Doctor Who Season 9

Back With a Bang Never a Simmer

Doctor Who Season 9

Courtney Langstrom

Strap in Whovians, the Doctor is back with another season full of old, new, borrowed and blue. Unfortunately, this will be Steven Moffat’s last time writing for the hit BBC show “Doctor Who” and Peter Capaldi’s final adventures in the Tardis. However, the season’s beginning opened with a bang.

If you are new to “Doctor Who”, the basic plot follows a Time Lord, a man from a scientifically advanced alien race, while he travels through time and space in order to save those in peril, preferably with a companion. This season is the tenth time we follow the Doctor since the 2005 reboot.

This season we have a new companion, Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie). She is the the first openly homosexual companion to appear on the show.

“I remember watching TV as a young mixed race girl not seeing many people who looked like me, so I think being able to visually recognise yourself on screen is important,” she said. However she’s not the first openly gay or bisexual character; that title still goes to Captain Jack and, according to Steven Moffat, River Song is as well.

This season pilot aired Sat., April 15, and it was spectacular. It begins with the Doctor interrogating Bill and why she comes to his lectures. The reason the Doctor took note of her is because, “Most people, when they don’t understand something they frown. Yoooouuuu … smile.” This build up is perfect for the viewer because it immediately attaches the audience to Bill and her lovable weirdness.

Right off the bat it’s obvious that Capaldi and Mackie have great dynamics, and she brings a bit of joy back into the show, which has been missing lately. The episode follows Bill as she begins flirting with Heather, a student who is taking the Doctor’s class. The Doctor has apparently been lecturing at St. Luke’s  University for 50 years to protect a vault underneath.

Heather has a birth defect that makes her iris colored in the shape of a star. Heather tells Bill that she is never happy where she is and invites Bill to see… a puddle.This puddle, like most things in Doctor Who, is different.

It seems to show a distorted version of yourself according to Heather, but Bill can’t quite figure out what’s wrong with her reflection. When Bill turns around to asks why it’s strange Heather is gone. Pretty standard “Doctor Who” suspense right there. It seems like a boring plot, but if I explained further, there would be too many spoilers. Just trust me, it’s worth watching.

The visuals in this episode are simplistic and standard, but have improved greatly from past seasons before. Previously it felt as if they just put effects in because they could, even though they didn’t look great. Now it feels the production team has a more professional grasp on what they can create on screen.

The episode is filled with great Doctor-Companion banter we’ve been missing for these past two years. The world of Dr. Who also feels much more tangible with the improved graphics. . This episode leaves the viewer wanting to know what’s next for this season to come.

10/10 would recommend