TV Review: Doctor Who

Starring Peter Capaldi , Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas

BBC1, 7:20pm, Saturday


So after the last full season of the show saw dwindling ratings and the news that both star Capaldi and Showrunner Steven Moffat would be both leaving the show after this season had ended there was some concern about Who's future. The Pilot the first episode of the new season was described as a soft reboot, yet there various references to the shows past. For one example there is a montage sequence that introduced us to Billie Piper's Rose in the episode of the same name. As for the episode itself, Moffat has cut out his usual overly complicated plotting to give us a simple chase story that spans space and time with a cameo appearance for the Daleks. As for the regular cast Capaldi injects both humour and gravitias in his Doctor that makes us wish he had been in the role longer Matt Lucas manges to stay on the right side of wacky and Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill makes a strong impression that might makes some people who hated her predecessor Jenna Louise Coleman's Clara Oswald glad of the change. As this is the start of a new season it is too early to tell if Capaldi and Moffat have ended their respective tenures in style but on the basis of this episode there is some hope.