Who Review: The Caretaker
As the Doctor prepares for his next adventure, he informs Clara that she can’t come with him as he needs to go “deep undercover.” Clara takes this opportunity to get some time in with Danny, especially since Danny’s becoming suspicious about her activities away from school. But Clara’s two worlds are about to collide: the Doctor is posing as a caretaker at Coal Hill School, the school where Clara and Danny are both teachers. How long can Clara keep her time-traveling life from Danny, especially when an alien robot is loose in the school threatening the destruction of everyone on Earth…?
SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen the episode. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!
The last time the Doctor went “undercover” he was a sales assistant in a department store (see Season 6’s “Closing Time”). This time around, he’s a caretaker (or “janitor” in the American parlance) and to look the part he has donned the traditional brown coat and he’s carrying a broom. This episode does make much of the comedic situation, especially given the Twelfth Doctor’s inability to act human without looking like an alien trying to act human, and his complete disregard of social skills. It’s hard to pitch comedy correctly for Doctor Who; a certain amount of levity is not inappropriate (and sometimes downright irresistible), but there’s always the danger it can be pushed too far. I think they got it right in this episode. There was enough danger, tension, and drama throughout that the laughs provided some needed relief. I especially liked the Doctor’s reaction when he thought Clara’s boyfriend was the teacher who looked a lot like the Eleventh Doctor.
The opening montage of Clara meeting up with Danny after various escapades in the TARDIS really underscores for me what I don’t like about this setup. I understand what’s happening story-wise, and it’s part of Clara’s arc that she’s living this dual existence that’s going to come to a head in this episode. My issue is that it makes her seem more like the Doctor’s playmate than his companion. They go off on an adventure but he always drops her home in time for tea, or for school, or a date with Danny. You lose the sense of continuity, of a deep friendship forged over years spent traveling together (as with Jamie McCrimmon, Sarah Jane Smith, or Rose Tyler).
As for the Skovox Blitzer, the alien robot bent on destruction, I have to say it felt like a plot device. It was there to provide a threat to the school that would force the Doctor to meet Danny, and give Danny an opportunity to prove himself to the Doctor. The story wasn’t about the Skovox Blitzer. It was about Clara, Danny, and the Doctor. And I suppose that’s okay, but it meant that the majority of the story was about Clara’s near-soap-opera life bouncing between the Doctor and her boyfriend. Again, I suppose that’s okay, but not the stuff of classic Doctor Who.
Finally, the plot thickens with the introduction of “Seb” in the “Afterlife” or “Paradise” or whatever we’re to call it. Despite the names, I’m convinced this isn’t some kind of life-after-death in the traditional sense. Yes, there’s the long white corridor and the light at the end of the tunnel. But I’m sure something else is going on here where these people are being led to believe this is heaven when it’s something very sinister. A cyberman trap still sounds like a good possibility.
Overall, it was an enjoyable episode, but I hope we’ve resolved Clara’s domestic issues and can get back to the Doctor, the TARDIS, and his companion traveling through space and time–the original premise of the show.
What do you think? Did you love the episode or hate it or somewhere in between? Do you like the Clara/Danny/Doctor soap opera, or do you want less of the domestics? And have you revised your theories on “Paradise” after this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments!
How does the situation with Clara hopping on and off the TARDIS differ to Amy and Rory, or River Song? I think it actually says more about their relationship that, rather than being stuck with each other aboard a malfunctioning time machine, The Doctor keeps going back for her when he needs her. Out of a Universe of people right across time, he goes back for Clara.
Amy and Rory spent more time on the TARDIS than off–indeed, they conceived a child during their travels on the TARDIS. There wasn’t as much “picking up the companion(s)” with Amy and Rory, though there was some. That’s where it started, and Moff seems to have developed it more with Clara who is now more of a part-time TARDIS companion.
For me, it makes less sense of their relationship. Why not go back for Sarah Jane? Or Jamie? Again, this treats the companion like a play-mate, and Twelve doesn’t come across as a “play-mate” kind of Doctor.
But as I’ve said, it irritates me, but it’s not a big deal. I can live with it. 🙂
I enjoyed the Doctor as the caretaker in this episode. The ending had me very curious. There were a few tweets about the Netherspere (was that what the one dude said one of the names was? Nethersomething) and I guess that has significance to Classic Who. Not entirely sure. I have to say, I am getting worn out with Clara and the normal part of her life. Let’s just do some traveling and focus on that for a few episodes. Danny Pink isn’t going anywhere.
I don’t recall anything about the “Nethersphere” in the Classic series, but my memory isn’t perfect, so maybe there was…? The “caretaker” Doctor was fun, but yes, I think we should be done with Clara’s home life. One of the things RTD wanted to do with the new series was show how the Doctor’s interference in the lives of his companions affects their “real world” (think back to “Aliens in London” and Rose being gone for 12 months). I think that’s good and valid, and up to this season it’s worked. But I think Moff’s overdoing it.