Doctor Who: Ranking The New Who Openers From Worst To Best

For his final series, Steven Moffat definitely tried to reinvent not only himself, but Doctor Who as well, and The Pilot felt like the start of this. Even the title could imply that this episode is "The Pilot Episode", as it showcases itself as a soft reboot to lure in newcomers to the show. And it does an incredible job at going through the tick boxes, explaining what needs to be told in such a fun way.

The introduction of Bill is a lovely change of pace, feeling more akin to the Classic era of the show, where the Doctor takes on a pupil in order to teach them the wonders of the universe. Gone are the days of romantic complications. Plus, Bill is a sweet character, with some nice emotional depth, a great personality, as well as an inquisitive mind that bounces off the Twelfth Doctor perfectly. Honestly, they instantly became a quintennial Doctor/Companion pairing.

Although The Pilot is let down somewhat by the rushed establishing of Bill and Heather's relationship, making it feel unrealistic when Heather begins to stalk Bill across both space and time, due to a random promise they made to one another. Then there's the strange inclusion of the Daleks and Movellans, which feels completely out of place, and incredibly forced. But, overall, it's a refreshing opener, that blends Russell T Davies' style alongside Steven Moffat's, and it mostly worked to deliver a good plot, and opener to Series 10.