"I lived among otters once for a month. Well, I sulked. River and I, we had this big fight..." - The Twelfth Doctor
The Twelfth Doctor had already tried his hand at being a bank robber and, as Series 8 reached its halfway point, he then transformed himself into The Caretaker when terrifying events threatened the staff and pupils at Coal Hill School. The episode stands out in the series as being a much more light hearted and entertaining affair as it gave its stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman the opportunity to showcase their faultless on screen chemistry and brilliant comic timing. This no doubt satisfied Peter's legion of fans who had thus far been tuning in to catch the Twelfth Doctor's underlining glimmers of Malcolm Tucker. Thankfully he managed to control himself (Doctor Who was on later, but not that much later...) in an episode which was more about the Time Lord's reaction to Clara's new beau, Danny Pink, than it was about him saving Planet Earth from its latest alien incursion. As Clara's two worlds collided, it was interesting to see the "baddie" take the backseat in favour of the more domesticated issues, and it was perhaps even more interesting to see the task of introducing the Doctor and Danny given to Gareth Roberts, whose past contributions have included alien-orienated blockbusters such as The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp and Closing Time. There was also a subtle nod to the past in the form of Edward Harrison who was introduced as Clara's colleague Adrian. His striking resemblance to Matt Smith - bow tie and all - was a deliberate plot device which suggested that the Eleventh Doctor continues to have a strong presence within Clara's life. That was one of several of this series' overriding messages to be developed in this episode, one which can be enjoyed more for its progression of themes rather than its standalone alien activity. As such, it doesn't really hold its own when Series 8 is being examined as a whole, but it was a humorous offering which gently eased us into the dark times that were to come...
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
