Rose Tyler
Encyclopedia
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper
in the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced in the eponymous series one premiere
as a new companion
of series protagonist the Doctor
, in his ninth
and later tenth
incarnations. The companion character, intended to act as an audience surrogate
was key in the first series more so than any other to introduce new viewers to Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. The series saw Billie Piper receive top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston
and David Tennant
, both of whom portrayed the Doctor. A regular companion of the Doctor for all of series one
and series two
, Rose also returned in the programme's fourth series
having developed much in the interval.
In the series' narrative
, Rose is introduced as a working class
shop assistant from London
, introduced alongside her own supporting cast in the form of her mother Jackie Tyler
(Camille Coduri
) and her boyfriend Mickey Smith
(Noel Clarke
). Whereas the classic series refrained from exploring romantic connections between the Doctor and his companions, Rose grows increasingly trusting of the Doctor and comes to realise she has fallen in love with him. The two appear to be forever separated in the 2006 series two finale
, although Rose eventually made a temporary return late in the fourth series.
Writer/producer Russell T Davies frequently uses the surname "Tyler" in his work. A family named Tyler is featured heavily in his Virgin New Adventures
Doctor Who novel Damaged Goods
, and Davies has created characters named Tyler in other series he has written, including Ruth Tyler in Revelations (1994), Vince Tyler in Queer as Folk (1999), and Johnny Tyler in The Second Coming (2003).
The casting of Piper as Rose was announced on 24 May 2004, and was welcomed by fans of the show. Actress Georgia Moffett
, daughter of Fifth Doctor
actor Peter Davison
and who would later appear as the title role in the series 4 episode "The Doctor's Daughter
", also auditioned for the role. Rose appeared at the start of the revived Doctor Who from 2005 with the episode "Rose
". Julia Joyce
plays a young Rose in flashbacks in "Father's Day
", the first of three occasions where she plays a younger version of a character played by Piper.
Paul Abbott
was scheduled to write an episode for series 1 which would have revealed that Rose's entire life had been manipulated by the Doctor in order to mould her into an ideal companion.
(2005). Here, she is saved from an Auton
invasion of Earth by the mysterious alien Time Lord
known as the Doctor (Eccleston), and assists him in defeating the Nestene Consciousness. Following this, the Doctor offers Rose the option of traveling with him, taking her to see the end of the world and giving her a "superphone" so she can remain in contact with her mother, Jackie, and boyfriend, Mickey
.
In their travels through time and space, Rose learns the importance of not tampering with history, when she attempts to save the life of her father Pete Tyler
(Shaun Dingwall
), who had died when she was a baby. Throughout these journeys, she and the Doctor are haunted by two mysterious recurring words: "Bad Wolf". She, the Doctor, and new companion Captain Jack
(John Barrowman
) come to understand the meaning of this phrase when they come face to face with an unstoppable Dalek
army on space station Satellite 5
.
To return to the Doctor after he sends her home to Earth in the series finale "The Parting of Ways", Rose is forced to tear open the TARDIS console and stare into its heart, and becomes suffused with the power of the time vortex
. Returning, she uses her power over the infinity of time and space to spread the words "Bad Wolf" over its entirety, to lead herself to this moment where she can save the universe from the Dalek invasion using her godlike power. Rose resurrects Jack, who died from Dalek fire, and destroys the Dalek fleet before the Doctor drains the energy out of her—by kissing her—to save her life from its harmful effects. Rose is horrified as the Doctor appears to die and regenerates
into a new man (David Tennant
), who proceeds to take the TARDIS and a terrified Rose to Earth, abandoning Jack on Satellite 5.
