Rose

On March 26th 2005 we were treated to the long overdue return of Doctor Who.  Rose brought the Doctor back to our TV screens for the first time since 1989.
He was a new Doctor, and soon had a new companion in tow, bringing us a sense of familiarity.  Christopher Eccleston seemed to relish the challenge, whether he was pleading with the Nestene or belittling Rose.  By the end of the episode we found he had softened towards Rose and was ready to bring her into his TARDIS, and begin their turbulent relationship.

The Doctor blew up the shop where she worked and ripped her boyfriend's head off, so why did Rose leave in the TARDIS at the end of the episode?
The answer is simple; Rose was introduced as a very basic character who had a job that didn't fulfil her, a boyfriend who didn't challenge her and no specific prospects.
By the end of the episode we have been brought in and shown that this character is definitely not content but has never known how to 'escape' Then, when she is offered the opportunity to develop herself, she takes it albeit at the second time of asking.

But what about the new Doctor? There are indications that he is relatively fresh from his regeneration (Ahhh could have been worse) and also that he has been involved in war (I was there, I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault) but in every other way he is the Doctor. 
For me, having been brought up on the classic series, it felt like he'd returned and yet for millions he was something new and different.  They reached out to both audiences at the same time, and with success.

So what else was there in the episode? There was Clive who was used to tease out the fact that the Doctor is someone who has been around on Earth in the past, and then there was Mickey and Jackie.  These two would become regular characters and even become embroiled in later stories as main players, right up to the end of the 10th Doctor's 'reign'.
All we saw of Mickey was that he was a rather pathetic individual who offered Rose no reason to stay other than a need to mother him.  Jackie, based on this one episode, is a feisty, yet vulnerable, single parent who was on a path very similar to her daughter.  Both characters would develop, mainly through the introduction of 'Pete's World' in series 2.

It will never be the best episode of Doctor Who, not even being Eccleston's best episode.  It is possible however, to argue that it is one of the most important episodes ever in the history of Doctor Who.  The fact that this episode was on was the most important factor.

So, 12 days from now, blow up your job, keep an eye out for those shop dummies and most importantly...run!!