Doctor Who
Season 10, Episode 3 “Thin Ice”
Directed by Bill Anderson
Written by Sarah Dollard
Starring Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas, Nicholas Burns, Asiatu Koroma, Peter Singh
BBC America
Air date: April 29, 2017

This week, Doctor Who Episode 10.3 brings us a veritable melange of different topics. We get some costume drama. There is also some criticism of the class structure of British society. There is even some [gasp!] confrontation of race issues. Yet somehow, we also get to have a good deal of fun. The show feels quite sure of itself and is willing to take a few risks (albeit small ones). Those gambits largely pay off and take the Doctor and Pearl to a few places the show rarely goes. It’s thin ice, in more than one sense.

Doctor Who
Season 10, Episode 2 “Smile”
Directed by Lawrence Gough
Written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Starring Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas
BBC America
Air date: April 22, 2017

What is the meaning of history? What is happiness? How do humans survive in an automated society? These are some of the weighty topics examined in Episode 10.2 “Smile,” the new installment of Doctor Who this week. With so much potential ground to cover, this episode could easily bog down in a mess of tangled subplots and ideas. Instead, thanks to some strong direction for the second week in a row, director Lawrence Gough turns in some classic “meat and potatoes” Doctor Who that covers ground that is at once fresh and familiar at the same time.

Doctor Who
Season 10, Episode 1 “The Pilot”
Directed by Lawrence Gough
Written by Steven Moffat
Starring Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas, Stephanie Hyam
BBC America
Air date: April 15, 2017

At last, at last, Doctor Who returns to the airwaves regularly for the first time since December 2015! The long wait is over. We finally get to see Peter Capaldi kick off his last season playing the Doctor. We also start to find out what Steven Moffat has in store for his sixth and final tour through the Doctor Who universe. To top it off, we are introduced to new companion Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie. The result is fairly wonderful introduction to a textured new companion, told with a grace and charm that highlights the strengths of the show.

Peter Capaldi revealed on Monday night that the coming season of Doctor Who will be his last as the Doctor.

Speaking to BBC Radio, he said to Jo Whatley that “I feel sad, I love Doctor Who, it is a fantastic program to work on, but I don’t know how long I can give it my best, and if I’m not giving it my best, I don’t want to do it.” As there is no final word on the schedule for the next season of Doctor Who, the exact date of his last episode is unknown. If it sticks to the traditions of the modern series however, the Doctor will regenerate either during or immediately before the 2017 Christmas episode.

It’s been a rough few months for Doctor Who fans in the United States who want to watch their favorite show. First, the news came in late January that only a single episode of new Who, the Christmas Special, would be broadcast in 2016 with Season 10 following in the spring of 2017. Then, both Hulu and Netflix announced a few days later that Doctor Who was disappearing from their respective rosters at the end of January. That left Doctor Who fans in the United States with no ability to stream the program legally. Doctor Who went dark for much of North America starting in early February.

The time of darkness is now over. Amazon announced today that it reached an agreement with the BBC to exclusively stream Doctor Who in the United States on Amazon Prime starting on Sunday, March 27th. Prime customers will be able to watch seasons one through eight and their associated holiday specials starting that day, with the ninth season being made available this fall. Presumably, Classic Doctor Who will appear sometime in the near future.