The new Doctor and Rose arrive on Earth on Christmas Day, where he passes out from the strain of regeneration in the midst of a Sycorax invasion in the 2005 Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion
". Having woken up and saved Earth, The Doctor enjoys Christmas dinner with Rose before the two once again depart to parts unknown. In the second series
(2006), Rose and the Doctor grow increasingly dependent on and close to one another as the series progresses. This becomes a source of tension once the Doctor accepts Rose's boyfriend Mickey as a companion as well, at the suggestion of his former companion Sarah Jane Smith
(Elisabeth Sladen
). For her service in defeating werewolves, Rose is knighted "Dame Rose of the Powell Estate" by Queen Victoria, who immediately banishes her and the Doctor as threats to the Empire. Together Rose, Mickey and the Doctor become stranded in a parallel universe
for a time, where Rose is reunited with a rich, entrepreneur version of her father who never died. Rose loses Mickey when he decides to stay behind in this world to battle Cybermen
, and to look after the alternate universe counterpart of his grandmother. Alone with the Doctor again, Rose faces the mythical Beast (Gabriel Woolf
), who prophesies that Rose will die fighting at the Doctor's side. This day comes when the clandestine anti-alien Torchwood Institute
's director Yvonne Hartman (Tracy-Ann Oberman
) accidentally allows the Cybermen army and Dalek Cult of Skaro
into this reality, where they begin an all-out war. In the attempt to seal the Cybermen and Daleks back into the "void" through which they came, Rose ends up in the parallel universe with her alternate father and her mother Jackie as the walls between universes seal forever. The Doctor is able to transmit Rose one last message of goodbye, during which she reveals to him she has gone to work for this universe's Torchwood, and confesses to him that she loves him. Before he is able to reply, their connection is cut out and Rose is left alone, in tears. Piper as Rose was greenlit to be the star of the spin-off series Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, set in her parallel universe and to air as a bank holiday special, but Russell T. Davies deemed the concept "a spin-off too far" after Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
.
Rose's absence and the Doctor's pained estrangement from her proves a point of contention for the Doctor's new series 3
(2007) companion Martha
(Freema Agyeman
), who has fallen in love with the Doctor herself; when Martha protects the Doctor, living as a human without his memories, it is still Rose that he dreams of. In spin-off series Torchwood
(2006–), the audience learns that Rose's act of resurrecting Jack cursed him with being unable to die. Returning to Doctor Who, Jack discloses that he will watch Rose grow up in the 20th century. When the Doctor is reunited with Donna Noble
(Catherine Tate
) in the show's fourth series
(2008), Rose mysteriously begins to appear in the Doctor's life—first seen only by Donna, and later in silent video messages which the Doctor fails to notice. When Donna is tricked by an alien fortune teller (Chipo Chung
) into creating a timeline where the Doctor has died, it is Rose who arrives from her parallel world to correct the timeline, working alongside the paranormal military organisation UNIT
to return Donna to the correct timeline bearing the Doctor two words: 'Bad Wolf'. In the corrected timeline, the Doctor knows that 'Bad Wolf' is a signal from the omnipotent Rose that the walls of reality have broken down, and that the world is ending. In the midst of Davros
' (Julian Bleach
) plot to obliterate existence, Rose is reunited with her love and unites with the Doctor's companions Sarah Jane, Donna, Martha, and Jack to assist him in defending the universe. Having saved it, Rose challenges the Doctor on the words he never got to say, but this time he resists. His part human alternate self then whispers the words in her ear and she immediately kisses him. As the walls between realities are repaired, the fully Time Lord Doctor leaves, allowing Rose and her mortal, aging Doctor to live out their lives together, once again trapped in the parallel universe. In the closing scenes of the 2010 finale episode "The End of Time, Part Two
", the dying Doctor travels to the Powell estate in the first minutes of 2005, prior to the original events of "Rose". The Doctor speaks to her from the shadows, knowing she is destined to "properly" meet him for the first time soon.
sequences which feature in the annuals, the fanzine Doctor Who Magazine, and children's magazines Doctor Who Adventures
and Doctor Who - Battles in Time
; the character also cameo
s in a panel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
s second story, "No Future for You
". Rose is featured in the first twelve New Series Adventures
novels and the first Quick Reads Initiative
novella
, I am a Dalek
. In the novels, some elements of Rose's backstory are fleshed out; for example, Only Human reveals she was once engaged to be married.
", "Rose" was told largely from the companion's point of view. It was also the first time the television series has examined the consequences of a companion leaving with the Doctor; in "Aliens of London
", when the Doctor and Rose accidentally land a year into her mother's future, they find that she has been considered a missing person and Mickey was briefly suspected of her murder.
Rose is unique in that she is the first companion whose immediate family and/or a close friend knew of her travels with the Doctor while they occurred. Mickey was aware of her new occupation and tracked her movements through his website
. Jackie found out about the life her daughter was leading and, despite pleading for her to stay, Rose continued to travel with the Doctor. She was able to communicate with her mother via her "Superphone" and Rose would often phone home during her travels and let her mother know her activities. This precedent set, family awareness of a companion's role with the Doctor was continued with companions Donna Noble
& Wilfred Mott
, Martha Jones
, and returning classic era companion Sarah Jane Smith
.
