Doctor Who (Ninth Doctor): #10 Aliens of London (S1E4) - Part 1

Episode Title: Aliens of London
Episode Number: S1E4

Ranking: 10 of 10 (Part 1 of 2)

Since this is a two-parter, I'm counting"Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as one collective episode, but will be reviewing each episode separately - thus, they will both be ranked as #10 in the reverse countdown, despite being reviewed as individual episodes.

As this is a blog that comprehensively reviews TV shows, there will be spoilers.

Summary: Rose and the Doctor return to earth to find out that she's been gone and considered missing for 12 months instead of the intended 12 hours.  On the tail of their return, an alien spaceship crashes into Big Ben for the world to see, exposing the existence of aliens to the masses.  But is there more going on than it seems?

Place/Time: Earth, London, 2005

Aliens/Monsters: The Slitheen

Quotable Moment: "900 years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother!" -the Doctor

Best Part: Harriet Jones, MP of Flydale North.

Worst Part: Any of the farting scenes are highly uncomfortable.


Thoughts:

• Oh, how I've missed Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor.  I don't think that he gets nearly enough credit for the amazing job he did.  A lot of that is, I believe, because he wasn't as happy-go-lucky or goofy as Ten and Eleven, though he definitely did have his funny moments.  But just think about the timing of this reboot - it's just after the Time War, he's just regenerated from being the War Doctor, he thinks that he killed his entire race - all this is still fresh on his mind.  The Doctor's in a seriously dark place here, which makes the beauty of his relationship with Rose all the more profound.  It's incredible to see this broken, disillusioned, tired old man be brought back to life through his experiences with a bright, optimistic young human who looks past his pain and sees his heart.
• And now we find out that Rose has been gone a lot longer than they thought!  I love how the Doctor seems to be only mildly affected by this fact, with just an "Oh, sorry."  This says a lot about the Doctor's perception of time, though - to someone like him, a Time Lord who's lived for hundreds of years, the gap between 12 hours and 12 months is really inconsequential.  
• Can you imagine how horrible those 12 months would have been for poor Jackie?  And then to just have her missing daughter show up one day like nothing ever happened?  Fantastic acting on her part.
• Here's a "Bad Wolf" mention - this time it has been spray-painted on the side of the TARDIS by some punk kid.
• Although she can be annoying, Jackie Tyler is probably my favorite of the companions' moms.  She's hilarious and nowhere nearly as infuriating as Martha's mom or Donna's mom.  When she slaps the Doctor - "Stitch this, mate!" - it never fails to make me laugh.  The Doctor puts it perfectly when he says, "900 years of space and time, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother!" - The indignation in his voice is precious.  
• I really like the first few episodes of the show because of the way that they capture the blossoming friendship between the Doctor and Rose.  At this point in the show, they've become a bit more comfortable with one another, but at the same time, they still have a long way to go to reach the bond that they have at the end of the season.  The way they interact at this point is cute - they joke and laugh, but are still a bit tentative around one another - kind of like "puppy love."
• Love the irony of the spaceship crashing into Big Ben right after Rose says that she's the only person on earth who knows they exist.  And her follow up - "Now, that's just not fair" - is very apt.  Despite the fact that this episode uses way more bathroom humor than I'm comfortable with, it does have some good moments humor-wise.
• You know, the Slitheen are probably my least favorite Doctor Who alien, but the ship they chose to crash looks really cool - and there we have the iconic moment of Big Ben's being smashed in by a spaceship.
• The Doctor's excitement at seeing this moment in history is brilliant - he's so giddy, and it's great to see him this cheerful for once, even if it doesn't last for long.  Nine has a great smile.
• And now a bit of intrigue has been added to the plot - the scientist studying the "alien" has alluded that something may have happened to the Prime Minister.  Although the pieces haven't been put together yet, a more cognizant story line is beginning to emerge.
• For some reason, Margaret Blaine reminds me a lot of Dolores Umbridge.  It's her sickly sweet nature that really sells it, I think.  And I hate her almost as much as I do Umbridge - and that's saying something.  She's just one of those characters who I hate so much that I can't even love to hate them.  I just... hate her.
• Rose gets her TARDIS key - a very special moment in the series.
• The drunk people with a welcome sign for the aliens... this, I can most definitely see happening in the real world.
• Of course the Doctor would have to go check it out for himself, whatever he promised Rose.  He's never been very good at the whole "not-interfering thing" the Time Lords were so keen on.
• 16:30 Grade A "Mickey the Idiot" at his not so finest, chasing after the TARDIS and running into a wall when it dematerializes.  Geez Louise - this guy.
• You've got to love Harriet Jones's initiative!  Not many people would be persistent enough to sneak into the cabinet room and leave her proposal in a top-secret briefcase.
• Let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the Doctor just walked into a room in a high security facility full of soldiers who automatically point their guns at him, but when a scream is heard off-camera, he automatically takes charge of the soldiers, and they jump to obey without even thinking twice.  Now that's what I call having a presence!  Just another reason the Doctor is my favorite alien!  
• I always feel so sorry for the poor pig - that the Doctor cares so much about this simple creature shows clearly the type of man he is.  
• You know, I'm not the biggest Mickey fan, but I do feel bad for him.  Rose isn't really very good to him after she meets the Doctor.  He just gets tossed to the wayside without a second thought.  It's pretty crazy he doesn't give up on her sooner than he does, really.
• The moment of truth, and frankly, a great twist - aliens are faking aliens.
• UNIT is mentioned for the first time in the reboot - great blast from the past!  I love that it becomes a player in later seasons again.
• This is why I don't like Mickey: first sign of danger, and he's hiding behind a trash can.  Come to think of it, I'm kind of surprised that he's not completely traumatized by trash cans after his experiences in the first episode!
• "Take me to your leader."  Good one, Doctor!
• I hate the Slitheen for so many reasons.  One, they're butt-ugly.  I hate their bulging bellies and beady eyes.  Two, their voices.  Whenever one talks, I have a persistent and overwhelming urge to clear my throat.  All in all, they're gross.
• We end on a cliffhanger, with all the Slitheen revealing themselves at once, one trying to kill the Doctor, one trying to kill Rose and Harriet, and one trying to kill Jackie, in what you could call a massive face-off.  Get it?  Because they took their faces... off?

