I love the part that Rose was gone for a year instead of a day. It shows that when people travel with the Doctor there are people left behind who are wondering what happened where they're loved one has gone too. Of course she`s worried sick.
Always struck me as one of the most interesting premises for an episode, Alien gangsters faking an earth invasion to rile up humanity into wilfully destroying itself so they can make a profit. With a few tweaks it could've been a pair of all time great episodes
My issue with the second episode is that The Doctor says that the UNIT officers that The Slitheen killed were the only people who he could have contacted for help. Without even mentioning people’s like The Brigadier, why can’t Rose or Harriet just call someone downstairs and explain what was going on. Surely security would be sent upstairs if someone was known to be in danger.
I love this double episode. I think the stakes were pretty high, I love how it let Jackie and Mickey shines, and I love the comedic aspects of it (not talking about the fart jokes, although the "do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?" actually made me laugh)
the password 'buffalo" was used by the sixth doctor to access a UNIT telephone line in a recent big finish story, i also think it's hilarious that an intense military organization uses such a dumb password, but that's just my kind of humour
I remember loving Tennant the most when I watched the series when I was a teen, but on a rewatch honestly Eccleston is really fantastic, really great actor, wish we had more of him honestly.
The password Buffalo isn't misspelled. Also just for fun if you go to www.unit.org.uk it asks for secure log in the password is Buffalo. Worth pointing out the other password was Bison.
I swear the line “I could save the world but lose you” makes me tear up EVERY SINGLE TIME!! also when I first watched this episode as a kid I though with my whole heart that Harriet Jones was a real person. idk why I swore she was real and I was so damn confused when I looked her up
Can I say, one thing I dont think you said, but I may have missed it, I loved the fact that slitheen is a name, not a race. that was pretty cool and unusual ( I think). I agree on the gas thing though. that put me off. Oh and HOW GOOD is Harriet Jones. Knowing what comes, she had such a good introduction I feel.
Personally I think it’s underrated as a story, it’s just fun to watch. Yeah the LONG unzipping scenes are bad and the cringe farting moments, but as an adventure it’s brilliant! It starts the character development of mickey smith (not a great start) and rose and nine have a few great moments, when he says “I could save the world but lose you” and she just says “do it” it just makes her seem more of a better companion as she did have a dumb blonde vibe. Especially when she thought of hiding in the small room and out smarting the doctor basically. I’d give it a 6/10. It’s good but not great. I also think the slitheen have potential to be quite creepy and dark, just change the baby face and keep the long claws and black eyes.
I think RTD said that the reason he included the bit with Rose having been gone for 12 months is that the original series never dealt with what was going on back home while the companions were traveling with the Doctor and he wanted to show that running off like that could have consequences. Personally, I think this two-parter is okay. The fart jokes don't work for me, but the stuff with Mickey, Rose, and even Jackie does. Also, there's Harriet Jones. I know who she is.
Honestly, I think having the whole episode about those consequences would have been much better and more effective. Say Mickey had been sent to jail because of the Doctor's whoops, and he has to fix that and get "the little people"s lives back in order. It doesn't need an alien, other than some token because it was early on and they wouldn't want to step away from that formula. The Mickey stuff is great, and one of the reasons I don't like Rose as much as a lot of people because she acts so entitled about the whole situation.
Patrick T. I had always thought that the 12-month ‘disappearance’ of Rose, and the subsequent persistent police interest in Mickey, was a formative step in his character’s growth from cowering behind Rose at the end of Episode 1 to the guy who took on the Cybermen later on in the Tennant era. Old Mickey had to grow up and grow hard, and that gives him the core self-confidence to become the hero he grows into. In fact, Mickey might be the Doctor’s most successful companion. So many of New Who companions are essentially broken by the experience; Mickey goes from cringy weed to outright action hero.
Apart from all the farting/belching nonsense, as a kid I was petrified of the Slitheen. They’re huge, fast, their long necks and baby-like faces really creeped me out and to kill you they skin you alive and use you as a skin suit. Plus the fact they are a practical costume not just CGI (apart from a few scenes) is something I really appreciate. It’s a shame they were otherwise played off for comedic value as this was the only time I was ever really scared of Doctor Who until “Blink.”
RE: The Doctor taking Rose back 12 months after she left. I remember an interview RTD did before this episode came out. He said something about wanting to explore what would happen to a companion's life and how people around them would deal with it if they just upped and left with the Doctor without telling anyone. (Being declared a missing person) But you're right, it doesn't really go anywhere.
i think the 1 year gap does serve a purpose in Rose's overall narrative because, whether or not the domestic stuff is perfect, Rose's story in s1 always circles back to how her actions, and particularly her choice to be with the Doctor, affects her loved ones. i think that the feeling of her family dynamics weighing down on her is part of the point of her character- she's so young, her family is inevitably going to be close on her heels as this permanent reminder of Consequences. that's why that dynamic has to come to a head the way it does in the finale, where the people around her come to accept her choices even if it scares them; in order for that to be resolved, we have to set up that conflict in these earlier episodes. and perhaps it smacks of Drama a bit, but i think it works with what they were doing with Rose. also, you didn't mention it but i'll defend the cgi in this episode with my dying breath. as someone who animates and is passionate about animation, the movement of the slitheen is so good and realistic, it Feels the way you'd expect something shaped that way to move, and you can see where they took the time to add details that they didn't have to, but that make the cgi slitheen just come to life. i kind of wish they'd had the budget not to use the puppets at all and just gone full cgi, because i think the design of the slitheen would shine through way more if they moved the way they were supposed to all the time instead of 80% of the time moving like dudes bumbling around in costumes.
I think the "Buffalo" thing is another commentary on government incompetence. Something that should be so high security has a password that is just an animal's name spelt wrong.
The CGI is pretty dated on this one and it's really jarring when you see the big Slitheen costumes barely moving their arms and then switching to the CGI Slitheen breaking through doors and running really fast through the hallways.
