Doctor Who primer

I've a new obsession, Doctor Who 2005. I've fallen quite madly for this show and I intend to spread the love. Word of caution though, spoilers abound.


"The Doctor is a legend, woven through history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings a storm in his wake and his one constant companion."

"Who's that?"

"Death."

-- Clive and Rose
Doctor Who 1x01 Rose

Doctor Who primer


This is the Doctor, the ninth Doctor, an alien from Gallifrey, a Time Lord. He’s been played by different actors, in 2005 he’s played fantastically by Christopher Eccleston.

In every adventure, the Doctor has a Companion. This year, the companion is Rose Tyler, as played by Billie Piper. Yes, *that* Billie Piper. It shouldn’t work, we should be hating her, throwing socks at her on screen – but, oh, it works.

Rose Tyler becomes an integral part of the Doctor Who universe. More importantly, she becomes an integral part of the Doctor.


Regenration, what?


If there might be confusion, here’s the thing to remember, the first, the second, and the fifth up to the ninth Doctor are all one people. Time Lords are long lived and has a nifty trick escaping death – Regeneration.

On the point of death, the Doctor can change his body to save himself. He has different personality quirks every regeneration but essentially he is still the same person.

Doctor-Companion relationship



Ever since its conception, way back in the 50s, the Doctor-Companion relationship has always been platonic, this changed in the Eight Doctor movie, played by Paul McGann. Believe me when I say, people were less than pleased. That was in the 90s.

In 2005, Doctor Who followed in the footsteps of its predecessor but this time the romantic subtext between the Doctor and his current Companion, Rose is very much supported thanks to Billie Pipers brilliant portrayal of Rose Tyler. The 19 year old shopgirl who has the guts, the bravery and the loyalty to become not just a Companion in name, but a true companion in every sense.

She doesn’t stand around waiting to be saved, she challenges the Doctor and struggles in every way to become his equal.

The Doctor and Rose never really defined their relationship and considered themselves as friends.



They are, I think, More than Friends and less than Lovers but saying
that its kind of flat to the kind of relationship they really have. They love
each other but they were not physical with each other, until the last
which only constituted a kiss.

But the actors who portray them, the writers who write them all have one thing to say:

“They love each other. They're best friends, and they kind of finish off each other's sentences, understand each other's mood swings and reasoning, but, as in all good relationships, they have lessons to teach other."
– Christopher Eccleston, “The Doctor”

"She's quite in love with him."

– Billie Piper, “Rose”

“Obviously and quite overtly, really, the subtext of this show is that the Doctor is hopelessly in love with Rose.”
– Steven Moffat, Writer


Rose entered the Doctor's life, in the time, where he's just experienced
something very tragic in his life... the complete eradication of his
species.

The Doctor comes from a race of Time Lords, an alien race who have
discovered ships that can travel through space and time. The Doctor's
ship the TARDIS, a living ship. It can change shapes, until the time it
was damaged and now has become a big blue telephone box.

It looks small on the outside, but terrifically large on the inside.

The Doctor is 900 years old, and has in his life times, countless Companions
(not sexual or romantically connected to him), people who's lives he's
touched, and who has touched him turn.

Usually, the Companions are there to be saved by the doctor, and usually
just tagging along. The Doctor coerces them along, or they just appear
accidentally. That is, until, Rose Tyler came along.

The Doctor has a contempt for the human race, and when angry calls
humans, "Stupid apes". But his contempt is also mixed in with
fondness, and he always, always returns to Earth for no other reason
than that.


He knows humans have a great capacity and potential to be more
than they are, and also an even greater capacity to do harm. In that
measure he always tries to save the Earth and its "pathetic inhabitants."

Rose, as noted, is different from the other Companions, in that, she wasn't
coerced or appeared accidentally. She was invited by the Doctor to join him.
Before meeting the Doctor, she was a plain 19 year old shopgirl, going nowhere
with a safe and companionable boyfriend. Then the Doctor comes along
and suddenly there were exploding buildings, killer mannequins and death.

When the Doctor saved her the first time, he grabbed her hand, catching her
attention and said only one word: "Run." They haven't stopped running since
then.

Because of the Doctor, she realizes that there is more to life than waking
up every morning, going to work and hanging around with her boyfriend, because
of the Doctor, she's seen the End of the World, she's met Charles Dickens, saw
her father die twice, shook hands with aliens and warred with the great
exterminators, the Daleks.

Along the way they pick-up Captain Jack Harkness, a Time Agent, who
flirts with anything that walks or talks. Jack likes the Doctor and Rose
(yes, in *that* way). They make a fun trio-- but that's beside the point.


Do you know what I was saying, he tells Rose then -- and remembers, word for word, moments after the roundabout -- about the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid -- the first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it, 'cause everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling 'round the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me -- clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go....

He drops her hand.

That's the void, he thinks. The emptiness of space and time if you don't hold on to something. Perfect awareness, but alone --

That's who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler.

- The Doctor on
Doctor Who 1x01 – Rose
Roundabout by Casira


In the season finale of Doctor Who, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack engages in a desperate war with the Dales - the arch-nemsis of the Time Lords, looks like ye old garbage bins, with a mad hate-on against anything that isn’t a Dalek, who’s main battle cry is: Exterminate! Exterminate!

