Doctor Who: The Bells of St. John Review

Okay, finally, Doctor Who is back for more than one month this time, so let's talk about it!

Full spoilers for the episode follow

Okay, so, after the events of The Snowmen, the Doctor is hiding out in a monastery in 1207, when the phone on the TARDIS rings. And it's been established that it shouldn't do that. And who's on the other end? The latest incarnation (or something like that) of Clara Oswald, this time in todayland. And she's in danger from this weeks bad guy, but more on that later.

No, more on that now: there's something in the WiFi, something nefarious that consuming human souls and trapping them. And it wants Clara. So, after a bit of coaxing and the invention of the quadracycle, Clara and the Doctor are on the run.

The entire time you really can tell that the Doctor wants to tell Clara everything that's happened to her, but he can't, and it hurts him, and I liked seeing that. Heck, I just liked seeing Clara again, this time without her dying at the end of the episode. As usual, she and Matt Smith had great chemistry, banter, the whole nine yards. The best way that I can describe it is like this: they're like David Tennant and Billie Piper were in terms of how well they worked together and how much fun they were to watch. Don't get me wrong, I thought Eleven and Amy were great together, but Clara is basically the 11th Doctor's Rose. And it's awesome.

As per usual, there were some fantastic moments, between the plane scenes and of course the Doctor riding a motorbike up a skyscraper. Also, and this is unrelated, and I know I said this when I reviewed the Christmas Special, but I love the new intro and TARDIS interior. They just look great. Also, when Clara told the kid, who was reading chapter 10 of a book, that 11 was the best and that he'd cry, I laughed. I mean I actually paused it so I could laugh without missing the episode.

There are going to be a lot of people who complain that the actual monster of the episode felt undercooked. These will be the same people who made that same complaint about the Christmas Special. And I'm gonna say the same thing I did in that review: it doesn't matter, because that wasn't the point of episode. The point of the episode was to further establish and develop Clara's character. How you feel about that is up to you. That's the beauty of the internet: as Felicia Day once said: You're judgement is not my problem. (James, did you just slap your own readers, all ten of them, in the face?! That is cold!) And in the respect that I just described, the episode was a success, and, in my opinion, great.

Lastly, while I will agree that the Shard could've been better with more development, I quite liked the reveal at the end that the Great Intelligence was behind it (again). Granted, I saw it coming, but still liked it. Looks like we've got a new Big Bad on our hands!

Final Rating: 86%

Also, and while this doesn't pertain to the episode, it absolutely pertains to the show, I thought I should mention one thing, for those of you who haven't heard: David Tennant and Billie Piper have officially confirmed that they'll be returning for the 50th anniversary. This makes me very happy. Am I curious as to how they'll do it? Yes, even though we all kind of expected it to be some kind of multi-doctor story. Granted, I do wonder how they'll justify only Tennant and Piper returning (I'm not gonna hold my breath on Eccleston or McGann, and all the others are either too old or no longer with us), but whatever happens, I'm just excited to see the those two return to the Whoniverse.

Oh, and Happy Easter everybody!