User Reviews

This, the opening of the tenth series since 'Doctor Who' returned, opens with the introduction of Bill; a young woman who works in a university cafeteria. It turns out that she has been attending lectures given by The Doctor, and he has apparently being lecturing there for over fifty years. She has caught his eye and he invites her to join him for private tutorials. At around the same time Bill meets Heather, a girl she is attracted to; a girl with a star-like defect in one eye. Heather shows Bills a strange puddle; there has been no rain for some time and there is something slightly wrong about its refection. Later Heather tells Bill that she will show her what is odd about the puddle but when Bill gets there there is no sign of Heather. When Bill gets home she things there is somebody in the bathroom; there is no immediate sign of them… then she sees Heather in the water. She runs to The Doctors office then 'Heather' appears out of a strange puddle… only it isn't heather any more. The Doctor takes Bill into the Tardis and they move to a variety of location, each much further away than the last but every time the watery apparition of Heather is never far behind. In an attempt to finally but rid of her The Doctor heads to one of the most dangerous places in the universe… but even this isn't enough; ultimately it will be up to Bill.

The introduction of a new companion often seems more risky than the introduction of a new Doctor… on the strength of this episode I think Bill should turn out to be a good addition to the series; interestingly it looks as if Nardole will be continuing as an assistant. Pearl Mackie did a fine job as Bill and I look forward to seeing more of her in future episodes. Before the series even started much was made of the fact that Bill was going to be the first lesbian companion; thankfully this was handled in a very matter of fact manner… she fancies a girl; no big deal. The 'Watery Heather' was a delightfully disturbing character; she appears to be a threat but there was something deeply melancholic about her; I really liked Stephanie Hyam's performance in the role. As well as the threat from 'Heather' and the question of what she is there is also the question of why The Doctor has been lecturing at a university for half a century and what is in the mysterious vault he is guarding. Overall I thought this episode was a fine opening to the latest series and introduction to the new companion.

New season. New Companion.

The Doctor and Nardole seem to be on a new mission involving some mysterious vault. What it is isn't exactly clear, but I assume it will be the arc story of this season. Time will tell.

The Doctor has infiltrated a university as a college professor and he meets a young woman named 'Bill'. They seem to have a mutual fascination for each other, and no, I don't mean a romantic one. She's more interested in another girl named Heather, but Heather doesn't seem to like her that much back.

But since this is Doctor Who, it's not about soapy romance. Enter: a mysterious puddle of water. Or it seems to be. Heather discovers it and she finds that the way it reflects her just doesn't seem right. It seems too perfect. She tries to convince Bill, but initially Bill doesn't see it too.

Later on Bill has another encounter with Heather and the puddle. Heather promises she won't go away, but when Bill reaches her position she is gone! We as viewers know that something mysterious is lurking in the 'puddle' and that in all likelihood 'it' has something to do with Heather's disappearance. Annoyed Bill goes back to her place and thinks someone is at home in the bathroom. Shortly after she can't find someone (human) there, Heather shoes up. In the form of a some water creature. Immediately I had to think of the Waters of Mars episode. I started to speculate there was a connection with those beings. But I was wrong!

Freaked out Bill runs to the Doctor and he offers her protection. His TARDIS is in his office and Bill at first thinks it might be a fancy kitchen on the inside! As the Doctor moves the TARDIS through space Bill finds out there's more to it. When they reach Australia it turns out 'Heather' is able to follow them there. Next stop is to the other side of the universe and millions of years into the future. Again 'Heather' is able to follow them! In the end the Doctor tries something different. A meeting with his arch enemies the Daleks. His companion Nardole is not too pleased but has little choice in the matter. After a short confrontation it turns out 'Heather' has morphed into a Dalek but the eye of the Dalek is very much like Heather's eye. Morphing back to 'Heather' they discover that the reason why Bill is being chased is the promise Heather made her. That she wouldn't leave without Bill. All Bill has to do is to release 'Heather' from that promise. That 'Heather' (the pilot) can go on without the passenger (Bill). They touch one final moment and Bill's mind is flooded with images of time and space. Bill breaks contact and 'Heather' leaves. Alone. Fascinating new life form! Back at the university the Doctor wants to erase Bill's memories of what happened and Bill guesses what he wants to do. She seems to have a keen instinct for these things. She wants to keep her memories, which is very understandable. The Doctor caves when confronted with the thought of losing memories like that himself. As Bill leaves he stares at pictures of his grand daughter Susan and his wife River. The Doctor seems to feel what they would have said and even the TARDIS itself seems to chip in. Outside Bill is stopped by the Doctor. The TARDIS is out on the grounds. He invites her to be his new Companion.

