Happy Tenth Anniversary, Revived Doctor Who!

Happy Anniversary to the new Doctor Who series, which premiered ten years ago today on March 26, 2005! Wow! Ten years already? Where's the time gone (heh)?

Here we are four Doctors, ten plus companions and two sonic screwdrivers later, and the show's still going strong.

The original series ran for twenty six years, from 1963 to 1989. The BBC pulled the plug on the show in '89 due to low ratings and "franchise fatigue." Although the show officially ceased production, the network insisted it wasn't cancelled but was instead "on hiatus." Not sure I see how that's any different!

Numerous attempts were made to bring back the series over the years, without success. At one point Steven Speilberg's Amblin' Entertainment even attempted to revive the show. Finally in 1996, the BBC teamed with the Fox Network in America to produce a Doctor Who TV movie.

The movie starred Paul McGann as the Eight Doctor, and was meant to serve as a pilot for a new series. Reviews were mixed, as most fans criticized the script, but praised McGann's performance. Unfortunately the show was just too odd and too British for the American public, and low ratings scrapped any plans for a series.

Finally in 2003, the BBC worked out all the bugs and legal problems, and announced a new Doctor Who series to be headed by executive producer Russell T Davies. This time the production was based in Cardiff, Wales, instead of England.

Christopher Eccleston was cast as the Ninth Doctor, with Billie Piper starring as his companion Rose.

Eccleston's Doctor was much more serious than previous incarnations, as he struggled with survivor's guilt and the fact that he was the last of his kind. Piper's Rose Tyler shop girl-turned-adventurere helped bring this new Doctor out of his shell, and was a much-needed ray of hope for the morose Time Lord.

There were other differences this time around as well. In the original series, each story consisted of several multi-part episodes, each lasting half an hour. The new series would feature thirteen standalone episodes per season (with the occasional two parter), each lasting forty five minutes.

The budget was considerably larger for the new series too. Although the original show's papier-mâché aliens and cardboard sets had a certain charm, it was nice to see Doctor Who finally get the production value it deserved. At long last the interior of the TARDIS actually looked suitably bigger on the inside. It's about time! In the classic series, I thought the control room didn't look all that much bigger than the outside of the TARDIS!

The music was suitably updated too. Gone was the traditional synthesizer soundtrack, replaced by a sweeping, epic score performed by a symphony orchestra.

There was some concern in fandom as to the nature of the new series. Would it be a direct continuation of the old school Doctor Who, or would it be a reboot? There were pros and cons to both approaches. A reboot would likely alienate rabid fans of the old series, while a continuation, bogged down by decades of continuity, would probably confuse new viewers.

Russell T Davies solved the problem brilliantly. While the show was a continuation of the old series, much had happened to the Doctor since we last saw him. The Ninth Doctor was now the last of the Time Lords, as some mysterious incident had wiped out his people.

By leveling the playing field like this, fans were as much in the dark as new viewers, which was an awesome solution to the problem.

Ever since the show began in 1963, the Doctor's always travelled with a companion, usually a human, and most always female. The companion served mostly as an expository device, so he could explain things to them and thus to the audience. 

With the introduction of Rose Tyler, the importance of the companion was ramped up considerably, as she was very nearly the Doctor's equal. The new series also began the idea of the Doctor actually being attracted to his companion, rather than seeing them as just a friend. I'm not a fan of this development, as it skews a bit toward the creepy side. The Doctor's two thousand years old, give or take. He shouldn't be lusting after a twenty year old!

The inaugural episode Rose marked the first time we'd ever met a companions family, as we were introduced to Rose Tyler's boyfriend Mickey Smith and mother Jackie. It was an interesting take, and helped flesh out and humanize the Doctor's companion.

The Ninth Doctor's outfit got an update for the new millennium as well. Gone were the bizarre, garish jackets festooned with question marks (ugh). This new Doctor wore a simple leather jacket, t-shirt and black pants, allowing him to blend in (on Earth at least) rather than stick out like a sore thumb.

The Doctor's sonic screwdriver was also revised in the new series. In the past the sonic had been used fairly sparingly, but it now became an integral part of his arsenal, gaining new powers and abilities in each episode. Some fans complained that the sonic was now too powerful, functioning more like a magic wand than a tool. Producer Russell T Davies justified the use of the sonic, saying that since the new series' episodes were much shorter, the story had to move along at a fast pace. The Doctor could no longer afford to spend fifteen minutes trying to open a door, he had to open it instantly.

The new series proved popular under Eccleston's watch, but sadly he left after just one season. The show really exploded once Tenth Doctor David Tennant came on board. The show went from a British hit to a full-fledged worldwide phenomenon. Each episode now premieres on the same day all over the world.

We're now on our Twelfth Doctor, and the series show no signs of slowing down. I can think of few TV shows that have been around for as long as Doctor Who, and even fewer that've had twelve actors play the main character!

Here's to another ten (and more!) years!

