Doctor Who review: Under the Lake

In many ways this is a very traditional Doctor Who episode.  The "base under siege" format has been used since 1966 story The Tenth Planet and then returned in the 21st century with The Impossible Planet / The  Satan Pit,  The Waters of Mars and The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People.  Therefore being chased down darkly lit corridors is not a new experience for long-term Doctor Who fans, and writer Toby Whithouse and director Daniel O'Hara had a challenge to make this story feel fresh.

Although the set design of the base is undistinctive, the make-up and special effects used to create the "ghosts" is especially striking.  Paul Kaye's top hat wearing Tivolian ghost is a very creepy image.  His sudden appearance and the resultant death of the base commander Moran (Colin McFarlane) in the pre-titles sequences gets the episode off to a dynamic start.  

The fast pace of the episode is maintained through the economical arrival of the Doctor and Clara.  The absence of Coal Hill School scenes and the limited small talk is refreshing and makes the Doctor-companion dynamic distinctive from last year's episodes.  Clara's thrill-seeking attitude also gives the episode an edge and this character development is likely to be explored further as the series continues.

Whithouse creates an interesting group of guest characters which are well performed by the actors.  The introduction of the deaf  Cass (Sophie Stone) and her sign language interpretor Lunn (Zaqi Ismail) provides positive disability representation and this is reinforced when the Doctor later expresses his respect for Cass's intellect.  Her disability also becomes an asset later in the episode when she uses her lip reading skills to decipher what the ghosts are saying.  The "corporation man" Pritchard  (Steven Robertson), however is a more stereotypical character, not dissimilar from the likes of Burke in Aliens.

This first episode of a two-parter drops several enigmas to intrigue the viewer such as the nature and motivations of the ghosts, the recovered spaceship and its mysterious writing, the missing power cell and the deadlock sealed stasis pod.  The Doctor performs his traditional detective role and although he shows some insensitivity when showing his excitement to the crew, the meaner aspects of his character from last year's series appear to have been toned down.  The Doctor also shows his caring side when expressing concern about Clara's recklessness.    

The middle part of the episode loses some momentum as running-down-corridors sequences and dialogue about the base's security systems dominate.    However, after the Doctor realises the ghosts are transmitting a signal into space and the base begins to flood, the episode reaches an intriguing conclusion.  The Doctor travels backs in time before his "ghost" appears before Clara suggesting the Doctor will have to cheat death once again.   This ending signals a dramatic change of direction for the concluding part of the story.