Doctor Who’s latest adventure is not for those who suffer from arachnophobia.
In last weekend’s episode, the Doctor and the new gang found themselves chasing giant creepy crawlies across Yorkshire. They source the root of the problem to the hotel where Yasmin’s mum worked, until she got fired for no good reason at the start of the episode.
With every episode that passes, the gang is becoming increasingly likable. Watching Graham (Bradley Walsh) grieve his late wife, Grace, is extremely touching, and when he decides that travelling in the TARDIS is the best way to grieve, we’re all rooting for him. It’s also interesting watching Yasmin and figuring out whether the romantic spark this season will be between her and Ryan (Tosin Cole) or her and the Doctor.
Chris North also made an appearance this episode and his character couldn’t be further from his rendition of Mr Big in Sex and the City. He plays an extremely rich, extremely mean business owner with no compassion for anyone but himself. Watching him get chased by a spider the size of an elephant was highly amusing, especially given the satirical relationship between him and Donald Trump.
Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor is shaping up to be a lot of fun, although her acting is becoming increasingly cartoonish. Her version of the Doctor is constantly hyper and has no clue what’s going on half the time. It’s entertaining at first, but we’re hoping that things will calm down a bit as the series progresses.
The plot of the episode was also quite weak. When it was discovered that the spiders were the result of a chemical wasteland 28 Days Later-type scenario, it looked like giant arachnids were going to take over the world. Instead, the mother of the arachnid invasion grew too big to breathe. The Doctor was naturally very sympathetic to the spider but the arrogant hotel owner walks in and shoots it dead. It was all over very quickly.
Overall, episode 4 is the weakest of the season so far. Nonetheless, with three new companions and a cluster of new writers, we’re excited to see what the sci-fi show will bring us next.
2.5/5
