Bill Potts’ worldview is about to be enlarged…

For those who have parted company with Doctor Who – or who never got into it in the first place – Steven Moffat has created a very clear jumping-on place with this opening episode for the show’s tenth series in its revived form. Things have moved on for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and Matt Lucas’ Nardole since we saw them at Christmas, and the Time Lord is now a professor at Bristol University, with Cardiff Uni doubling for it as appropriate. Noticing her interest in his lectures (even if she shouldn’t be there), the Doctor has taken young Bill Potts under his wing, giving her extra tuition. But it isn’t too long before the pair are facing a new threat…

There’s quite a bit that feels familiar about the episode, with hints of déjà vu from Rose’s introduction (and musical motifs in the score that remind us of a number of her successors). However, unlike the previous companions Moffat has brought to the show, Pearl Mackie’s Bill seems down to Earth, and as promised, asks questions that haven’t come up before. That element came across as quite irritating in the Foe from the Future scene last year (and yes, that is incorporated into the story), but the on-screen rapport between Capaldi and Mackie is strong and allows the audience to understand some of what the Doctor sees in her. The emphasis is firmly on Bill throughout – there’s far less of Capaldi or Lucas than you might expect in a season opener – and Mackie acquits herself well.

Otherwise, The Pilot – quite deliberately – feels like a pilot for Doctor Who, with all the key elements restated… although just wait for the purists to start an uprising when they hear the Doctor’s description of one particular point. It’ll be like 1996 on the fanboards all over again! It’s not got the frenetic energy of some of the season openers we’ve had in recent years, which is no bad thing as it allows us to get to know the new TARDIS team before they’re thrown into what looks like quite a manic eleven weeks of travelling. That’s not to say that The Pilot doesn’t have its scary moments (they’re one of the aforementioned key elements after all) and guest star Stephanie Hyam makes her mark on the show in an episode that keeps its plot simple to ensure the focus is firmly on Mackie’s arrival.

Verdict: A promising introduction for Bill. 8/10

Paul Simpson