Rose (TV story)

Summary
Rose Tyler is an ordinary girl who leads an ordinary life. She lives with her mother in a London flat, has a boyfriend and works as a shop assistant in a department store. Her life changes forever, though, when she meets the Doctor.

While in the basement of the shop in which she works, Rose is attacked by Autons but is rescued by the Doctor. This is to be the first of several encounters with the Doctor. Ultimately, she helps him to prevent the Auton invasion by destroying the Nestene Consciousness' presence on Earth with the use of anti-plastic. Following their adventure, Rose agrees to leave her friends and family and go exploring time and space with the Doctor. (For a full story synopsis click here)

Cast & Characters
The Doctor - Christopher Eccleston

Rose Tyler - Billie Piper

Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri

Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke

Clive Finch - Mark Benton

Caroline Finch - Elli Garnett

Clive's Son - Adam McCoy

Lead Auton - Alan Ruscoe

Autons - Paul Kasey, David Sant, Elizabeth Frost, Helen Otway

Nestene Voice - Nicholas Briggs

Crew

 * Executive Producer - Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner, Mal Young
 * Associate Producer - Helen Vallis
 * Script Editor - Elwen Rowlands
 * Casting Director - Andy Pryor
 * Production Manager- Tracie Simpson
 * Production Accountant - Endaf Emyr Williams
 * Sound Recordist - Ian Richardson
 * Costume Designer - Lucinda Wright
 * Make-Up Designer - Davy Jones
 * Music - Murray Gold
 * Visual Effects - The Mill
 * Visual FX Producer - Will Cohen
 * Visual FX Supervisor - Dave Houghton
 * Special Effects - Any Effects
 * Prosthetics - Millennium Effects
 * Production Designer - Edward Thomas
 * Editor - Mike Jones
 * Director of Photography - Ernie Vincze BSC
 * AutonsOriginal Creator - Robert Holmes
 * Original Theme Music - Ron Grainer
 * First Assistant Director - George Gerwitz
 * Second Assistant Director - Steffan Morris
 * Third Assistant Director - Dafydd Rhys Parry
 * Location Manager - Clive Evans, Lowri Thomas
 * Production Co-ordinator - Dathyl Evans
 * A/Production Accountants - Debi Griffiths, Kath Blackman
 * Continuity - Sian Prosser
 * Choreographer - Ailsa Altena-Berk
 * Camera Operator - Mike Costelloe, Martin Stephens
 * Focus Puller - Steve Lawes, Mark Isaac
 * Grip - John Robinson
 * Boom Operator - Damian Richardson
 * Gaffer - Mark Hutchings
 * Best Boy - Peter Chester
 * Stunt Co-ordinator - Rod Woodruff
 * Stunt Performer - Holly Lumsden, Paul Kulik
 * Art Department Co-ordinator - Gwenllian Llwyd
 * Concept Artist - Bryan Hitch
 * Production Buyer - Catherine Samuel
 * Set Decorator - Peter Walpole
 * Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicholas
 * Standby Art Director - Julian Luxton
 * Property Master - Patrick Begley
 * Construction Manager - Andrew Smith
 * Standby Props - Phill Shellard, Adrian Anscombe
 * Graphic Artist - Jenny Bowers
 * Wardrobe Supervisor - Yolanda Pearl-Smith
 * Make-Up Supervisor - Linda Davie
 * Make-Up Artist - Sarah Wilson
 * Casting Associate - Kirsty Robertson
 * Assistant Editor - Ceres Doyle
 * Post Production Supervisor - Marie Brown
 * On Line Editor - Matthew Clarke
 * Colourist - Kai van Beers
 * 2D VFX Artists - Simon C. Holden, David Bowman, Sara Bennett, Alberto Montanes, Jennifer Herbert
 * (3D VFX Artists - Andy Howell, Chris Tucker, Jean-Claude Deguara, Mark Wallman, Paul Burton, Chris Petts, Paul Perrott
 * Digital Matte Painter - Alex Fort
 * Model Unit Supervisor - Mike Tucker
 * Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts
 * Dialogue Editor - Paul McFadden
 * Sound FX Editor - Paul Jefferies
 * Business Manager - Richard Pugsley

Duration
Rose - 44'10

Ratings
Rose    -     9.94 (43.2%)

Repeat  -     0.48 (3.5%)

Continuity

 * It is implied but never stated that the Doctor has just regenerated. When he is in Rose's flat he checks his appearance in the mirror as if he is unused to it. He also notes the way in which his ears stick out. This is similar to a scene in the first episode of Tom Baker's debut story, "Robot".


 * The Autons and the Nestene have previously featured in the Doctor Who stories "Spearhead from Space" and "Terror of the Autons", both of which were Third Doctor stories. The Nestenes also feature in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures novels "Business Unusual" and "Synthespians™"


 * The sonic screwdriver makes an appearance and is once again a major all-purpose tool.


 * The Doctor has at some time in his past been involved in a war which led to the destruction of the Nestene Homeworld. This war is also referenced in Synthespians™, where the war appears to be in the Doctor's future.


 * The Doctor — "I mean you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed and watch telly. While all of the time underneath you there is a war going on." — It may be that this is just good vs. evil stuff, but it may be something more specific.


 * Clive suggests that the title "Doctor" is passed down from father to son, and points to his website saying to Rose "that's your Doctor there, isnt it". This would seem to suggest he has information on the Doctor's other incarnations.


