Doctor Who has been a beloved British television show for a very long time. The series originally aired in 1963, and is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest running and most successful Science Fiction television show in history. This being said, I believe that it is necessary to note that I have not seen the vast majority of these earlier episodes, and that my experience with Doctor Who essentially begins with the 2005 series featuring Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose. For those of you not familiar with the overarching concept of Doctor Who the show features a series of actors as The Doctor, a time traveling alien who has adventures throughout the past and the future. While this may not have been the case at the shows inception, the 2005 series portrays The Doctor as the last of the Time Lords, an ancient alien race who once policed all of time and space, but was lost in the Last Great Time War which saw the end of both the Time Lord and Dalek races. This casts The Doctor as a tragic figure, alone in the universe. Throughout the series the viewer receives many revelations about The Doctor’s past, and future.
Overall: 8/10
Overall this season is a fair start to an excellent series. Doctor Who relies heavily on combining themes of tragedy, heroism, and insanity. However, it does so masterfully, often portraying the Doctor as part heroic warrior, part mad scientist, part bleeding heart, and part tragic loner. This complex character, while difficult to portray, lends the show both a reality, and an entertainment factor that not only draws in the viewer, but keeps him/her interested, and allows a deep connection to the characters. The overarching plots of the show range from the odd to the ridiculous (but given the premise what do you really expect), however the confidence and reality of the actors, combined with the depth of the characters make them believable. In general the first season is the weakest of the current series, in part because of a lack of funds (due to insecurity about the shows future), in part because it is (in its essence) an attempt to revive a show that has been dead for fifteen years, and in part because Christopher Eccleston never seems completely comfortable in his role as the Doctor.
Writing and Production: 9.0/10
For a revivification of a dead show the writing and production values in the 2005 season of Doctor Who are great. However, when compared with later seasons, they are questionable.
Characters and Acting: 8/10
While I am fond of Billie Piper’s portrayal of Rose, Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is, in my opinion, the weakest element of the 2005 season. While Eccleston appears as an edgier, more dangerous Doctor (in fact he is the only Doctor that, form appearance alone, I can see carrying a gun), this is not believable in his acting. While Eccleston is not a bad doctor, he does not master any of the intrinsic complexities of the character, and this leads to a Doctor that feels half-formed and often forced. While still enjoyable, Eccleston’s Doctor feels distant from the audience, and is difficult to connect with.
World: 9.5/10
The term worlds might be better used here. The sheer variety of times and worlds that The Doctor visit may be a difficult pill for many viewers to swallow and, admittedly, the show requires a good does of general acceptance. However, if the general premise of the show can be accepted, then the times and worlds that are visited become quite believable. The settings are both well depicted and well-thought out, and the sheer variety is enough to keep a viewer interested.
Plot and Content: 9/10
The new Doctor Who is more episodic in nature than the older series, and while the season still has an overarching story, each episode generally stands alone in terms of plot. Those plots are generally strong although some, “Father’s Day” in particular, seem forced and not entirely considered.
Pacing: 9.5/10
For the most part Doctor Who is a fast paced show. Most episodes move at break neck pace, dragging the viewer along for the ride, and generally this is well done. However, for some viewers, this will make the slower episodes difficult to watch.
Commentary: 6/10
Doctor Who was originally intended as an educational show, and this influence can still be seen. The show focuses heavily on themes of tragedy, loss, survival, and the enduring nature of mankind. It also includes, from time to time, tidbits of history or science of which the audience may not be aware.
Conclusion:
While Doctor Who, in general, is a very strong series (and this season is definitely worth watching), the 2005 season is far from being the best of the new Doctor. This season is worth watching, even if just to get the whole Rose Tyler story line, but later seasons are much better.
Broken Mirrors 
I always felt that Russel T. Davies was a bit heavy handed emotionally, and strayed far too often into melodrama, especially in the later Tennant years. With David Tennant the Doctor was always sooo lonely, and sooo sad, and sooo guilty.Half of every episode was devoted to David Tennant’s mopey-face. I was irked.
So when Steven Moffat took over with doctor 11 and gave us a much more traditional treatment of the Doctor I was overjoyed. Matt Smith’s Doctor reminds me of when Douglas Adams was writing for the show’s fourth doctor.
You should definitely watch the original series, at least some of it.
I actually like David Tennant’s Doctor the best, but that’s probably because I like a lot of the darker melodrama. It’s something that both Davies and Tennant pull off very well.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved David Tennant as the Doctor, he was excellent. And they did the drama really well, but they did it so frequently and David Tennant portrayed it so strongly that, after a while it just wasn’t as impactful as it was at first. Its overuse was desensitizing. I’m glad they aired Tennant’s last year specials relatively far apart.