Smile

It's very sad that a series with such potential is being ruined. It's not that this episode is awful. It's just nothing special and boring, But again it is kind of an "introduction to new series and to the new companion" so I won't judge it much.

The Emoji-bots were lame, Using steam on a robot's face to throw it off a cliff is a joke.

again I'm not saying this is awful. Just not great enough.

Marking the second episode of the tenth series, "Smile" also marks the first adventure Peter Capaldi's twelfth Doctor has with new companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) since she joined him in the TARDIS. A coluorful, somewhat quirky episode which is also more innovative and original than last week's never the less highly entertaining "The Pilot", it's also a more minimalist one in so much as both Capaldi and Mackie are the only two actors on screen for the majority of the story. On the planet, Gliese 581d, a group of colonists are slaughtered by their robot servants called Emojibots when they display feelings of unhappiness. Not so long after, the Doctor and Pill sans Nardole (played by Matt Lucas, who makes an all too fleeting appearance) arrive on the world where they find the colony deserted apart from its robotic inhabitants. Puzzled by the lack of human presence, the Time Lord begins to investigate. However not before he and his new companion have their ears connected automatically to a network via their nervous system, meaning they can communicate with each other through their ears, and they are given discs that use emoticons to reflect the emotions they are feeling. Before long, the Doctor comes to the realization that their emotions could determine their fate.

Straight from the off, I thought this episode would have a fair amount in common with the 1988 classic series story, "The Happiness Patrol" and I'm glad to say that beyond the theme of being sad could be a death sentence, any similarity beyond that apart from it being set on a planetary colony ends there. With nothing subversive and political below the surface of its inventive exterior, early on there is an eerie sense of foreboding that director, Lawrence Gough which is enhanced by the isolation and deadliness of the robotic threat. When it's all said and done, it can be deemed as a cautionary tale that taps into man-kinds over-reliance on technology, and when it becomes a hindrance rather than a help. The emojibots here make for a genuinely unsettling foe if that is the right word to be used given the context of their ultimate motivation revealed before the end. A sublime creation in both concept and execution, they're a testament aesthetically to the design team behind the series who do a fantastic job in bringing the colony to life.

As with last week's "The Pilot", the chemistry between Capaldi and Mackie is perfectly solid, the relationship between the two now well and truly cemented with the latter making for an excellent foil to her older co-star. Capaldi once again captures the curious nature of the Time Lord perfectly who here eventually takes on the role of diplomatic mediator. Mackie as Bill, also once again captures the wide-eyed wonderment and awe that the character experiences.

If there is a flaw, is that the story perhaps reaches its climax a little too soon, with everything being wrapped up too expediently without allowing more time to dwell on the plight of certain characters. That being said, the plot thematically does brilliantly capture the essence of the power of grief, and how the robots fail to grasp the concept given their programming which manages to parallel the series 2 episode, "The Girl in the Fireplace". For all its innovation and originality, "Smile" marks an overall satisfying outing which while flawed, marks a continual upturn in the quality of the new series which thus far is proving to be a more rewarding experience than Series 9. If it keeps on this trajectory, I can see this being a good 10th series, and with the episode ending with a neat little coda that acts as an eye-catching means to segway into next week's adventure entitled "Thin Ice", I can't help but be excited.

Perhaps the greatest thing about DOCTOR WHO is you never know you're getting next. The flexibility of a plot premise involving a time machine means like the Martini advert it's a case of anytime , any place any where. Whatever the other merits of RTD he did bring a strong element of variety. Even the lowly regarded season two of NuWho had a two part out and out horror story followed by a one part story involving a black romantic comedy with meta-fictional aspects. This type of variety hasn't been a Moffat strong point but he has least tried to use new writers and with a fairly regarded screenwriter in Frank Cottrell Boyce it'd be interesting to see how a non fan writes for the show

!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!

The bitter irony is that with this episode I felt I was watching something akin to DOCTOR WHO bingo. Eyes down and off we go . A location similar to the episode New Earth and tech bots gone wild like we saw in The Empty Child /The Doctor Dances which was remade as The Curse Of The Black Pearl and influenced a couple of more stories . It's almost as if there's now a rule every series must feature an adventure featuring tech-bots gone mad . Add to this the premise of constantly smiling or else and it's not all that different being told to not blink . Add to this a couple of other plot turns and ideas from the classic show including ending the narrative with an explosion and you've ironically got from a new writer a medley megamix of the show he's writing for

That said on its own merits Smile is fairly enjoyable entertainment and it could be a lot worse with Bill constantly bringing up her sexuality at every opportunity and Nardole being used for unneeded comic relief. Capaldi too is likable probably because there's no zany quirks written in to his character and it's a pity his tenure will probably be remembered as a lost opportunity but certainly so far this is starting to shape up as a consistent season

Great idea but the plot was just boring. not a great episode

I'll start of pointing out that I feel this is one of the most beautiful looking episodes in the show's history, exquisite, from the buildings to the spiral staircases, this was a feast on the eyes. A good plot, echos of The Happiness Patrol, a world created where everyone has to be happy, and suffers if they're not. The Vardi were a great creation, that felt wonderfully up to date and relevant.

A particularly character driven episode, with the duo of Capaldi and Mackie again proving to be a fabulous duo. Bill is really proving to be an assistant with it all, humour, emotion, and a definite match for the Doctor. I'm already of the opinion 'why didn't these two get a longer run?' I'm still unsure of Matt Lucas's role, that'll need explaining soon. Mina Anwar is a cracking actress, not given enough screen time.

The casual start to the episode was counterbalanced by a high octane, energetic climax. The ending felt a little at odds with the story.

The reset button was a bit of a lazy way to round the episode off, we have seen this before, too often, but it didn't spoil the episode for me.

Flawed, but fun, I think this episode will improve with time. 7/10