Loved the story! I think that Pearl Mackie as Bill will be great as the new companion. On the one hand Bill seems young and naive, but she also seems to have a special instinct. I look forward to this new season! And I do hope to see 'Heather' again. Fascinating new life form. She reminds me of Ilia of Star Trek TMP when she was 'returned' by V'Ger in the form of an android.

After sixteen long months, Doctor Who is back for a new series. It's been an agonising wait, mostly because the show's last full series was its strongest to date for a number of reasons: it combined its head and its heart in more intricate ways than ever before; it allowed Peter Capaldi to fully demonstrate the strength of his acting abilities in episodes like "The Zygon Inversion" and "Heaven Sent"; Jenna Coleman was able to bid a heartbreaking and poetic farewell to the wonderful Clara; finally, pretty much every individual episode was just flat out great.

It was always going to be a tough season to follow. While the year and a half long wait has been frustrating, it's simultaneously allowed the highs of Series Nine to settle, bringing expectations down a bit before Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi's final year on the show. Immediately, "The Pilot" lacks the confidence and high- wire energy of last series' fantastic opener "The Magician's Apprentice" but, thankfully, it's a necessary sacrifice in a solidly entertaining if rarely spectacular premiere.

We begin with Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie), a young woman who works in a canteen at a local University. She frequently attends lectures given by a man who calls himself the Doctor and, after he eventually calls her up on it and questions why she attends his lectures, he takes her on as a kind of personal student. Meanwhile, Bill develops an attraction towards a girl with a star in her eye, but a mysterious puddle and an important vault below the University lead the Doctor and Bill on a ride through time and space to find the answers before it's too late.

"The Pilot" works as an episode title for two reasons. Firstly the episode's plot does hinge on the usage of a pilot, but more so this episode feels like a reboot, like a pilot of a brand new show. The premiere is framed from Bill's perspective, we follow her into the Doctor's office rather than siding with him and waiting for her. We rarely spend time with the Doctor and away from Bill, each passing scene sticking to her side. It's an effective way to revitalise the show heading into its tenth (yes, tenth!) series - it allows the Doctor to feel magical again. The sequence of Bill entering the TARDIS for the first time was breathtaking, while delivering the line "TARDIS, for short" the joy on Peter Capaldi's face made my own light up.

Pearl Mackie had big boots to fill when taking up the companion slot following Jenna Coleman, but her performance here is great. Framing the episode from her perspective certainly helps, but Mackie demonstrates an impress range in this premiere alone - her quirky one liners to the Doctor show a fun and inquisitive mind, but her demeanour and attitude are noticeably more subdued and tired whenever she's at home. A small scene of her looking through photos of her deceased mother is impressive for how well Mackie makes us feel Bill's sadness so early into her characterisation.

As can be expected with an episode introducing a companion, the A- plot feels kind of lacking. The fast paced race through time was a terrific scene - and a brilliant way of helping Bill get accustomed to the novelty quickly - but water Heather never feels like a real threat. It could be the dodgy CGI, or it could just be that puddles are tough to really be frightened of. I'd argue the latter.

Still, "The Pilot" is an effective way to kick start the new series. The performances all round are winning - Capaldi is as great as ever, the more fun he's allowed to have in the role, the better - and Moffat's script effectively balances humour with smaller character beats. Humour is the best way to a character's heart, so it's nice to see Bill demonstrating this from the get go. It feels like everyone both on board the TARDIS and behind the camera just want to have fun this year, go out on a fast paced, adrenaline fuelled high. I'm more than on board already.

