Doctor Who S10 Review!
Doctor Who is a roller coaster of a show, especially for the American side audience. Popularity skyrocketed during the David Tennant and Matt Smith years, but once the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi, was announced and entered his freshman year of this monstrous series the hype and enthusiasm behind the show seemed to dwindled. In fairness Capaldi had a lot to go against during his tenure, how extreme his Doctor was to the recently past ones in age and personality, but I think it's safe to say that his last season of the iconic hero was the best.
Season 5, the first season with Matt Smith as the Doctor, was Steven Moffat's first time as show runner. During his era of Doctor Who you could say that he's been a mixed bag. Prime example was Capaldi's first season, S8, which had some good episodes, and great ideas, but nonetheless had an uneven feeling about the season as they were still trying to find out who this Doctor was. Nine was also the same, although personally I felt there were far more bad episodes. Before starting season 10, Moffat's and Capaldi's last season on the series, they took a year break to catch their breath and focus on delivering a great send off season, and by George they did.
Season 10 starts off like a soft reboot. Everything before it is still canon, but from the first episode onwards it's treated as if everything was new, thus creating a great jumping on point for new fans. The Doctor starts his journey by himself and companion Nardole. Soon into the first episode, though, we are introduced to the Doctor's newest companion Bill Potts. She adds a wave of fresh air as her role is essentially one of a new viewer. "Need exposition? I'll ask." While that can be a tricky job juggling the questions new viewers will need to know, and standing as a strong character by herself, I think Pearl Mackie did a great job. In fact, one episode even winks to the camera as she and Nardole discuss their roles to the Doctor as exposition and comedic relief.
The first half of the season deals with the Doctor grounded to Earth, teaching a class at University while he fulfills his pact with guarding an ancient vault. This was a great piece of storytelling, I found, that allowed the Doctor to have a purpose, but also explore his character. He needs to guard the vault, thus he always has to go back to square one essentially, but when he meets Bill his sense of adventure returns like an addiction. This helped the series stay mostly episodic through the first few episodes, allowing set up for the over arching season and reasonable exposition for everyday fans. The stories are fun, not too serious, and inventive at times.
The second half of the season is where the meat of the stories take place. It starts off with a three part story involving an alien race trying to take over the world. Cliche I know, but what Doctor Who excels at are alien designs, and their motives. These aliens are creepy, full of mystery, and actually had a clever way in dominating our planet. I'd say those three episodes were some of the best this season had to offer as it also showed how far the Doctor would sacrifice to save the planet, and his relationship with Bill which will play a bigger part in the finale.
Then there was the two part finale. All I can say is that the last two episodes of this season not only perfectly encapsulates who the Doctor is as a person, but gives Capaldi stunning scenes for him to act his ass off. The episodes had great set up, and spectacular pay off as everything was coming to an end. The stakes were high, yet still grounded so you could see once again how passionate the Doctor is, and to really show why he does what he does. There are, perhaps, three to four shout at your TV surprises in these episodes that all lead up to the final minute of the season which teases this era of Doctor Who in the coming Christmas Special episode.
With all twelve episodes released, not including the previous Christmas special that kicked off this season nor the upcoming special that'll end it, I can assuredly say that this had been one of Doctor Who's better, and most consistent seasons in a long while. The action, humor, craziness, and characters are all there. This season felt like a love letter to the show, and the Doctor, as it made its way to the end of their journey. It's a good jumping on point for new viewers, and a great season for fans who've journeyed with the Doctor before. Lots of callbacks to classic episodes may go over people's heads, but it'll excite both the knowledgeable and the naive as their reveals work on both fronts. This season wasn't perfect, and a lot of episodes had a familiar feeling of the past, but in the end Doctor Who season 10 was a blast, and a memorable end to an era.
B+
