Doctor Who: The Pilot (10x01)

Um. Okay. Cautious optimism? It's just that I've been burned so many times before, you know? I hate to fall for it and then the rest of the season is a crap-pile. But... I guess I liked this episode?

Cons:

I suppose the plot itself was a bit shrug-worthy. It had a decently creepy alien presence, but it felt a bit like a mix between the water monsters from Mars, and the repetition creature from "Midnight." Both very, very effective creepy creatures, and this felt like a light version of both. Still, there were a few genuinely startling moments with her.

Nardole feels a bit like a useless lump at the moment. I'm trying to reserve judgment. But do we really need him around, honestly?

This episode hinges on the connection between Bill, our new companion, and Heather, a girl who ends up being taken and... possessed? I guess? by the creepy water stuff. Setting aside the slightly problematic fact that the first potential love interest for Bill is immediately killed off, there's also the fact that their connection wasn't strong enough in the first half of the episode to justify the horror and pity we're supposed to feel at the end. They basically just stared at each other a bit, had a few strange conversations, and then we're supposed to feel this connection between them. Pearl Mackie does a good enough job of pulling this off, but the script really doesn't.

Pros:

First of all, conceptually, I rather like the idea of the Doctor as a professor at a college. Everybody really likes his lectures, even though they make no sense. This feels like the perfect allegory for the show itself. It's kind of a shit-show, but we all keep showing up. The reason the Doctor is staying put in one spot is because of a vault that he needs to watch over. If we're supposed to know anything about this vault, then I've forgotten it. In any case, it seems like a cool mystery that could be teased out over the season. What is the Doctor protecting?

In terms of the Doctor's characterization, we're really seeing how Clara affected him, even if he can't quite remember her. The best moment, maybe in the whole episode, is just after Bill has taken her first trip in the TARDIS, and she's understandably freaking out. The Doctor asks: "how do I help?" He has no idea what to do in this moment, in keeping with his emotionally stunted ways, but he wants to be helpful. In fact, this whole episode is about the Doctor reaching out to help somebody. He sees Bill, sees that she's smart and curious, and decides to try and help her out. He doesn't have to do this, and yet he does. I'm sure part of this is that he's lonely, but another part is that he wants to reach out and touch people's lives the way he has so many times before.

And Bill. I actually love her. Pearl Mackie is doing a great job with this character. She's a pretty happy person, despite the tragedy of her youth - he mother died when she was just a baby, and she's been raised by a foster mother who seems... well, if not abusive, at least emotionally unavailable. But Bill looks on the bright side. She's inquisitive, a little brash, and really smart. On the surface, she's perhaps quite similar to your other generic Moffat-era companions. But in reality, the companions she reminded me most of were the Russel T. Davis ones. She's got that Rose-like quality of being a young girl stuck in a menial job, who wants to go out and see the world. She's got that Martha-like assertiveness, as even in this first episode she learns to stand up for what she wants in the face of the Doctor's magnetism. And most of all she's Donna-like in the way she grasps at a chance to explore, even though it scares her.

Also, it doesn't hurt that she's gay. Unlike with Amy and Clara, there's no hint of hero-worship bordering on romantic obsession. Bill is never going to be attracted to the Doctor the way that Amy and Clara clearly were. And that's good. So far, Bill seems taken aback with wonder over the TARDIS, and the opportunities afforded her. The Doctor is her friend and teacher and she's very grateful to him, sure, but her desire to run off on an adventure has less to do with the Doctor himself, and more to do with the opportunities waiting on the other side of those blue doors. This is something I think we've been missing for a long time. I pray Moffat actually manages to stick the landing, against all odds.

I liked Bill's first moments in the TARDIS. It took her a bit longer to cotton on than it usually does. I liked the puddle that shows you your face backwards - as in, the right way around. I liked the brief Dalek cameo. And I liked that the Doctor changed his mind about Bill. For a moment there, he almost erased her memories in an effort to protect whatever is in the vault. But he decided against it, and it looks like Bill is off on the adventure of a lifetime. This felt like a very natural culmination at the end of a long period of waiting for the Doctor. It also felt like Bill is realistically the sort of person who would jump into this kind of situation. I'm excited to see more... and I'm also scared it'll be all downhill from here.

7.5/10