An excellent adventure is how The Telegraph describes the second in this year's series of Doctor Who, Smile. The paper is a big fan of new companion Bill, played by Pearl Mackie, who they say is settling in beautifully. "The especially effective thing with Bill is that she asks the questions that a viewer might well ask. Why are the Tardis seats so far away from the console? Why have you got two hearts? Does that mean you’ve got really high blood pressure? How are you allowed to blow stuff up and not get into trouble? Fair points, all of them."

Digital Spy agrees that Capaldi and Mackie are an all-time great TARDIS team. "In her second week, new companion Bill continues to inject fresh energy into Doctor Who, and into the Doctor himself. She stands out from the pack just by virtue of acting and speaking like a real person, and there's great value, both comic and dramatic, in having her ask the type of questions that you or I would if we ever jumped aboard the TARDIS."

Ars Technica praises the dialogue. "The almost rhythmic dialogue in the script for Smile, written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who penned In the Forest of the Night for series 8 of the sci-fi drama, helps the viewer become better acquainted with Bill, following Mackie's terrific character debut"

The Nerdist also praises Mackie's performance. "Smile kept the Bill Potts train a-rolling. She’s truly a breath of fresh air; a fun and funny companion who is incredibly passionate about learning, gets giddy when visiting new places, and reacts–as the Doctor said in “The Pilot”–with a smile when she’s confused rather than with frustration."

Screen Rant also looks at the two main characters. "Smile is the perfect way to explore the two characters’ burgeoning relationship, by placing Bill’s wide-eyed wonder front and center with a fittingly dark discovery about humankind’s first colony being undone by some robots that communicate solely through, you guessed it, emoji."

It was not all praise though with The Mirror feeling the episode didn't reach it's full potential and the story lacked punch. "I was really excited about the concept of the Emojibots. Robots that murder you if they think you're unhappy. It should have been up there with Weeping Angels who attack when you blink. But once the episode has set the premise, we're not given any more depth to this idea. Sadly, not exploring the main concept of the Emojibots pushed the episode away from great and delved close to the border of mediocre."

Radio Times also felt the episode was devoid of real emotional investment. "Fatally, for a tale that toys with emojis, there are few convincing reactions on display. Situations force the cast to go through the motions of emotions. There’s no one to root for and, as a viewer, I make no emotional investment. Smile presents interesting ideas but, as drama, is as bland and insipid as emojis themselves. "

Games Radar also felt the episode lacked something."The problem is that the episode can’t decide whether it wants to figure out why people who don’t smile were murdered, or focus on action sequences about emoji robots and their floating swarms of killer nano-robots. Pick one and stick to it."

Cater Matt felt the story was solid. "Smile is a story about collaboration, and also one about treating people and things that are different from you as the same. Maybe there is a political message here, as well. While there was no great moment of emotional fervor, The Doctor did kick off a new civilization with Bill at his side. A very satisfying episode in the end."

IGN liked the message of the story. "That the Doctor is only able to save the colonists by realizing that he also has to save the emoji-bots is the real twist of this story, and also where the lesson comes in about how we in the here and now need to learn to recognize the needs of those around us, and respect those needs, and work together in order to not have to flee a decimated Earth a few decades or centuries from now"

AV Club returns to dynamic of the TARDIS team. "This is an episode that begins better than it ends, which is never the optimal arrangement. But ah well: The Doctor and Bill’s growing friendship and Bill’s character in particular are the real joys of “Smile,” and they are likely what will linger in the memory more when looking back on the season as a whole."

Doctor Who News's review can be found in the Reviews section.

Doctor Who - Smile had an overnight viewing audience of 4.25 million viewers, a share of 22.9% of the total TV audience, according to unofficial figures.

Top for the day was the ITV show Britain's Got Talent, with 9.21 million watching, a massive 44% of the total audience. The remainder of the evening was dominated by BBC One with All Round to Mrs Brown's getting 5.03 million. The FA Cup averaged around 5 million viewers pushing Doctor Who into fourth place for the day.

Official ratings data, included those who timeshift the episode, will be released in 8 days time.

The early morning signed repeat of The Pilot, shown on BBC Two at 4.10am, had an average audience of 129,000 viewers, a 13.9% share of the available audience.

The BBC have released new pictures taken from the upcoming episode of Doctor Who - Smile. The episode premieres on BBC One this Saturday at 7.20pm, followed by transmission around the world. Full details here

This week sees the release of the latest editor of the Titan Comic series featuring the Tenth Doctor.

On sale next week​, are two new Doctor Who titles; including an interlude issue for Twelfth Doctor's Year Three - from writer James Peaty and artist Warren Pleece, and a brand-new side to the Ninth Doctor with SIN EATERS Part 2; from writer Cavan Scott and artist Adriana Melo!

Titles out 19th April

THE TENTH DOCTOR YEAR THREE #4

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: Giorgia Sposito, Arianna Florean
Cover A: Wellington Alves Cover B: Photo Cover C: Simon Myers Cover D: Iolanda Zanfardino

Titles out 26th April

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TWELFTH DOCTOR YEAR 3 #2

Writer: James Peaty
Artist: Warren Pleece
Cover A - Regular Claudia Ianniciello Cover B - Photo Will Brooks Cover C - Linked Set Of Four Ryan Hall Cover D - Pasquale Qualano & Amoona Saohin Cover E - Iolanda Zanfardino Wholanta Exclusive Cover - Kelly Yates

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DOCTOR WHO: NINTH DOCTOR #12

Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Adriana Melo
Cover A - Cris Bolson & Marco Lesko Cover B - Photo – Will Brooks Cover C - Linked Set By Ryan Hall Cover D - Pasquale Qualano

This week's Penguin Podcast is a special Doctor Who edition, featuring Jon Culshaw.

