The main thing this”re-pilot” to quote a Community phrase has to do, is to introduce a major new character, that of the new companion Bill Potts played by Pearl Mackie, into the fabric of the show. And in that regard, I have to say this episode for the most part succeeds.
Presumably feeling nostalgic for “Human Nature” (or maybe “School Reunion”), the Doctor’s taken up teaching at a university, apparently not having it in him to travel the cosmos anymore, with Nardole as his assistant. He takes a particular liking to Bill Potts a canteen worker, whom he appoints his private student. After a few months, Bill notices the disappearance of a student called Heather, whom she has a crush on, when inspecting a curious puddle. Intrigued by this, the Doctor investigates and of course will have to reopen the doors of the TARDIS, introducing Bill to his world, to get to the bottom of it.
I don’t know yet how much I like Bill, but I definitely like Pearl Mackie. She’s the focus of the episode as she should be, and her character is certainly off to a better start than Clara. It is disappointing that she’s another in a long line of modern-day young women to accompany the Doctor, but she’s got a more relatable personality than the last few companions. This may change depending on where this series goes and how the character is ultimately developed, but so far she’s not bad at all; and despite her nonsensical rambling at the start and the “Doctor what” line (that gimmick of saying some variation of the show’s title is getting lame), she’s not as annoying as I feared. Mackie is a good actress and carries the weight of the episode capably. There was a lot of expectation when it was revealed that she’s an LGBT companion (those who reported she’s the first should be ashamed to have forgotten the legendary Captain Jack Harkness), and perhaps my biggest surprise of the episode was how well-integrated her sexuality was. It’s not great by any means, there’s still some lazy exposition when she says to her foster mum “men are not what I keep my eye on actually”; an assertion rendered especially unnecessary by a subsequent scene of her flirting with Heather at a nightclub. But the episode winds up being driven by her crush on this student and it surprisingly works. I guess after seeing other mainstream family friendly properties like Beauty and the Beast fail at trying to depict gay characters and/or gay relationships, and given that Moffat is no Russell T. Davies when it comes to this kind of material, I expected something hackneyed and clumsy. This was not. Perhaps because of Mackie’s performance, it was actually believable and made for a unique spin on the monster-of-the-week formula.
The set-up is likeable enough. I love that this time the Doctor’s been hiding out, he’s been doing it in the guise of a teacher at a university. It seems like a very ideal place for him even if he can never decide on what to teach. And Peter Capaldi’s still pretty great, now he seems settled in the role it’s all the more unfortunate he’s going to be leaving after this series. There are definite callbacks to his previous teaching gigs, especially given Bill’s occupation as the chip girl being the same disguise Rose had in “School Reunion”. And the Doctor’s office is a cool place. I loved the tin full of his old sonic screwdrivers and I particularly enjoyed the fact he keeps a photo of Susan on his desk. Whether this is just meant to be an homage to the Doctor’s beginnings, or a hint of something to come relating to the granddaughter still waiting in the 2160s for her grandfather to come back, I don’t know, but I love the sentiment. Nardole is still around which I appreciate if for nothing else than the fact we finally have an alien companion in the TARDIS again. I think he’s the first since Kamelion (and no one cares about Kamelion). In addition to that, now he’s been around humans longer he’s adapted a little more, and has a number of genuinely funny lines. There may even be a trace of something more than comic relief when he comforts Bill at the end. And to be honest, it’s just nice to see Matt Lucas again. Little Britain was one of my guilty pleasure comedy shows back in the day.
Where the episode falters more is in its plot. The alien menace is on Earth in the form of a single puddle in some alley that lures Bill and Heather to it, and then unbeknownst to Bill, traps Heather. It’s a neat starting point, as is the idea of a puddle with too perfect a reflection. The explanation is then typical Moffat: it’s sentient spaceship oil that draws people to it, consumes them and uses their desire as its next driving force (thus the pilot is the person it lures). But then it also mimics Heather just because they want the same kind of visual that made “The Waters of Mars” so creepy, and chases after the Doctor and Bill. It’s once again one of those concepts that’s slightly too convoluted (the leaps of the oils’ capabilities are quite far), but the water motif does allow for a good moment or two, like a reverse-Psycho where Bill thinks someone’s in the shower. And a part of me admires just how blatantly it’s an excuse to give Bill a quick introductory cruise of the TARDIS and the greater universe. In one episode she manages to travel in space, travel in time, and meet the Daleks. You could argue this cheats her of having to respond and develop from these revelations in future episodes, but how many Dalek introductions do we need? And she did get a pretty good reaction to the TARDIS first time she went inside calling it a posh kitchen, then a lift (I love the idea that the Doctor and Nardole had a bet as to whether she’d say the “bigger on the inside” line). She also has a great moment where she calls out one of the logical fallacies of the show, namely how the TARDIS can be an alien creation when its name is an English acronym (this could have been avoided if Susan naming the TARDIS in the first episode hadn’t been retconned). And as I suggested before, the reveal that the Heather-alien isn’t trying to attack them so much as invite Bill based on the interpretation of Bill’s last words to her: “don’t leave without me” in concordance with Heathers’ desire to “leave”, works as both a sufficient plot device and a pay-off to Bill’s relationship to Heather. Bill’s almost drawn in by her desire which the Doctor seemed to indicate was a romantic longing, but at the last moment releases her from her promise. And again, it’s not a bad showcase for Mackie.
After the whole incident, the Doctor tries to erase Bill’s memory which she catches onto and makes a strong, emotional defence, even if the taste of excitement she’s craving nearly got her killed. But it’s a scene well done and though the Doctor protests that he must stay in hiding, we know what’s going to happen a minute later. When he opens the TARDIS doors for her on campus, he suggests the possibility of finding Heather out there, despite earlier denying this. I wonder if this is just a comfortable fiction between the two or if it will actually grow into an arc.
There were a number of little things dropped throughout the episode that are curious, the biggest one of all being that vault sitting somewhere in the university that the Doctor and Nardole are guarding. The mystery of that vault I’m sure is going to be a significant arc this series. Not a hint of anything, but I loved the little scene between the Doctor and Bill on Christmas, showing that their relationship is spanning time while also focussing on Bill’s character. Her mother is sure to be a source of fan theories as is always the case for orphan characters. She finds photos of her mother shortly thereafter and though she notices the Doctor is the one taking them, she never confronts him on this, nor calls him out on what’s clearly creepy behaviour. But of course the biggest bombshell moment comes not from the episode itself, but from the teaser for the upcoming series. Among hints to the Ice Warriors, Mondas Cybermen, and such, Michelle Gomez makes an appearance, but we also unmistakably see JOHN SIMM! What does this mean? Are we going to see multiple Masters this series? There have been a number of multi-Doctor team-ups for anniversaries over the years, but we’ve never seen multiple Masters at once. It definitely has my interest, especially considering he’s sporting a beard not unlike the great Roger Delgado.
“The Pilot” is not one of the best companion intros, and as a series premiere doesn’t raise the stakes or push the envelope like “The Magicians’ Apprentice” did. Nor does it quite succeed as a restart as it’s title would suggest. But we don’t need another one of those, not at this point. It’s enough that it is a decent welcome back, and to its credit sets up Bill Potts better than past introductions like Clara’s or Donna’s. I can only hope she’s done justice over the next eleven episodes. Same goes for Nardole, and of course the Twelfth Doctor in his final series. It’s been over a year since we’ve had Doctor Who regularly on our television screens, so we fans need satiating after the long wait.
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