What is Wi-Fi could kill you? If you hadn’t thought about that before, don’t worry because Steven Moffat has. He even decided to write an episode of Doctor Who about it, and “The Bells of Saint John” was born…written…filmed…whatever.
Moffat, the head writer for Doctor Who, is responsible for monsters such as the Weeping Angels, the Silents and the Vashta Nerada, which have made even the strongest Whovians afraid of statues, forgetful moments, and shadows. How could he not try to ruin wireless internet as well?
What better way to kick off the first episode of Doctor Who of the New Year? In “The Bells of Saint John”, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Clara Oswin Oswlad (Jenna-Louise Coleman) discover that people are being downloaded via Wi-Fi, which more-or-less means curtains for the people who unknowingly click on the unsecured network. All is going well until Clara gets downloaded, and it is up to the Doctor to save her and all the other victims.
I am not too proud to admit that every one of Moffat’s monsters have given me nightmares, but I am hoping that I do not start dreaming of having my soul downloaded onto the internet, my every waking (or dreaming) thought for view on a screen. That’s what twitter is for.
Killer Wi-Fi is a new way of freaking people out, and the scary part is that it is actually something that could be possible in the future. In a way, we are already controlled by the internet, so this is just the next step.
This episode did not have the emotional heartbreak that is usually present. However, there is one mention of one of the Doctor’s previous companions, but it is fairly subtle and easily missed if you are not paying close attention. It did make me a bit sad, but considering I didn’t really like the character it mentioned, I didn’t feel too bad about it.
I think that this episode was a good way to introduce Clara as a companion. At first, I was not sure about how I felt about her, but after getting to see her in action, I can totally appreciate her as a sassy companion to the Doctor.
She is a lot different than Amy, the Doctor’s previous companion. She seems a lot more willing to call the Doctor out on his shenanigans, and she does not worship him as though he can do no wrong (can you tell I am not a big fan of Amy?).
There are so many theories swirling around about Clara already, and everyone, including the Doctor, is trying to figure out who The Woman Twice Dead really is.
I have a feeling that the number 23 will have some sort of significance later on, especially since the 50th Anniversary special will air on November 23rd this year.
I am looking forward to more twists, turns, crazy theories, and juicy plot points for the rest of this season as well as for the 50th Anniversary. I can’t wait to see what the mad man with his big blue box has in store for us in the future.
Becki Brown
Senior Features Editor