Con SuiteThe Reactor

The Reactor: The Doctor is BACK!

By DRWHO42

*Advisory – light spoilers ahead*

The magic is back and it is back in a big way! After a 14 month wait, Doctor Who series 10 is upon us and I, for one, am a happy camper. The opening episode of this season strikes the right balance of adventure, fright, humor, and character development.

The episode did not waste any time introducing Pearl Mackie’s character of Bill, who was announced as the latest companion in April of last year. We can see from the opening scene that The Doctor is taken in by Bill’s curiosity, as evidenced by her attending his lectures at a university even though she is not officially enrolled. He decides to take her on as a student and this serves as a gateway to the classic hallmark upon which the series was first based – The Doctor being the teacher (or professor).

The casting of Pearl Mackie was a great choice. Her acting range was on full display in this first episode and her chemistry with Peter Capaldi is natural and effortless. While Bill may appear to be ‘ordinary’ because she works in the canteen, viewers will soon learn that there is much more to her. The character of Bill is multidimensional and can be looked upon by viewers as someone whom they can aspire to be.    

This episode was written by Steven Moffat and introduces us to a new monster, while giving us some insight into who Bill is as a person. There are a few Easter eggs within this episode so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. I will not mention them here but there were a few points during the episode where I jumped forward from my couch with delight – I will admit that the rewind button was employed a few times as well.

Capaldi, who has now entered his final season as The Doctor (Nooooo!!!!), appears to be taking on a slightly different approach in portraying this iconic role. He seems to be a person who is quite content where he is and not looking for trouble.

Similar to the past nine series, there is the expectation of an underlying mystery or arc which culminates in the season finale. There is something within this episode which hints at this, however knowing how Moffat likes to change things up I will keep my eyes peeled in episode 2 for further hints.

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DRWHO42

Kevin aka "DRWHO42" watches a lot of TV and avoids spoilers like the plague. He is an avid Whovian, Trekker, fanboy, gamer, traveler, planner, self-professed gym rat, and Starbucks espresso loyalist. When not plotting out his schedule for the next tent-pole movie or watching his favorite shows he is on the hunt for pop-culture TV & Movie media news. More importantly he is a frequent attendee of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) and New York Comic Con (NYCC). Follow him on Twitter @kevinDW42 @FoCCBlog