Doctor Who Thin Ice Review

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Alfie Stoker, Bill Anderson, Bill Potts, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who Thin Ice, Doctor Who Thin Ice Review, Guillaume Rivaud, Matt Lucas, Nardole, Nicholas Burns, Pearle Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Peter Singh, Sarah Dollard, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, Toni May

Doctor Who Thin Ice

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The Doctor and Bill travel back in time in Thin Ice to Regency England, in London, to the last of the great frost fairs on the frozen river Thames. But while the time travellers take in the sights, they discover that revellers and children have been mysteriously disappearing on the ice. Bill finds the past can be more like her own time than she expects, and something is lurking in the inky depths of the Thames, waiting for the ice to crack…

Continuing directly on from the final surprising moments of the last episode, Smile, Thin Ice, sees the Doctor and Bill donning stylish period garb as they visit London during 1814 in the third episode from Series Ten, written by Sarah Dollard (the writer of 2015’s Face The Raven), and directed by Doctor Who newcomer Bill Anderson (whose previous TV work includes Mr Selfridge, Taggart, and Silent Witness).

Based around the spontaneous frost fairs that happened on the frozen Thames during the 1300’s and 1800’s, were all walks of life came together to celebrate this icy wonderland in the heart of London, but suddenly ended when the Thames froze in 1814 and never froze over again. It’s that underlying mystery that Sarah Dollard’s wonderful script explores, as the Doctor and Bill set out to enjoy the jubilant surroundings of the frost fair. But when it becomes apparent there are strange lights under the ice luring people into the depths of the Thames, the Doctor and Bill, with the help of some street urchins, embark on a dangerous quest for clues. Someone of great power schemes to get as many people as they can to the frost fair, hiding their true motives, Bill finds out that not all creatures are from space, and in the inky gloom beneath the ice an ancient creature lurks.

Peter Capaldi is in his element here as the 12th Doctor, sporting a dark suit, and dashing top hat, he looks right at home in Regency England and its not long before the Doctor is caught up in the mystery of the strange disappearances beneath the ice. Bill is from 2017, so naturally she finds London in 1814 takes a bit of getting used to, but she looks resplendent in her period dress and soon embraces the carnival atmosphere of the frost fair, and Pearl Mackie gives a wonderfully endearing performance as Bill experiences her first adventure in the past. She continues to ask the Doctor some interesting and pressing questions as well, which in turn continues to build on the refreshing Doctor / Companion dynamic between them. The nuances of time travel Thin Ice present affords the Doctor a chance to explain the somewhat unpredictable nature of the TARDIS, and Bill also learns that there can be a darker side to the Doctor’s adventures.

Nardole (Matt Lucas) once again only appears fleetingly to berate the Doctor for neglecting the promise that’s been keeping the Time Lord on Earth, and there are further – somewhat chilling – hints concerning the ongoing mystery of The Vault. However, Thin Ice does have a good supporting cast of characters to look out for: Peter Singh plays The Pie Man, Nicholas Burns is the villainous Lord Sutcliffe, and from the young gang of pickpockets Asiatu Koroma gets some good scenes and character development as Kitty

After enjoying the sights of the frost fair its not long before the Doctor and Bill set out in diving suits and get to work checking out the mysterious lights under the ice. The time travellers adventure takes them into the inky depths of the Thames itself, where the Doctor and Bill finally get to the bottom of the mystery as they encounter a gigantic snake-like-creature! The monster in Thin Ice is a giant underwater leviathan, captured and chained by the ancestors of Lord Sutcliffe, and the creatures dung has been used as a superheating biofuel in industry to build his families wealth. The snake’s symbiotic bond with the glowing fish that tend it has been used by Sutcliffe to lure people to the frost fairs in order to secretly feed the imprisoned beast.

