- Title: Doctor Who – The Pilot
- wiki: link
“Knock Knock” puts a Doctor Who twist on a classic haunted house story. After Bill (Pearl Mackie) signs a release with five friends to rent a creepy old house The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) becomes concerned. Insinuating himself into their first night on the house, the Time Lord discovers there’s more to the old home than just creaky boards and odd sounds. The house, or to be more precise the alien bug creatures in the house, it turns out consume the renters one by one for the Landlord (David Suchet) who has been feeding the creatures unsuspecting tenants for decades.
At its heart “Knock Knock” is a tragic episode with an odd final twist. While the end of the Landlord and his loved one fits easily within the show’s usual themes, the resurrection/release of Bill’s friends is unexpected and feels a bit… off. Perhaps the show was afraid such a loss might frighten Bill out of The Doctor’s life, but their deaths would seem to make more sense in the structure of the episode as well as tie her closer to The Doctor in the days to come. As for the goofier elements, seeing Bill’s exasperation at The Doctor’s attempts to befriend her roommates certainly provides its share of entertainment. And given the closing scene I now have very strong suspicions who the Time Lord is keeping behind the door.