There was something I realized. So, when Rose went missing, Mickey became a suspect, and was even accused by Jackie. Jackie justified it by saying "What was I supposed to think?" I think Mickey was racially profiled.
@@IAMCANADIANWOOT Well, I'm not saying that Jackie was being intentionally prejudiced, since the very nature of racial profiling is that it's almost always done subconsciously. There's a lot of other, very subtle instances of potential racial bias in RTD's episodes, like when the city council guy from Fear Her is blamed for the children's disappearances, or in Midnight when the Hostess and Dee Dee are both ignored and belittled by the other passengers. It's _so_ subtle, I didn't even notice it when I first watched these episodes.
But later on in the Doctors Wife we learn that the tardis took him where he needed to go so maybe he was taken twelve months too late to save the earth
Agree with all of your good/bad points of the episode. Harriet Jones was definitely mistreated in the Christmas invasion. But redeemed in the stolen earth The one year thing was Annoying because it messes with canon. Like did the events of torchwood take place in 2006 or 2007. Also just the common sense like the bufalo thing and no one running.
If I remember correctly, the one year time jump is a call back to how the classic series was set five years in the future starting with the first appearance of the Brigadier in Season 5 (1967-1968)
Perhaps it's due to childhood nostalgia but I've always loved these two episodes! The post 9/11 inspiration on the spaceship crash, and political commentary about politician's and war whilst heavy handed still holds up. I've always loved the design of the Slitheen and whilst the fart jokes are a little overdone they land at certain points. I love the development of Mickey and Jackie, and 9 is perfect here. Sure the episode isn't flawless but i think it gets a bad rep.
What you missed about Rose showing up a year later is that it sidesteps the My Secret Life trope where Rose has to endlessly lie to her mum about where she's going. I like that they just moved the Finding Out drama up instead of drawing it out in predicable ways.
I don't have as big an issue with the 'family drama' in this particular case. It's a little subversive and deconstructive when held up against what the classic show used to do where the Doctor could just drop them anywhere without consequence.
I like to think the password with buffalo, it is something the Doctor set up but only he knows about it, so he is able to (or someone who he is guiding) so he can access what he needs to when he needs it without the UN or whoever getting in his way. Why buffalo? it is just so out there that the Doctor knows someone wouldn't guess as it is such a human password and someone looking for it would assume the Doctor would go with an old Time Lord word or something, when he has a closer attachment to the human race to his own people. but that is just a theory
I like how they brought the Doctor's job at U.N.I.T in the seventies up and integrated it into the plot a full three seasons before they actually showed back up in Sontaran Strategem/ The Poison Sky.
I think trying to drag a relatively light-hearted episode into two parts was a bad idea. They should’ve either designed the Slythene to be less comical is the premise of this episode was quite good, or made this one a single part, making another story two parts. I think “Boom Town” does a better job with the Slythene as it just goes for comedy, and the execution of that is quite good in my opinion. It’s almost as if the producers watched this episode and thought that the Slythene were only good for comedy and so made that one.
Regarding the one year time skip. From what I understand, I think the time skip was done so the present day stuff would be 'near-future stuff' instead when it first aired. Probably so it could dodge having to deal with whatever is going on there and then in Britain at the time of airing. I believe that, following this episode, all contemporary episodes are set a year into the future too.
One thing I really appreciate about this one is that after the first episode had Mickey as such a cartoon loser, this one actually goes “ You know what, he’s a person with his own issues too.”
I kind of like this story - I'm personally happy to accept farting aliens just to have Dr Who back on the air. These were in the first block of filming for Nu Who along with Rose - because in the first season they filmed 3 episodes at once for budget reasons. Considering most of the "tone issues" people complain about in this first season are actually in these 3 episodes (farting aliens, plastic Micky and a burping bin) it's not bad for a first attempt. Also when they started filming the episodes all came in short (I think I heard Rose was about 30 minutes long and Davies had to write new scenes) - possibly explains some of the inconsistencies / elongated scenes these stories suffer from - they were trying to pad the episodes out. That's why they started doing pre credit scenes & next time trailers onto every episode - the scripts for season one were all too short as written.
I have to agree on the 12 months thing. You could have easily done the same with the Doctor being off 12 days! Jackie didn't know where Rose was and must have been super worried for TWELVE MONTHS! And then she just gets over it so quickly? Like, why?
I only really had a problem with the constant zipping thing, like, once was enough thanks. But the farting wasn't that bad in my opinion and actually served a purpose. Objectively, it isn't great but this is a really enjoyable episode
Great vid. And I so get your point about Jackie. She calls him in coz she sees the TARDIS land and goes inside and sees it's bigger than the outside. The 12 month plotline was completely unnecessary apart from another reason for her to call it in. Im pretty sure a magic appearing 1960's police box which is bigger on the inside is enough reason!
I actually liked this story pretty well, being our first big return to modern day, if a year into the future, that moment when the ship crashed into London you know nothing will ever be the same for Earth.
This would have been much better as a 1 parter. After researching it for the 3rd or 4th time, I realized how slow and drawn out some sequences are. In fact, I'm noticing that for a couple more of the RTD episodes so far on my rewatch.
Can someone clear this up for me? So Rose meets the Doctor in 2005. She then doesn't return for an entire year, making it 2006 when she returns in this episode. When does the Christmas Invasion take place? I have always thought it took place on Chriatmas 2005 but that wouldn't make sense, so unless each series takes place a year off from when they aired this may be a plot hole of some sort.
Bromidic Nerd is there anywhere in the Christmas Invasion that gives a year? I don’t remember one. We also don’t know how long Rose travelled with Nine. By the regeneration, Mickey and Jackie are obviously used to how the Doctor and Rose come and go.
I don't see why everybody hates the farting so much. What's more sinister than something that laughs and jokes around as it kills you? What shows more disregard for life than making fart jokes as it casually murders you in cold blood?
