Doctor Who 10x01 The Pilot

[kerravonsen]

Yes, I am behind! I am catching up.

I rather liked this one. Oh boy, this is reminding me why I like Twelve. Very frustrating: there were points at which I couldn't catch more than one word in three of what Bill was saying. Am I going deaf, or did other people have that problem too?

Oooh, I found a transcript! Here! (goes and reads)

Good:

• Visuals. Lots of work, but pretty and eye-catching and different; especially the montage of Bill's day juxtaposed with the Doctor's lecture about Time.
  • loved the alien planet, too
• Bill is genre-savvy.
• Twelve being Twelve.
• Love and a promise. Okay, infatuation and a promise, but still, that's a fabulous change from the usual "I'm going to eat you!" thing. Of course the Doctor assumed that it wanted to kill them, that's what relentlessly pursuing alien shape-shifting things usually do!
• Bill jumping to perfectly logical but erroneous conclusions about the nature of the TARDIS; "it's a knock-through", "it's a lift", etc.
• The Doctor going back in time to take photos of Bill's Mum; the reflection in the mirror showing him taking the photo.
• Not everything is evil, but everything is hungry.
• Genre-savvy Bill realising that the Doctor was going to mind-wipe her.

Bad:

• Um, how did the sentient motor-oil pursue the TARDIS across time and space?
• Flashbacks to "Waters of Mars" without being half so scary.

Indifferent:

• Bill's a lesbian. Oh well. I suppose that's a change.

Random:

• I suspected the puddle-shows-actual-face-not-reflection thing very soon after Bill looked into the puddle for the first time. No, I didn't see the non-reflection, but it was the first thing I thought of when considering what might be "wrong" with a reflection.

Favourite quotes:

"With some people you can smell the wind in their coats."

BILL: Oh, my God! Have we travelled in time?
DOCTOR: No, of course not. We've travelled to Australia.

BILL: Are you from space?
DOCTOR: No, of course not. Nobody's from space. I'm from a planet like everybody else.

BILL: Why? Is everything out here evil?
DOCTOR: Hardly anything is evil, but most things are hungry. Hunger looks very like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery. Or do you think that your bacon sandwich loves you back?

"Yeah, because I think you're going to wipe my memory. I'm not stupid, you know. That's the trouble with you. You don't think anyone's ever seen a movie. I know what a mind-wipe looks like!"

Comments

[kalypso]

I immediately assumed the reflection was reversed - but honestly, given the quality of a puddle mirror, I thought Heather spotted it because her hair was parted off-centre rather than because she could make out the fine detail of her iris!

[vilakins]

That seemed to be the only reason for the starry iris, but that would work too, as would Bill's ribbon if she had it in her hair.