The Bells of St John

There's something in the Wi-Fi...

The Bells of St John introduces a new threat. Something harvesting souls and human minds through the Wi-Fi, leaving them as good as dead. Harvesting them, I might add, in a way that was eerily similar to Season 2's The Idiot's Lantern. Actually, its not just the method of harvesting that is the same, it is the whole idea: new-ish technology which everyone uses (and maybe even addicted to) being used to collect human souls to feed a power-hungry alien (which also uses that technology to communicate - it has no corporeal form) and questions our reliance on technology.

Though the basis of the story may be the same, The Bells of St John offered something new. We get to meet the version of Clara who will be travelling with the Doctor for the rest of the series. Who is this mysterious Clara, how is she alive and why has the Doctor met her before?

Possibly related to this is The Great Intelligence, who was the villain in The Snowmen and the mastermind behind the Wi-Fi invasion. I guess we'll see what becomes of that because its story is far from over.

The Spoonheads were the physical threats in this episodes but they left much to be desired. They were a little underwhelming, and while they suited their role, they just weren't scary enough.

Then there was the clear reference to one Miss Amelia Pond (Williams):

It just so happened to be a book Clara has read. And don't those characters look awfully familiar. (As someone who loved the Ponds, I am so glad this was in there. I still miss them)

The Doctor-Clara dynamic works quite well, as does Matt's and Jenna-Louise's chemistry. Though I hope it just remains casual flirting. There have been enough love stories for the Doctor...I'd like to see a more Doctor and Donna friendship happen. One question though, did Clara keep her newly acquired computer knowledge? Because we know how that will turn out..

Overall, the episode was a good mix of action and comedy with Moffat leaving just enough 'quiet' time before launching into the aeroplane and motorbike scenes. Though it didn't live up to the hype, I still think it worked well by posing enough questions to keep us guessing and wanting to come back for more. I give it a 7/10.

Also, if you are in Australia and are not going to watch it online, you can see it on ABC at 7:30 tonight!


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