C+Q - The Pilot (2017)

Well that was lovely. Series 10 is off to a strong start with The Pilot, an episode destined to become my go-to recommendation for anyone wanting to start watching Doctor Who.

The obvious standout is Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, who is absolutely incredible. She immediately feels like a breath of fresh air and I hate the fact that the upcoming change of both showrunner and Doctor means she's likely going to be a one-series companion. As much as I adore grand labyrinthine storytelling, I like how straight-forward this companion introduction story is. It's nice to have a change of rhythm every now and then, and having a normal everyday person who gets whisked away on an adventure without the need for some grand conspiracy was just lovely to see. I think 'lovely' is probably the main word I'd use to describe this episode. From the leisurely pre-title sequence in the Doctor's warm and homely study to the final scene of the Doctor giving in and agreeing to take Bill on adventures, the whole thing is charming and heart-warming and reminds me why Doctor Who is and always will be my favourite thing.

Part of the charm and heart-warming-ness comes from the relationship between Bill and Heather that forms the emotional core of the episode. The pair work well together and make the whole thing more than the sci-fi technobabble needed to explain it all. This episode is about the moment Bill lets Heather go, not the moment the Doctor figures out why Heather is an evil alien puddle capable of doing the things she does. If I were to suggest an improvement to this episode, I'd have liked to have seen more of Bill and Heather's initial encounter at the party. I know there's only so much you can do in 50 minutes, but a bit more of their first meeting would have made their bond stronger and the climax of the episode more emotional as a result. Regardless, their relationship is brilliant and it feels incredibly Doctor Who to have a big ridiculous sci-fi romp through space and time that ultimately comes down to an intimate moment between two people. I'm sure we'll hear from Heather again at some point.

I'm impressed by how fully-formed Bill is in her very first episode, especially after the terrible start Clara was given as a character. Bill already has interests, passions, a social life, and a family that I'm sure we'll revisit in the weeks to come. We have a sense of how she views the world and countless little hints of a life beyond the screen, like how her foster mum gives her money because she's "always passing judgement", or how she asks the Doctor to let her keep her memories for one day so she can "have some good dreams for once". The main threat of the evil alien puddle giving the main trio an excuse to run away from location to location in a genius structure that allows the plot to slow down and develop the characters but have the puddle find them again just before things start dragging too much. Moments like Bill's reaction to the TARDIS being bigger on the inside or her reaction to being on another planet for the first time are given the room they need to breathe and we get plenty time to get to know her in the process. I'm looking forward to the coming weeks just so I can spend more time with her.

This episode in general is really well put together. Murray Gold remains my favourite TV composer and this episode contains some amazing moments that demonstrate the power of a good soundtrack. For example, when the Doctor is waxing lyrical about the TARDIS to Bill and the music soars only for it to fade abruptly when Bill defuses the epicness. Or at the end, when the Doctor is about to wipe Bill's memory and a hint of Clara's theme shows us with no words and not even any visuals that he's thinking of her. Wonderful stuff. Here's hoping Murray Gold survives the Executive Producerocalypse. This episode was directed by Lawrence Gough who did an amazing job with the material. The pull-out from the TARDIS doors into darkness to reveal its size is such a wonderful way of preserving the reveal for both Bill and viewers who've never seen the show before. As much as this is a very user-friendly introduction for newcomers, I appreciate all the continuity references to Susan, River, and the old sonics as a way to say that yes, this is a new starting point, but there's so much mythology you can dive into if you're interested. Oh, and seeing the Movellans in a 2017 episode is, again, lovely.

I'm still hoping there's more to his character than comedy, but in terms of comedy alone, I think I'm sold on Nardole. It doesn't help that three out of his three episodes so far contain jokes about piss, but if there's one thing Matt Lucas does reliably well it's comic timing, which he does EXTREMELY well. "Oh, human! Human alert, do you want me to repel her?" is amazing. I kinda love that Capaldi's Doctor has his own K9; a weird robot who lives in the TARDIS and is treated more like a servant than a companion. He's the closest thing Doctor Who's had to a literal assistant.

This one will probably improve with age once we find out why the Doctor is at the university and what he's keeping in the vault, but overall this is a wonderful standalone episode and a really strong return for the show. In the next two weeks we're going to be doing the typical 'adventure in the future, adventure in the past' thing that worked so well in the RTD era, and the two episodes look on the surface to be pretty standard Who adventures. That being said, with Bill on board, I'm looking forward to these standard adventures a lot. Obviously the next big thing I'm looking forward to is Episode 6, a Missy episode written by Moffat, but I'm sure the weeks before that will be just as fun.

Next: Smile