Wow! I'm currently doing a full rewatch as a springboard to forcing myself to get up to date with DW (stopped half a season into Chibnall's run - can you blame me?). As I only just discovered your channel and I'm on season 7, I've watched a lot of your later reviews already and have started backtracking. I've wanted to add comments, but generally thought "Yep, I pretty much entirely agree" - which is dull. Then I got to this. This 2-parter is much (and IMO wrongly) maligned, but I honestly thought that you, as you have been with a lot of others of similar standing in the fandom, might be more appreciative. I don’t find the “oops, we’ve arrived back a year instead of a day later” storyline to be unnecessary or “crowbarred in” at ALL - it’s the centrepiece of the first part. One of the innovations RTD brought to the show was showing the domestic consequences of travelling with the Doctor, and while I agree with your recent video that this was done to death in later seasons, this is where he set out his stall in the most dramatic way. The Doctor is haphazard and lackadaisical, and while a year is nothing to him, to Rose’s loved ones it spells calamity and heartache. Poor Mickey! Dragged in for questioning by the police five times! (And you know they would; it’s remarkable they let him go.) This story really doesn’t need to connect to a wider story arc - it’s just fantastic TV in itself - but if you must see it as such, it’s the reason Mickey has become engaged and self-sufficient, rather than Rose’s lazy puppy dog, and sufficiently adept on the internet to save everyone when called upon. For me the farting works contextually, but I can’t really make a cogent argument for it, other than it shows RTD hadn’t forgotten the show is primarily aimed at kids. I have no idea why people don’t enjoy the Slitheen designs - they just work for me. One thing you didn’t mention, which is for me a big part of why this story rocks, is how soundly it mocks the Blair era, the dodgy dossier and the Iraq war. It confirmed for me that RTD was definitely one of the good guys. I'm pretty sure having a rubbish password is part of the satire. Anyway, keep up the good work - I’ve been searching for a while for really good DW content, and I’ve finally found it.
I can't help but respectfully disagree with the leap forward (while I appreciate the innovation of the domestic fallout, I frankly never found it interesting even at this early stage), point out that assuming "for kids" means "fart jokes" is both patronizing and cliched, and note that since I've never been steeped in British politics any specific topics of mockery that the Slytheen were meant to evoke was probably always going to go over my head.
Somehow this is such a nostalgic episode for me despite yknow... the obvious - I still remember when the slitheen were deemed iconic (with mass merchandising including Easter eggs) - as much as I dislike particular aspects of the slitheen I can’t look at these episodes negatively - there’s just too much nostalgia and I must admit the slitheen are a guilty pleasure of mine - particularly in the SJA where the farting is actually removed later in the series as I still hate the farting - one aspect I can say I hate - the rest I enjoy
I didn't mind this story as I was watching it... But funny thing: the next week, and the week after that, and the week after that... I just found myself finding other things to do besides watching the next episode (And I'd been a fan since 1980, and was *So* looking forward to the show's revival). This two-parter just deflated all that enthusiasm. The analogy I came up with at the time is that the revived series was like eating a cheap "Chinese" dinner -- fun at the time, but it leaves you hungry and unsatisfied an hour later. There are two reasons why I will low-key resent R.T.D. as show-runner: 1) Apparently, he created a work environment that Eccleston found so unpleasant, he quit the role of the Doctor after just one season, and 2) he wrote Donna's story arc so it ended with her memory being wiped. That last one is second in undeserved tragedy only to Jamie's, at the end of "The War Games" (Until "The Two Doctors," his official ending was to be returned to the battlefield in Culloden, where he was immediately shot by a British solder).
I feel like the idea of Rose being broght back a year afterwards could have served as matireal for a single episode itself. It should have had a much larger impact on Jackie and Mickie than it ever seems to do after those initial scenes. Waste of a good idea and a shame. I always saw this story as one of the reasons Ecclestone quit.
The Doctor tells Micky to keep typing the same password probably because any self respecting hacker would have tried a different word after the first time it didn’t work.
I actually really like this story, I think the farting aliens is some of the best political satire the show has ever done. Eccleston really shines and with the action, suspense and just infiltration of the government is the stuff I really dig. Most of part two is in one building whereas part one was kind've all over the place in terms of setting, and do quite enjoy the design of the Slitheen.
As mediocre as it is, there's something undeniably entertaining about it. It's got good moments and a unique plot, but it's still piss. I actually think the Slitheen were really cool actually in terms of design. Also, Tosh from Torchwood 👌
I am one of those people who. if I saw people unzipping their foreheads and blue light streaming out, would definitely stay to watch. I am just too curious to not see what that is all about.
Nine doesn't like most other men, I've observed. I can relate. I think maybe it's just down to, he's selective about who he associates with, but I dunno
While I didn't really like the farting gimmick, it did lead to a great line "Excuse me, Do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world". I can give the gimmick a slight pass on that. Though, I'd have preferred the way it's portrayed to differ from person to person, so one might sound like a steam train and another like opening a soda bottle.
I don’t know how knowledgeable you are about the franchise, but (spoilers ahead) there’s a character in the first Danganronpa game who is explicitly stated not to be transgender, but a lot of people claim is (and they will call anyone who points out the situation to them transphobic). I’d love to hear your thoughts. The anime adaptation is on Hulu if you don’t want to/don’t have the hardware to play the game. While that particular plot line doesn’t come up until later, it’s important to start with episode one for background about the story and characters.
I'm not him, and I'm just an ally, but I know enough about the game and the controversy to know that it's not that simple. For one thing, trans includes more than just male to female and female to male, and the character does fit under the broader umbrella, even though they identify as their birth gender. (In my opinion. Some people debate exactly what counts as trans. But given what I know, that character seems to fit, even if they're not a trans man or trans woman.) But there's also the issue of the writer just not understanding the Japanese crossdresser (otonoko) culture, and giving weird reasons for the character's backstory that complicates things, making it less clear they they're just otoko. Then there's just the way the characters react. As soon as they find out about his genitals, they switch pronouns, despite the character having identified as a different gender up to that point. That's exactly the experience many trans people have, and so it cones off as transphobic. And if we go by the Japanese version, the character's gender identity is far more ambiguous. And even the American release has the most clear part hidden behind dialog (in Free Time) the player may not have before finishing the game. And even if you mention those extra bits, they've played through the entire game assuming the character is [gender] and the other characters are misgendering them, making this small clarification seem like an excuse. My point is that it's more complicated than people getting upset if you say a character isn't trans, or trans people being okay with misgendering (another common claim). (And I've actually left out a lot, partly to keep the post from getting longer, and partly to avoid spoiling beyond "there is a character who is not clearly cisgender." I even use gender neutral pronouns so it isn't clear if they appear male or female.)