Rose cares deeply about, and loves, the Doctor; romantically as is proved in the series four finale. She states on several occasions her desire to stay with the Doctor for the rest of her life, and chooses to stay with the Doctor, even though it means forever leaving her mother and Mickey on the parallel earth. In their final moments together, Rose tells the Doctor that she loves him; he begins to reply but only manages to say her name before his transmission is cut off and the two are parted indefinitely. However, Rose and the Doctor are reunited at the end of season 4, when Rose is left in the parallel universe with the human version of the Doctor.
Rose is not the first companion whose affection for the Doctor at least suggests romantic interest as well. Sarah Jane Smith
hints at possible feelings for the Doctor in "School Reunion
" when he asks her if she had ever married and she tells him she hasn't ("Well, there was this man...I travelled with him for a while...but he was a tough act to follow."). Grace Holloway
makes a joking reference to having fallen for the Eighth Doctor
in the 1996 TV movie. In "Army of Ghosts
", Rose also indicates her intention to stay with the Doctor "forever", a sentiment never before expressed by previous companions, many of whom were reluctant travellers, though echoed by companion Donna Noble
in "The Doctor's Daughter
" and "Journey's End
".
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
in the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced in the eponymous series one premiere
Rose (Doctor Who)
"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
as a new companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
of series protagonist the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, in his ninth
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
and later tenth
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
incarnations. The companion character, intended to act as an audience surrogate
Audience surrogate
In the study of literature, an audience surrogate is a fictional character with whom the audience can identify, or who expresses the questions and confusion of the audience...
was key in the first series more so than any other to introduce new viewers to Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. The series saw Billie Piper receive top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
and David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, both of whom portrayed the Doctor. A regular companion of the Doctor for all of series one
Doctor Who (series 1)
The new first series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 26 March 2005 with the episode "Rose", which marked the end of the programme's 16-year absence from episodic television following its cancellation in 1989, and aired its finale episode "The Parting of the Ways" on 18 June 2005...
and series two
Doctor Who (series 2)
The second series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April 2006...
, Rose also returned in the programme's fourth series
Doctor Who (series 4)
The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...
having developed much in the interval.
In the series' narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, Rose is introduced as a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
shop assistant from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, introduced alongside her own supporting cast in the form of her mother Jackie Tyler
Jackie Tyler
In "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" Coduri plays a parallel Earth version of Jackie. In this universe, she is still married to Pete, but they have no children, although she has a Yorkshire terrier named Rose. Despite Pete's success, which has led to Jackie becoming a celebrity, they...
(Camille Coduri
Camille Coduri
Camille Coduri is an English actress. She is best known for her role in Doctor Who as Jackie Tyler.-Career:She featured in the film comedies Nuns on the Run and King Ralph...
) and her boyfriend Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
(Noel Clarke
Noel Clarke
Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
). Whereas the classic series refrained from exploring romantic connections between the Doctor and his companions, Rose grows increasingly trusting of the Doctor and comes to realise she has fallen in love with him. The two appear to be forever separated in the 2006 series two finale
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
, although Rose eventually made a temporary return late in the fourth series.
Conception
After the announcement that the show would be returning, the BBC revealed the name of the new companion, Rose Tyler, on 28 March 2004. It was announced at the same time that former pop star Billie Piper was being considered for the role.Writer/producer Russell T Davies frequently uses the surname "Tyler" in his work. A family named Tyler is featured heavily in his Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
Doctor Who novel Damaged Goods
Damaged Goods
Damaged Goods is an original Doctor Who novel, released by Virgin Publishing in their New Adventures range of Doctor Who books in 1996...
, and Davies has created characters named Tyler in other series he has written, including Ruth Tyler in Revelations (1994), Vince Tyler in Queer as Folk (1999), and Johnny Tyler in The Second Coming (2003).
The casting of Piper as Rose was announced on 24 May 2004, and was welcomed by fans of the show. Actress Georgia Moffett
Georgia Moffett
Georgia Elizabeth Moffett is a British actress. Moffett was born in West London, the daughter of actors Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson....
, daughter of Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
actor Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
and who would later appear as the title role in the series 4 episode "The Doctor's Daughter
The Doctor's Daughter
"The Doctor's Daughter" is the sixth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 10 May 2008.- Synopsis :...
