Having secluded himself to a life of monkhood in 1207, the Doctor has apparently been spending a lot of time pondering the enigmatic existence of Clara ‘Oswin’ Oswald; the woman twice dead. However, his solitude is once again disturbed as the monks inform him the bells of Saint John are chiming - or, more accurately, the TARDIS phone is ringing. Quite perplexingly, the call is from Clara Oswald (21st Century version, not she who was a Dalek, or of the Victorian era) asking for help getting online, having been given the phone number by The Woman In The Shop who is presumably going to be revisited in a future narrative.
Arriving on Earth, having tracked down Clara Oswald III, the Doctor discovers that all is not right in the world. There's something deadly in the WiFi, and people's conciousnesseseses are being uploaded; a plot conducted by a spectacularly villainous Celia Imrie. As the Doctor and Clara attempt to find the cause, their investigation leads them to a prominent point in central London...
The Bells of Saint John promised to be an action-thriller inspired by the likes of James Bond and the Bourne trilogy, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! It was witty, engaging and fundamentally enjoyable with moments of humour set against the backdrop of an intriguing and unnerving plot; exactly the recipe for a sublime Doctor Who narrative. There were moments that felt quite Sherlockian with the on-screen text, some elements were reminiscent of The Idiot’s Lantern and Silence in the Library, and there was a definite Blink vibe about the recorded warning message before the credits; none of which felt like it was a rehash of old material, but rather something recognisable that was fresh and unique to this story.
It was also the perfect introduction for Clara Oswald, the Doctor’s new time-travelling companion; although we’ve already met her in Asylum of the Daleks and The Snowmen (albeit in completely disparate scenarios), this episode re-introduced her in a way that felt both familiar and new - kind of like bumping into someone you used to go to school with, but they haven’t the foggiest clue who you are.
Now properly established in her role as Clara, Jenna-Louise Coleman is the quintessential companion, and her chemistry with Matt Smith is wonderfully dynamic. As ever, Matt Smith is thoroughly excellent as the Doctor and is a constant joy to watch, and considering Coleman has only featured in two previous episodes, it’s remarkable that she already feels just as much a part of the show as Smith or the TARDIS. I’m looking forward to watching her character develop more over the coming episodes (and, of course, the 50th anniversary special), and intrigued to discover the truth behind her character is seemingly scattered around time and space (sidenote: in Clara’s ‘101 Place to See’ book, her 16th and 23rd years are missing... Did she just not write down those two ages, or is there something to it?)
All in all, The Bells of Saint John is a phenomenal way to kick-off Doctor Who’s 50th year and a fantastic return to series seven. It’s one of the most entertaining and well-rounded episodes in a while, an absolute highlight for series seven so far, and certainly ranks highly, close to The Doctor’s Wife, in my list of all-time favourite Doctor Who stories.
Next week, Clara asks the Doctor to take her somewhere awesome, and he doesn’t disappoint in The Rings of Akhaten...
If you missed last night’s episode, you better have a bloody good reason.
Catch it on iPlayer here.
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