Thin Ice
- Episode aired Apr 29, 2017
- TV-PG
- 44m
The Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappe... Read allThe Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappear.The Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappear.
- Georgian Worker
- (uncredited)
- Georgian Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Middle Class Woman
- (uncredited)
- Street Wrestler
- (uncredited)
- Henchman
- (uncredited)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe directions The Doctor gives Bill for the wardrobe are the same directions The Ninth Doctor gave Rose in "The Unquiet Dead" (2005).
- GoofsBill says that she has never seen anyone die before, but in The Pilot (2017) she is present at a Dalek battle where people are killed.
- Quotes
The Doctor: Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life... an unimportant life... a life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy's value is your value. That's what defines an age. That's... what defines a species.
Lord Sutcliffe: [moved] What a beautiful speech. The... rhythm and- and vocabulary are quite outstanding. It's enough to move anyone with an ounce of compassion.
Lord Sutcliffe: [sternly] So it's really not your day, is it?
There are many excellent features to this episode and overall it is very good and enjoyable. Following on from a superb first episode and an ok second episode, series 10 continues to satisfy overall in terms of varied story lines, good scripts, strong character development, quality acting and entertainment.
Capaldi as the Doctor is brilliant and executes everything perfectly in this episode including a powerful speech to the villain which is superb. Indeed there is a lot of powerful stuff in the script with Bill questioning the Doctor's morals, purpose, and way of life (as other companions have periodically since the very start in 1963 when Ian and Barbara challenge the Doctor's morals). The way it is dealt with here is very good indeed and reinforces the character of the Doctor as a man who has to make difficult choices and take difficult actions for the greater good. Steven Moffatt often overplays the darker side of the Doctor and hypes it up a bit in my opinion but writer Sarah Dollard here gets it just right. It questions him but shows that he definitely is making the tough choices for the right reasons.
Issues of racism and how black people were treated in the past are raised and again are dealt with very well. Bill is establishing herself as a fine companion. Well acted and very likable, doing all the things a companion should. She is strong and full of personality but is not overly dominant or over confident in an annoying way.
There are a couple of small negatives, I think:
There is a slight lapse in internal logic/continuity when the Doctor and Bill go under the ice into the Thames in old fashioned diving suits. In real life these suits were exceptionally heavy and required an oxygen line for someone to remain underwater. It seems a little bit odd that in this they are able to move in the suits with relative ease and the means of providing air for them to breathe is not clearly used properly. But the thing that drew my attention more was when they emerge from the water and the suits are dry. This is not a major issue in the story at all but it is a silly and unnecessary flawed moment which took me out of it for a minute.
Also, I feel the effects of the giant fish and of the attacks through the ice are not as good as they could have been.
The fish story is not exactly the most amazing or convincing idea. However, it is interesting to have an unknown earth creature rather than an alien so it has some value in adding variety.
This was a mostly really well written and performed episode.
The regency time period is interesting and the setting is very nice to look at in terms of costume and the iced over River Thames with an atmospheric situation that adds to the feel of the episode.
The villain is suitably horrible and the story is very solid with great moral aspects to the script adding intelligence to the relatively simple plot. That is the what we need from solid Doctor Who and Series 10 is nearly all solid Doctor Who.
My Rating: 8/10.
Series 10 Episode Ranking: 9th out of 14.
- A_Kind_Of_CineMagic
- May 1, 2017
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- Runtime44 minutes
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