", also auditioned for the role. Rose appeared at the start of the revived Doctor Who from 2005 with the episode "Rose
Rose (Doctor Who)
"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
". Julia Joyce
Julia Joyce
Julia Joyce is an actress who was born on 14 June 1998, known for her three appearances as a younger version of Billie Piper in Doctor Who , Ruby in the Smoke and Mansfield Park. She is also the younger sister of the actress and model Lucy Joyce.-Filmography:-References:...
plays a young Rose in flashbacks in "Father's Day
Father's Day (Doctor Who)
"Father's Day" is the eighth episode in series one of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on 14 May 2005...
", the first of three occasions where she plays a younger version of a character played by Piper.
Paul Abbott
Paul Abbott
Paul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today, following his work on many popular series, including Coronation Street, Cracker and Shameless,...
was scheduled to write an episode for series 1 which would have revealed that Rose's entire life had been manipulated by the Doctor in order to mould her into an ideal companion.
Television
Although we later find she had unwittingly met the Tenth Doctor in the final moments before his regeneration, Rose's first true encounter with the Doctor comes in the eponymous premiere episodeRose (Doctor Who)
"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
(2005). Here, she is saved from an Auton
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
invasion of Earth by the mysterious alien Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
known as the Doctor (Eccleston), and assists him in defeating the Nestene Consciousness. Following this, the Doctor offers Rose the option of traveling with him, taking her to see the end of the world and giving her a "superphone" so she can remain in contact with her mother, Jackie, and boyfriend, Mickey
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
.
In their travels through time and space, Rose learns the importance of not tampering with history, when she attempts to save the life of her father Pete Tyler
Pete Tyler
Pete Tyler, full name Peter Alan Tyler, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Shaun Dingwall...
(Shaun Dingwall
Shaun Dingwall
Shaun Dingwall is a British actor and is known for his roles on British television.-Early life:Shaun Dingwall was born in 1972 and attended Ilford County High School for boys. His initial ambition was to become a photographer and for several years he worked as an assistant photographer within the...
), who had died when she was a baby. Throughout these journeys, she and the Doctor are haunted by two mysterious recurring words: "Bad Wolf". She, the Doctor, and new companion Captain Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
(John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
) come to understand the meaning of this phrase when they come face to face with an unstoppable Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
army on space station Satellite 5
Satellite 5
Satellite 5 is a major location in the 2005 series of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the series, it is first seen in the year 200,000 and is the main setting for the episode "The Long Game"...
.
To return to the Doctor after he sends her home to Earth in the series finale "The Parting of Ways", Rose is forced to tear open the TARDIS console and stare into its heart, and becomes suffused with the power of the time vortex
Time vortex (Doctor Who)
In the science fiction television series Doctor Who, the time vortex is the medium that the TARDIS and other time machines travel through...
. Returning, she uses her power over the infinity of time and space to spread the words "Bad Wolf" over its entirety, to lead herself to this moment where she can save the universe from the Dalek invasion using her godlike power. Rose resurrects Jack, who died from Dalek fire, and destroys the Dalek fleet before the Doctor drains the energy out of her—by kissing her—to save her life from its harmful effects. Rose is horrified as the Doctor appears to die and regenerates
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
into a new man (David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
), who proceeds to take the TARDIS and a terrified Rose to Earth, abandoning Jack on Satellite 5.
The new Doctor and Rose arrive on Earth on Christmas Day, where he passes out from the strain of regeneration in the midst of a Sycorax invasion in the 2005 Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion
The Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
". Having woken up and saved Earth, The Doctor enjoys Christmas dinner with Rose before the two once again depart to parts unknown. In the second series
Doctor Who (series 2)
The second series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April 2006...
(2006), Rose and the Doctor grow increasingly dependent on and close to one another as the series progresses. This becomes a source of tension once the Doctor accepts Rose's boyfriend Mickey as a companion as well, at the suggestion of his former companion Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
(Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
). For her service in defeating werewolves, Rose is knighted "Dame Rose of the Powell Estate" by Queen Victoria, who immediately banishes her and the Doctor as threats to the Empire. Together Rose, Mickey and the Doctor become stranded in a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
for a time, where Rose is reunited with a rich, entrepreneur version of her father who never died. Rose loses Mickey when he decides to stay behind in this world to battle Cybermen
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
, and to look after the alternate universe counterpart of his grandmother. Alone with the Doctor again, Rose faces the mythical Beast (Gabriel Woolf
Gabriel Woolf
Gabriel Woolf is an English film and television actor.-Career:His roles include Sir Percival in the 1953 film,Knights of the Round Table and Sutekh in the 1975 Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars....
