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Doctor Who Series 10: Steven Moffat’s Redemption

The new series of Doctor Who has very much taken off and I can firmly say that I am thoroughly enjoying it compared to the past few series'. It’s no secret that I have been less than pleased with the show since the end of the Russell T Davies era, but this current series has managed to pull me back in as a faithful viewer once again.
I don’t mean to rain on Mr Steven Moffat’s work - I understand and respect that there are people who enjoy his writing arch as Show Runner; I’m merely giving my opinion on it. The strange thing is that SM has written some of my all-time favourite episodes from Series 1-4. Episodes such as Blink, Silence in the Library, and The Empty Child are staples in the New-Who era for many fans as they flesh out the bone-chilling aspect of the show, and SM was pure genius when it came to these episodes.
I found that while his first two seasons as Show Runner were decent, the subsequent seasons just got worse and worse. This was to the point where I actually took a break from the show as I constantly found myself saying how bad it was. This was mostly due to how underwhelming each episode was and the lack having thoroughly flushed-out characters and relationships. The show was reduced to just being elaborate special effects and the odd cryptic phrases.
With that said, you may now understand just how pleased I am with Series 10 and all its redeeming qualities. Let’s take a look at these!
The Twelfth Doctor
I am so glad to see how much the 12th Doctor has grown since Clara. He’s no longer just about being emotionally awkward and angry (especially with the whole eyebrow malarkey), but he has started to show so much more compassion, affability, and light-heartedness to his personality. I started to really root for this doctor in the ‘Husbands of River Song’ episode where we got to see such an adorable side to him - I honestly think that was the first time I saw him genuinely laugh. I can’t stress enough just how refreshing it is to once again enjoy the Doctor and remember why he is so loved by many of us.
Bill Potts
Can I just say that I love everything about Bill?! She's funny, smart, down to earth, and isn’t afraid to stand up to the Doctor. I even love that she is hopeless in romance department! The fact that she is so relatable to many of us is definitely her winning quality. I have seen people criticising her for being a ‘patch-work’ companion for having traits of all the previous companions, but I don’t personally think this is the case; and if it is, it's certainly not a bad thing. I would say that while she is no exact replica of any previous companion, the fact that she, like Martha is a person of colour, like Rose is a working class average female, and like Ace/ Captain Jack is LGBT, adds to her charm and makes her unique.

This brings me on to the fact that we finally get our first full-time LGBT companion, and SM has actually done her justice unlike some of his previous LGBT characters. I applaud SM for writing this aspect of Bill’s life in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily dwell on the fact the she is a lesbian. It’s done in a way that is no different if she was a straight character. This is great as it will teach and possibly introduce younger viewers to this as being perfectly normal and acceptable. Quite right to!
Bill & The Doctor - My New OTP
The relationship between Bill and the Doctor is one of my favourites – it’s fun, fresh, and quirky. The concept of having a professor/student relationship is nice to see. I absolutely adored when the Doctor went back in time to take photos of Bill’s mum when she admitted that she didn’t have many. It was so lovely. Well done, Moffat!
The Episodes
With regards to the episodes so far, some have been good and some have been not so good. While it’s not as fast-paced and adventure-packed as the RTD era, I can definitely see an improvement from SM’s previous seasons. My favourites in this series so far include The Pilot, Knock Knock, Oxygen, and The Pyramid at the End of the World.
I should probably end this here as I’ve written far too much! I hope you enjoyed this and feel free to let know what you think about it.
All the best,
Mae
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