Why Danny Pink Got Under the Doctor's Skin
The Caretaker is memorable for how Danny calls out the Doctor for being the very thing he's running from.
Plot summary
Undercover at Coal Hill school, the Doctor must protect the planet from a rogue killing machine while correcting Clara’s “boyfriend error.”
Notable for:
The episode where Danny Pink finally meets the Doctor.
The Blitzer's design was based in part on Babyface from Toy Story.
Pete commentary:
The Caretaker is strangely forgettable. There’s a lot of fun Moffat dialogue and some revealing stuff about the Doctor, brought out by his relationship with/hostility toward Danny Pink. But it doesn’t stick.
Jenna Coleman gives a fantastic comedic performance here. I think her eyes grow to 4x their regular size when the Doctor walks in as the new caretaker, a look that she retains through a lot of the episode.
The rapid-fire adventuring in the cold open is really fun, though again, a bit unmemorable. I feel like the Doctor/companion being tied up and threatened with death/starvation/whatever is a trope at this point (see Flux et al.), so no the strongest beginning, but I appreciated the “ready to run” bit. Although who the hell does a run mime by running in place when they arrive at their significant other’s apartment?
Notably, Capaldi has one of his many talk-directly-to-camera moments. It’s to his Doctor what crying is to Gatwa’s.
On a technical level, the episode makes good use of close-ups to heighten the emotional tension in scenes.
Brilliant dialogue
Moffat loves writing for Capaldi. The whole first scene between him and Clara is bursting at the seams with banter, and there are so many fun lines throughout:
“You got kidnapped by Boggons from space and then you all formed a band and met Buddy Holly.” “No, I read the book.”
“We’re exactly the same age.”
“Is your name really Disruptive Influence.”
“Haven't you got shoplifting to go to?”
“You’ve made a boyfriend error.”
Doctor vs. Danny
Wow you thought Mickey had it bad. Twelve is a total dick to Danny. We’ve talked about the PE thing before, but it’s both a jerky thing to Danny and to PE teachers. I suppose the revelation that the Doctor likes maths means calling Danny a PE teacher is his way of coping and putting him at arm’s length.
The whole thing where the Doctor mistakes the teacher who resembles Matt Smith for Clara’s boyfriend is pretty clever.
Takes Danny a few minutes, but you’re totally on his side when he confronts the Doctor in the TARDIS.
“Space dad” LOL
“He’s an officer”—this really gets under the Doctor’s skin. Because it’s ultimately true—the Doctor is from the aristocracy, and he’s ashamed of it. Also at this point Gallifrey is still lost, so it’s a sensitive topic for him.
The Doctor’s behavior is kind of redeemed a bit by the ending, where it seems he was putting Danny through that to test if he’s good enough for Clara. I guess? Clara seems to accept this dad-like role in her life, which makes sense, considering what happened to her parents.
Clara and Danny: this should be a bit of a turning point for them, but it doesn’t feel like it. I wish they’d had a more upbeat ending, or more romantic. Them just in an apartment watching TV doesn’t really anchor you to anything.
Courtney
The episode shows why Courtney is a breakout character this season, and based on this performance she was inserted in previous episodes.
She and Capaldi have some nice banter, and she’s great at calling him out while asking questions.
Great line: “End of the world for me tonight, whatever you do. Parents' evening.”
Done dirty a bit by the final scene, but at least we get a little “spillage” callback.
What plot?
Ultimately the Skovox Blitzer is just a device to poke at the relationships, and while that’s fine, it’s also the main reason the adventure doesn’t stick with you. It’s not really connected to anything, plus the high-stakes/low-stakes confusion of what’s actually happening makes you wonder whether you should care. And because it’s a robot, there isn’t even a memorable guest appearance (a la Anthony Stewart Head in School Reunion)
The Skovox Blitzer isn’t the best thing they’ve ever created. It’s not super credible as a threat, despite vaporizing the cop.
This thing is destroying parts of the school during parent night! How does no one notice?
Really didn’t need to overdo the threat, that the Blitzer threatens the entire planet. It’s fine for it be just a very dangerous weapon/thing that might kill dozens or hundreds of people.
Generally the Doctor’s attitude here—to deal with the Blitzer completely on his own, without even bothering to warn anyone or get them to safety—does feel a bit strange. If you think about it, that would apply to all sorts of episodes, from Closing Time to Boom Town, but this episode draws attention to the “normal” reaction because Danny articulates it (“Evacuate!” “Call the army!”). It’s honestly hard to argue against him, especially with all the kids and parents in so much danger.
Invisibility watch? That sure would come in handy in, I don’t know, EVERY episode of Doctor Who? They should have destroyed it at the end. Or call attention to some fundamental problem with being invisible (just the watch disappears?).
Twice the Doctor uses the phrase, “the lie of the land” — foreshadowing?
Final tease of the arc plot
Something eerie about a nondescript office, no windows, bland colors: like Severance or the backrooms meme—Series 8 was ahead of its time
Seb is amazing, able to do a lot with just a few lines
Remember when we didn’t know who Missy was?
What did Pete’s family think?
Grace thought it was OK, though she called out how a laser gunfight in a school would no doubt be noticed. She liked Clara and Courtney.
Four Questions to Doomsday - Pete
Why did the Randomizer take us here? Not for the alien invasion! From the Android invasion, both show a level of trust and competence with the companion. Clara is kind of the new Sarah, only this time still attached to Earth.
What if the evil plot had succeeded? No evil plot here other than the Doctor’s perhaps, at breaking up Clara and Danny. If that happens, then Clara perhaps has a healthier relationship with the Doctor and ends it earlier, since she won’t be dealing with the trauma of losing Danny, because he (dead or not) simply won’t be part of his life.
Where's the Clara splinter? Sliding right into parent night after the “real” Clara leaves. You’re not fired after all!
Dalek, Ogron, Professor Hayter, Viscount Banger, Fixed Point in Time, Lady Cassandra, or Zarbi? Lady Cassandra, I’d say. There’s not much of a plot, but the dialogue and character work “looks” amazing.