Chatting to Meera Syal, he covers topics as diverse as astronomy, comedy and ZX Spectrums, as well as his favourite Doctors and just why he - and millions like him - first fell in love with the series. He also reveals which two classic Doctor Who novelisations he’ll be reading next.

The podcast can be heard via the Penguin website.

Doctor Who - The Pilot had an Audience Appreciation or Ai figure of 83

The Appreciation Index in an indication of how much viewers enjoyed the episode. It is based to the reactions of a selected panel of viewers, who rate the episode shortly after transmission.

83 is considered a good score, roughly similar to the scores achieved by the last series of the show,

The highest score for the evening was shared by Dad's Army on BBC Two and the film The Imitation Game on Channel 4, both of which scored 87.

The Pilot has debuted in Australia, averaging 495,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. The story was the second highest rating ABC drama of the day and the eighth highest rating program of the day overall. These ratings do not include iview, regional or time-shifted viewers.

Doctor Who - The Pilot had an overnight viewing figure of 4.64 million viewers, a share of 24.8% of the total TV audience, according to unofficial viewing figures.

Saturday's top show was Britain's Got Talent on ITV which had 8.65 million watching.

Doctor Who was BBC One's second highest rated show for the evening, just behind All Round to Mrs Brown's which had 4.67 million. It just beat Pointless Celebrities which had 4.34 million watching. Casualty had 3.48 million.

Final figures, including those who timeshift, will be released next Monday, which should see Doctor Who substantially increase its audience.

The new series of Doctor Who hit UK screens last night, but what did the media make of the latest adventure for the Doctor, and of his new fresh-faced companion?

The Telegraph's Ben Lawrence was pleased with the pairing: "their relationship, on the basis of this sensitively written episode, looks set to be the best since Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler and David Tennant’s Doctor flirted through time and space over a decade ago.". Clair Woodward in the Express had similar thoughts: "showrunner and writer Stephen Moffatt has pulled off what many thought was an impossible feat by bringing some much-needed humanity back to the series, a great deal of which comes from new female companion Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie, who has a really lovely chemistry with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. I can’t remember the old sod smiling so much." Colleague Neela Debnath for the Sunday Express added: "newcomer Pearl feels totally natural in the role and is a strong fit for Doctor Who, with elements of Eighties companion Ace (Sophie Aldred), thanks to those patches on her coat but also her intelligence. You get the sense that she might have a science background like Ace’s extensive knowledge of chemistry, although there is nothing to prove it - and she is simply working in the university canteen.".

Of course there's always those who don't take to the show so easily. The Mail on Sunday chose to focus on Bill's sexuality, citing feminist campaigner Julie Bindel's thoughts: "This is something that is clearly done for the benefit of those who just think of it as girl-on-girl titillation. I don’t want to have representations of lesbians which is all about sexism, double entendres and sexualised behaviour. It’s just taking two women and using the blueprint of sexist heterosexuality."

Daniel Jackson in the Mirror noted: "it’s quite telling that the director pulled focus to a photo of The Doctor’s granddaughter during her introduction - it reaffirms how Moffat sees the new coupling.". Patrick Mulkern from the Radio Times added: "Susan has barely been mentioned since her departure in 1964. Carole Ann Ford reprised the role in The Five Doctors (1983), we saw a blur of Susan fleeing Gallifrey in The Name of the Doctor (2013), and of course Susan was An Unearthly Child, the focus of the original “Pilot Episode” in 1963. For now, I’m not reading too much into this sudden reminder of her existence."

Summing up the feel of the episode as a whole, Patrick continued: "The Pilot has a lovely visual flair and is given an energetic snap from director Lawrence Gough. The effects of the menacing puddle and the watery transformations are expertly handled. But there’s a simple pleasure to be had in the presentation of our old friend, the Tardis. Never has it looked more stunning than in the gradual zoom-out from Bill at the police box doors as the lights and mechanisms flicker to life.. Jeff Robson of the i commented: "Bill was totally hooked – and, with reservations, so was I. It was amazing that in a set-up seen quite a few times before Moffat, director Lawrence Gough and the two leads still managed to serve up plentiful helpings of sharp dialogue and pulse-racing moments. Mackie could well be the breath of fresh air the series needs. She’s more down to earth than Jenna Coleman’s Clara, but believably gobsmacked by it all too."

With the story overall, Ben commented: "this episode may not have pushed all the buttons, but it was a reminder of how good Doctor Who can be when it tugs at the heartstrings, and moves from pyrotechnics into a more thoughtful, psychologically ambitious orbit.". Clair's thoughts: "This first episode brought Doctor Who’s humanity back, after a long, chilly spell. “What are any of us looking for? We’re looking for someone who’s looking for us,” said the Doctor about Bill’s crush on Heather, but it obviously applied to the way he felt about his new companion as well. I think viewers will find the new partnership equally loveable, and plotlines more understandable." Dan Martin of the Guardian observes: "it’s ironic and impressive, for a showrunner who gets criticised for reusing ideas, that Steven Moffat has delivered one of his freshest openers for his final run. It would indeed be a good place to join the show. In fact, I might start my little nephew off right here." Daniel noted: "more importantly, this episode nails the mellowing of the 12th Doctor. Perhaps his 50-year stint on Earth has done him good? Capaldi’s Doctor is certainly showing his more caring side."


Additional views and reviews of The Pilot can be found at: Belfast Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Mail, Mirror, Metro, Digital Spy, Wales Online, TV.com, The Quietus, Vox, A.V. Club, Screener.