ZipplyZane I’d never thought about it that way. I didn’t get past the second trial (namely because the second execution freaked me out), so I don’t know if anything was explained about that character later on (which I highly doubt).
Well, the freetime events with that character, if hadn't done them, explain a lot. Beyond that, there's a picture from the past that has implications, but it's easy not to notice. Also, there are no more executions like the second one. Nor are they as horrifying as the first. They kinda front loaded them.
In case you're interested, the game is also available on iPhone/iPad and PC now, too. I've not seen the anime: I just watched a let's play of the game (by Lucahjin on RUclips). Though I did basically play along, in that I figured out whodunnit and the other mysteries before the game told us. It was a ton of fun.
I just hate the slitheen. I'm not sure if I'm spelling it right, but I don't enough to check. The only thing I enjoy about this episode is the interactions with rose and the 9th doctor. Plus the introduction of Harriet Jones. Everything else make me wanna almost skip this episode on rewatches.
I quite like this one. The farting is pretty cringy, but most every thing else works pretty well for me. As series 1 was the first of the show I watched, this was my first two parter and all out alien invasion. 7/10, not perfect by any means, but highly enjoyable for what it is.
Possibly unpopular opinion here, but I'd have to say that Eccleston is my least favourite of the modern era. Don't get me wrong, he's still awesome and has a couple of my favourite DW moments, he's just a noticeable step down for me, at least from the other three. Again, this is just from comparison, he's still great.
I don't think it's an unpopular opinion at all. Most people seem to fall more into the Tennant or Smith camps. I personally don't but, since everyone looks for different things in their Doctors, that's entirely understandable.
I just found these guys funny and never took them seriously. The pig alien gave me more of a fright. I would advise people to watch 9's clips not the green things farting for no reason.
This is a deeply uneven episode, with Chris being on top form, and the writing a little childish. I feel we have to remember this was the first season of the relaunch. They didn't know what audience they were pitching it to. Would the viewers be new, or die-hard fan from the 80's with their own kids. I suspect the Tardis inaccuracy is one of the most recalled features from the classic era, although the reason varied, as it does in modern Who. I imagine this was the reason for some of the sloppy writing, such as with the password, just an excuse to get to the next scene. At the time, I accepted the password, as an excuse, with head-canon a backdoor the doctor knew of from the original coders?! (Perhaps). The one that really made me angry was the lift/elevator. Not exactly a fast escape, or .... just *ugh* ...
This episode is painful to watch. Eccelston is great as always. Everything else about it just makes me wish they'd filled those two hours with something better. We had little enough time with Nine as it was without wasting probably 30 minutes out of 546 with fart jokes.
If this was just one episode done for comedy... i would have no problem with it, i think. But it's the first season, and they did 3 entire episodes dedicated to those characters, and i hate them xD i get that this kind of thing are cheap to make (basicalle, you do the costumes and just shoot around cardiff and london), but it's such a waste of Ecclestone and Doctor who in general...
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
At least there was one good think that came out of the fart jokes:
“‘S’cuse me, do you mind not fartin’ while I’m saving the world?”
I love the part that Rose was gone for a year instead of a day. It shows that when people travel with the Doctor there are people left behind who are wondering what happened where they're loved one has gone too. Of course she`s worried sick.
Always struck me as one of the most interesting premises for an episode, Alien gangsters faking an earth invasion to rile up humanity into wilfully destroying itself so they can make a profit. With a few tweaks it could've been a pair of all time great episodes
Never thought of it like that. Theres a dark possibly philp dick kind of story there
Honestly, just take out the fart jokes and improve the Slitheen's design and I'd personally really enjoy this story as is.
They ARE a pair of all time great episodes; no changes needed.
My issue with the second episode is that The Doctor says that the UNIT officers that The Slitheen killed were the only people who he could have contacted for help. Without even mentioning people’s like The Brigadier, why can’t Rose or Harriet just call someone downstairs and explain what was going on. Surely security would be sent upstairs if someone was known to be in danger.
I love this double episode. I think the stakes were pretty high, I love how it let Jackie and Mickey shines, and I love the comedic aspects of it (not talking about the fart jokes, although the "do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?" actually made me laugh)
Considering that the password is buffalo and the slitheen are skinning people, could it be a silence of the lambs reference?
Rewatching these reviews really makes me want to go back and actually watch all the episodes again. I might when I get done watching all these.
the password 'buffalo" was used by the sixth doctor to access a UNIT telephone line in a recent big finish story, i also think it's hilarious that an intense military organization uses such a dumb password, but that's just my kind of humour
I remember loving Tennant the most when I watched the series when I was a teen, but on a rewatch honestly Eccleston is really fantastic, really great actor, wish we had more of him honestly.
The password Buffalo isn't misspelled. Also just for fun if you go to www.unit.org.uk it asks for secure log in the password is Buffalo. Worth pointing out the other password was Bison.
I swear the line “I could save the world but lose you” makes me tear up EVERY SINGLE TIME!!
also when I first watched this episode as a kid I though with my whole heart that Harriet Jones was a real person. idk why I swore she was real and I was so damn confused when I looked her up
Can I say, one thing I dont think you said, but I may have missed it, I loved the fact that slitheen is a name, not a race. that was pretty cool and unusual ( I think). I agree on the gas thing though. that put me off. Oh and HOW GOOD is Harriet Jones. Knowing what comes, she had such a good introduction I feel.
oh yeah so true! When they explain that it´s just the name of their family Their planet Raxacoricofallapatorius
Personally I think it’s underrated as a story, it’s just fun to watch. Yeah the LONG unzipping scenes are bad and the cringe farting moments, but as an adventure it’s brilliant! It starts the character development of mickey smith (not a great start) and rose and nine have a few great moments, when he says “I could save the world but lose you” and she just says “do it” it just makes her seem more of a better companion as she did have a dumb blonde vibe. Especially when she thought of hiding in the small room and out smarting the doctor basically. I’d give it a 6/10. It’s good but not great. I also think the slitheen have potential to be quite creepy and dark, just change the baby face and keep the long claws and black eyes.
