He's Rose's ever-loyal Earthbound boyfriend - kind of like a faithful spaniel. With the brains of a poodle.

Actually, the actor Noel Clarke is presumably a bit brighter though as he's just written (and appears in) a controversial new film, Kidulthood which is a bit like a British urban Kids.

Yeah he also appeared here in the UK on a series called Metrosexuality, and fine is an understatement.

And Noel is a sweetheart in person, too. I was at Gally a fortnight ago, and he was just a lovely, delightful guest. Really nice, approachable, and made sure everyone there to see him had a good time. I can't wait to see what's in store for Mick in 2nd series.

Also, "Kidulthood" loosk AMAZING, and all of the press he's been doing has convinced me he's sharp as anything on top of being a talented actor.

An interview with Dreamwatch had Noel talking of being a fan, and watching the old series

Mickey is great. Those of you who don't agree after seeing Rose... just you wait. :)

I did wait. Still find him boring.

I feel bad for Mickey a lot of the time. He genuinely cares for Rose and misses her when she's gone, but he undertands that travelling in the TARDIS is something that she needs to do. Plus, it's hard to get over someone when she keeps coming back only to leave again.

I also love his website.

Rose treated Mickey like crap.Initially he seems useless, but as we see more of him through the series, he comes across as a decent guy who genuinley cares about Rose. She leaves him easily like he's nothing and does it again and again and again. If he's stupid, it's for loving someone who can't give two shits about him.. I keep waiting for him to tell her to fuck off. I did like when he rejected the Doc's offer to travel with him and Rose. He couldn't stand the idea of living with the girl that dumped him and the guy she dumped him for, especially since he was suspected of killing her after she disappeared.

I'm glad some people here are defending Mickey. I find him pretty harmless, but all of my friends who have watched Doctor Who loathe Mickey and wish violent gory death on him. C'mon, he's not that bad...

I was never a fan of Mickey but dont wish gory death on him. I liked him more after he did what fadooski says he did. Made him more likeable for some reason.

I think, that way, Mickey is to Doctor Who as Kate is to Lost. The fans are split between those that wish gory deathiness and those that... don't. It's not so much love him or hate him as hate him or meh him.

You could very well be right about that, Nuallain. Personally, I'm in the "meh" camp. At first I thought he was incredibly annoying and pointless, but after the end of S1 I think he grew on me.

I actually like Mickey! Call me mad, if you want.

Although that does have quite a lot to do with Noel Clark being entertaining and intelligent in interviews and such. But he is a very real character somehow, and (Rose notwithstanding) played very well indeed IMO.

*waves hello to Nuallain* Nice to see a familiar "face" around here!

Dave? Is that you?

Mickey's not that bad, and I do like the fact that he turns down the Doctor's offer to join the TARDIS crew at the end of WW3. He knows that he couldn't handle it and says so. I also like that the Doctor respects that and then covers for him when Rose asks Mickey to come along this time. Nice bit of male bonding there.

Add me to the "Likes Mickey" camp. But I do think he's best in smallish doses -- I can see how he can get a little irritating when it seems like all he's ever doing is asking Rose if she's ever coming back. Hey! You had a chance to go with her and you turned it down!

I also find his website amusing. :)

One of the fun things about recaps will be reading, "Shut up, Mickey."

That said, I think he evolved beyond his initial dumpster-bait self and has been quite useful.

Compare it to, say, Arthur Dent, who gets on with this girl, only to have her run off with this guy who has two heads and a spaceship. Arthur mopes quite bitterly, Mickey does better. At least his girl left him for someone who saves the world, right?

Well and the Tardis. I mean, who's not going to ditch a yellow beetle to travel in time? And I bet you can make a deccent cup of tea without nearly killing everyone unlike a certain other spaceship. Yeah, Mickey never had a chance.

I think it's pretty easy to bash the guy - from our perspective the Doctor swanning in to wisk us away is pretty much a dream come true - but it's not for everybody. I mean, the guy got eaten by a trashcan and hauled off (we never hear how exactly but I doubt it was pleasant) to a freaky talking pool of goo and held prisoner with no idea what was going on. A lot of people would want to lock themselves in their rooms for a week after that. And I'd rather see him throw a fit than Rose.

I agree Duct Tape Fairy, in fact I think Mickey is there as much as a foil for Rose as for the Doctor. He seems a lot more satisfied with his life up till that point than Rose is and while probably a very sweet guy, nice boyfriend, etc. isn't exactly adventurous.

