I thought SMoffat did a particularly elegant job in paying homage to what's come before while subtly charting a new course and tone.
Talk about paying homage: as near as I can tell, there were explicit shout-outs to (almost) every single previous Doctor's debut stories. I haven't yet gone to the forums to see how others think, but...
"An Unearthly Child" -- Little Amelia's a bit of a mystery herself, discovering the TARDIS in a misty yard with a flashlight
"The Power of the Daleks" -- some odd behavior with food
"Spearhead From Space" -- a semi-rural hospital, a shapeshifting alien
"Robot" -- final standoff vs. a giant adversary out in the open
"Castrovalva" -- a getaway in an emergency vehicle, a cricket bat (delivering a helpful post-regenerative blow to the head; cf. Five's need for adrenaline in that story)
"The Twin Dilemma" -- slimy aliens, a dialogue-driven wardrobe scene
"Time and the Rani" -- fighting back with a giant brain of geniuses (metaphorically in this case, but still!)
"Doctor Who (TV Movie)" -- clothes found in a hospital locker room (see also "Spearhead"), a looming deadline + countdown
"Rose" -- crashing into a girl's mundane life, meeting her family, battling shapeshifting baddies
"The Christmas Invasion" -- global alien invasion crisis, rooftop showdown, explicit declaration of Doctorness
Wow, that's massively impressive -- you're either a walking Whovian database or suffering from acute apophenia! I'll be very cross if your comment propels me to spend the entire day immersing myself in Doctor-debut serials....
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Talk about paying homage: as near as I can tell, there were explicit shout-outs to (almost) every single previous Doctor's debut stories. I haven't yet gone to the forums to see how others think, but...
"An Unearthly Child" -- Little Amelia's a bit of a mystery herself, discovering the TARDIS in a misty yard with a flashlight
"The Power of the Daleks" -- some odd behavior with food
"Spearhead From Space" -- a semi-rural hospital, a shapeshifting alien
"Robot" -- final standoff vs. a giant adversary out in the open
"Castrovalva" -- a getaway in an emergency vehicle, a cricket bat (delivering a helpful post-regenerative blow to the head; cf. Five's need for adrenaline in that story)
"The Twin Dilemma" -- slimy aliens, a dialogue-driven wardrobe scene
"Time and the Rani" -- fighting back with a giant brain of geniuses (metaphorically in this case, but still!)
"Doctor Who (TV Movie)" -- clothes found in a hospital locker room (see also "Spearhead"), a looming deadline + countdown
"Rose" -- crashing into a girl's mundane life, meeting her family, battling shapeshifting baddies
"The Christmas Invasion" -- global alien invasion crisis, rooftop showdown, explicit declaration of Doctorness