Grade: B+

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Every time there is a new Doctor or companion it's like this very old show reboots itself, and it's a chance for new viewers or old viewers who have become jaded to start afresh with it.

I was in the latter of those two camps, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this episode. The new companion offers something a bit different, and in his last series as The Doctor, Peter Capaldi seems to have relaxed into the role and is having fun with it.

And I understood the plot! That's a lovely change because over the last few series Steven Moffatt's plots (I'm aware he doesn't write every episode)have become complex to the extreme. It's great that there seems to have been a push to go back to basics this series.

Well done, Dr Who, this is better. Keep it up

The Pilot is by far one of the best season openers yet. The Magician's Apprentice was awesome in the sense that it had a huge scale, but The Pilot is even better in that it does a phenomenal job establishing the characters. Pearl Mackie is a real talent as Bill Potts. She's honest and a genuinely likable companion. The Doctor and Nardole are amazing, but that's not really news.

The cinematography was also very, very good, especially the shot of Bill entering the Tardis in the dark. Murray Gold's music was amazing as well, especially at the end.

It's also really good to have a more diverse cast. Many people are complaining about box ticking, but Doctor Who of all shows should be on the forefront of representation. Like Pearl Mackie said in an interview, people are black and people are gay, so TV shows (especially Doctor Who) need to represent that.

Overall, what more could we ask for in an episode. Sure the puddle thing wasn't an amazing villain, but everything else was pitch perfect.

10/10

The Pilot, the pilot episode of season ten, while solid overall, has some definite rough spots. To start with, the new companion, Bill Potts (played by Pearl Mackie) to me feels much less interesting than previous main companions and whose main characterization is that she is a lesbian is something we are beaten over the head with so often during the course of the episode, it becomes tiresome. Eventually, her other qualities are explored throughout the season, but for now she doesn't have much going for her other than she smiles when she doesn't understand something instead of frowning - which would have been interesting if they had at least explored that a bit more. But alas, it seems the writers decided her being black and lesbian was sufficient.

That said, the production value is quite good and the story is mostly enjoyable - the cameo by the Daleks was a particular delight! Nardole is entertaining and The Doctor evaluating Bill as companion material is fun. The villain, though, is unfortunately rather lackluster, basically being an evil puddle and feels like a cheap rehash of the villains from The Waters of Mars special from Tennant's run. Even so, it is sufficiently creepy and seemingly unstoppable as The Doctor and Nardole try to figure out what it is, why it took the form of Bill's latest crush (who also felt a little shoehorned and undercharacterized - only thing interesting about her was the star pattern in one of her irises, which had nothing to do with anything), why it was even after Bill, and ultimately how to escape it. It's a fun ride overall but the lazy characterization of the new characters key to the episode brings it down a notch. 8/10

I much prefer the previous title for this episode ("A Star in Her Eye,") but that doesn't really matter. The reason I took so long to write this review was because I liked the episode so much and wanted to make sure my review was written well.

The Pilot is the first companion introduction since 2013, and I think that's a big part of what makes it so special. Pearl Mackie is wonderful, bringing a fresh, warm, honest, and genuinely funny take on our newest companion, Bill. Mackie is immediately likable and makes us laugh in her first scene with Capaldi, who is as magnetic as ever and gives another great performance.

"The Pilot" also has a returning character in it, Nardole. Matt Lucas wasn't given much to do in his first episode, but since The Return of Doctor Mysterio he has been great. After having seen all of series 10, I can safely say that he was one of the highlights of the entire series.

I also think that this episode is well directed by Lawrence Gough. It's paced well, starting off calmly while introducing us to Bill and becoming more exciting and action packed as the episode continues. It's also visually engaging and very well filmed. The colors pop off the screen and the special effects are good. I really liked the opening shot of the episode, a static shot in the Doctor's office, and think that the TARDIS reveal (where the camera pulls back in darkness for nearly ten seconds, with only the TARDIS door lit) is one of the most creative and impressive shots in the show's history. I loved how the scenes on the Movellan spaceship looked as well.

