World of Who: Pilot

Pilot

Honestly, when the show went on break last year I found myself of two minds. On one hand the break could be what Steven Moffat needs because he's been show runner since season five and there has been a bit of a decline in the quality of his work in my opinion while at the same time I was a bit down. Shows going on break are rarely a great idea but then again Doctor Who isn't like most shows with it's rotating actors and broad story usually promises the show can last as long as it has the writing. I think my issue was that I still wasn't 100% into the Capaldi Era and with the news of him leaving the show, Pearl Mackie staying only for this season and the new Chibnall taking over for Moffat, this season felt rather lukewarm to me. So while the rest of the world was super psyched, nothing about what I had seen was that interesting though the announcement of Mondasian Cybermen and Jon Simm's Master returning was great along with the Ice Warriors, I was prepared for this be a bit like season 8 over 9 in that I would be seeing good ideas but poor execution.

Despite my issues going in, "Pilot" was honestly everything I wanted in a first episode, something I hadn't seen since "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Impossible Astronaut" (yeah I'm a big Moffat fan). It really did feel like a successor to the episode "Rose" it has the girl from present day Earth, living her day to day life and meeting the Doctor. The difference is that this episode wants to take it's time building up Bill as a character and someone who has a life that maybe didn't go the way she wanted and the Doctor, as a college teacher, starts tutoring her so she can apply. The mystery of the Doctor is there but he does come off more as the "crazy teacher" and the Doctor does sort of set himself up as such, with the amazing lectures and eccentric personality. Interestingly enough, as far as I know, outside of "Human Nature" the Doctor has never been a teacher and the former he wasn't even the Doctor. The monster of the week itself was rather interesting but it was a bit like the monster in "Waters of Mars" or "Fear Her" but at least in the latter we had a name for it. It is nice that the monster wasn't really trying to do anything specific and that it was like the monsters in "Girl in the Fireplace", "Deep Breath", and "Fear Her", not trying to cause some great catastrophe but just wanting to leave.

The characters were I think great. Bill, like Rose is that girl just living her life and it seems the Doctor has just taken an interest in her just because. Her being gay was really just a part of her character, Moffat didn't make it a big deal which I'm glad for. Bill does come off as someone who just hasn't been able to make it where she wants to be for one reason or another as opposed to Rose who just didn't seem to want to try. Nardole I felt was a great addition as he does come off as the Doctor's assistant which I like because it shows more of a distance between the Doctor and the companion who I sometimes think should be like the client calling on Holmes and Watson but I'm hoping Bill will be a bit like Ace. The Doctor, well if I had to compare him to anyone right now it would be the 11th Doctor in "The Snowmen" in that he seems set on not traveling but at the same time he's like the 7th Doctor, hiding something, namely what is in the vault. He implies that he promised not to travel but he keeps looking back at pictures of Susan and River (granddaughter and wife respectively) and  it is those two that really get him to take Bill on adventures.