‘THE BELLS OF SAINT JOHN’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Clara and the Wi-Fi with the Eleventh Doctor

N.B.: Watch ‘The Bells of Saint John’ prequel before this episode.

If there’s an episode that I would call one of my favourites from the Matt Smith/Eleventh Doctor era, it’s probably this one. This is where we get to meet Clara Oswald properly and she stands out well for me in this story!

Clara happens to be a nanny to the children of the Maitland family. This is the ‘real’ Clara that the Doctor meets in this episode. She hasn’t met him yet and doesn’t know him at all when he visits her.

I love Clara’s first meeting with the Doctor, since she’s so bewildered by his manner. But she finds him very amazing and easy to like. I found it funny when Clara thinks that the TARDIS is a ‘snog box’.

When Clara gets inside the TARDIS, the Doctor has little time to explain as he attempts to make a ‘short-hop’. She gets bewildered and I love it when Clara says “Bigger on the inside; actually bigger!”

Clara’s still got her cup of tea in her hand, especially when she and the Doctor are on a plane. I did like it when the Doctor and Clara are out in London on a motorcycle and they head off for breakfast.

The story itself is about an alien Wi-Fi system that takes over people’s minds. It uploads them to the internet without realising it and it’s against their will. They become lost and confused in the process.

The Doctor becomes determined to save Clara from being uploaded by the Wi-Fi and to not lose her again. The Doctor and Clara soon have an adventure together to stop the Wi-Fi and rescue everyone.

The people are trapped inside the data cloud at the Shard building where the alien Wi-Fi headquarters is being kept, run by Celia Imrie as Miss Kizlet. This is where we have Richard E. Grant return as the Great Intelligence.

I love how Matt Smith’s Doctor gets to look after Clara. He rescues Clara from the Wi-Fi using her laptop, before putting her to bed and providing a jug of water with a glass and some jammy dodgers!

Matt Smith as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara spark off each other really well in this episode. For me, this is a good Doctor-companion set-up and a very refreshing one for me from this episode!

I found it a little too fantastic when Matt’s Doctor drove up the Shard building on his motorcycle and he shatters the glass with his sonic screwdriver. However, the anti-grafts are established in the episode.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor invites Clara to join him on his adventures in the TARDIS. This is due to his curiosity on wanting to know who Clara is and he considers her to be ‘the impossible girl’.

Clara seems unsure about whether to join the Doctor and asks him to come back tomorrow when she leaves. Clara seems hesitant and unwilling at first, but I’m convinced she’s the new companion.

‘The Bells of Saint John’ by Steven Moffat is a great introductory episode for the ‘real’ Clara Oswald. I was looking forward to finding out more about who Clara is and the Doctor is very determined to meet her again.

The DVD/Blu-ray special features for this episode are as follows. There’s ‘The Bells of Saint John’ prequel where Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor meets Clara as a little girl, but he doesn’t know it’s her at all. There’s also the ‘Behind-the-Scenes: The Bells of Saint John’ featurette, which contains behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew.

‘The Bells of Saint John’ rating – 9/10

---

The previous story For the Eleventh Doctor was ‘One Born Every Minute’ (TV) For Clara was ‘The Rings of Akhaten’ (TV) ‘The Snowmen’ (TV)	The next story For the Eleventh Doctor is ‘The Rings of Akhaten’ (TV) For Clara is ‘The Rings of Akhaten’ (TV) ‘The Rings of Akhaten’ (TV)
Return to The Eleventh Doctor’s Timeline
Return to Clara’s Timeline
Return to The Doctors’ Timelines Index
Return to The Companions’ Timelines Index
Return to Doctor Who Timelines
Return to Doctor Who
Return to Sci-Fi