safe and sound in a couple minutes.
     We proceed to learn that this episode has no logic guiding it at all. The mannequins, coming to life to destroy the world, have now all obtained laser guns in their fingers. How did this happen, again? Do we have reason to be concerned with the manufacturers of our mannequins?
                                                   
                                                              The Nestene Consciousness
     Finally, I would be interested to find out what the Doctor is talking about with the Consciousness about the war he fought in, the one he tried to help them with. Is there an earlier episode with that in it? From what I can find, the Doctor has only tried to thwart the Nestene. Well, that's all for this episode. Feel free to discuss in the comments anything you noticed about what went on in this episode or any feedback. Thanks for reading!