The Pilot

The Doctor's got a brand new broom, he's let her into his secret room, she's been for a spin, let adventures begin, time for Bill to develop and bloom.

She's made a new friend who's called Heather, perpetually rains like the weather, a bit tricky to cuddle, when you're just a damp puddle, but I'm sure they'll end up paired together (eventually).

So after a year long hiatus, Doctor Who is back on our screens with 'the Pilot'.

I have to say, this was 50 minutes of enjoyable television where new companion, Bill Potts, shone. The wonderful, and previously rather unknown, Pearl Mackie took her character in her stride making the audience fall in love with her automatically. She is very different from the marmite Clara as she is so relatable and modern. The contrast between her character and the Doctor, majestically played as always by Peter Capaldi, was stark.

Her character's introduction felt like it was something out of the Russell T Davies era with no 'timey-wimey' story-line to her character (as previously seen with Amy and Clara) and it really paid off.

The plot was simple enough, and although the villain of the week was... well, weak, it was made up by the beautiful story between Bill and her love-interest, Heather. As with all companion origin stories, the villain took a back seat so you cannot blame this episode for that. The concept of the puddle was mysterious and perhaps could have been dived into - no pun intended - with Moffat once again showing how he takes mundane every-day objects (such as statues or blinking) and makes them creepy.

Overall, this episode was an energetic, enjoyable and human piece of story-telling which introduced a lovable new companion and re-lit my love for this show.

Doctor Who is well and truly back with a solid episode all round 8/10.

I am liking the new companion! Bill is definitely unique and will be a good foil for the Doctor. Her thirst for knowledge seems to be what piques the Doctor's interest in her. I like the college setting. Nardole adds a dimension that will be interesting to explore. I wonder how that will shake out. Looking forward to new adventures.

I was very unsure about the new companion this series, having been a fan of the last two, and wasn't sure that the writers could pull off the writing for such a character... But they did! She was written with the right amount of comedy and the right about of seriousness that makes me glad of the companion change. Though other seasons started of dull, this season opened with a mystery, that didn't have much in the way of shocks, but made up for it in terms of excellent effects and dialogue. The 50 minutes flew by. I am excited for the season, hoping that with the new doctor on his (or her) way, Bill will stay for at least another season. 9.5/10

Series 10 starts all-new with the introduction of Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and the re-introduction of the world of Doctor Who. A great starting point for any new fans and a great story in general. The cast give wonderful performances, and Moffat's writing is better here than most from Series 6 through 9 (with obvious exceptions like Heaven Sent). Bill is certainly a breath of fresh, and a great one at that. This episode gives hope for the final series of Moffat and Capaldi, hopefully making it both of their best.

Episode 1 "The Pilot" - 9/10