ow! my feelings!!

If you ever want to bring my government down in two words, say 'Ten seconds' exasperatedly, then shrug and walk off.

Vegan matriarch warriors versus chumbly-driving gunky boys is a conflict I can get behind any day. Maybe it's because I watched the animated version but I didn't find it boring like a lot of other people, and I actually enjoyed Steven as a companion, unlike in the Time Meddler (which is a great serial just not because of Steven).

First part is really good, we've never seen the Doctor's mistakes in flying the TARDIS end up with this much of a painful result for the companion's family before. I like the premise of the episode, the action and intrigue is there. It works well as a two-parter, and allows there to be more reveals than what we would normally get. The fat and fart jokes are a bit naff but I found them funny when I was younger so I guess the purpose there was to appeal to children, since Doctor Who is meant to be a family show: adults get the innuendos that kids don't understand yet and kids get the toilet humour that the adults find lame. Also never noticed Toshiko until now, mainly because I hadn't seen Torchwood until this year.

This is the first time (in the order that I've been watching it) that I've actually wanted a side-character in the classic era to join the crew, I'll miss you every day c*nty lock-picking thespian <3.

This is also the second time the Doctor has knowingly caused a historical fire and then dipped out (See the Romans).

This is one of the stories that whenever I rewatch the show, I remember as more boring than it is. It doesn't have many stand-out moments, but there are many things that work in its favour. We have the start of the Bad Wolf plotline, the most developed character to have died at this point in the show, period costuming (which I always love). The Gelth used to scare me to death when I was younger, so I used to avoid this episode if possible. Out of the first three episodes, it's definitely the weakest in terms of action and memorability, but it's still pretty strong when you contrast it to some of the later historical episodes. Dickens actually is a key part of the plot, and is written specific to the year that the episode is yet, not just as a cameo to harken back to a different time and jump in at the last second for no reason and without any character purpose like with the Beatles in The Devil's Chord.

The Saxon/ Viking conflict was pretty dull. Otherwise, I found the cheeky quality of the Time Meddler to be quite endearing. Loved the idea of a Time Lord who wants to change things for the better, but ends up messing up the course of human history, especially since the Doctor has made the same mistake multiple times since. Bring back the Time Meddler!!!

Cassandra is in so little of the show as a whole but is cemented as one of the most iconic villains of the entire franchise with the two episodes she has.

I didn't realise you could just shove Daleks like that

Phwoar what a start!

Immediately Rose is so quick to distinguish itself from the classic era by hitting us with the high-paced montage. None of the budgetary-mandated loitering that some of the not-so-great serials force us through as an audience. I think the change from 20-minute 6-parters to a shorter series with hour-long episodes was warranted at the time and allows for much more of an arc over the course of the series, especially considering that this arc is my personal favourite.

We get our first taste of horror in Rose’s introduction to the Autons, and I can’t think of any other line that would work so well in introducing the Doctor as ‘Run!’. Everything is so aggressively 2000s and I love it, so nostalgic.

Jackie is immediately so funny; Mickey is immediately Mickey. All the characters are so realised, you can easily believe that we’ve stepped into Rose’s life at the point where the Doctor shows up, but that she has lived a real human experience before then.

It’s goofy as f*ck and I’m so happy with it, I know some people don’t like the cheese, but I feel like it’s a fun nod to the classic era. The JFK zoom out of Christopher Eccleston mewing is so hilariously camp.

Being placed in Rose’s POV recontextualises all the previous lore and prevents information from being shoehorned in, which is incredible in terms of assuming your audience’s intelligence, particularly the younger generation for whom this will always be their doctor (I was 2 when I saw this episode for the first time).

The music is amazing, we get certified bangers like Westminster Bridge, Seeking the Doctor, and even a sneaky snippet of Doomsday when our resident it-girl enters the TARDIS for the first time, which is some gnarly musical foreshadowing if I’ve ever heard it.

The plot isn’t too complex but imagine how much of a brain ache it would be if it was, like the Zygon subplot in Day of the Doctor. Clive’s death is poignant and marks the start of the new era’s more graphic and emotional deaths, he has knowledge, he’s resourceful, but ultimately none of that saves him in the face of brutish violence, his last seconds spent realising it was all for nothing.

This is an amazing first episode of the revival era, and it was the earliest point of reference I had of this show until I watched an Unearthly Child 2022.