I think you could describe this as the first Marmite episode of the season, because you’ll either like it or you won’t – as like Prisoner Zeroes hiding out for 12 years in Amy’s house, you’ll either suspend disbelief or not.

Thinking on it, “The Beast Below” feels a little like a campaign supplement for a roleplaying game. The story contains a lot of new concepts, like a solar battered Earth, refugee ships based on nations, a monarchy surviving into the 33rd century, and smaller things like the Smilers. The setting has a richness to it that could all too easily have been forgotten or left to one side, concentrating on a story that would have felt far flatter and less satisfying for the lack of it. Those playing Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space could take this place and use it for an extended adventure, exploring in greater detail things like the ‘government’ control of the population, and giving the Smilers proper room to breath as a threat.

I think I’m still a little confused by the biology of the space whale, because all those threatening bits ‘leaking’ upwards into the city seemed at odds with a ‘whale’-shaped beast. At least it made the creature more exciting than the ‘hunk of food’ whale that Torchwood uncovered in the episode Meat. I suspect the species have nothing in common, as the one here certainly appeared far, far bigger with, as I’ve said, a far more bizarre physiology.

Amy Pond proves she can outdo previous companions with her insight and curiosity. I suspect her very nature ties into whatever the arc of the season is, but in the meantime it makes for solid, entertaining episodes. She serves as the humanity the Doctor lacks, serving as a sort of healing salve to the damage he had suffered by the end of his last regeneration where we saw him increasingly aloof as the last of the Time Lords.

Yes, the Smiler concept got utterly wasted, but – as I’ve said – I can see the setting getting recycled for roleplaying campaigns. Perhaps the tone of police state didn’t get reinforced enough, despite the Doctor referring to it specifically as such. The Smiler presence worked like the ever present tele-images of Big Brother in 1984 or (for role-players) omnipresent monitors of The Computer in PARANOIA. Moffat pulled another ‘ordinary object as enemy’ with the Smilers, taking the innocent ‘Tell Your Future’ machines of the fairground and making them something all the more sinister. I can’t fault him for his ability to do that – and the BBC might want to consider setting side some cash for future court claims against them for psychological trauma suffered by children watching Who at the moment.

Overall, I can piece together much to appreciate about this episode – and, yes, I’m one of those people who can paper over the cracks and engage with a story that really taxes my suspension of disbelief. One thing that did bother me was the crack in the Universe, which felt awfully tacked on at the end. I want something more like Bad Wolf or The Observer from Fringe – an oddity that I need to spot somewhere in the bustle of the episode, rather than an all too obvious thing that just sits at the end of every episode…

I think that the problem with a new Doctor is that it challenges what we’ve grown comfortable with. I mean, who would have thought that anyone except William Shatner could play Kirk? Thing is, unlike ‘Star Trek’, Who challenges you with change every few years (or a couple if you’re unlucky, Colin). So, we, as fans, have to deal with meeting and greeting someone new, like turning away from old friends and meeting a whole bunch of new ones. Yes, you might recognise some of the old surroundings or the odd associate from the past, but otherwise you’re faced with the unknown.

Luckily, Matt Smith doesn’t stray too far from the grinning lanky Tenth Doctor we grew to love. Indeed, Matt’s character combines the odd element from more than one past incarnation. For all we know, there may be method in the madness and this could in fact tie into the plotline for the whole season; but, I could be getting ahead of myself here.

‘The Eleventh Hour’ introduced the new Doctor, a new outfit, a new TARDIS, a new companion, a new showrunner… All new, super newness. Yes, we have known Moffat of old, as a writer of considerable talent; but, running the show represents a whole new kettle of fish, I’m sure. Getting a whole series to point in a specific direction requires a certain skill, a certain mindset.

I enjoyed the first episode and willingly ignored the holes in the plot. Indeed, I filled them in. When I get an injection, no matter how small, my brain normally puts in a lot of effort to imagine extra discomfort. Well, here that same brain sought to do the opposite, cushioning a bumpy ride with a few leaps of faith. Why would Prisoner Zero hang out in a hidden room in Amy’s house for 12 years? The answer: because it was hurt. Escaping from prison through a rift in reality requires more than a little effort, and Prisoner Zero suffered for it’s freedom. Simples.

Amy has strength and balls as a companion, though I hope she’ll be more than fire, legs and a Scottish accent. The new TARDIS shows a complete change of style, but most importantly opens the potential for more internal exploration with those ever so tempting stairwells leading further into the heart of the mathematical construct. And the crack in reality – the Pandorium waiting to be opened… it sounds good to me. Not sure how a prisoner can know more about it than The Doctor… but, then again, having now seen three episodes in total I get the feeling that whatever’s afoot means there may be a lot The Doctor doesn’t know about.

Yes, I know. I haven’t had time to digest the last two episodes yet to allow me to field an opinion. Thus far, I enjoyed ‘Eleventh Hour’ and I’m still on the fence with my judgment on ‘The Beast Below’. I will post something more… substantial… soon.

In the meantime, one thing about the episodes that struck me from a game mechanic angle is the possible need for the re-introduction of the ‘Notice’ skill – which I understand got cut from the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space rules set. The Doctor in the first and Amy in the second had a moment of clarity while looking for ‘an answer’ – and while the current system can fudge around it, an actual skill seems more and more… right. I admit this might not be Notice, but it needs to be something less than the Turn of the Universe trait (that might fit The Doctor, but not Amy).