A knock at the door kills the Doctor's mood like a child who's mother has come to take him home. I use that analogy because the Doctor mutters under his breath that the person knocking is 'Mum', though in reality it is Nardole playing the maternal role. He is concerned that the TARDIS is downstairs (having presumably found it outside the University where we last saw it) and reminds the Doctor of his oath to not go off world. The Doctor reassures him that he'll be back in the office presently, the reassures Bill that between where they are and his office is a whole world of adventure waiting to be explored. Given the choice, Bill chooses to visit the future to see if it's happy...
Before the titles roll, we get to see where they are heading. A field of crops (looks like wheat or barley) where a female farmer and her robot assistant are about to head back inside when she is advised to stay out just a little longer and remember to smile. Once inside, she is told by her grinning sister that their mum is dead along with a number of other names including, ironically, Sunshine and Hope. When the farmer naturally fails to keep smiling, a swarm of tiny robots close in and almost instantly reduce her to bone before her sister runs off in fear. It should be noted that the assistant robots are basically child sized with round faces that display emoji-like expressions and outside of the episode itself are being referred to as emojibots.
When the Doctor and Bill arrive after the titles, he explains that this is one of the first Earth colonies and they think they have cracked human happiness. They meet an emojibot who gives them badges to wear that reflect their own mood so they emojibots can keep them happy. The actual narrative of the story is pretty simple and almost flimsy so I'm reluctant to write too much, but it is handled beautifully and creatively. It is a sci-fi story in a traditional form as flagged up in the BBC's investigative report ahead of Doctor Who's creation in the early 1960s. The report suggested that sci-fi was more concerned with ideas and theologies than any real drama that could sustain a TV series and Smile is very much about the idea. The story is pretty much told in real time as Bill and the Doctor explore the surprisingly empty settlement and he explains what is or might be happening there - an advance flight of pioneers preparing the planet for the main colony to arrive later. But all is not what it seems.
The beautiful sets has angular walls with ridges and lights running along them, but the sheer scale of the exterior reveals that it is in fact a location. It's such an incredibly unusual design however and being surrounded by the fields of crops makes it naturally seem unreal. Thanks to the review on DoctorWhoNews.net I learnt that it is in fact the City of Arts and Sciences in Spain and a look on Google Maps reveals that it is in fact surrounded by the city of Valencia. If you can't go there in person, I suggest you at least take a look at it with Google Streetview, then wonder at the way it has been composited into the episode! Interestingly, as I write this on the Saturday afternoon a week after the episode aired, Google's information panel points out that the centre is currently "Much busier than usual" (it only shows the current hour as live data and not the preceding hours, but the quietest hour of the day (excluding when it has just opened and when it is about to close) is currently busier than the normal peak!) I don't think it's too big a leap to suggest that Doctor Who had a least some part to play in that, though I sho8uld also note that today is also the awards ceremony for chemistry based multi-media even Reacciona! so that may be the main draw...
As a fan of Doctor Who, it's always nice to hear about the details within the show; all the things we've learnt about the Doctor as we've watch over the years, things that are like second nature to us but which fresh viewers would ask about because it would be silly to keep repeating them. A new companion is always a good excuse to indulge and following on from the bigger-on-the-inside moments last week, Bill continues to ask the right questions in Smile, questioning the Police Box disguise and asking why the Doctor is Scottish and is there a Scotland in space? The Doctor declares that he's not Scottish, he's just cross (I'll let you watch the episode to discover why on this occasion!) and that there are Scots all over the place demanding independence from every planet they land on! She learns of his two hearts and asks if it gives him a high blood pressure (it's very high, apparently) When they are being chased by a slow emojibot the Doctor advises that if an assailant is chasing you slowly, it's because there is a reason they don't need to run... in this instance, the emojibots may be slow but they are everywhere and it doesn't take long for them to be surrounded, if only getting past them were as easy as remembering to smile...
Almost half way through the episode at the 17 minute mark, the Doctor and Bill find themselves back at the TARDIS for safety, but while Bill thinks they are about the leave, the Doctor turns and runs back! It's a classic piece of old-school Doctor Who where returning to the TARDIS seemed to serve a purpose but was ultimately just a moment to breath. However, the Doctor is making sure Bill is safe before he goes back to destroy the city so nobody else falls into the trap because it is, in his words, a big smiley abattoir. Bill questions his actions and wonders why it has to be him who does it and can't he just call the police or something... Slowly the Police Box appearance takes on a hitherto unmentioned but obvious meaning. Bill notices the sign on the door, the part that says "Advice & assistance obtainable immediately"
I'm not going to talk about details from the episode any more because there is actually a lot to it despite the narrative simplicity and it really is the beauty of the whole episode. The emojibots are cute with just the right amount of creepy, the set/location is gorgeous and the pulsing lights are a lovely touch (which I assume were added in by the FX team in a way reminiscent of Tron), Pearl Mackie continues to breathe fresh air into the show and Peter Capaldi has lifted the Doctor to a playful level even if he did have a line describing himself as the "scary handsome genius from space". The ultimate solution was a little bland but kind of logical and the Doctor's explanation made it sound much grander!
The final not of this review goes to the episode's ending (which would be chronologically logical!) Having told Bill that they could go off on their adventure without worrying about Nardole because they could return to him just moments after they left, on opening the TARDIS door Bill observes "It wasn't snowing when we left!" The Doctor's excitement is piqued again and he runs to see for himself. "Maybe I do need a steering wheel," he says before pointing out that they are in London and the ice they are standing on is the Thames before we see the historic looking surroundings including an elephant loose on the river... Episode ends. It's a classic cliffhanger intro to the next adventure! Something that hasn't been seen for many years! I think the only time to 21st century series has done this was teasing Voyage Of The Damned at the end of Last of the Time Lords ten years ago (a teaser that was itself interrupted and repeated by the Children In Need special scene Time Crash. Indeed, it could be argued that the icy setting harks back to the very beginning when two-parter The Edge Of Destruction ended with the discovery of a large footprint in the snow. I like it. I like it very much.
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