Jay Stevens the gas exchange is getting worse
I want to be nakedddd
I think RTD said that the reason he included the bit with Rose having been gone for 12 months is that the original series never dealt with what was going on back home while the companions were traveling with the Doctor and he wanted to show that running off like that could have consequences. Personally, I think this two-parter is okay. The fart jokes don't work for me, but the stuff with Mickey, Rose, and even Jackie does. Also, there's Harriet Jones. I know who she is.
Honestly, I think having the whole episode about those consequences would have been much better and more effective. Say Mickey had been sent to jail because of the Doctor's whoops, and he has to fix that and get "the little people"s lives back in order. It doesn't need an alien, other than some token because it was early on and they wouldn't want to step away from that formula. The Mickey stuff is great, and one of the reasons I don't like Rose as much as a lot of people because she acts so entitled about the whole situation.
Patrick T. I had always thought that the 12-month ‘disappearance’ of Rose, and the subsequent persistent police interest in Mickey, was a formative step in his character’s growth from cowering behind Rose at the end of Episode 1 to the guy who took on the Cybermen later on in the Tennant era. Old Mickey had to grow up and grow hard, and that gives him the core self-confidence to become the hero he grows into.
In fact, Mickey might be the Doctor’s most successful companion. So many of New Who companions are essentially broken by the experience; Mickey goes from cringy weed to outright action hero.
Apart from all the farting/belching nonsense, as a kid I was petrified of the Slitheen. They’re huge, fast, their long necks and baby-like faces really creeped me out and to kill you they skin you alive and use you as a skin suit. Plus the fact they are a practical costume not just CGI (apart from a few scenes) is something I really appreciate.
It’s a shame they were otherwise played off for comedic value as this was the only time I was ever really scared of Doctor Who until “Blink.”
The dinner scene with 9 and Margaret in Boom Town is great. Can't wait until we get to that episode.
Patrick T. Oh for sure! That is the gem of that whole story in my opinion
On the plus side this story introduces Toshiko and they tie the pig thing into Torchwood
I love how Mickey became the ultimate hacker after this story
RE: The Doctor taking Rose back 12 months after she left. I remember an interview RTD did before this episode came out. He said something about wanting to explore what would happen to a companion's life and how people around them would deal with it if they just upped and left with the Doctor without telling anyone. (Being declared a missing person) But you're right, it doesn't really go anywhere.
i think the 1 year gap does serve a purpose in Rose's overall narrative because, whether or not the domestic stuff is perfect, Rose's story in s1 always circles back to how her actions, and particularly her choice to be with the Doctor, affects her loved ones. i think that the feeling of her family dynamics weighing down on her is part of the point of her character- she's so young, her family is inevitably going to be close on her heels as this permanent reminder of Consequences. that's why that dynamic has to come to a head the way it does in the finale, where the people around her come to accept her choices even if it scares them; in order for that to be resolved, we have to set up that conflict in these earlier episodes. and perhaps it smacks of Drama a bit, but i think it works with what they were doing with Rose.
also, you didn't mention it but i'll defend the cgi in this episode with my dying breath. as someone who animates and is passionate about animation, the movement of the slitheen is so good and realistic, it Feels the way you'd expect something shaped that way to move, and you can see where they took the time to add details that they didn't have to, but that make the cgi slitheen just come to life. i kind of wish they'd had the budget not to use the puppets at all and just gone full cgi, because i think the design of the slitheen would shine through way more if they moved the way they were supposed to all the time instead of 80% of the time moving like dudes bumbling around in costumes.
I feel that the farting is a metaphor for politicians talking out of their ass
I think the "Buffalo" thing is another commentary on government incompetence. Something that should be so high security has a password that is just an animal's name spelt wrong.
I adore this 2 parter.
Its not perfect by any means, but its one i find to be very misunderstood.
Id give it an 8/10
The CGI is pretty dated on this one and it's really jarring when you see the big Slitheen costumes barely moving their arms and then switching to the CGI Slitheen breaking through doors and running really fast through the hallways.
There was something I realized.
So, when Rose went missing, Mickey became a suspect, and was even accused by Jackie. Jackie justified it by saying "What was I supposed to think?"
I think Mickey was racially profiled.
@@IAMCANADIANWOOT Well, I'm not saying that Jackie was being intentionally prejudiced, since the very nature of racial profiling is that it's almost always done subconsciously. There's a lot of other, very subtle instances of potential racial bias in RTD's episodes, like when the city council guy from Fear Her is blamed for the children's disappearances, or in Midnight when the Hostess and Dee Dee are both ignored and belittled by the other passengers. It's _so_ subtle, I didn't even notice it when I first watched these episodes.
But later on in the Doctors Wife we learn that the tardis took him where he needed to go so maybe he was taken twelve months too late to save the earth
I think this block of episodes is what solidified my Doctor Who fandom. The humor doesn't always land, but to me it just worked.
Agree with all of your good/bad points of the episode.
Harriet Jones was definitely mistreated in the Christmas invasion. But redeemed in the stolen earth
The one year thing was Annoying because it messes with canon. Like did the events of torchwood take place in 2006 or 2007.
Also just the common sense like the bufalo thing and no one running.
If I remember correctly, the one year time jump is a call back to how the classic series was set five years in the future starting with the first appearance of the Brigadier in Season 5 (1967-1968)
Perhaps it's due to childhood nostalgia but I've always loved these two episodes! The post 9/11 inspiration on the spaceship crash, and political commentary about politician's and war whilst heavy handed still holds up. I've always loved the design of the Slitheen and whilst the fart jokes are a little overdone they land at certain points. I love the development of Mickey and Jackie, and 9 is perfect here.