 * People similar to Clive who are obsessed with the Doctor were depicted in the novel Return of the Living Dad. Clive is clearly corresponding by e-mail with others like himself and refers to the Doctor appearing in numerous conspiracy theories.


 * When the character of Sam was introduced in the BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures, and the BBC tried to explain how she was different from Ace, the example used was that if Ace saw a fight she would intervene whereas Sam was more likely to set off a fire alarm. It seems at least a coincidence that in her first episode Rose sets off a fire alarm to clear bystanders out of the way of a fight.

Cultural References

 * Jackie is obsessed with Rose getting compensation for the shop being destroyed, a reflection of a culture that has grown in recent years in the UK of people believing they are entitled to compensation for various events, even if this perception is not true of how the law of compensation works in practice.


 * While the Doctor is in Rose's flat, the television is showing BBC Breakfast News with Dermott and Natasha.


 * Whether intentional or not, the Doctor's speech about the world turning is highly reminiscent of Monty Python's "Universe" song.


 * When searching for the Doctor on the internet Rose uses search-wise. This is an actual web page with the same logo as on the show, but it is not actually a search engine: instead, it is a web page created by a company called Compuhire, designed for use in television and film when a search engine is required to be seen on-screen.  (See their disclaimer.)  Rose's search results look very much like a Google search in the way they are presented. This same search engine was used in an episode of Footballers' Wives which aired the same week as "Rose".


 * The Reference to the Doctor having a Northern accent relates to the media attention that has been generated around Christopher Eccleston not conforming to people's perception of what the Doctor should be like.

Location Filming
Mostly filmed in Cardiff, but with some location filming in London:


 * The scenes in which Rose is at work were filmed in Howells in the centre of Cardiff.


 * The scene in which the Autons attack people in a shopping centre were filmed in The Queens Arcade.


 * The scene in which Rose agrees to go travelling with the Doctor was filmed in Cardiff's outdoor market.

Quotes
Rose - Who are they then...students? Is this a student thing or what?

Doctor - Why would they be students?

Rose - Well, I dont know.

Doctor - Well you said it, why students?

Rose - 'Cos...to get that many people all dressed up and being silly they gotta be students.

Doctor (patronising) - That makes sense, well done.

Rose (sarcastic) - Thanks.

Doctor - Oh, by the way - what's your name?

Rose - Rose Tyler.

Doctor - Nice to meet you Rose Tyler, I'm the Doctor. Now run for your life!

Jackie (on the telephone) - I know it's on the telly, it's everywhere, she's lucky to be alive. Honestly it's aged her ( Rose just glares at her) skin like an old bible. Walking in now you would think I was her daughter.

Doctor - What you doing here?

Rose - I live here.

Doctor - Well what you do that for?

Rose - 'Cos I do.

Jackie - She deserves compensation.

Doctor - We're talking millions!

Jackie - I'm in my dressing gown.

Doctor - Yes you are.

Jackie - There's a strange man in my bedroom.

Doctor - Yes there is.

Jackie - Well, anything could happen.

Doctor - No it couldn't.

Doctor (reading Rose's celebrity magazine) - That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien.

Rose (as the Doctor is strangled by the Auton arm) - All the same, give a man a plastic hand.

Rose - Who are you?

Doctor - I told you, the Doctor.

Rose - Yeah, but Doctor what?

Doctor - Just the Doctor.

Rose - The Doctor?

Doctor (waves fingers in the air) - Hello!

Rose - What? Your on your own?

Doctor - Well, who else is there? I mean you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed and watch telly. While all of the time underneath you there's a war going on.

Rose - I've come to see your dad, we've been e-mailing.

Clive's son - Dad...it's one of your nutters!

Rose - We can't hide inside a wooden box...

Doctor - Right, where do you want to start?

Rose - The inside's bigger than the outside....

Doctor - Yes.

Rose - It's alien.

Doctor - Yep!

Rose - Are you alien?

Doctor - Yes....Is that all right?

Rose - Yeah.

Doctor - Its called the TARDIS, this thing, T A R D I S. That's Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.

(Rose begins to cry)

Doctor - That's OK...culture shock. Happens to the best of us.

Rose - If you are an alien, how come you sound as if you're from the North?

Doctor - Lots of planets have a North.

Doctor - Nestene Consciousness, easy.

Rose - You were useless in there, you would be dead if it wasn't for me.

Doctor - Yes I would. Thank you.

(The Doctor has asked Rose to go with him in the TARDIS)

Mickey - Don't...he's an alien, he's a thing.

Doctor - He's not invited.

Story Arcs
Rose's Family Arc

The War

Discontinuity

 * When Mickey opens the wheelie bin it is empty. Why would a person put an empty bin out for collection? (Perhaps the bin ate the rubbish? Or perhaps cit moved itself (it was Nestene-animated)? Perhaps it had been emptied and hadn't been put back yet?)


 * There has been an tendancy by some Doctor Who fans to see the fact that Clive has photos of the Doctor as being an error. The argument goes that if the Doctor has just regenerated, how has he been photographed through out history? However the Doctor is a time traveller and there is no reason why there can not be photographs of events which from his perspective have not yet happened. However, since Rose has travelled with the Doctor for the duration of this regeneration, and she has not seen these events, how could this Doctor have been there? This seems however to be a contentious issue among fans. (It is possible the Doctor went to these events at the end of the episode when the TARDIS disappeared and came back a few seconds later.)

More Info

 * Story Synopsis


 * Story Transcript


 * Story Novelization


 * DVD Release