Nitpicks:

• It's odd, but I find myself tuning out during the obligatory "aliens on earth" newscast montage nowadays.  I do appreciate what it adds to the show - exposition and speculation on how we might react if this situation  were to actually befall earth - but at the same time, it's done so much on Doctor Who.  To be fair, though, this is the first time the reboot utilized this method, so I'm probably just been over-exposed to the technique.  I think it's neat that the same woman played the American newscaster over the first several seasons.
• 13 minutes in, we get our first whiff (pun intended) of low-brow humor with the Slitheen gas-compression farting joke.  And know that I am classifying it as a "joke" very loosely, because it's really not that funny.  It just makes me feel uncomfortable, like I just walked in on something that I really wasn't supposed to see.  Or smell.  Or experience.  In any form, whatsoever.  I mean, Doctor Who has such a great sense of humor 9 out of 10 times, so I guess I can cut them a little slack, especially this early in the reboot (because for some reason, fart gags are the go-to when needing a surefire laugh from at least a portion of the audience).  At the same time, though - it's cheap.  Doctor Who should have more class than this.  
• Aaand ... the villains standing in a circle laughing evilly cliche...  
• The scene where the three Slitheen are standing around farting and laughing about it is easily one of the most uncomfortable scenes in the history of ever.
• The Hannibal-esque skin suits would be a lot more terrifying if they didn't look so fake.  
• So much of the dialogue in this episode is ridiculously corny.  "Would you rather silent but deadly?"  "Thank you all for wearing your ID cards.  They'll help identify the bodies."  Seriously, that was the best they could do?  

My Conclusion?

This episode isn't bad as far as plot goes.  The story is actually coherent and rather intriguing, and I think, had it been executed differently, this could have been an enjoyable episode.  Unfortunately, they were trying far too hard for funny and missed the mark by a long shot.  There are some great moments - between Rose and the Doctor, between Rose and Jackie, even between Mickey and the Doctor - but there are still way too many awkward scenes.  The farting jokes are immature and make me feel embarrassed just watching.  Some of the one-liners are painfully cliche or cheesy.  The Slitheen are not the most convincing alien costumes, though they are ugly and gross.  Overall, this episode was an amalgam of hits and misses - with the hits being fewer and farther between.  

Still, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I dislike the episode.  It's certainly not my favorite, but there are parts of it I enjoy.  The story's fine, but the tone surrounding it is off.  There needs to be less slapstick and low-brow humor and more of the good, genuinely funny stuff.  It's just frustrating to see a show as wonderful as Doctor Who, that has told so many profound, beautiful stories, resorting to this type of humor.  But it is early in the show, so I think I can give it a bit of leeway.  It's certainly more than made up for it in quality, well, everything since.

Next time, I'll be covering the second part to this dual episode arc, "World War Three."  In the meantime, feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts - I'd love to discuss the episode further with you.  I know that there are a ton of different types of Who fans - some like only certain Doctors, others certain companions, still others like Doctor/companion romance, and others hate it.  The difference of opinion is great.  Let's just respect everyone else's opinion in the comments, please!