Sure the episode isn't flawless but i think it gets a bad rep.
What you missed about Rose showing up a year later is that it sidesteps the My Secret Life trope where Rose has to endlessly lie to her mum about where she's going. I like that they just moved the Finding Out drama up instead of drawing it out in predicable ways.
I don't have as big an issue with the 'family drama' in this particular case. It's a little subversive and deconstructive when held up against what the classic show used to do where the Doctor could just drop them anywhere without consequence.
I like to think the password with buffalo, it is something the Doctor set up but only he knows about it, so he is able to (or someone who he is guiding) so he can access what he needs to when he needs it without the UN or whoever getting in his way. Why buffalo? it is just so out there that the Doctor knows someone wouldn't guess as it is such a human password and someone looking for it would assume the Doctor would go with an old Time Lord word or something, when he has a closer attachment to the human race to his own people. but that is just a theory
I like how they brought the Doctor's job at U.N.I.T in the seventies up and integrated it into the plot a full three seasons before they actually showed back up in Sontaran Strategem/ The Poison Sky.
Do you mind not farting when I'm doing a review?
I love you for this comment
I think trying to drag a relatively light-hearted episode into two parts was a bad idea. They should’ve either designed the Slythene to be less comical is the premise of this episode was quite good, or made this one a single part, making another story two parts.
I think “Boom Town” does a better job with the Slythene as it just goes for comedy, and the execution of that is quite good in my opinion. It’s almost as if the producers watched this episode and thought that the Slythene were only good for comedy and so made that one.
I think the impact the whole 12 hours/12 months thing had on Micky was the biggest reason for that.
I love the scene in world War three when Harriet jones takes control of the situation in the cabinet room
Regarding the one year time skip. From what I understand, I think the time skip was done so the present day stuff would be 'near-future stuff' instead when it first aired. Probably so it could dodge having to deal with whatever is going on there and then in Britain at the time of airing.
I believe that, following this episode, all contemporary episodes are set a year into the future too.
The Slitheen are underrated and I shall die 1000 deaths on this hill
I liked this story. And, heck, I still laugh at fart jokes, and I won't apologize for it. ;)
SAME!
I ' M S H A K I N G M Y B O O T Y .
They did the 12 month shift for story purposes, so that it wasn't set at the same time it airing.
But it wasn't implemented well
One thing I really appreciate about this one is that after the first episode had Mickey as such a cartoon loser, this one actually goes “ You know what, he’s a person with his own issues too.”
I don't understand your complaints about design of the slitheen
I kind of like this story - I'm personally happy to accept farting aliens just to have Dr Who back on the air.
These were in the first block of filming for Nu Who along with Rose - because in the first season they filmed 3 episodes at once for budget reasons.
Considering most of the "tone issues" people complain about in this first season are actually in these 3 episodes (farting aliens, plastic Micky and a burping bin) it's not bad for a first attempt.
Also when they started filming the episodes all came in short (I think I heard Rose was about 30 minutes long and Davies had to write new scenes) - possibly explains some of the inconsistencies / elongated scenes these stories suffer from - they were trying to pad the episodes out.
That's why they started doing pre credit scenes & next time trailers onto every episode - the scripts for season one were all too short as written.
I have to agree on the 12 months thing. You could have easily done the same with the Doctor being off 12 days! Jackie didn't know where Rose was and must have been super worried for TWELVE MONTHS! And then she just gets over it so quickly? Like, why?
I only really had a problem with the constant zipping thing, like, once was enough thanks. But the farting wasn't that bad in my opinion and actually served a purpose. Objectively, it isn't great but this is a really enjoyable episode
I'm not sure how broadcasting works in America but I was wondering if you'd seen the new episode yet?
Your password thoughts... Ha Colonial Pipeline got YOU good
Why is the Doctor Who episode called "World War Three" call that if it is just a conflict in one small building?
Great vid. And I so get your point about Jackie. She calls him in coz she sees the TARDIS land and goes inside and sees it's bigger than the outside. The 12 month plotline was completely unnecessary apart from another reason for her to call it in. Im pretty sure a magic appearing 1960's police box which is bigger on the inside is enough reason!
When are we going to see a list of the classic who companions? If I just haven't seen it.
Not for a long time. Do you have any idea how many there are? I haven't seen all of them yet.
The password was part of an ARG that was run at the time via the bbc website. Why it was Bufalo ... No idea
I actually liked this story pretty well, being our first big return to modern day, if a year into the future, that moment when the ship crashed into London you know nothing will ever be the same for Earth.
This would have been much better as a 1 parter. After researching it for the 3rd or 4th time, I realized how slow and drawn out some sequences are. In fact, I'm noticing that for a couple more of the RTD episodes so far on my rewatch.
The Abzorbaloff and Slitheen, some of the most hated aliens of the RTD era, are from the same solar system. I swear the writers are trolling us
Can someone clear this up for me? So Rose meets the Doctor in 2005. She then doesn't return for an entire year, making it 2006 when she returns in this episode. When does the Christmas Invasion take place? I have always thought it took place on Chriatmas 2005 but that wouldn't make sense, so unless each series takes place a year off from when they aired this may be a plot hole of some sort.
Bromidic Nerd is there anywhere in the Christmas Invasion that gives a year? I don’t remember one. We also don’t know how long Rose travelled with Nine. By the regeneration, Mickey and Jackie are obviously used to how the Doctor and Rose come and go.
This was one of the original episodes I saw, so all though I wasn’t a huge fan, it has a special place in my heart.
Eccleston was where I started and to me he just is THE Doctor...
i actually hav those 3 rock candy. I think your missing Enchantress
The folks not running....so true! 🤣
I don't see why everybody hates the farting so much. What's more sinister than something that laughs and jokes around as it kills you? What shows more disregard for life than making fart jokes as it casually murders you in cold blood?
