New companion for Doctor Who
- Publication: Regina Leader-Post
- Date: 2013-03-30
- Author: Alex Strachan
- Page: D6
- Language: English
Doctor Who is back with the devilishly fun episode The Bells of Saint John after a six-month absence, and it's a watershed moment — both for the Doctor, who has a new companion in tow, and for the series itself, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
That's a long time, even for a trippy show about Time Lords and eccentric time travellers. As fans will be able to tell from the opening minutes of Saint John, though, Doctor Who has lost none of the goofy charm from its early years.
If anything, in the capable hands of Sherlock and The Adventures of Tintin writer-producer Steven Moffat, the new, reinvented Doctor Who is as deliriously silly, neurotic and frightfully clever as ever.
First the good news. The Bells of Saint John, written by Moffat himself, is a rarity for a show about time travel and faraway adventures: The story is set almost entirely in present-day London. That allows the effervescent, fun-loving Doctor (Matt Smith, comfortably suited to the role by now) to riff on modern-day inconveniences, all the while dodging closed-circuit television cameras and trying to navigate London's frightful traffic without resorting to his time machine to get around.
Even better, it's a one-off, standalone story. It isn't necessary to have seen any other episodes to know what's going on — even though, true to Moffat's storytelling style, it isn't always easy to follow. This episode of Doctor Who is as close in look, style and tone to Moffat's other great reinvention, Sherlock, as any in the series to date. The action moves along at a crisp, almost breakneck speed, but the story is clearly designed to appeal to viewers who like to think.
The real reason longtime Who watchers will tune in — aside from the fact that this is the first new episode since September — is to see Jenna-Louise Coleman take over as the Doctor's latest companion. In more than 80 episodes over seven seasons so far, the new, reinvented Doctor Who has witnessed some stellar performances from actresses playing Doctor's companions, beginning with Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, continuing with Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones and, more recently, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Coleman had already appeared in two episodes as Clara Oswin Oswald, but in both instances she died and was resurrected later.
Resurrection makes perfect sense for a trippy sci-fi parable about time travel, but fortunately the show doesn't require too many other leaps of faith. The Bells of Saint John is a contemporary thriller set in modern-day London — Clara was originally born in 1866, behind the face of Big Ben, which explains her exceptional sense of time — but the outing is
as goofy and delirious as any of Who's more trippy, time-based tales. The fun is infectious. These days, that counts for a lot. (Saturday, Space)
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Strachan, Alex (2013-03-30). New companion for Doctor Who. Regina Leader-Post p. D6.
- MLA 7th ed.: Strachan, Alex. "New companion for Doctor Who." Regina Leader-Post [add city] 2013-03-30, D6. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Strachan, Alex. "New companion for Doctor Who." Regina Leader-Post, edition, sec., 2013-03-30
- Turabian: Strachan, Alex. "New companion for Doctor Who." Regina Leader-Post, 2013-03-30, section, D6 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=New companion for Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/New_companion_for_Doctor_Who | work=Regina Leader-Post | pages=D6 | date=2013-03-30 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=2 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=New companion for Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/New_companion_for_Doctor_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=2 April 2025}}</ref>