Thin Ice includes a delightful number of subtle Doctor Who related references and themes. The Doctor casually informs Bill that he’s been to the frost fairs before, which coincides with what River Song told Rory in A Good Man Goes To War (2011). Although the species of the aquatic sea creature in Thin Ice isn’t specified, the Star Whale from The Beast Below (2010) is the most recent example of such giant a creature in the series, the Loch Ness Monster appeared in Terror of the Zygons (1975), but Nessie was actually the Zygon’s cyborg Skarassen, and it also went on to emerge from the Thames like the sea snake does in Thin Ice. When the 12^th Doctor says, ‘your species hardly notices anything’ it harkens back to similar statement the 7^th Doctor made in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) about humanities “amazing capacity for self-deception.’ The Time lord once again uses the alias ‘Doctor Disco’ which he first used in The Zygon Invasion (2015). Bill mentions concerns about the Butterfly Effect, a concept that was referred to by Martha in the Shakespeare Code (2007). Bill’s first steps onto the ice of the frozen Thames seem to mirror Martha’s initial caution on emerging from the TARDIS in that episode, and to a lesser degree there are also echoes of Rose Tyler’s first footsteps in the snow as she visit’s the past for the first time in The Unquiet Dead (2005).

Their discovery of the snake creature in the Thames and information Kitty knows about Dowell, soon leads the Doctor and Bill to Lord Sutcliffe, but he takes them prisoner. Once they escape, and while the Doctor sets out to free the creature and foil Sutcliffe’s plans, Kitty and her gang help Bill evacuate the frost fair before Sutcliffe can detonate the explosives. There are impressive and moving scenes as the Thames ice snake is finally freed when the ice brakes up, and Lord Sutcliffe’s fate provides a very fitting from of poetic justice for his actions as the conclusion of Thin Ice gives Kitty and her friends the chance of a better life.

Thin Ice is a fantastically paced and very traditional feeling episode. Sarah Dollard’s scrip embodies the core values of the Doctor’s morality, and it tackles some particularly strong themes at times – including racism, the social class system, and ecological issues. The costumes and sets are absolutely stunning as well, and director Bill Anderson skilfully keeps the drama and suspense building throughout the episode. Peter Capaldi gives what is arguably one of his finest performances yet as the Time Lord, including one of those awesome powerful Doctorish speeches (after the Doctor stands up for Bill and punches the vile Lord Sutcliffe in the face) that Capaldi does so well, and Pearl Mackie is really settling into her role as Bill Potts.

The coda with Nardole talking to the ominous – and rather familiar sounding – knocking coming from The Vault rounds off this episode in fine style, and is sure to fuel the speculation about who, or what, might be inside it. Doctor Who’s tenth series really feels like its getting on track for something very special, especially with the Doctor’s new travelling companions introductory trilogy of adventures set in the present, the future, and the past are now completed, the Doctor’s and Bill’s adventures in time and space can really begin in earnest!

Images belong BBC

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Doctor Who Face The Raven Review

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Ashildr, Clara Oswald, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Face The Raven, Doctor Who Series 9, Jenna Coleman, Jovian Wade, Justin Molotnikov, Maisie Williams, Peter Capaldi, Rigsy, Sarah Dollard, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor

Face The Raven

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Face The Raven sees the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) reunited with their old friend Rigsy (Jovian Wade), and he desperately needs their help after being sentenced to death for a murder he has no memory of committing. Together they must find a secret street in London, where alien refugees have been living unnoticed in plain sight – and here they meet the immortal Ashildr (Maisie Williams) once again! A sinister countdown has begun; its time to discover what it means to face the raven, but not everyone is going to survive…

This darkly mesmerising adventure, written by Doctor Who newcomer Sarah Dollard, and directed by Justin Molotnikov (Da Vinci’s Demons / Atlantis / Merlin), heralds a major turning point for the Doctor and Clara in series nine!

