Review of The Pilot

The hardest part of the introduction of any new Doctor Who companion is to convey the sense of awe they feel as they discover the magical world of the Doctor for the first time, when the viewer knows all about it for a long time already. But even with that hurdle, Bill makes a promising debut. Capaldi seems more relaxed than ever as the Doctor (and his new "cover" as a university professor certainly befits him), but it's the expressive guest star Stephanie Hyam who walks away with the acting honors in this one; hopefully, this is not the last we see of her. There are three major examples of Moffat's ingenuity here: 1) the title ("Pilot"), which turns out to be directly related to the plot, 2) the reflection that is not a reflection, 3) the photographs of Bill's mother. The cool special effects are somewhat reminiscent of "Terminator 2"! Overall, I enjoyed this season premiere a lot, and, perhaps because I hadn't seen any Doctor Who in over two years, I was a little moved, as well. *** out of 4.