The Doctor is in

Watched the first new Doctor Who episode - "Rose".

It seemed very much a re-introduction of the concepts of the original series, and captured a good bit of the humor, including the Doctor's occasional obliviousness. There was a bit about the Tardis being bigger on the inside than outside for new viewers, and an oblique reference to the fact that while police callboxes may have been common in London in the 1950's, they are (presumably) anachronistic now. "It's a disguise!" he says.

The Tardis inside bears some resemblance to the old days, brings in a little bit of the TV movie darkness, but without the erector-set quality, with more smooth tubing for structure. The bottle-glass bits are there on the walls, and the glowing center of the console slides up and down like the middle years.

There was, of course, the obligatory mayhem scene, with faceless mannikins providing the "monster" element, and the final showdown between the Doctor and this week's adversary, a pool of plastic.

It was all very self-contained, unlike the four-to-six episode story arcs of the earlier seasons. As I recall, each of those stories also ended with a brief view of the next location, although I may be wrong about that.

I was disappointed that there was no link to previous Doctors, except for a comment that "it could have been worse" when he sees himself in the mirror.

Anyway, I enjoyed it for the pure mindless escape it afforded. I'm glad he's back.