This is a weird episode to review, because the actual plot isn't actually much good. But, it's still a good episode because the plot isn't the most important part of this episode.

Regarding the plot, the opening is creepy and intriguing. However, every time we go back to the Autons or the Nestene Consciousness they become less interesting. The arm coming alive to strangle people is harmless (armless) fun. The part where Mickey gets eaten by a bin and replaced with a plastic Mickey looks bad, is silly and I'm not sure it makes much sense. Then we get to the final showdown. The villain and their plan is thin and uninteresting. It literally just takes Rose swinging from a chain to save the day, which is a fairly underwhelming climax.

Yet I still think this is a good episode. The plot may be bad, but it's a lot less important than the parts of this episode that are done right. As a reintroduction to this universe (many people in 2005 would've never seen any Doctor Who before, especially children) this episode is great. It introduces The Doctor, the TARDIS, the Sonic Screwdriver and explains the universe one piece at a time and in a way that makes perfect sense. It also does this without it feeling like tedious exposition. The usual rule in storytelling is show don't tell. But I much prefer the dialogue scenes of Rose & The Doctor telling us what's happening, than I do any point where we're shown it.

Speaking of Rose and the Doctor, they're where this episode is at it's best. This episode serves as a great re-introduction to the show. It's an even better initial introduction to both Rose and this incarnation of The Doctor. You immediately get a feel for who these characters are. The Doctor's introduction of taking Rose's hand and his first words being "Run!" before they both run down a corridor might be a perfect way to establish this version of the Doctor and this era of the show.

Sadly the supporting cast get a little short changed, but that was probably inevitable and is completely understandable. The episode correctly puts most of it's effort into establishing our new Doctor and new companion, so there is less time to establish anyone else. Plus Mickey & Jackie can't be too likable because we have to accept Rose is willing to leave them at the end of the episode. They're not bad characters by any stretch, but they're not that interesting (yet).

The Doctor and Rose however are so well drawn from the very start. They're interesting, charming, funny, likeable, believable and have a great chemistry together. So even with the flaws in this episode, I think it's good TV and a great intro to the series.

As good as I remember, still a perfect reintroduction to the show, the way we follow Rose and then the monster and then the doctor is perfect, everything in this episode really does just build perfectly although I would have loved the original idea of having all the faces in Clive's shed...an odd choice to not do that

Man autons are underused.. this is their 3rd story and we're still just doing shop dummies which I like as a callback to their classic apperances but Terror showed them doing so much more and the Doctor and Rose talk about how much more they can do but...still just dummies

Whats thare to say besides "Fantastic".....well to start with everything we know now this episode is amazing at setting up so much, one thing i wanna point out that never clicked for me before is 9's tardis interior is likely ment to look like a dalek  yk due to the time war and all likely being all he could think about when he regenerated 

A great start to a great era

As the series opener, it truly throws you in the deep of end of how wacky this show can be. But it also reminds me how much I love the show. Eccleston is charming straight off the bat and his chemistry with Billie Piper is magnetic. There’s such a strong sense of character between everyone from Rose’s composed curiosity to Mickey’s boyishness to Jackie’s flirtation and obliviousness to the Doctor’s stoic caring. Well-paced to boot, definitely a fun opener and what would usher in another twenty years of Doctor Who.

When I first tried watching Doctor Who back in, like, 2012ish, I bounced off of this and End of the World pretty hard. Revisiting it now, I understand why - the plot isn't amazing, the tone is wonky and inconsistent, and it has a very specific brand of early 2000s energy that, at the time, I didn't really vibe with. My perspective is a lot different now, though - these days I tend to value character work a lot more and it's hard to deny that Rose excels at it.

In ten minutes I felt like I perfectly understood who Rose, Jackie, and Mickey were and what their relationships were like, and in twenty, I understood why Rose was so fascinated with the Doctor. The choice to frame the episode from her point of view was an inspired one; it lets us wonder who the Doctor is alongside her and allows for a number of pretty brilliant reveals throughout the rest of the season that work even for veterans of Classic Who. It's far from perfect, but I appreciate it for the groundwork it does and for kickstarting maybe the best series arc Doctor Who has ever done.

