Doctor Who 'Thin Ice' Review

Well, to go from what was a very anti-Doctor Who episode to a very pro-Doctor Who episode is a nice feeling. In all honesty it might make me more positive towards this episode just because it feels like it was written by someone who understands the series and the character. The Doctor and Bill travelling back to 1814 on a frozen river Thames where a giant sea creature lives underneath and a racist rich dude is feeding people to it for profit. So what does The Doctor do? Punch the racist in the face, give a speech on the importance of life and then put his trust into his companion to do the right thing, which of course, she does. If this isn't as classic a Doctor Who formula as you can get. Now in one sense this does make the episode predictable, some might even say boring, after all The Doctor fighting to save a giant alien animal is nothing new, in fact very little about the episode is new. But just because something is formulaic doesn't instantly make it bad. Formulas are there for a reason, a series of events that are proven to work well on multiple occasions. This is the Doctor's formula and it's great to see a simple adventure. No trying to reinvent the wheel, no overly complicated plots, just a fun adventure.

Furthermore is the fact that last week was such a disappointment that it's nice to hear The Doctor sound like The Doctor again. Bill confronting him on how he deals with death and he ignores the problem, that is a very Doctor thing to do, and it feels like Bill's purpose this season is to help The Doctor move on from that. Then The Doctor standing up for Bill by punching a racist in the face-granted that might be a bit more of an extreme reaction than I can imagine other Doctors having, but the sentiment is on point. Finally, that speech, man. "Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege". That is as Doctor Who as you can pretty much get.

While you could argue there wasn't much special about this episode, for me it was a satisfying adventure with well written characters and a fun time to be had. 7/10.

-Danny