Pearl Mackie’s Bill has breathed new life into Peter Capaldi and the entire show. What a shame, then, that she may only get one series in the Tardis

It’s the fresh start that Peter Capaldi’s Doctor needed. After five episodes, the introduction of Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill appears to be delivering a consistently more enjoyable season of Doctor Who this year.



Yes, Capaldi’s tenure has had some truly great episodes – Listen and Heaven Sent spring to mind – but it has also delivered some of the clunkiest stories since the show was revived in 2005. There are plenty of fans who would happily forget that Robot of Sherwood or Kill the Moon ever existed.

There’s a crisp simplicity about the show this year. In his recap of The Pilot, Dan Martin described it as “an episode where the alien mystery was never really the point”. Part of the reason Bill and the Doctor have become such a great team, so quickly, is because the opening episode and Smile spent large chunks being two-handers. From the long dialogue in the Doctor’s university office, to the time spent wandering the deserted colony buildings on Gliese 581d, the first 90 minutes of Doctor Who in 2017 had a really tight focus, exploring their relationship at the welcome expense of more complex timey-wimey plotting.

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Thin Ice was much the same – what the monster under the Thames was called, where it came from, and where it went at the end were all superfluous to a plot about human greed and prejudice, and Bill facing up to the fact that the Doctor has a different morality to humans. Writer Sarah Dollard and showrunner Steven Moffat just left all that monster back-story out.

Of course, the presence of the mysterious vault, and what we know from trailers about future guest stars, suggests it won’t stay that way, and we are gradually building up to the story arc. But the first five episodes have been a run of great self-contained dramas, with a focus on the people rather than how clever the writing can be. Knock Knock managed to combine horror with an emotional sucker-punch ending, and you can’t really argue with an episode that basically features space-walking zombies.

There’s another emotion for fans here – the frustration that perhaps this is a glimpse of what the Capaldi seasons could have been, if only there had been a clean casting slate after Matt Smith’s departure. Jenna Coleman’s Clara certainly had her fans. There are people on social media still scouring every episode for hints that the Doctor’s mind-block will slip, and that he will remember her, or that she will somehow be involved in the next regeneration.



When Capaldi stepped into the role of the Time Lord, Clara’s story arc was, to all intents and purposes, done. She was the “impossible girl” who appeared all through the Doctor’s timeline, to nudge him in the right direction at crucial moments. That was a pretty neat conclusion to her story – the girl born to save the Doctor.

But the story didn’t end. Keeping Coleman on for two more years deprived Capaldi’s Doctor of the chance to welcome a companion into his world. Billie Piper’s Rose (the last companion whose regular appearances encompassed two Doctors) got to be surprised that Christopher Eccleston could morph into David Tennant. Capaldi didn’t even get that – as Clara had worked directly with three of his predecessors in the 50th anniversary Day of the Doctor special.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jenna Coleman’s Clara had already met three different Doctors when Peter Capaldi assumed the role. Photograph: Adrian Rogers/BBC

Suddenly, the arrival of Bill has unlocked a deeper warmth from Capaldi in the role. He has finally got to introduce a companion to the Tardis, to the sonic screwdriver, to the wonderful things that make up the Whoniverse. And little moments of that awakening – Bill noticing that the Tardis is now on top of the rug she gave the Doctor at Christmas, and that the Tardis acronym only works in English – have been delightful. With mostly stage experience and little on-camera work prior to taking the role, Mackie has brought an infectious on-screen enthusiasm to the show.

It has been heavily rumoured that Mackie will only appear in this one season. If so, it’s a real shame. She has brought out the best in the Twelfth Doctor. But maybe the lesson from the first handful of episodes this year is that when Chris Chibnall takes up the reins in 2018, a complete re-cast such as that enjoyed by Moffat for The Eleventh Hour is the best way to preserve the longevity of the revived show into its second decade.