When the Doctor and Clara respond to Rigsy’s telephone phone call to the TARDIS, they learn their friend has no memory of the previous day, his mobile phone has been damaged and wiped, and a bizarre tattoo has appeared on his neck. Determined to save him, their quest brings them to a hidden “trap street” in the city of London concealed by a misdirection circuit where alien refugees have taken sanctuary, there are many answers that must be found in this mysterious place, and what exactly is the chronolock? The Doctor and Clara must solve the bizarre murder mystery that Rigsy has inadvertently become embroiled in, which has left him sentenced to death for the murder of a Janus female (a dual faced alien species) that he cannot recall having any part of. The immortal Ashildr is also here in this secret street, she is now the self proclaimed Mayor “Me” of this alien refuge camp, and her motives are not quite what they first seem. As the tattoo formed of numbers begins counting down on the back of Rigsy’s neck, it’s almost time to face the raven!

This incredible episode marks the return of the popular character Rigsy, the character played by Jovian Wade, who helped the Doctor and Clara defeat the Bonless in the brilliant series eight story Flatline (2014). We get a chance to catch up what’s been happening with Rigsy in this episode, he’s getting his life back on track, he also has a baby daughter, Lucy, now as well, which makes the plight he now faces especially moving, and its great to see the character reunited with the Doctor and Clara for an adventure were they all work together. Maisie Williams also returns as Ashildr / Me (The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived). This time Ashildr has a decidedly sinister agenda of her own, Maisie Williams is excellent in this episode as the troubled immortal Ashildr / Mayor Me of the hidden trap street for alien refugees, the quantum shade which she uses to enforce the law manifests itself as a spooky Raven that is in turn drawn to the chronolock tattoo on a condemned persons neck – and it’s a terrifying fate from which there is absolutely no escape…

When Clara tries to help Rigsy, volunteering to accept the chronolock as Clara thinks she is safe because she is under Ashildr’s personal protection, the tattoo moves to her neck, but Clara has no idea of the terrible consequences this selfless act will ultimately mean for her. After they visit Anahson (Letitia Wright), the daughter of the murdered alien Anah, they learn Anahson has been dressing as a male to protect herself and hide her ability to see into the past and the future. The Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy return to where the murdered Janus woman’s body is being held, whereby the full extent of Ashildr’s plan to lure the Doctor to the street is finally revealed. Ashildr might have trapped the Doctor, but she is devastated to learn what Clara has done, she never expected something like this to happen, and nothing can save Clara from facing the Raven.

This is a terrific episode; Sarah Dollard has woven an intriguing mystery together with some particularly challenging issues, to make this one of the most emotionally charged and game-changing episodes of series nine. Director Justin Molotnikov really excels here, the secret trap street is populated by a wealth of disguised aliens, including the Judoon, Sontarans, Cybermen, Ood, and Silurians and the set design is fittingly dark and atmospheric to match the tone of the episode. The Doctor’s prompt cards from Under The Lake are used again, and his confession dial from The Magician’s and The Witch’s Familiar also returns.

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman give, quite possibly, their best performances ever in Face The Raven. What starts out as something as a quirky adventure soon becomes much bolder, darker, and unsettling, and the heartbreaking consequences of Clara facing the raven is sure to reverberate across all of time and space! The Raven is often associated as a portent of doom and death, the symbolism of how the raven is uses her is especially powerful. This story is also the first to feature the Doctor wearing his red jacket, a color that also symbolises this episodes themes of rage and death, another portent of things to come perhaps?

Clara’s sad farewell to the Doctor is undoubtedly one of this series’ finest moments. It manages to be powerful, moving, and heartbreaking all at the same time. As the time draws near, those final moments between Capaldi’s Time Lord and the Colemna’s Impossible Girl are brilliantly acted, and what we perceived as Cara’s recklessness throughout this season couldn’t have been further from the truth… I know that Clara has sometimes been a character that has often divided opinion, personally I liked the character, and I also thought Jenna Coleman was really good in role, and found Clara’s death in this episode especially moving – particularly when we glimpse the beautiful memorial Rigsy has painted on the TARDIS at the end…

Face The Raven would effectively appear to be the first episode of three part season finale that will eventually culminate with Heaven Sent and Hell Bent. With Ashildr now in possession of the Doctor’s confession dial, the Doctor alone, and trapped in a strange land, series nine looks all set for a thrilling conclusion!

And here’s a clip where Jenna Coleman reflects on her time working on Doctor Who with Peter Capaldi.

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