Notes:

• + Scene: Love the intro, and how it focuses on Rose and Mickey - it feels very mid-2000’s pulp TV
• + Tone: Great building of tension leading up to the Auton reveal
• + Character: Rose automatically rationalizes the Autons as a joke being played by a group of students
• + Dialogue: “Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”
• + Character: Rose is so shaken up by the events in the building that she runs in front of a car
• ++ Character: The scene at Rose’s house does a great job of establishing the dynamic between her, Jackie, and Mickey: Mickey initially seems genuinely concerned, then when he realizes she’s safe, he immediately reveals that he has other priorities, and Rose is completely fine with this; she doesn’t even *want* his attention right now. Jackie keeps trying to find ways to get money off of the incident, Rose wants nothing to do with it, and is annoyed with Jackie as a result
• + Character: In the wake of the previous night’s events, Rose has forgotten to turn her alarm off and we get a repeat of the shot from the start of the episode
• + Scene: lol @ the Doctor shooting Jackie down
• + Character: While Rose rants about the events of the previous night, the Doctor ignores her and plays around with some stuff in her house to establish his level of intellect and some of his oddities, and also his incompetency with cardistry because he can’t be good at *everything*
• + Character: Rose assumes that the Doctor, like Mickey, is just messing around with the hand, until it attacks her as well, at which point she suddenly starts to take things a lot more seriously
• - Plot: Jackie’s timing with the hair dryer is a *little* convenient
• + Character: The Doctor calls Rose’s bluff when she threatens to tell people about the incident
• + Character: He refuses to explain himself to Rose; he’s closed off, and doesn’t want to form any more close bonds for reasons we don’t know yet. He goes so far as to act condescending and dismissive towards her, but she’s too persistent to be put off
• + Dialogue: “Do you believe me?” “No.” “You’re still listening”
• ++ Scene: The Doctor’s monologue about being able to feel the turn of the Earth is phenomenal
• + Character: Rose runs back when she hears the sound of the TARDIS disappearing, mostly just to show the audience that it’s gone, but it works
• + Dialogue: “Any excuse to get in the bedroom. Don’t read my emails!”
• + Character: Rose googling random s**t about the Doctor is the most relatable thing in the universe
• + Character: Clive is immediately great, Mickey gets some great characterization here as being super protective of Rose
• + Scene: They just copied and pasted this low quality shot of Christopher Eccleston into important historical events lmao
• + Character: “He has one constant companion: Death” great foreshadowing of the series arc
• - Tone: The bit with Mickey getting eaten by the garbage can is kind of corny and tonally inconsistent with the rest of the scene
• + Character: Clive telling Rose that he thinks the Doctor is an alien time traveler is what pushes her over the line
• -- Plot: The Mickey auton is stupid, it’s funny but it’s also completely ridiculous that Rose wouldn’t notice he’s different
• + Character: Rose’s first reaction to Auton!Mickey running rampant is to pull the fire alarm
• + Character: she keeps trying the gate and doesn’t go into the TARDIS until she feels the need to beg the Doctor for help again, then she immediately leaves in shock, runs around, and when Auton!Mickey starts breaking through she runs back in
• + Character: The Doctor didn’t even think about the fact that Mickey is dead, and is much more concerned with the Autons, and is incredibly dismissive *again* towards Rose for caring so much about her boyfriend
• + Scene: The show briefly interrupts the character moment for a plot beat to happen, but goes back to it quickly
• -- Scene: It’s a little jarring how quickly Rose forgets about the fact that her boyfriend is dead and asks the Doctor about his accent, though it does sort of help demonstrate that she didn’t care *that* much about Mickey
• + Scene: Nice visual gag with the London Eye
• + Character: You can really feel the Doctor’s distaste for emotional bonds as a consequence of the Time War
• - Tone: The Nestene Consciousness has… less than amazing VFX lol
• - Plot: It’s a *little* convenient that Clive and Jackie just happen to be at the same shopping mall when the transmitter activates
• + Scene: Rose gets a really great climactic moment with the swinging from the chain
• + Character: Through all of the action and important character beats with Rose and Doctor at the end of the episode, the episode still remembers to give Mickey an in-character reaction to the TARDIS and the recent events
• ++ Character: Rose shows a lot of complex emotions in response to her decision to turn the Doctor down on his offer, you can really see the regret in her eyes and the slight smile that creeps onto her face when she hears the sounds of the TARDIS rematerializing
• + Character: Wow, Rose is *awful* to Mickey lmao

• Plot: -4
• Character: +22
• Theme: 0
• Tone: -1
• Dialogue: +3
• Scenes: +6
• Final grade: +26, B

You can find an in-depth explanation of my review system at https://pastebin.com/BDpANg3b