Steven Moffat wrote a great script for this episode. Bill fells like a real human being, the Doctor is written wonderfully, and Nardole is a nice presence, even if he doesn't do much. I loved how we got introduced to a new character, traveled through different time periods and planets, and even saw the Daleks again.

All in all, the Pilot is a wonderful series opener. The acting is great (Pearl Mackie's performance is delightful), the story is well balanced, and it's engagingly directed. The ending is also emotional and inspiring, when Bill decides to join the Doctor for adventures through space and time. 8 out of 10.

So, a new series, a new assistant. Meet Billy, a young dinner-lady, whose interest in a new girl on the campus where the Doctor is lecturing incognito, leads to a deadly game of catch-as-catch-can through space and time before of course she accepts his initially grudging invite to become his latest time-travelling companion along with the already in-situ Nardole.

Much of the story, as you'd expect, deals with the back-story of Billy (Pearl Mackie) as we see her living with her single mum but obviously not lacking in personal confidence from her bright manner to her clothes sense. She's also the type of girl, who, when there's danger behind a closed door, goes forward to open it rather than run away. I quite liked her and think she'll grow on me more. I've said before I don't like Matt Lucas or his Igor-type character but he's kept relatively in the background here, which suits me fine.

Capaldi by now completely knows his character making it for me a shame that he's giving up the part at the end of this series, along with show-runner and writer of this episode, Steven Moffat. I like this Doc's quirkiness, (like his fondness for heavy metal guitar for one thing), which of course is Whovian essential characteristic number one, closely followed, in no particular order by unpredictability, stubbornness, ingenuity, humour and loyalty. Scots clearly make the best Doctors!

The background episode here borrowed liberally from "The Ring" for its fright factor as well as its special effects. I wonder though if the brief appearance of the Daleks is our quota for this series. Presumably later we'll learn why the Doc is acting incognito but with the advance trailers highlighting the return of the Cybermen, Missy and especially John Simms' Master, hopes are high that the Moffat / Capaldi era will sign off on a high.

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.

After a Painful 16-Month absence from our screens, with only a mediocre Christmas Special in between, Doctor Who is Finally Back with Series 10.

To start off this Series is 'The Pilot', written by Steven Moffat, and this made me concerned for a start. Would he just give us a fun, exciting adventure like The Eleventh Hour, or a awkward, universe breaking mess like Hell Bent.

What we got was an Eleventh Hour script, which is great... Mostly!

Obviously this episode's main focus is to introduce us to new companion Bill Potts, and unlike previous Moffat episode that have the job of introducing the new companion, The Pilot doesn't feel the need to mess with time, and give us incomprehensible, convoluted plots to introduce us to the companion Bill Potts.

She simply walks into the room which is a nice change of pace, and gives her more of a relatable character than Amy Pond or Clara Oswald.

The pre-credits sequence showed us the Doctor working at a University, giving science lectures to students, when he decides to become canteen-worker Bill's personal Tutor.

Just after this opening sequence, Bill felt like a relieving departure from Moffat's past companions. She's a proper character that's not bound or defined by some character-limiting nickname like 'The Girl who Waited' or 'The Impossible Girl'.

She's also the first openly-gay companion which is interesting, but as of yet, hasn't impacted the story much so more on that next time.

We still have the same boring old title sequence that I haven't been a fan of since the start of series 8 but oh well...

After the titles, we get an insight into the world of Bill Potts, and she really reminds me of Rose Tyler in many ways. They both have uninteresting, low-paid jobs and are both waiting for something exciting in their lives. Bill however, feels more vulnerable than Rose who displayed a street-smart attitude.

They're also both held back by interfering mother figures, and Bill's foster-mother in this episode, oh dear! I'm sure it's deliberate but I really hope she gets killed off at some point during this series.

Bill meets a girl that she finds attractive, and the girl shows her a puddle of water on the floor (as you do), explaining that she thinks there's something wrong with it, before abruptly walking away.

She immediately tells the Doctor who can't help but investigate, and finds that the puddle is not reflecting them, but projecting the image back at them.

