Great entry point for new/lost fans
Nice acting
Bill is good as a companion
Easter Eggs
Scary villain
Mostly solid CGI
Twists and turns
Intriguing mystery
Weak Points:
Some CGI parts seemed off
Seen this type of monster before
Didn't call the Daleks evil
Wasn't sure if Heather was possessed or just a moody human at some points
In-depth Review:
So, we're back to Doctor Who. After two Christmas specials, we are finally back with the main series of the show and a final swansong for Capaldi and Moffat. Which I'm quite sad about, because judging by this opener, we could be in for a real treat.
The episode, appropriately named The Pilot, is a great jumping in point for new/lost fans, as, with River dying and no memory of Clara, The Doctor is on his own again, busying himself with university lecturing (which he is very good at). In comes Bill, a caterer for the university, who also happens to be jumping in and watching The Doctor's lectures as well (supposedly many other people do it as well). The Doctor takes a liking to her (she smiles when she doesn't understand something instead of frowning) and decides to personally tutor her.
So, The Doctor's got a new companion, has he? Yes, finally, after two seasons with Clara, 'The Find The Doctor A Companion Committee' finally had some work to do and they did well. Bill has pounds of personality, and, with her not being connected with The Doctor (at least not at the moment), makes a nice change from the interconnected web that was Clara and The Doctor. Also, her knowing sci-fi and coming up with theories next to The Doctor is great fun.
But The Doctor doesn't have just one companion now, as Nardole (played by Matt Lucas) is back from the Christmas Specials and surprisingly works. While at the moment Nardole is playing more of a comedic/tell The Doctor/Bill what is going on type of character, it seems we have more in store for him, especially as he seems to be breaking (he's a robot remember). We also have another mystery, and it's a big one. The Vault. Cleverly, a red herring in this weeks episode, but with the promise of more to come from it, one can only guess what's inside. I'm betting on something to do with The Master.
The monster of the week this week was certainly unsettling. A puddle of space water may not seem scary, but when coupled with a human, you have a combination just made for jump scares. These ranged from The Ring style girl to a reflection jumping out of a glass mirror and yeah, it was scary. There's something about the water dripping that just makes me shiver although the worst bit was when Heather was being made from the water and she looked like plastic it was just. *shudders*.
The CGI and costumes were variable in this episode with the water looking great, Heather looking scary and the Daleks looking, well, like Daleks. However, the area at the other side of the universe had some problems. The grass used looked like fake plastic, waving about and the sparkles in the air (to show they weren't on Earth) looked out of place, it took me out of the tension for a second which is a shame (although I was soon back in it when Heather popped out of the water).
Conclusion: overall, this was a great opening to the season and is finally allowing Capaldi to create his Doctor (I felt he was a bit of a transition Doctor before). Now, with the big reveal sadly being spoilt already by mainstream media (and the coming soon trailer), we'll just have to see how it all pieces together.
Rating: 75%
Thanks for reading, Satamer.
P.S. I do believe they missed a trick by not getting The Doctor to call the Daleks evil (as he had said previously not many things in this universe are evil)
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