Doctor Who: The Caretaker

So here’s what The Lodger might have looked like if Peter Capaldi was in it.

So yeah, I really enjoyed this one; there were a few things that annoyed me, but other wise another pretty good episode. I’ve noticed that Steven Moffat seems to be credited as an assistant writer on almost every episode this series, which is pretty good. I know some people don’t like his writing, but regardless of that, the series fell apart under Davies because he let so many other writers get involved, meaning that when it came to writing the finales for the series he oversaw, the plots always felt rushed and endings tacked on with poor excuses.

Moffat putting creative influence into every episode is a mark of someone taking care to make sure the show stays on track.

But anyway, this episode opts to go for the big meeting of the Doctor and Danny Pink. The concept is set up pretty well with Clara now in what I believe can be termed a “Facebook official” relationship with Danny, but still secretly running off with the Doctor every few days. Opting for comedy with an opening montage gets the audience ready for the overall tone of the episode. Like I said it’s the same as the Lodger; comedy, with dottings of seriousness.

Capaldi takes to this very well, seeming legitimately surprised that Clara recognizes him in his disguise as John Smith, despite the fact that he’s wearing a completely different coat.

Clara’s is actually a control freak for once  - this is something that’s annoyed me for a while, the writers keep referring to Clara as a control freak, but I don’t really see it most of the time. I mean this episode shows it, with the open hostility she shows to the Doctor for appearing in part of her life where he doesn’t belong. But otherwise she seems fine.

Danny also gets over the Clara’s-best-friend-is-an-alien thing pretty quickly, which he has to for the purpose of the plot, but his whole “he’s an officer” thing seems to come of the blue. It’s one thing for him to be taken aback by an alien, but delving into the more militaristic parts of the Doctor’s personality isn’t something one could reasonably do based on five minutes knowledge of someone.

This week’s villain is also very underused and serves simply as a tool for getting Danny and the Doctor in the same room. It’s a but disappointing that they’ve opted for the Michael Bay approach of focusing on the human characters rather than getting a really good baddie in.

Missy makes another appearance after a three episode absence. Although this absence is neatly folded into the story with her helper (who I’m calling “Space-Ollie-Reeder”) explaining that she’s “busy.”

Conclusion:

Good episode, good acting, keep up the good work!