I know there are people who don't much like Jackie and Mickey but for me they add a lot of texture to Rose's background and I'm glad they're part of the story. Also both characters grew on me over the course of the series (though they're still not my favorites, which would basically comprise Rose, the Doctor and Jack in no particular order).

Arthur Dent is a good comparisson. The thing is that Mickey got left by Rose bacause...? He was rude, unkind, abusive or negligent? No. Did he cheat on her? No. She just found someone better. If we're supposed to root for Rose ditching her boyfriend without a second thought, then they should have given a more compelling reason. The fact that he still loves her rubs me the wrong way. Remember, he was suspected of murdering her after she left. I would love it if, the next time Rose meets Mickey, he grows a spine and says "Look, I don't love you. I could never love you after you hurt me like you did. I care about you and if you and the Doctor need help diffusing an alien threat I'll be there. But I don't love you and let's face it, you never loved me." I like Noel Clark and he's definitely taken a pathetic character and given him a bit of dignity.

I think the reason we are given for why she ditches her boyfriend is the same as why she ditches her life. There both good and nice. Theres nothing wrong with her life there's nothing wrong with Mickey. She just wants more out of her life, more out of her time. She is very dissatisfied with her lot in life. She mentions that when she's talking about getting a new job 'Is that it then' She wants more And that's very personal. And is not a reflcetion of Mickey at all.

Dagnabbit, I was all set to hate this guy and then y'all remind me he was in Metrosexuality which was RAD! He's kind of a punk in this show though he made me laugh unintentionally several times.

We'll see, though I do agree with hlisy who said this in the meet market:



Hee! Cause for reals. But... I don't know, this show y'all, this show.

Off hlisy's commennt: In Noel Clarke's defence, he's slammed his performance in Rose himself - calling it "terrible" and "embarressing". Essentially, at that point, he was a regular on another show that was filming in Thailand and flew in especially to film his scenes. He missed all the tone meetings and read-throughs and hadn't really a chance to get into Mickey's head properly. Plus, just before he left Thailand one of the other regulars on his other show suddenly died and Clarke says it all contributed to his 'head not being in the game'.

In other words: He does get better in later episodes. Promise.

I agree wholeheartedly. I just watched the whole series in one go last night (and this morning) and the difference is obvious when you see them all in a row. Also, he seems to get cuter which I find very strange. Mickey was a bit annoying in the first episode, but as everything went along, I liked him and just sort of felt sorry for him.

It also doesn't help that Mickey's first episode was directed by Keith Boak, who is pretty notorious amidst Who fans for completely misjudging the tone of the show. His three episodes are pretty much played broad and 'whacky' for the kids, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if he encouraged Noel to ramp up the faux-Mickey performance. And I do like Mickey as well, although as characters go, I think he's a grower. But the more you think about his situation, the more you feel for him.

Actually in the BBC site's Fear Forcast (which is basically a watch-through of most of the episodes with 4 kids and their various reactions) it's noted a couple times that the kids react well to Mickey. So there's at least one audience he plays well to. Though I'm with those who think he gets better as the series progresses.

Thanks Nuallain for that additional info, that's very good to know!

Does anyone know the actor's racial background? I first thought he was black, but then I thought maybe Indian? Any clues, is there a mix in there?

IIRC his parents are West Indian (as in, from what Americans usually call "the Caribbean", not Western India) so he's black. Apart from that, all I know is that his father abandoned the family shortly after he was born and he was raised by his mother alone.

In an interview with Doctor Who monthly, the guy who plays Mickey says that he had hardly any prep time for those initial episodes. That and the lousy direction from Keith Boak (you'll see more of his "handiwork" in episodes 4 and 5, so prepare yourself) mean that he wasn't exactly running at full speed.

He gets a lot better as the series progresses, and he was good in the later series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

I loathed him in "Rose," but grew to more pity him in the later episodes. I still consider him a waste of screen space though; I don't hate him, but I'd rather see that time go to interesting characters who matter.

Apparently Boak has trouble finding work in the UK ever since his first production block on the first series of Doctor Who.

I don't want Boak to be out of work, but I'd be happy if he kept his mitts off Doctor Who and Torchwood from now on.

Looks like Mickey will be getting a lot more screentime in season 2. Here's hoping the writers allow him to act a little more heroically than he was in the first series.

Keith Boak ruined Mickey for me and very nearly put me off the show altogether. I remember watching Rose and thinking, "Isn't it a bit much to have the guy cowering at Rose's feet, holding onto her legs?" It just seemed so clownish, I figured I'd just skip the whole of Season 1 and wait to start watching Season 2.