Wow! I'm currently doing a full rewatch as a springboard to forcing myself to get up to date with DW (stopped half a season into Chibnall's run - can you blame me?). As I only just discovered your channel and I'm on season 7, I've watched a lot of your later reviews already and have started backtracking. I've wanted to add comments, but generally thought "Yep, I pretty much entirely agree" - which is dull. Then I got to this. This 2-parter is much (and IMO wrongly) maligned, but I honestly thought that you, as you have been with a lot of others of similar standing in the fandom, might be more appreciative.
I don’t find the “oops, we’ve arrived back a year instead of a day later” storyline to be unnecessary or “crowbarred in” at ALL - it’s the centrepiece of the first part. One of the innovations RTD brought to the show was showing the domestic consequences of travelling with the Doctor, and while I agree with your recent video that this was done to death in later seasons, this is where he set out his stall in the most dramatic way. The Doctor is haphazard and lackadaisical, and while a year is nothing to him, to Rose’s loved ones it spells calamity and heartache. Poor Mickey! Dragged in for questioning by the police five times! (And you know they would; it’s remarkable they let him go.) This story really doesn’t need to connect to a wider story arc - it’s just fantastic TV in itself - but if you must see it as such, it’s the reason Mickey has become engaged and self-sufficient, rather than Rose’s lazy puppy dog, and sufficiently adept on the internet to save everyone when called upon.
For me the farting works contextually, but I can’t really make a cogent argument for it, other than it shows RTD hadn’t forgotten the show is primarily aimed at kids. I have no idea why people don’t enjoy the Slitheen designs - they just work for me.
One thing you didn’t mention, which is for me a big part of why this story rocks, is how soundly it mocks the Blair era, the dodgy dossier and the Iraq war. It confirmed for me that RTD was definitely one of the good guys. I'm pretty sure having a rubbish password is part of the satire.
Anyway, keep up the good work - I’ve been searching for a while for really good DW content, and I’ve finally found it.
I can't help but respectfully disagree with the leap forward (while I appreciate the innovation of the domestic fallout, I frankly never found it interesting even at this early stage), point out that assuming "for kids" means "fart jokes" is both patronizing and cliched, and note that since I've never been steeped in British politics any specific topics of mockery that the Slytheen were meant to evoke was probably always going to go over my head.
@@CouncilofGeeks Surely putting fart jokes into Doctor Who was the very opposite of cliched? It was unexpected, and funnier for it.
oh... i really like the 2 episodes :/
I love this 2 parter soooo fkn much. One of my favorites
The 1 year in the future always confuses me purely because idk how the timeline works out because the show is usually centered around the present day
Who is your favourite Doctor
Somehow this is such a nostalgic episode for me despite yknow... the obvious - I still remember when the slitheen were deemed iconic (with mass merchandising including Easter eggs) - as much as I dislike particular aspects of the slitheen I can’t look at these episodes negatively - there’s just too much nostalgia and I must admit the slitheen are a guilty pleasure of mine - particularly in the SJA where the farting is actually removed later in the series as I still hate the farting - one aspect I can say I hate - the rest I enjoy
Always loved this two parter, granted the slitheen are kinda silly but I find them fun
James Best yesss. As a kid I actually thought they were creepy. They have potential to be scary especially cause the long claws and big black eyes.
I actually like Jackie, it reminds me of my own mother and family, and Im not even english
I didn't mind this story as I was watching it... But funny thing: the next week, and the week after that, and the week after that... I just found myself finding other things to do besides watching the next episode (And I'd been a fan since 1980, and was *So* looking forward to the show's revival). This two-parter just deflated all that enthusiasm. The analogy I came up with at the time is that the revived series was like eating a cheap "Chinese" dinner -- fun at the time, but it leaves you hungry and unsatisfied an hour later.
There are two reasons why I will low-key resent R.T.D. as show-runner: 1) Apparently, he created a work environment that Eccleston found so unpleasant, he quit the role of the Doctor after just one season, and 2) he wrote Donna's story arc so it ended with her memory being wiped. That last one is second in undeserved tragedy only to Jamie's, at the end of "The War Games" (Until "The Two Doctors," his official ending was to be returned to the battlefield in Culloden, where he was immediately shot by a British solder).
I feel like the idea of Rose being broght back a year afterwards could have served as matireal for a single episode itself. It should have had a much larger impact on Jackie and Mickie than it ever seems to do after those initial scenes. Waste of a good idea and a shame. I always saw this story as one of the reasons Ecclestone quit.
The Doctor tells Micky to keep typing the same password probably because any self respecting hacker would have tried a different word after the first time it didn’t work.
I agree about the farting which really brings this story down. Also I really don't know that Jackie would have figured it out otherwise.
I actually really like this story, I think the farting aliens is some of the best political satire the show has ever done. Eccleston really shines and with the action, suspense and just infiltration of the government is the stuff I really dig. Most of part two is in one building whereas part one was kind've all over the place in terms of setting, and do quite enjoy the design of the Slitheen.
I agree with this review. RTD's biggest flaw is that he often combines adult, serious, dramatic themes with childish, silly ones and they don't gell.
As mediocre as it is, there's something undeniably entertaining about it. It's got good moments and a unique plot, but it's still piss.
I actually think the Slitheen were really cool actually in terms of design. Also, Tosh from Torchwood 👌
"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" -Russel T. Davies, 2005
And people wonder why I don't think Russel T. Davies was a good showrunner...
I think it is fun to watch :D Thats all.
Alien Invasion is Alien Invasion.
-- Harriet Jones
I also love Eccleston in this episode, but I love him in all his episodes actually. Not a fan at all of how Nine (and Rose) treats Mickey
I would take the Family of Blood over the Slitheen any day.
I am one of those people who. if I saw people unzipping their foreheads and blue light streaming out, would definitely stay to watch. I am just too curious to not see what that is all about.
Everyone should watch harrys moving castle reviews of these episodes they are so bloody funny
I like this episode. I know it's dumb but I like it.
