Overall opinion: Um, I don't think it's great. It's not terrible, but I remember back before I knew pretty much anything about Doctor Who, my friends convinced me to try watching it, because they thought I would like it. And I remember just being so bored out of my mind during this episode that it took me several months to give the show another chance.
The special effects in this episode are pretty bad, the overall story is a bit of generic sci-fi with only a slight twist, the side characters are not the most compelling. It just feels a bit... meandering, in a way. I think it could have been written tighter. I gave it a 7/10 rating on IMDB, because I don't like being excessively negative, unless I absolutely hate something, but my actual rating is probably more like 6/10, or if I'm being generous 6.5/10.
The Doctor: The Doctor, is actually the one thing that was the saving grace of this episode. This will sound very shallow, but I remember being a little bit disappointed that the actor is not super cute when I first started watching the show. I don't think I knew about the regeneration at this point. But it was fine because he is established as quirky and interesting very fast. And also, Rose is more my type anyway. :P
The one thing I really liked in this episode, is the speech The Doctor gives Rose about how he can feel the Earth spinning, That was the one thing that really intrigued me about him. I remember the first time I watched it, being like, wait, who is this guy? And also, the TARDIS is pretty cool. In fact she is a saving grace for me throughout the series. Yes, she is a she, and she is alive.
Rose: I'm a bit torn on Rose. On one hand, I completely relate to her in terms being this young millennial who just feels so stuck in their life and who has no future and nothing that exciting awaiting for them. On the other hand, she seems a bit... generic. I can't really get a good sense of her personality from this episode. She does have a couple of funny lines, and overall it's not the worst companion introduction, but it's not really the best either. Although, I am trying to be lenient, because it's also the show's pilot and it has to establish everything else too,
There's one thing in particular, I didn't really enjoy, and that was that whole bit with the ableism. I mean I can't really be too mad at it, because a) it's 2005; b) that's pretty much par-for sci-fi or fantasy that stars a "straight man" (to be clear, that does not mean a man who is heterosexual. but rather a character of any gender who hasn't been instilled of the true ways of the world, beyond what we all know, and that the audience is meant to identify with) and cat) that plot is resolved in literally the next scene. But still. Maybe it was a tad bit excessive, especially considering what she'd already seen at this point.
Rose's Mother and Mickey: I'm not a fan of either of them in this episode. Rose's mother is just annoying. Admittedly, that is by design, but it's still no less grating. Mickey is a tad better, but he is also sort of cowardly and just generally not very enticing. Which in fairness, is probably why Rose ends up leaving him to travel with The Doctor. I do like he is black and it's interracial relationship, but that's really the only positive thing I can say about him for now and that's really sad. Yes, I know he gets better. I do like him a lot more later on.
Villain: I think the Nestene Consciousness is an interesting idea, but it's just not explored very well. I like that the Doctor tries to talk to it first, rather than kill it. That really establishes that this is a different sort of show. And I also like that it doesn't go very well.
Moral: I'm not really sure, but did Rose end up killing the NC? Because it was implied that it was the only one, or the last one of its kind, so does that mean that The Doctor and Rose technically committed genocide? I mean, I get why, it was wreaking havoc on London and it was going to kill everyone else, but... I just think there are some moral implications here that are better explored in later Doctor Who episodes.
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