Series 10: Smile Review
Clint Hassell gives his verdict on the second episode of Doctor Who Series 10.
Note: this review contains full spoilers for episode 2 of Series 10.
While the first episode of any new companion’s tenure must inevitably answer the basic “what” and “how” questions – – What is the TARDIS? How is it bigger on the inside? What is a Dalek? – – the second must answer the “why” – – Why does the Doctor help others? – – or, more to the point, address the “who” in Doctor Who. While this conceit does help portray the new companion as a believable character – – realistically, who would travel with this madman-in-a-box, without these questions quickly answered? – – it also creates a jumping-on point for new viewers who might be intimidated by 54 years of continuity.
Why is the TARDIS shaped like a police phone box? Though the Doctor hints that perhaps he doesn’t necessarily like the design, audience members familiar with the series know that, of course, he does, as it reveals his desire to assist those in need. It is Bill’s realizing this, and verbalizing it for the benefit of newer viewers, that serves as the real emotional crux behind “Smile.” Therein lies the conundrum: the statement is too familiar a reveal for “Smile” to feel as unconventional as Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s last script, Series 8’s “In the Forest of the Night.”
Ironically, this is the first time a Moffat-era companion has had the chance to examine the “how” and “why” of the Doctor, as Clara’s introduction was mired more in her “impossible girl” mystery, Rory figured things out for himself (or was told by Amy, off-screen), and Amy’s questions were answered, after the fact, in the first “Meanwhile in the TARDIS” DVD bonus scene. So, why then does “Smile” still feel like a recap? Could it be that the Davies-era companion introductions are so classic – – or, in fairness, so familiar to fans who have spent a decade rewatching them – – that any new companion’s questions will seem obvious? One of Doctor Who’s best assets is its ever-revolving cast, which continue to reinvigorate the series with new energy and storytelling possibilities. However, the beginning of Series 10 is a reminder that new character introductions require a certain amount of narrative recapitulation.
One reason that “Smile” lacks innovation is that much of its imagery seems copied from previous episodes. This isn’t entirely fair, as “Smile” is a completely original story, with visuals that are sensible, in context. For example, in “Smile,” the Doctor and Bill visit a futuristic space colony, built and maintained by robot workers. Understandably, the colony is sterile and white, as it is still awaiting its human occupants. In “The Girl Who Waited,” the Doctor, Amy, and Rory visit a futuristic space hospital, maintained by robot nurses. Understandably, the hospital is sterile and white, and it appears similarly devoid of human inhabitants, as they are all separated by differently flowing time streams. While the narrative of both stories is vastly different, their unique plots require unfortunately similar imagery. It doesn’t help that the plethora of pipes lining the interior of the human-built spaceship, Erehwon, is barely distinguishable from the innerworkings of the Two Streams facility, or that the swarming Vardi reduce their victims to skeletons in miliseconds, just like the Vashta Nerada, from “Silence in the Library”/“Forest of the Dead.”
This is not to say that the episode is completely devoid of originality. The image of the Vardi flock, teeming in the sky, over the Doctor, as he ponders what the building is made of, is inspired foreshadowing, and the comment that, “All traps are beautiful. That’s how they work,” is another of the Doctor’s simply stated truths. Where “Smile” best contributes to the series’ narrative is its examination of how terrifying it would be to be separated from the TARDIS. Usually, the Doctor being separated from his time machine is a mere plot device, with no real sense of permanent dread – – think Ten and Rose on Krop Tor, in “Impossible Planet”/“The Satan Pit”; in “Smile,” the image of the Doctor and Bill distanced from the TARDIS by acres of wheat is striking.
It is here that the “who” query is addressed, as Bill questions why the Doctor, having escaped the killer robots, would want to run back into the city, even to save the soon-to-arrive colonists. “Can’t you phone the police? Isn’t there a helpline or something?” she asks, while standing in front of the TARDIS’ exterior sign – – a visual that might have had more impact, had the implied message not been verbally explained a mere 27 seconds later.
If this frank analysis sounds like overt criticism, it’s not. There is nothing terrible about “Smile,” other than its placement within the Series 10 story arc, which requires some unfortunate worldbuilding. While “The Pilot” was careful to reintroduce the series through the eyes of Bill’s complex character, the simple plot of “Smile” leaves little for writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce to make truly great. In fact, the most honest criticism that can be levied against “Smile” is that Cottrell-Boyce is probably too talented to have been saddled with it. Though the episode incorporates fairy tale references in the same manner as his previous Who script (my review of which can be found here), with no “furious, fearful, tongue-tied” children to write, and no elements from previous episodes to build upon, “Smile” doesn’t play to Cottrell-Boyce’s obvious strengths.
