The Pilot (TV story)

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The Pilot was the first episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It introduced the Twelfth Doctor's new companion, Bill Potts.

According to Steven Moffat in a video introduction, "series 10 sort of begins the show again. [The Pilot] introduces everything you need to know about Doctor Who, and tips you into the universe". Indeed, through Bill's eyes now, viewers are introduced again to the character of the Doctor, his TARDIS, his enemies the Daleks, and his versatile tool, the sonic screwdriver, acting in a similar way to series 1's first episode Rose.

Synopsis

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Plot

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Cast

Uncredited cast

Crew

References

Science

Technology

TARDIS

Culture

Locations

St Luke's University

Story notes

File:Introducing the New Companion... - Doctor Who - BBC

  • A working title for this episode was A Star In Her Eye.[2][3]
  • Before filming started, a two-minute scene featuring the Doctor and Bill known as Friend From the Future was broadcast in April 2016, set during the encounter in the Dalek warzone. Parts of this scene were adapted into the episode. (DWM 511)
  • The setting of this story bears some resemblance to the unfinished TV story Shada. Both stories feature Time Lords (in Shada, Chronotis; in The Pilot, the Doctor) who settle in colleges as eccentric professors for an extended period of time. Both feature opening shots of a student (in Shada, Chris Parsons; in The Pilot, Bill Potts) entering their studies and noticing the TARDIS, parked in the corner.
  • The plot element of having the Doctor travel to various obscure locations in the universe as he continuously encounters the same entity has been used in the Doctor Who universe various times before.
  • A creature which mimicked living people to steal their form previously appeared in TV: Midnight.
  • Another spaceship part seeking a compatible pilot — specifically, one who wants to leave, to travel — previously appeared in TV: The Lodger.
  • The Doctor battled off against sentient water before in TV: The Waters of Mars. A similar effect is used here in The Pilot to indicate that the water is controlling them: the liquid is dripping from their hands, their mouths, their clothes.
  • During the scene when the Doctor is about to wipe Bill's memory and she tells him to imagine if someone did it to him, "Clara's Theme" plays. This is a reference to the events of TV: Hell Bent.[4]
  • "The Sad Man with A Box" plays in the scene in which Bill is introduced to the TARDIS. A happier, more fairy-tale rendition of this same tune, "The Mad Man with a Box", played during the scene in The Eleventh Hour when Amy walked into the TARDIS and saw the interior for the first time.
  • The romance between Bill Potts and her friend, Heather, may be homage to William "Bill" Hartnell, the first actor to portray The Doctor and his wife, Heather Hartnell.
  • The ringtone for Bill's mobile phone is the same as the one for Martha Jones' phone, which was later kept onboard the Tardis by The Tenth Doctor.

Ratings

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Filming locations

  • The Main Building, The Sir Martin Evans Building, and Tower Building Cardiff University largely fills in for St Luke's University, while the Reardon Smith Theatre (within the National Museum of Wales) is where the Doctor gives his lectures.
  • The Cardiff Metropolitan University (Llandaff Campus)'s Atrium Cafe is where Bill serves chips.
  • The bar scene was shot at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff.
  • Bill runs into the bathroom in "Australia", in World of Boats in Cardiff.
  • CEMEX's Taffs Well quarry, just outside of Cardiff, is the exotic planet the TARDIS team travel to.

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

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Continuity

Home video releases

DVD releases

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Blu-ray releases

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Digital releases

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External links

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Footnotes