Television Review #1: Doctor Who Series 1

I remember the very first time I watched Doctor Who. When I was seven years old, I was sick one night and couldn't fall asleep. So I sleepily stumbled out of my room and waddled to the living room to tell my parents that I couldn't sleep. So being as any good parent would do, they told me to stay up with them until I fell asleep. When I was sitting with my parents waiting to fall asleep, I noticed what they were watching. I asked them what it was and they told me it was a science fiction show called Doctor Who. So me being the easily entertained child I was/still am, I decided to watch it. This is how I discovered my favorite TV show of all time.

So Doctor Who is a long-running british sci-fi show that has been going on since the early 1960's. The backstory behind The Doctor is that he is an alien called a Time Lord from the planet Galifrey. Time Lords look like humans but they have two hearts and whenever a Time Lord is killed or dies, he will regenerate and look completely different. The Doctor is the last of his kind because the rest of the Time Lords and the Planet Galifrey were wiped out by the Daleks in a war called the Time War, (more on that later.) The Doctor ends up traveling all of time and space in his ship called the Tardis, (it stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space,) saving civilizations, planets and historical figures while battling a plethora of alien races. Now he never travels alone, he always has a companion by his side to accompany him. I know it's a huge backstory to take in, but if you watch the first episode of this series alone you will completely understand everything that's going on.

Series 1 begins with Rose Tyler, an ordinary english 19 year old, (played by Billie Piper,) and from the first few moments you see her you can tell that she doesn't particularly enjoy the life she has. You can tell she's bored of London and wants to actually do something with her life. And then she meets him: The Doctor, (played by the ever so fantastic Christopher Eccleston.) They first meet when he saves her from an army of department store dummies brought to life, (yup you read that correctly.) Together they stop the manequins from wreaking havoc over London. When that's all over he asks her if she would like to travel with him, to which she says yes, (who wouldn't?) Now our adventure begins.

Now I won't tell you the summary of all the episodes, (Spoilers!) So I'll just review the aspects of what makes a great show.
1. Good Writing: Writing is key in any TV show and Doctor Who is no exception. The writing is truly fantastic. Each episode is filled with adventure, excitement, mystery and very funny dialogue delivered by strong performances by the cast. Leading me to my second point.
2. Characters: Nothing is worse than a character you don't like. Let me touch on the main characters:
The Doctor: Many people give Eccleston a bad rap because he isn't very good looking and comes off as rough or mean. I personally think the opposite. With every different Doctor, not only their appearance changes, but also their personality. That is why no Doctor is exactly alike even though they it's the same man/alien.
Rose Tyler: Rose is the textbook definition of the girl-next-door. She is sweet, kind, funny and really just wants to do something with her life. She's the first companion the Doctor travels with in the 21st century version of the show. She is the original and there will always be a special place in my heart for her.
Captain Jack: Jack doesn't appear until Episode 9: The Empty Child, but he is one of the funniest characters to ever travel with the Doctor. Jack was so popular, he ended up getting his own called *Torchwood.*

So all in all, Doctor Who Series 1 is an awesome introduction for anybody interested in this show.
Final Report: I can only describe this show in one word. The word is Christopher Eccleston catchphrase as the Doctor, which is: Fantastic!