I have loved the RTD2 era, but this looks like a very gun, very by-the-numbers generic medium-gritty sci-fi with a very tired Romeo-&-Juliet trope. There must be some sort of twist to this, right? But I’m nervous that this is more Pete McTighe, who wrote the only bad episode of last series and seems only capable of accidentally writing ethically repulsive episodes with the worst dialogue you’ve ever heard.

BILL: Sorry, what do you mean, it’s his real name? Nobody knows the Doctor’s real name.

MISSY: I do, because I grew up with him, and his real name is Doctor Who.

Romana, for sure

I’m more excited for this episode than I have been for any episode this series. Inua Ellams is awesome and a perfect fit for Doctor Who.

a beekeeper in “Delta and the bannermen”

Goronwy! Moffat endorsed the fan theory that he’s a future Doctor in retirement like the Curator. Honestly, this is why I happen to actually like the bigeneration - the idea that the Doctor would ever just retire and leave the universe to sort itself out while he collects art and beekeeps used to bother me, but if he himself is still out there running around, then it becomes delightful and sweet.

Yeah, frankly I think this says more about broadcast television than about Doctor Who. It was in fourth place for the day, with News at Ten, Casualty, and Blankety Blank above it - I think it’s rather clear what the demographics are for broadcast TV.

I like this chart for comparing the current series’ performance to past ones, because it relies on seeing it against the wider television landscape rather than just as abstract numbers. Doctor Who may be getting lower over-the-air ratings, but everything is - its been pretty impressively stable.