Rose +5

[WhiteCrowNZ]

It's just been pointed out to me on another board, that it's 5 years ago today that Rose was transmitted!!!

Blimey where has the time gone?

2 Producers
3 Doctors
3 Spin Offs
4 Companions
5 Series
50 new episodes
A whole new line in merchandising ... no more two armed Davros's
A large army of new fans
A disgruntled motley mob of old fans

[Andrew Curnow]

Indeed - in a general sense, who'd have thought that Who would so quickly, and so completely, become a hit, to the extent that it's now the equivalent of the Morecambe & Wise show, or Only Fools And Horses, and is THE Christmas Day fixture for the Beeb.

RTD's suffering a bit of a backblast backlash at the moment, I think, and I don't think anyone would really argue that the final few episodes were as good as some of the earlier stuff - but putting all that aside, he deserves a huge amount of praise for shaping the original comeback. Fantastic, to coin a phrase!

[SiHart]

I don't think this time five years ago any of us could have predicted just what the show was going to become. I mean I always hoped it would be good and poular, but I never thought it would become one of the bigggest shows on British TV.

Back then we hadn't got our house, hadn't moved in together and we'd never watched a new episode of Doctor Who together. All the things we take for granted now weren't quite in place back then.

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

What I also find odd now is that I can't really remember what it was like not knowing what the new series would be like. At the time I seem to recall pondering a lot over how different it might be (although in many ways it turned out so similar). I do vividly remember getting to the end of Rose and just feeling tremendously satisfied - I'd enjoyed it, so had Claudia, and I was perfectly content. I didn't want to rush off and watch it again and again and again, it was just spot on.

I watched Rose again last year, and it stands up pretty well I think. It has, I suppose, a sort of innocence and naivety to it, which has faded away as the series has gone on - the old stalwarts, Gallifrey, the Timelords, etc, have all come back into the picture now, but back then it was about as clean a slate as you could get, and it makes season 1, even now, feel really fresh & exciting.

[Martin Curnow]

It was on Sky the other week and I watched it again, even though I've watched it many, many over the last 5 years. I still get a buzz from it though; maybe because at the time it was so fresh and new and it's good to relive that feeling.

[Andrew Curnow]

Eccleston is so good in it - a really rude Doctor, and yet instantly likeable (just as CBaker should have been). The first TARDIS scene, and the scene on the embankment straight after are just brilliant - the London Eye moment always makes me laugh.

[Stuart Wallis]

A disgruntled motley mob of old fans

No change there then!

For that matter, it wasn't all that long ago, or does it only seem it?, that we were all on the BBC borads*, back when they were relatively troll-free, wondering whether this series would ever happen. "Russell T Who? Wasn't he the bloke who wrote that NA which saw Peri rescued from Yrcanos? Don't suppose we'll ever see him again..." "Billie Piper? The singer?" "Did I hear rightly? Neil Tennant as the Doctor...?" "And tonight's pub quiz tiebreaker - who links Doctor Who and Press Gang?"

You wouldn't have credited any of this that long ago. And if it weren't for Doctor Who, I still wouldn't have heard of Christopher Eccleston.




*- The first catchphrase you caught off me!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

It's a wierd feeling for me - when Rose was on I was a very disgruntled employee at a certain company, and feeling kind of very ground down. By season 2 I had a shiny new job and life was a lot better.

Just got an email this week from someone who still works there, and things are actually worse.