), who prophesies that Rose will die fighting at the Doctor's side. This day comes when the clandestine anti-alien Torchwood Institute
Torchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
's director Yvonne Hartman (Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman is an English television, theatre and radio actress, known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera Eastenders...
) accidentally allows the Cybermen army and Dalek Cult of Skaro
Cult of Skaro
In the television series Doctor Who, the Cult of Skaro was an elite order of Daleks, and the first individual Daleks whose recurring nature has been explicit.-Background:The Cult of Skaro first appeared in the double-episode "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday"...
into this reality, where they begin an all-out war. In the attempt to seal the Cybermen and Daleks back into the "void" through which they came, Rose ends up in the parallel universe with her alternate father and her mother Jackie as the walls between universes seal forever. The Doctor is able to transmit Rose one last message of goodbye, during which she reveals to him she has gone to work for this universe's Torchwood, and confesses to him that she loves him. Before he is able to reply, their connection is cut out and Rose is left alone, in tears. Piper as Rose was greenlit to be the star of the spin-off series Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, set in her parallel universe and to air as a bank holiday special, but Russell T. Davies deemed the concept "a spin-off too far" after Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
.
Rose's absence and the Doctor's pained estrangement from her proves a point of contention for the Doctor's new series 3
Doctor Who (series 3)
The third series of British science fiction series Doctor Who was preceded by the 2006 Christmas special "The Runaway Bride". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "Smith and Jones" on 31 March 2007...
(2007) companion Martha
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
(Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
), who has fallen in love with the Doctor herself; when Martha protects the Doctor, living as a human without his memories, it is still Rose that he dreams of. In spin-off series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
(2006–), the audience learns that Rose's act of resurrecting Jack cursed him with being unable to die. Returning to Doctor Who, Jack discloses that he will watch Rose grow up in the 20th century. When the Doctor is reunited with Donna Noble
Donna Noble
Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...
(Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
) in the show's fourth series
Doctor Who (series 4)
The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...
(2008), Rose mysteriously begins to appear in the Doctor's life—first seen only by Donna, and later in silent video messages which the Doctor fails to notice. When Donna is tricked by an alien fortune teller (Chipo Chung
Chipo Chung
Chipo Chung is a Tanzanian-born actress raised in Zimbabwe. She currently lives in London.-Background:Chipo Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She is half-Zimbabwean and half-Chinese. She spent her first two years in refugee camps in Mozambique with thousands of young people...
) into creating a timeline where the Doctor has died, it is Rose who arrives from her parallel world to correct the timeline, working alongside the paranormal military organisation UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
to return Donna to the correct timeline bearing the Doctor two words: 'Bad Wolf'. In the corrected timeline, the Doctor knows that 'Bad Wolf' is a signal from the omnipotent Rose that the walls of reality have broken down, and that the world is ending. In the midst of Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
' (Julian Bleach
Julian Bleach
Julian Bleach is an English actor who is best known as co-creator and "M. C." of Shockheaded Peter, a musical entertainment based on the works of Heinrich Hoffmann, which won the 2002 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.Bleach trained at LAMDA...
) plot to obliterate existence, Rose is reunited with her love and unites with the Doctor's companions Sarah Jane, Donna, Martha, and Jack to assist him in defending the universe. Having saved it, Rose challenges the Doctor on the words he never got to say, but this time he resists. His part human alternate self then whispers the words in her ear and she immediately kisses him. As the walls between realities are repaired, the fully Time Lord Doctor leaves, allowing Rose and her mortal, aging Doctor to live out their lives together, once again trapped in the parallel universe. In the closing scenes of the 2010 finale episode "The End of Time, Part Two
The End of Time
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
", the dying Doctor travels to the Powell estate in the first minutes of 2005, prior to the original events of "Rose". The Doctor speaks to her from the shadows, knowing she is destined to "properly" meet him for the first time soon.
Literature
The character of Rose has been expanded upon in literature related to Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Annual 2006, published in August 2005, gives further biographical information on Rose in an article written by the programme's chief writer and executive producer Russell T Davies, including the middle name "Marion", and information about her mother, school life and ex-boyfriends. The character appears in short stories featured in the Doctor Who annuals for 2006 and 2007, as well as in an issue of Doctor Who Magazine, and in comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
sequences which feature in the annuals, the fanzine Doctor Who Magazine, and children's magazines Doctor Who Adventures
Doctor Who Adventures
Doctor Who Adventures is a magazine based on the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It is published by BBC Magazines and aimed at 6–13 year-olds, a different demographic from the Doctor Who Magazine readership...
and Doctor Who - Battles in Time
Doctor Who - Battles in Time
Doctor Who – Battles in Time is a trading card game and fortnightly magazine from the partwork publishers, GE Fabbri, who acquired the license to produce Battles in Time...
