The Pilot (Grade & Discussion Thread)
- Thread starter TommyR01D
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It's been too long since we've had one of these. For something other than a Christmas special, that is.
I find myself in a similar position. In my eleven-ish yearrs of following this program I have never been less enthusiastic about the start of a new series.
It did not take me long to warn up to Bill.
And loved the line Running like a penguin with his arse on fire.
And loved the line Running like a penguin with his arse on fire.
You know, the actual plot was nonsensical and boring, but the Doctor-Billie interactions were a highlight. Its been a while I enjoyed an episode in that way. Not bad.
Good jumping-on point for new viewers. Nice to see a wodge of theories and supposed spoilers already get crashed and burned. Bill still makes little impression on me - will need to see how Mackie does with a solid character episode.
Not too bad for a season opener and new companion intro, I suppose. Capaldi/Mackie was great. Loved the way she asked geeky questions, didn't like the evasion regarding the acronym (or maybe TARDIS really does mean WTH).
Less great was the shoehorned Dalek segment and the Doctor's apparent knowledge of his plot armour. I thought the Bill/Heather stuff was a bit twee, also.
It should be interesting to see why the Doctor was in apparent semi-retirement.
Less great was the shoehorned Dalek segment and the Doctor's apparent knowledge of his plot armour. I thought the Bill/Heather stuff was a bit twee, also.
It should be interesting to see why the Doctor was in apparent semi-retirement.
I enjoyed it, really liked Bill and glad I've kept reasonably spoiler free for the upcoming run, was nice that she isn't from London though and I guessed why her reflection was wrong, but thought Heather only wanted Bill so she could get at the Doctor, and that vault thing, did it have Time Lord script on it?
The plot was average but I do like Bill and I also love how Matt Lucas plays his character. All 3 of the cast have great chemistry IMO. Anyone else get a major "Water of Mars" vibe during the episode, I was hoping their might be some connection or even a reference from the Doctor during the scenes with the water. The interaction between the characters and how much I liked Bill, makes it a fairly good start to the end of the Moffat/Capaldi era.
The Daleks being in the episode seemed odd and out of place, did BBC need to use them? I know in the past they had to show them at least once a season or something as part of the licensing deal from the estate that own the rights? if memory serves.
The Daleks being in the episode seemed odd and out of place, did BBC need to use them? I know in the past they had to show them at least once a season or something as part of the licensing deal from the estate that own the rights? if memory serves.
Surprisingly good; I thought Bill was going to be annoying as hell but it turns out she actually grew on me; once again I was completely wrong about my opinion on casting, perhaps I should just pipe down.
Plot was fairly basic, but it's a season opener and introducing a new companion, a bit plot wouldn't really have worked, this was good enough. Bill and Heather would have been cute as fuck together </3
Plot was fairly basic, but it's a season opener and introducing a new companion, a bit plot wouldn't really have worked, this was good enough. Bill and Heather would have been cute as fuck together </3
Do any of the streaming services (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc) ever run current DW?
Netflix has most of NuWho for here, just no second half of season seven and nine so far.
We (The Netherlands) lost seasons 1-4 of NuWho on Netflix. Which sucks, because Tennant's era was arguably the best of NuWho, though Smith's first season was quite strong aswell.
As for The Pilot, I was very pleasantly surprised. Quite good really, and it left me with a sense of adventure again!
As for The Pilot, I was very pleasantly surprised. Quite good really, and it left me with a sense of adventure again!
I loved this episode. It might have been a little light on plot, but the character interactions and the aesthetics of the episode were a lot of fun. I already quite like Bill and Nardole is quickly growing on me. It also serves as a good introductory episode much like "Rose" and "The Eleventh Hour," and "The Pilot" is possibly even more fun than even the latter episode. This is the kind of writing I've been wanting for Peter Capaldi since he started. Here's hoping the rest of the season reflects this writing!
I enjoyed the callbacks to Susan (finally!), River and Clara (just subtle enough) and the can full of sonic screwdrivers was lovely! Too bad I didn't see any sign of The Second Doctor's in there. I guess because it was too small.
The Dalek cutaway seemed rather useless (almost obligatory even) and it's a shame the Movellans were merely a brief cameo, even if that's what other people had predicted. I would like to see a proper return for the Movellans someday. That being said, I did like how the season teaser fooled us to think that the watery girl was some kind of Dalek.
I still think it's a shame the episode wasn't called "A Star in Her Eye," which WIkiepedia originally had listed, although I don't if it was ever actually called that. It's a much better title than the bland "The Pilot."
A few clever lines including "running like a penguin with its ass on fire" and "goes anywhere in the university."
Speaking of script, didn't anyone else notice the script under the Dalek's eyestalk? Has that always been there?
I enjoyed the callbacks to Susan (finally!), River and Clara (just subtle enough) and the can full of sonic screwdrivers was lovely! Too bad I didn't see any sign of The Second Doctor's in there. I guess because it was too small.
The Dalek cutaway seemed rather useless (almost obligatory even) and it's a shame the Movellans were merely a brief cameo, even if that's what other people had predicted. I would like to see a proper return for the Movellans someday. That being said, I did like how the season teaser fooled us to think that the watery girl was some kind of Dalek.
I still think it's a shame the episode wasn't called "A Star in Her Eye," which WIkiepedia originally had listed, although I don't if it was ever actually called that. It's a much better title than the bland "The Pilot."
A few clever lines including "running like a penguin with its ass on fire" and "goes anywhere in the university."
I didn't think Heather wanted The Doctor and the vault, but I did think the water did. I also noticed Time Lord script on it.
Speaking of script, didn't anyone else notice the script under the Dalek's eyestalk? Has that always been there?
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I enjoyed the very sly callback to Shada, with the Doctor being a teacher in that university for 50 years. At least it reminded me of Chronotis, who also was a Professor over Cambridge for a long period of time.
Ah, good catch. I knew that very familiar.
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