Doctor Who Recap The Pilot: Never Underestimate A Crush

Here’s the Doctor Who recap “The Pilot,” and we’re over here crushing hard and fast on Pearl Mackie’s Bill Potts. It’s everything we wanted it to be.

The season 10 premiere of the tenth Doctor Who season marks a noticeable shift in tone, and it’s probably (okay, definitely) all because of the new companion. Get the low down on everything about the premiere in the Doctor Who recap The Pilot.

The General Happenings and Action

The Doctor notices Bill has been auditing his class at the University and calls her into to question her directly. Bill isn’t a student, per say, but sells chips (french fries) in the school’s canteen (cafeteria). He notices she smiles when he lectures, and he’s very interested in why she chooses to attend his class.

The Doctor is so intrigued by the dazzling Bill, he offers to be her personal tutor. She comes to him everyday for a private lesson. They become close, so she runs to him when her friend Heather is overtaken by alien and turns on her.

The once-Heather-now-water-alien chases Bill right into the Doctor’s office, so naturally they must use the TARDIS to escape her clutches. Bill is shocked by what the “police box” can do, and the writers even gave her the “it’s bigger on the inside” line, which was a nice welcome to her first episode.

The big bad arrived on Earth in the form of some shape shifting liquid and quickly gobbled up the pretty Heather, who Bill met in a club prior. The baddie can overtake whatever form it’s near, so it shape shifts as it chases the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole all around time and space.

Photo: The CW

To escape “Heather” the Doctor directs the TARDIS first to Australia in the present, but that’s no match for this villain. He then takes them to 23 million years in the future, and then to the “basic skirmish” between the Rick James-esque villains (the Movellans) and the Daleks. This is a cheeky nod to a classic 1979 episode, and not all the nostalgia being served up in the season opener. (More on that later)

Of course the big bad is defeated, mostly by Bill’s compassion and kindness, but not before she is almost sucked into oblivion as the alien tries to lure her into whatever alternate universe it presides. The whole this is kind of a bummer, because Bill really like Heather before she got all possessed and murdery.

The Doctor sets out to wipe’s Bill’s memory, but she puts one heck of a guilt trip on him. He relents, letting her keep her memories, but tosses her out with a sharp shout. He quickly changes his mind, and they jet off to space and time unknown with a whimsical, “What the hell,” from the Doctor.

Bill’s Backstory

It seems Bill’s mother died when she was a baby. This hasn’t stopped her from concocting a handful of beautiful memories, establishing her mother as a clever and meaningful presence… in her own head. She lives with a dodgy foster mother who, at times, seems mostly okay, and then others seems kind of like a trainwreck.

Photo: BBC America

During the holidays, Bill spends her night with the Doctor, gifting him an ugly rug that he pretends not to be fond of. However, when she and the foster mother exchange gifts, she rolls her eyes at the gift of cash. It’s hard to get a read on whether or not we should hate her or not. Stay tuned.

She does, however, give Bill a box of pictures of her mother, which moves her to tears. Bill is surprised to see all the photos, thinking she didn’t like to have her picture taken. While she’s flipping, I noticed a photo with the Doctor’s image in it, and I’m pretty excited to see how this plays out. How would the Doctor be in a picture with Bill’s mother? For real: stay tuned.

The Villains, Old and New

Heather was possessed by a yet unnamed alien that uses a liquid to be mobile. It can come through drains, puddles, naturally occuring water elements, and even the mirror. It takes over it’s host (as we saw it do to Heather and a Dalek) mimicking their words and actions. It’s scariest attribute is that metallic screech it emits when it’s after you. Haunting.

As I said earlier, we get a brief look at the Movellans. These poor villains seem far less threatening than any other of the Whoniverse villains. Maybe its the Rick James hair or the disco error metallic boots, but I can’t muster a fright for them. I do appreciate a good nod to the past. Turns out I was right in my Movellan-related predictions. Well played, Moffat.

The Daleks show up as well. Since the Doctor takes Bill back to the moment of the big war between them, of course we’ll get a little interaction. The Heather-monster overtakes a Dalek, but the Doctor immediately recognizes it’s not a real Dalek, and tries to talk it down. If it was an actual Dalek, it would have exterminated them all right there. Turns out, it was just Heather, recognized by the defect in her iris that is visible in the Dalek’s scope.

Photographer: Simon Ridgway/BBC

Heather still had some lingering humanity hidden in the alien within and alien, and Bill was able to reach her. Because she’s awesome and I’m very sad to see her (probably) go at the end of the season.

Easter Eggs, Nods, Winks and Nostalgia

Susan and River Song’s picture is prominently displayed on the Doctor’s desk. Carole Ann Ford played Susan from the series’ first season in 1963 to the final episode of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth in1964.

Photo: BBCAmerica

During his lecture, the Doctor asked his students, “Imagine if time happened at once,” but he doesn’t have to guess. This is exactly what happened in “The Wedding of River Song” in 2011.

The “Out of Order” on the outside of the TARDIS is almost identical to the one used in 1966’s The War Machines. The new one has a border, however.

There is a container with a few of his past sonic screwdrivers. It looks like a few are ones though to be destroyed. Specifically, these might be the versions wielded by the fourth and fifth Doctors.

We hear an alarm clock in the opening credits of both “Rose” and “The Pilot.” This is probably a nod to the decision to show the Doctor through a new companion’s eyes.

The TARDIS now has a macaroon dispenser.

What are your thoughts about the long awaited season 10 opener? Did you spot any Easter eggs that we missed? Leave us your thoughts in the comments, or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

Doctor Who airs on BBCAmerica every Saturday at 9/8c. Check back here for weekly recaps and reactions.