Rose Dewitt Bukater: Supervillain!

With the re-release of James Cameron's Titanic this week (in gloriously unnecessary 3D yet), it's high time to take a long hard look at one of the greatest cinematic villains in film history. No, not Darth Vader or Hannibal Lector. I mean none other than one Rose Dewitt Bukater.

While most starry-eyed fans of Titanic no doubt see Rose as a spunky and romantic heroine, she is in reality a cold, calculating and ruthless harridan.

Don't believe me? Let's let Miss Bukater's actions speak for themselves.

• She dooms her mother Ruth to a life of poverty.

During the film we learn that Rose's late father had racked up huge amounts of debt before his untimely death and left the family penniless. Rose's impending marriage to the wealthy Cal Hockley would have saved them financially. The callous Rose couldn't be bothered to spare a moment's concern for her mother's welfare though, and spurned Cal. Rose's selfish action likely condemned her mother to toil in a sweatshop for the rest of her lonely days.

• She cheats on her fiance. 

Cal Hockley was an abusive an manipulative jerk, which I will not deny. That doesn't make it OK to cheat on him though. Rose clearly believes otherwise, as the shameless strumpet sleeps with Jack Dawson (a veritable stranger) while still engaged to Cal— in an era when such an action could get a woman stoned to death.

Even a cad like Cal deserves better treatment than that. Would it have killed her to break off their engagement before hopping in the sack (or in this case, the car) with Jack?

• She shuns her upbringing by shamelessly posing nude.
Rose grew up in a privileged environment of manners and gentility. The spiteful and unscrupulous viper flushes all that away as she willingly disrobes and poses nude for a man she's known for less than a day. It's quite obvious that the rules of polite society mean nothing to the scandalous little hussy.

• She causes Cal Hockley to commit suicide. 

After the events on the Titanic, Cal killed himself when his business failed during the Great Depression.

After the ship sank, Rose was still in possession of the Heart of the Ocean necklace, a priceless bauble that Cal bought for her as a wedding present at great expense. She could have sent it back to Cal (anonymously) since she didn't want the thing in the first place. Instead the evil Rose chose to secret the necklace away and let everyone believe it went down with the ship. Had she given it back to Cal, he no doubt could have sold the necklace and made enough money to save his failing business, thus preventing him from spiraling into debt and despair and taking his own life.

• She causes the death of an innocent woman.  

As the Titanic begins to sink, Cal and Jack both insist that Rose board a lifeboat with her mother. As it's lowered into the water, the cruel and selfish Rose leaps back aboard the doomed ship, because she can't bear to be without her precious Jack. This leaves a vacant seat in her lifeboat, one that could have been filled by any of the hundreds of other women still on board, or even a couple of children. By thinking only of her own happiness, Rose heartlessly sentenced an innocent to a watery grave.

• She kills her boyfriend Jack Dawson. 

After the ship sinks, Jack and the murderous Rose see a raft-like piece of wood floating in the icy waters. Unfortunately the wood can only support the weight of one person. Guess who that person is? The merciless Rose, of course. Poor Jack is forced to cling to the side of the makeshift raft until he dies of hypothermia.

If Rose had stayed in the lifeboat where she belonged, Jack would have been the one able to climb onto the piece of wreckage and would have lived. Once again the bloodthirsty and diabolical Rose Dewitt Bukater kills another innocent.

• She lets her mother think she died. 

Once safely onboard the rescue ship Carpathia, the unfeeling Rose hides from both her mother Ruth and Cal, even going so far as to change her name to Rose Dawson. Rose DeWitt Bukater is officially listed as having drowned in the tragedy. She then heartlessly lets her mother live out the rest of her life thinking her only child is dead.

Now I ask you, what kind of a cruel, sadistic harpy would put her own mother through such an ordeal?

• She destroys Brock Lovett's life work. 
Brock invested three years of his life and hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of dollars searching the Titanic wreckage for the Heart Of The Ocean necklace.

The malevolent Rose has been jealously guarding the necklace for decades. When she meets Brock and discovers his endeavor, instead of simply handing the priceless bauble over to him, the detestable harpy outright lies and tells him she has no knowledge of its whereabouts and continues to keep its existence a secret. Then the miserable Jezebel actually drops it into the depths of the ocean rather than give it to Brock. This no doubt leaves him in debt to the many sponsors who bankrolled his expedition and are expecting a return on their investments. 

As a final stab at a man who's done nothing to her, the vengeful Rose then ups and dies on Brock's ship, an action which will undoubtably spark an investigation from the authorities. Rose's family will blame him for overexerting her and causing her death and will inevitably sue him. They may even press charges against him. Brock will be financially ruined and may even serve a prison sentence.

When you add up all the evidence, there has never been a more heinous creature in the history of film than Rose Dewitt Bukator. She's more than earned her rightful place alongside Frank Booth and Freddy Krueger in the pantheon of movie villains.