; the character also cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in a panel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
s second story, "No Future for You
No Future for You
"No Future for You" is the second story arc of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, based upon the television series of the same name, and is written by Brian K. Vaughan...
". Rose is featured in the first twelve New Series Adventures
New Series Adventures (Doctor Who)
The New Series Adventures are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published in the spring and autumn of each year. Beginning and concluding with...
novels and the first Quick Reads Initiative
Quick Reads Initiative
Quick Reads are a series of short books by bestselling authors and celebrities. With no more than 128 pages, they are designed to encourage adults who do not read often, or find reading tough, to discover the joy of books....
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, I am a Dalek
I am a Dalek
I am a Dalek is a BBC Books original novella written by Gareth Roberts and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and Rose. This paperback is part of the Quick Reads Initiative sponsored by the UK government, to encourage literacy...
. In the novels, some elements of Rose's backstory are fleshed out; for example, Only Human reveals she was once engaged to be married.
Personality
Rose was the first television companion of the Doctor with a fully fleshed-out personal life and background that the audience actually saw on screen in her debut story, as opposed to something developed over time. For the first time since the first Doctor Who episode, "An Unearthly ChildAn Unearthly Child
The serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
", "Rose" was told largely from the companion's point of view. It was also the first time the television series has examined the consequences of a companion leaving with the Doctor; in "Aliens of London
Aliens of London
"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television show Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 16 April 2005. The Doctor takes Rose back to 21st century London, just in time to witness a spaceship crashing into the River Thames, triggering a...
", when the Doctor and Rose accidentally land a year into her mother's future, they find that she has been considered a missing person and Mickey was briefly suspected of her murder.
Rose is unique in that she is the first companion whose immediate family and/or a close friend knew of her travels with the Doctor while they occurred. Mickey was aware of her new occupation and tracked her movements through his website
Doctor Who tie-in websites
The 2005 series revival of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who features several tie-in websites produced by the BBC website team that viewers can access on the Internet...
. Jackie found out about the life her daughter was leading and, despite pleading for her to stay, Rose continued to travel with the Doctor. She was able to communicate with her mother via her "Superphone" and Rose would often phone home during her travels and let her mother know her activities. This precedent set, family awareness of a companion's role with the Doctor was continued with companions Donna Noble
Donna Noble
Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...
& Wilfred Mott
Wilfred Mott
Wilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the maternal grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of character Sylvia Noble...
, Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
, and returning classic era companion Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
.
Rose cares deeply about, and loves, the Doctor; romantically as is proved in the series four finale. She states on several occasions her desire to stay with the Doctor for the rest of her life, and chooses to stay with the Doctor, even though it means forever leaving her mother and Mickey on the parallel earth. In their final moments together, Rose tells the Doctor that she loves him; he begins to reply but only manages to say her name before his transmission is cut off and the two are parted indefinitely. However, Rose and the Doctor are reunited at the end of season 4, when Rose is left in the parallel universe with the human version of the Doctor.
Rose is not the first companion whose affection for the Doctor at least suggests romantic interest as well. Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
hints at possible feelings for the Doctor in "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
" when he asks her if she had ever married and she tells him she hasn't ("Well, there was this man...I travelled with him for a while...but he was a tough act to follow."). Grace Holloway
Grace Holloway
Dr. Grace Holloway is a fictional character played by Daphne Ashbrook in the 1996 television movie Doctor Who, a continuation of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
makes a joking reference to having fallen for the Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
in the 1996 TV movie. In "Army of Ghosts
Army of Ghosts
"Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who which was first broadcast on 1 July 2006...
", Rose also indicates her intention to stay with the Doctor "forever", a sentiment never before expressed by previous companions, many of whom were reluctant travellers, though echoed by companion Donna Noble
Donna Noble
Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...
in "The Doctor's Daughter
The Doctor's Daughter
"The Doctor's Daughter" is the sixth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 10 May 2008.- Synopsis :...
" and "Journey's End
Journey's End (Doctor Who)
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
".
External links
- Rose Tyler on the BBC's Doctor Who website