It's great seeing Capaldi's Doctor helplessly getting involved in the mystery even though he's clearly trying not to.

He sends Bill home where she is suddenly attacked by something hiding in her shower drain-pipe. She runs to tell the Doctor, but encounters the girl she saw earlier, only drenched and preparing to attack.

When she joins with the Doctor, they hide in the TARDIS, and queue the best moment of the episode. It's always great seeing a companion's first steps inside the TARDIS, but the way it was done here is masterful.

It was a very unique was of doing things that I can't remember ever being done before, and the Doctor is clearly loving her reaction.

This is where things get a little weird for me though. The Doctor uses the next 10 minutes hopping from place to place trying to see how far the girl would go. This was clearly meant as filler space while Bill got introduced to the TARDIS, until suddenly the Doctor comes up with a plan.

Head for the Dalek war! Huh? This was a plan the Doctor instigated to take-out the creature that was following them, but feels more like Steven Moffat desperately trying to fit his 'Friend from the Future' short into the episode somewhere, but if you add the entire scene, it still doesn't quite fit.

This whole Dalek scene feels like padding for the third act, and doesn't fit with the story at all, but it's great seeing the Movellans back after nearly 40 years.

It's not exactly revealed why the creature was following the TARDIS crew but her motivations are a promise the she made to Bill earlier in the episode. She promised not to leave without Bill, before being caught by the puddle, so she follows Bill throughout the universe to take her with her. Bill releases her and they head back to Earth.

Not exactly a thrilling resolution, but oh well, it works.

They head back to the university where the Doctor attempts to wipe Bill's memory of the adventure, but she stops him by asking him to imagine someone doing that to him, at which point a beautiful rendition of Clara's theme plays which almost had me welling up and reminded me that I do actually miss Clara quite a bit.

She heads for home, but finds the Doctor and the TARDIS just outside and heads off on an adventure with him.

So... Overall, The Pilot works as a good character introduction story, but not so well as a serious piece of sci-fi. It feels too drawn-out and padded in places, and that ruins the pacing and the suspense.

Apart from that, it works wonders with the character of Bill, and brings us back not by throwing us in at the deep end like in Series 9, but by holding out hand into an adventure that you suddenly realise is going to overflow with excitement.

I can tell this will be a fun series, and we have a great new companion too. See, no woman Doctor's needed, this is what Doctor Who should be!

The Pilot has two meanings for this episode. It describes the story - a part of an alien ship looks for a pilot - and it describes a ridiculous, blatant attempt to reboot the series in the image of diversity.

The episode has two main problems. Both stem from the reboot aspect.

1. It's too focused on Bill. Doctor Who wouldn't be around anymore if it had been a show about Bill or, primarily, about any companion. Doctor Who is about the Doctor. The portions of this episode that focused on Bill, most of it, dragged. The portions that focused on the Doctor, not enough of it, had the action, intelligence, and overall spirit that has kept Doctor Who on the air for so long.

2. There's no antagonist. That goes back to the focus on Bill. This is a poorly drawn love story between (GAY SHE'S GAY HURRAH SHE'S GAY) Bill and some girl Bill barely spoke to the few times Bill met her. So strong is this bond they formed by hardly talking or even meeting that after the girl is assimilated into the ship/liquid, she keeps a promise she made to Bill to not leave.

Yes, that's really the episode. It's all about diversity Bill - hurrah she's gay, and she's not white, and she's somewhat poor, and she's somewhat awkward looking, and did we mention hurrah she's gay? This is the age of reboots. It's an age where unimaginative leftists re-write myths in a progressive image. It's easy to see why the Bill season didn't work, but it gets worse. The Doctor becomes a woman after season 10.

It's a sign of poor story and poor writing when an arch nemesis is brought in as cannon fodder for the new, unbeatable foe. In this episode, the Daleks play that fodder role. The writers couldn't even figure out a way the liquid alien beat the Dalek, so that happened off screen. But the liquid alien dispatched a Dalek before menacing Bill and crew.

Doctor Who is winding down the road to ruin, and that road is built on progressive ideals.