It was the battle against the Daleks that destroyed the Doctor’s home planet, and they discover that it was the Daleks who were behind the manipulation of the Human race. Nine hundred years into the future, the Doctor sets out to save the Human race again, against the horrific Daleks.

It becomes desperate to mad, once the Doctor discovers that the only way to defeat the Daleks was to detonate a bomb, which can kill both the Humans and the Daleks. The Doctor tricks Rose and sends her back to her time, against her will. Leaving a holographic message asking her to: "Live a fantastic life, Rose. Do it for me."

Back in the future, Jack and the Doctor struggle to keep the Daleks at bay and when Jack asks about Rose and the Doctor just looks at him. Jack nods his understanding. Then, the Dalek emperor taunts the Doctor, saying the only way the weapon could work is that it could kill both the Dalek and Human species, just like the weapon that killed the Doctor's race.

Jack repeats his complete trust in the Doctor, saying, "Never doubted him.
You sent her away, doc. That's all that matters."

In the battle, Jack dies, the last man standing, to protect the Doctor, who was finishing the weapon, and then the Daleks flood the chamber, surrounding the Doctor.

The emperor grates his triumph, asking, "What are you Doctor, a coward or a killer?"

The Doctor, hand poised on the bomb. If he pushes the trigger, the Dalek will be no more, together with the Human race.If he doesn't pull the trigger, the Daleks will kill all the Humans and use the DNA to create more Daleks, whose sole goal is to cleanse the universe of everything that isn't Dalek.

Some choice.

A choice the Doctor was forced to make during the last great time war, where
in order to defeat the Daleks he had to detonate a bomb that will kill the Dalek
and his race.

It was wrenching.

He did it once. Can he do it again?

Suddenly he lets go of the weapon with a shout, then looks at the emperor
with something like remorse and proclaims his choice, "A coward, anyday."

The emperor laughs, contemptuous of the Doctor's weakness and deems the Doctor's punishment as 'death'.

"Maybe its time." He said resigned and manic at the same time. Suddenly, the TARDIS engines can be heard grinding in the silence. The Daleks panic, shouting that they will not let the Doctor escape. The Doctor looks at the space where the TARDIS is materializing, in disbelief. It can't be.

But it is, the TARDIS doors open revealing a blinding golden light, the light slowly faded revealing Rose, her eyes glowing gold with power and her voice sounded resonating with godlike intensity.

She had not sat idly by, our Rose. She learned too much from the Doctor -- if there is anything to be done to fight injustice, you have to do everything you can to stop it and not sit idly by.

And she did it, enlisting her mother's and ex-boyfriend, Mickey's help.

And it works, she looks into the Heart of the Tardis, into Time Vortex, an act that shouldn't ever be done. The Doctor says as much as he shouts, “What have you done?”

Rose turns her gaze to him, eyes glowing, voice calm and imperious. “I looked into the Tardis.”

She says as much to the Doctor, as he looks on in horror. But she silences him with a, "I want you safe, my Doctor. Protect it from the false God.”

The Dalek emperor brands her as “the abomination.” Adding, his self-proclamation, “I am immortal, you cannot hurt me.”

“You are tiny,” Rose returns, and declares in that otherworld voice of hers, "I can see the whole of time and space. Every single ashen of your existence and I divide them. Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies.”

And in front of the Doctor, she destroys the existence of all the Daleks, despite the protest of the emperor, who suddenly looks so afraid, so tiny. “I cannot die. I must not die!”

But it comes to nothing… his whole fleet dissolves in that single flick of a hand. The Time War ends.

But the danger is far from over, because the vortex is still running thru Rose’s veins. White hot liquid, power beyond power. She can see the whole of time and space. She has the power over the sun and the moon, over life and death. Why would she ever try to give that up?

But it hurts.

“I can see everything.” Rose says, entranced with her power. Entranced and terrified. “All that is. All that was. All that ever could be.”

The Doctor looks at her in amazement then in wonder and says, "That's
what I see all the time. Doesn’t it drive you mad?”

"My head...” She says, the pain breaking through the haze, “It's killing me."

Of course it does. The time vortex is running through her, it will burn her
faster than anything. This braver than brave girl, the loyal of all loyal friends.
He comes to a decision.

"Come here," the Doctor says, grinning at her with his wide smile, "I think you need a doctor." and reaches for her, and unbelievably... kisses her.

The light fades from her eyes and enters into his eyes... he absorbs everything and he breathes the light back to the TARDIS. The Doctor carries Rose back to the ship, knowing that he had signed his own death certificate.

Rose awakens, remembering nothing of what she had done. The Doctor goes on, manic excitement, hiding his pain. Saying things like visiting Barcelona, not the country Barcelona, the planet Barcelona, when suddenly he spasms...

Rose terrified goes to him, the Doctor shouts, "No!"

He explains, gently as he could that the time vortex is killing him, that he's going to change... but before all that... he just wants to tell her:

"And before I go--"

"Don't *say* that!"

"Rose, before I go I just want to tell you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And d'you know why? So was I." He smiles at her, knowing it will be the last time he'll smile that particular smile. Suddenly he's engulfed in an explosion, his head, his hands... it explodes and morphs... into...

A new person.

"Hello," the new person, the tenth Doctor begins and stops, feeling his teeth with his tongue. "I've got new teeth. That's weird."

Rose looks on, unable to believe her eyes. "So, where was I? Ah, that's right, Barcelona." And grins.