The Pilot

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 had to double check how long ago it was that we had a last full series, of course two years ago, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I approached The Pilot as ever with the usual cautious anticipation.

I have to be honest after the Return of Doctor Mysterio I wasn't expecting much, but talk about the ridiculous to the sublime. The best episode for quite some time I thought, felt like they'd revisited the first episode of the show's return, Rose.

Capaldi has softened somewhat, I've been a fan of his since the start, but now he's leaving, it looks like he's enjoying his final run. Pearl Mackie is nothing short of a revelation as Bill, so impressed by her, reminds me somewhat of Rose, already a favourite, her energy was fantastic to watch.

Not much of a plot it's fair to say, this was all about introducing Bill. We got a little tale of emotions and feelings, we got a few scares, we got a Dalek (hopefully that's it for this series,) but the main thing I got out of this was a sense of optimism. The trailer for the series looks rather good, and of course lots of unanswered questions.

I love the link to the next episode, Thin Ice, very reminiscent of the Classic Hartnell episodes.

Very, very promising 9/10

Doctor Who in Peter Capaldi's third and final series is given a soft reboot. We are introduced to a new companion in Bill. She cooks chips in the university canteen and slips into the Doctor's lectures even though she is not a student. Apparently the Doctor has been lecturing there for decades, all very Professor Chronotis.

The story starts rather slowly and writer Steve Moffat keeps it all very simple. There is a puddle and the puddle chases after Bill as the Doctor takes the Tardis away from it but the puddle follows throughout time and space. Along the way we see the return of the Movellans who are fighting the Daleks. Nardole is with Tardis team to provide the quirky humour.

Director Lawrence Gough shows insights of Japanese horror films such as The Ring as the puddle manifests in a human watery form that is the pilot.

This was a decent first episode of the season.

First of all, I was very happy that it was a much more down-to-earth simple reboot, akin to "Rose", rather than a big mess like like season's premiere. This episode's main job is to introduce Bill Potts to the audience, and this is where the episode succeeds the most. I was worried that I wouldn't like Bill (based on the trailers), but I liked her a lot, especially her happy personality and humour. In fact, I'll say that this introduction is better than the one Clara got.

The episode is fun overall, with a threat that is occasionally creepy, and a story which involves traveling around the galaxy in the TARDIS. The pacing was a bit uneven, and it takes a while for the story to get going, but once it does, it's good fun. Peter Capaldi as the doctor is still great, who still has that darker edge, but also has a good balance with being fun as well. I thought some of the romance between Bill and the girl was a bit corny, and it seemed to try too hard to make it 'emotional'. I wasn't particularly impressed with the resolution, and the way the monster was defeated, but this is typical in the Moffat era, so I wasn't that surprised. But, for a Moffat episode, "The Pilot" was actually quite simple, and it got the job done decently - of course, my low expectations helped.

In terms of a season-long arc, the only thing I picked up on was the 'vault', and whatever was behind it. My guess is that it's going to have something to do with The Master (John Simms!), so I'm looking forward to seeing how that will develop. I'm also just relieved that this season's story arc doesn't look like season 6's ridiculously over-complicated mess, so thank you Moffat for that. This is Moffat's last season, so I'm hoping that he leaves on a positive note, and this first episode is a (mostly) positive start.

I'll give this an episode a 6.5/10 rounded up to a 7 because it exceeded my expectations. A generally solid episode, but nothing particularly special. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

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.