Sometimes things really are too good to be true…

Mike Bartlett’s debut script for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor lives up to the hype – it’s comic and scary, and I suspect there are certain scenes that are going to be really disturbing when listened to in the binaural version that’s coming to iPlayer as soon as the episode has been broadcast. It also gives David Suchet a very varied role to play, with some nice red herrings along the way to put you off the scent as to exactly what’s going on – director Bill Anderson uses a number of tricks from the horror repartee to ramp up the tension exactly as required.

The opening section is fun, as the Doctor helps Bill move in… and then decides to hang around when things don’t feel quite right. There’s some enjoyable repartee between the two time travellers, and Pearl Mackie gets more than a few moments to continue establishing Bill as her own person independent of the Doctor – as well as opportunities later in the episode to demonstrate some of both what’s she learned from him, and the qualities that attracted her to him in the first place.

Verdict: It’s a strong standalone episode with just the closing part continuing the ongoing mysteries of the season – so switch off the lights, close the curtains and prepare for the knocking… 8/10

Paul Simpson