The Caretaker (Doctor Who)

Plot

Clara is trying to juggle three things: the thrill of traveling with the Twelfth Doctor, her ordinary life teaching at Coal Hill School, and her romance with Danny, a former soldier. The Doctor tells Clara he needs to go on his next mission alone, under deep cover, but she is shocked the next day to find he has been hired as a temporary caretaker at the school. In private, the Doctor reveals that a deadly robot called the Skovox Blitzer is lurking near the school and has already killed a community support officer. If he does not stop it, the robot could destroy Earth. He has been hiding devices around the school to create a time displacement vortex that will send the robot far into the future, and he has an invisibility watch to get close to it.

Danny notices how the Doctor acts around Clara and grows suspicious. He accidentally finds one of the Doctor’s hidden devices and messes with its settings. When the Doctor tries to execute his plan, Danny’s tampering means the Blitzer is only sent forward 74 hours instead of far into the future. After the Doctor talks to Clara about this new problem, Danny confronts her, thinking she might be an alien. During this argument, Clara tells Danny she loves him. The Doctor scolds Clara for what he calls a “boyfriend error” in dating Danny, and then argues with Danny, repeatedly calling him a P.E. teacher and refusing to accept that he actually teaches Maths. Clara lets Danny borrow the invisibility watch so he can see how she interacts with the Doctor. But the Doctor knows Danny is there, and Danny compares the Doctor to an officer before walking away. Meanwhile, student Courtney Woods finds the Doctor’s TARDIS and starts following him.

Production

The table read for this episode happened on 20 March 2014, with cameras rolling just days later. Principal photography kicked off on 24 March 2014 in Cardiff, at Bute Street and Lloyd George Avenue. Additional filming took place on 4 April 2014 at The Maltings in Cardiff Bay and the former St Illtyd's Boys' College in Splott. The production then moved to Holton Primary School in Barry on 5 April 2014, followed by Tonyrefail Comprehensive School in the South Wales valleys on 8 April 2014. The main shoot wrapped on 11 April 2014, though a final pickup scene featuring Chris Addison as Seb was captured on 11 June 2014.

Broadcast and reception

The episode drew 4.89 million viewers overnight, with a total of 6.82 million watching overall. In the US, it had 0.96 million viewers, and it scored 83 on the Appreciation Index. Critics were largely positive. Richard Beech of the Daily Mirror awarded 4 out of 5 stars, describing it as funny, lighthearted, and thoroughly entertaining, and highlighting Peter Capaldi’s comic timing. Ceri Radford of The Daily Telegraph also gave 4 out of 5 stars, praising Capaldi’s performance. Simon Brew of Den of Geek called it arguably one of the best of series 8, commending the comedic elements and Gareth Roberts’ storytelling, and singled out Jenna Coleman and Samuel Anderson as excellent, saying it was their best performance of the series. Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy gave a positive review, calling it funny, warm, and moving, though critical of the Blitzer threat. Jeffery praised Capaldi’s interpretation of the Doctor as the most complex and variable since Christopher Eccleston’s, and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Matt Risley of IGN gave a positive review, praising Clara’s characterisation in the series. He called The Caretaker satisfying despite occasional soap opera silliness, and praised the three leads’ acting, but criticised the Blitzer as a design evoking the lovechild of a pew-pewing Jetsons maid knock-off and a Roomba gone haywire. He gave it 7.9 out of 10 (Good), saying it was emotionally engaging with dynamic dialogue, and called it a Who win. Neela Debnath of The Independent gave a negative review, calling it a bland Earth-based adventure that failed to excite, but praised Ellis George as a star in the making and her inclusion as great.