Take me to the pilot

Lead me through the chamber

Take me to the pilot

I am but a stranger*

What can I say about the first episode of Series 10 of Doctor Who, other than Wow!?

Peter Capaldi, at the outset of his final series as the twelfth Time Lord at the TARDIS console, is pitch perfect as the Professor of randomness (“Poetry, physics, same thing!”), at a Bristol university. Joining him as companions are Nardole (Matt Lucas) and Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie).

Bill is perfectly imperfect and that’s why I love her, because she’s one of us. An everywoman, working a dead end job at the campus canteen, crushing on a fellow classmate. As she gets to know the Doctor she asks the questions viewers have undoubtedly had at various times over the past 54 years. As for the Doctor, well, despite a keen interest in personally tutoring Bill, as Nardole puts it, he still “[n]ever notices the tears.”

I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t seen “The Pilot,” so I urge you to find a way to see it sooner rather than later.

Rating: 9/10 Fourth Doctor Sonic Screwdrivers

*”Take Me To The Pilot” (John/Taupin)