I used to really like this two parter, but then started to really nitpick and realized the flaws. Still love the adventure of it though. 7.5/10
Nine doesn't like most other men, I've observed. I can relate. I think maybe it's just down to, he's selective about who he associates with, but I dunno
I still think that Eccleston is the best actor to ever play the Doctor. I don't necessarily think that makes him the best Doctor, though.
While I didn't really like the farting gimmick, it did lead to a great line "Excuse me, Do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world". I can give the gimmick a slight pass on that. Though, I'd have preferred the way it's portrayed to differ from person to person, so one might sound like a steam train and another like opening a soda bottle.
I don’t know how knowledgeable you are about the franchise, but (spoilers ahead) there’s a character in the first Danganronpa game who is explicitly stated not to be transgender, but a lot of people claim is (and they will call anyone who points out the situation to them transphobic). I’d love to hear your thoughts. The anime adaptation is on Hulu if you don’t want to/don’t have the hardware to play the game. While that particular plot line doesn’t come up until later, it’s important to start with episode one for background about the story and characters.
I'm not him, and I'm just an ally, but I know enough about the game and the controversy to know that it's not that simple.
For one thing, trans includes more than just male to female and female to male, and the character does fit under the broader umbrella, even though they identify as their birth gender. (In my opinion. Some people debate exactly what counts as trans. But given what I know, that character seems to fit, even if they're not a trans man or trans woman.)
But there's also the issue of the writer just not understanding the Japanese crossdresser (otonoko) culture, and giving weird reasons for the character's backstory that complicates things, making it less clear they they're just otoko.
Then there's just the way the characters react. As soon as they find out about his genitals, they switch pronouns, despite the character having identified as a different gender up to that point. That's exactly the experience many trans people have, and so it cones off as transphobic. And if we go by the Japanese version, the character's gender identity is far more ambiguous. And even the American release has the most clear part hidden behind dialog (in Free Time) the player may not have before finishing the game. And even if you mention those extra bits, they've played through the entire game assuming the character is [gender] and the other characters are misgendering them, making this small clarification seem like an excuse.
My point is that it's more complicated than people getting upset if you say a character isn't trans, or trans people being okay with misgendering (another common claim).
(And I've actually left out a lot, partly to keep the post from getting longer, and partly to avoid spoiling beyond "there is a character who is not clearly cisgender." I even use gender neutral pronouns so it isn't clear if they appear male or female.)
ZipplyZane I’d never thought about it that way. I didn’t get past the second trial (namely because the second execution freaked me out), so I don’t know if anything was explained about that character later on (which I highly doubt).
Well, the freetime events with that character, if hadn't done them, explain a lot. Beyond that, there's a picture from the past that has implications, but it's easy not to notice.
Also, there are no more executions like the second one. Nor are they as horrifying as the first. They kinda front loaded them.
ZipplyZane Thanks for letting me know I’ve only seen the part of the anime, not played the video games (I don’t have a PlayStation).
In case you're interested, the game is also available on iPhone/iPad and PC now, too.
I've not seen the anime: I just watched a let's play of the game (by Lucahjin on RUclips). Though I did basically play along, in that I figured out whodunnit and the other mysteries before the game told us.
It was a ton of fun.
I just hate the slitheen. I'm not sure if I'm spelling it right, but I don't enough to check. The only thing I enjoy about this episode is the interactions with rose and the 9th doctor. Plus the introduction of Harriet Jones. Everything else make me wanna almost skip this episode on rewatches.
Chill dude it is only a programme
I quite like this one. The farting is pretty cringy, but most every thing else works pretty well for me. As series 1 was the first of the show I watched, this was my first two parter and all out alien invasion. 7/10, not perfect by any means, but highly enjoyable for what it is.
You make it sound much worse than it actually was
Possibly unpopular opinion here, but I'd have to say that Eccleston is my least favourite of the modern era. Don't get me wrong, he's still awesome and has a couple of my favourite DW moments, he's just a noticeable step down for me, at least from the other three. Again, this is just from comparison, he's still great.
I would definitely agree with you. He's my least favorite of the modern Doctors.
Well I'm the complete opposite lol. He's my favorite out of the modern doctors
I don't think it's an unpopular opinion at all. Most people seem to fall more into the Tennant or Smith camps. I personally don't but, since everyone looks for different things in their Doctors, that's entirely understandable.
@@Katherine_The_Okay I'm personally in the Capaldi camp
Adam Porter, Capaldi reminds me so much of a Classic Era Doctor. Love him to death, everything from his alien morality to his angry eyebrows :D
I just found these guys funny and never took them seriously. The pig alien gave me more of a fright. I would advise people to watch 9's clips not the green things farting for no reason.
This episode is satire - politicians talking out of their A***s. Yeah it's childish but it's still no terrible
This is a deeply uneven episode, with Chris being on top form, and the writing a little childish. I feel we have to remember this was the first season of the relaunch. They didn't know what audience they were pitching it to. Would the viewers be new, or die-hard fan from the 80's with their own kids. I suspect the Tardis inaccuracy is one of the most recalled features from the classic era, although the reason varied, as it does in modern Who. I imagine this was the reason for some of the sloppy writing, such as with the password, just an excuse to get to the next scene.
At the time, I accepted the password, as an excuse, with head-canon a backdoor the doctor knew of from the original coders?! (Perhaps).
The one that really made me angry was the lift/elevator. Not exactly a fast escape, or .... just *ugh* ...
+
This episode is painful to watch. Eccelston is great as always. Everything else about it just makes me wish they'd filled those two hours with something better. We had little enough time with Nine as it was without wasting probably 30 minutes out of 546 with fart jokes.
If this was just one episode done for comedy... i would have no problem with it, i think. But it's the first season, and they did 3 entire episodes dedicated to those characters, and i hate them xD i get that this kind of thing are cheap to make (basicalle, you do the costumes and just shoot around cardiff and london), but it's such a waste of Ecclestone and Doctor who in general...
luckily dalek is the next episode after this crappy 2 parter.