But he does improve as the season progresses. His scenes with Rose in Boom Town were just so poignant (though he did nearly ruin the whole thing by asking if Rose'd still go to a Hotel with him!) - you can't help feeling sorry for both him and Rose, 'cause they both refuse to let go of each other, though they might be happier if they did.

Exactly, I liked Mickey a whole lot when he showed up in subsequent episode. I think its very cool that the writers, while acknowledging that Rose went on a kick-ass adventure and theres no way she should've passed on that--it comes to a big personal cost and Mickey articulated that very well. I look forward to him joining on more adventures in season 2.

I started not hating Mickey in World War Three. His interactions are a lot more natural and human and he helps out a whole bunch. And I can't help but feel so so bad for him in Boom Town and a little happy when he stays in the shadows at the end, trying to move on (although he still comes running in the Parting of the Ways.) I liked him in that episode as well; the whole "there's nothing left for you here?" exchange was excellent.

The latest interest of not to Mickey fans is that Noel Clarke has been commissioned to write an episode of Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin off starting in October. Fancy that!

I mentioned this is the episode thread, but did anyone else notice what Mickey did after rescuing Jackie and taking her to his apartment?

He checked the trash can just in case it was going to attack!

I want to know who came up with that idea, because it was Fantastic!

Can you imagine how mucht the whole ordeal has frakked with Mickey's head? He seemed like the kinda dimly weird poor frat type (as well as full of contradictions!) before the Doctor dropped in. And after? He's just uber paranoid and still a coward, and maybe just a little more curious, but spineless.

Not really a coward; he's just like most - willing to step up if the situation demands, but not about to go looking for danger. I would agree he's had trouble getting over his initial encounter. Maybe Jackie can help him out.

BBC Three just ran an hour long special Doctor Who: One Year On that had a great Mickey montage to the theme of ... "Oh, Mickey, You're So Fine" ... Shout out?

Anyway, it looks like he's really going to step up in S2. You see him stepping out of the TARDIS and yelling "Yes! A spaceship! I got a spaceship on my very first go!" Various talking heads from the cast and crew testify that Mickey is probably the character who's grown the most from 1-1 to 2-13.

Man, I cannot wait for Mickey to get into the Companion-groove. I seem to be in the minority but I started loving him from very early on (his turning down the Doctor's invite into the TARDIS, in fact). Probably because I always end up preferring the sidekicks, and the people who aren't heroes. Then he broke my heart in Boom Town, when he started cry-yelling at Rose, angry and devastated at the same time. And by the end of S1 you could tell he was ready to get into the TARDIS. He only showed up in 5 episodes, but the character's journey was so huge.

And a couple of months back I saw a couple of pics of topless Noel. Wow.

Understatement oh and from what I hear he is supposed to end up wearing only his boxers at some point in s2

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After much thought about the events of "School Reunion", I have come to the realization that Mickey=Xander (BTVS). Now when I calm down, I'll talk about it more coherently. Hah! Someone else probably figured it out before I did, but I'm still glad I came up with it on my own.

The opening titles (and DVD cover) of Metrosexuality features Noel and the rest of the cast romping around in their undies. He's fit alright.

For those who haven't seen it, it's about a teenager (Noel) who's gay dads split up after 15 or 20 years of togetherness, and he spends the whole series trying to think up clever ways of getting them back together (along with all of the other usual teenage angst). It was a cute show (although there are some heavy bits) with a nice twist on the 'teen trying to cope with the parents divorce' angle. It was the first thing I ever saw him in, so it was nice that he turned up on DW.

And, yeah, Noel Clarke in his knickers.

Paddling in the shallow end up here too...
Oh my, Noel Clarke, what a very nice six pack you have!

Heh - I think we could safely remove the question mark from the thread title now. Daaaamn.

That Rose is one damn lucky bitch, isn't she? Sheesh, doesn't she know any ugly guys??

He's not half-bad, it's true.

I think we know now why he's so clingy, too; Rose isn't just his girlfriend, she's the only important person in his life who hasn't run off or died. And then she effectively dumps him to run off with an alien. No wonder the poor boy acts hard done by.

Mickey! Tied up! In his boxers!

Way too many of my fantasies came together there...

Hee, that wasn't quite what I meant by it but I agree!

A FEW hours late, but I've put a Spoilers Okay marker on this thread, given this week's S2 episode. So no tags necessary. It's not like he did anything in S1 that hasn't come up.