Doctor Who Series 10 (2017) Part One Review

Doctor Who: Series 10 Review
Part One (Episodes 1-6)
J.R

SPOILERS - SPOILERS- SPOILERS

Well over a year since Series Nine concluded with the departure of the impossible girl (Clara Oswald), the Doctor is back for a brand new series of epic sci-fi adventures. With the return of John Simm, some awfully cringy dabbing and 'emojibots' in the trailers, this was destined to be a mixed series.

Firstly, let's take a look at the companions this series. In what was very much a surprise move to me, Steven Moffat (Head Writer) decided it would be best to keep Matt Lucas as Nardole (apparently as Matt Lucas really enjoyed playing the character). Although I was very skeptical at first, I gradually warmed to him. He brings a strange dynamic to the TARDIS Team, being almost as eccentric as the Doctor at points, but becoming deadly serious the next minute. Although I overall enjoyed the character, I must admit that looking back at the series, he is fairly forgettable and does not have much of an impact on the storylines. The main thing I remember him doing to help was getting Missy to rescue the Doctor and Bill in 'The Empress of Mars', but then again, the only point of him there was to allow somebody different to help the Doctor and make an impact. Is it just me who thinks this? Overall, Lucas' performance was excellent for the vast majority of the series and the character was certainly elevated beyond corny comic relief, though it is clear that comic relief was still his main purpose in the narrative.

Then we had the new main companion, Bill Potts. I thought Bill was good. I don't love her as much as the internet seems to, but she was a good companion. She definitely brought something new to the role of the companion. After all, there's only so many times the audience can hear "It's bigger on the inside". For example, she seems less in awe of the Doctor than previous companions. The dynamic of Student-Teacher relationship established in the first episode is carried excellently into the world of time-space travel and aliens. Pearl Mackie was the perfect choice for Bill, who seems to be very much like the character even off-camera (see video). She did well being a casual companion who you felt like you could be friends with, bringing more realism to the series - or as much realism as possible when the series revolves around a face-changing humanoid alien flying around in a box.

Episode One: The Pilot
This was a very strong start to the series, doing well to introduce the new characters, the new setting of the University, and the traditional overarching mystery of what the Doctor is keeping in the Vault. Honestly, the main issue I have with this episode is that they changed the title from "A Star in Her Eye", which was a much more interesting title than 'The Pilot', for which you could be forgiven for having mistaken as the pilot episode of the show. The story is visually interesting, has a lot of heart and does an excellent job of introducing Bill to the Whoniverse, with travelling in Time and Space, alien planets, extraterrestrials, and Daleks all introduced to Bill all in her first outing (Additional praise must be given for the cameo from the Movellans from Destiny of The Daleks). The role of the Doctor as a university lecturer is an interesting premise, and also an obvious choice for a character who enjoys explaining things and sharing knowledge. The lecture hall also gives a cool location for future scenes, such as the expository dialogue at the start of Oxygen. With great cinematography and character establishment and development, this is a great start to the series.

Episode Two: Smile

I'm going to get this out of the way now. I couldn't stop thinking of this as a cross between The Ark in Space and The Happiness Patrol. There we go. Now besides that blatant plagiarism, the episode wasn't half bad. It's admittedly creepy to see Bill and The Doctor explore this super modern yet lifeless environment, particularly given how terrifying the robots had shown they could be with the opening scene, featuring a surprise appearance from Mina Anwar (AKA Gita Chandra in The Sarah Jane Adventures). Overall, the episode was good and kept tension, though towards the end it became apparent that the episode was not quite delivering on the scariness of the creatures that had been established in the first scene. This was also an interesting episode for Bill, who learns that the universe may not always be quite as jolly as she suspected, instantly setting a dark tone for the rest of the series, which I found particularly inviting after some of the last series' darker stories, such as The Zygon Invasion. This episode offers creepy sets, visually wonderful shots (particularly with regards to the TARDIS, the field and the colony) and a potentially spooky villain.

Episode Three: Thin Ice

After the previous two episodes, this came as a little bit of a disappointment. The episode has a somewhat interesting premise - a giant alien sea monster under the frozen Thames, but that seems to be overshadowed by the commentary on class and racism in Victorian London, certainly important topics, but not quite what I was expecting to get into. This is the first of two times in this series in which the show has displayed a vendetta against capitalism (with Lord Sutcliffe selling the creature's waste for fuel), the second being far more obvious in Oxygen, and you can't help but feel that this is in part due to the recent publicity of 'SJW' culture and the toxicity of the 2016 Presidential Election forcing politics into the public eye in a bigger way than ever before. However, the episode somewhat neutralises this political element through the use of Doctor Who's usual whimsy, with loveable Dickensian pickpocketing orphans and a cool (for want of a better word). Another interesting idea was Bill and The Doctor in the deep-sea diving suits (which I find absolutely terrifying, likely a result of a particularly weird episode of Scooby Doo). But overall the story to me is memorable only for its themes and imagery.

Episode Four: Knock Knock

The least enjoyable of the series so far (admittedly we're only a third of the way in), but at least offering twisted visuals and ideas. The latest in the list of Whoniverse 'Haunted House' stories had the gimmick that sound was incredibly important to the episode (The BBC even released a special audio-enhanced episode to watch with headphones on iPlayer, which is interesting but the novelty wears off after a few minutes). But I couldn't help feeling that the episode belonged more in an episode of Class. The deaths are fairly gruesome for the series, and tension is definitely set in the claustrophobic environment, but overall it doesn't really fit with the tone of the series. I am glad that the series wasn't just forgetting entirely about the intriguing University setting (that would come later), but it didn't feel like it fit quite right in the series. It tried to be dark and scary but flopped overall, even with the strange revelation towards the end it couldn't overcome the cliché and underdeveloped story.

Episode Five: Oxygen

The saving grace of Series 10 Part 1, Oxygen is a chilling outer-space thriller. I'll make it no secret that the aliens that scare me the most are the zombie ones. Anything from The Empty Child, Silence in The Library, The Waters of Mars or even the Cybermen to some extent. But in a twist, it's not really aliens they're fighting. It's computer chips in space suits. From the opening, it is clear that this is a creepy episode. We see the horrific method of murder the suits use and see the Doctor give us the lowdown on why space is bad for us, in a long monologue of exposition worked into the story as best it can be. The episode separates itself from the rest with this peculiar foe, the interesting new measurement of breaths, and all three of the TARDIS team being completely out of their depths, with the Doctor having to make a large sacrifice for Bill. The only downside of this episode really is the anti-capitalist approach which is key to the story, but it's strange to see Doctor Who go in such a political direction.

Episode Six: Extremis

Another brilliant episode begins to reveal the contents of the Doctor's Vault with the return of Michelle Gomez as Missy (and appearance from Humans actor Ivanno Jeremiah). The exploration of the lore of the Time Lords is brilliant, and something fans have been waiting for since the Doctor saved Gallifrey back in 2013. The introduction of religious themes and figures is also an excellent move, further exploring Capaldi's Doctor. Again, there is a painfully intriguing premise of a book which somehow leads to death for its readers. But where this episode is best is, surprisingly, with Nardole and Bill exploring the (quite astonishingly) dark truth behind the sinister monks, especially seeing the members of CERN kill themselves after learning the secret of the Veritas. In a Matrix-esque move, The Doctor reveals to Bill that their entire world isn't real and that for the entirety of the episode we have been watching parallel versions of the characters act out a scenario for the investigation of the Monks. Covering themes such as existentialism and suicide, this episode is brilliantly dark and twisted and sets the audience up for a brilliant continuation of the Trilogy of the Monks.