The Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappe... Read allThe Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappear.The Doctor and Bill visit London during the last of the River Thames frost fairs in February 1814. They soon discover that there is something under the ice which is causing people to disappear.
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- Georgian Soldier
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- Soldier
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- Middle Class Woman
- (uncredited)
- Street Wrestler
- (uncredited)
- Henchman
- (uncredited)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe directions The Doctor gives Bill for the wardrobe are the same directions the Ninth Doctor gave Rose in The Unquiet Dead (2005).
- GoofsBill says that she has never seen anyone die before, but in The Pilot (2017) she is present at a Dalek battle where people are killed.
- Quotes
The Doctor: Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life... an unimportant life... a life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy's value is your value. That's what defines an age. That's... what defines a species.
Lord Sutcliffe: [moved] What a beautiful speech. The... rhythm and- and vocabulary are quite outstanding. It's enough to move anyone with an ounce of compassion.
Lord Sutcliffe: [sternly] So it's really not your day, is it?
- ConnectionsReferences Hannibal: Buffet Froid (2013)
This is an episode that has many brilliantly realised moral undertones and a great understanding of two very strong subjects: Sexism and Racism.
It handles them with care, and a sense of victory as the sexist, racist antagonist is punched square in the face by our time- travelling hero, and despite dealing with them in a light-hearted way, it never makes a joke of them which is definitely the right direction for a pre-watershed sci-fi show.
Thin Ice involves a giant monster spanning the length of the River Thames chained under the ice in Victorian London, by an evil rich businessman who uses it's... um, excrement for fuel as a alternative for fossil fuels.
It's a simple plot that's easy to understand, which is why it's all the more baffling that it never gets properly explained, but I'll get to that later. First, the good stuff...
Thin Ice is fun story that is really enjoyable. The snowy Victorian setting is much better than most of Doctor Who's previous attempts at portraying this era, dealing with homeless children who have to pickpocket for money, and the festival on the frozen Thames which was a nice idea.
I found this much more compelling than yet another candle-lit street with Victorian people yelling at each other, which is what you see in most Victorian shows these days.
The concept of a Thames size monster is a weird one, but I'm glad they didn't just use it as a joke for the sake of getting another episode out-there.
Series 10 so far has been really good at taking ideas that sound stupid on paper, and making them into compelling stories: A Sentient Puddle, A Grief Tsunami, A Monster the shape of the Thames.
The concept of the antagonist using the creature's excrement as a fuel source is one that hits home in this day and age, when we're constantly being told that the fossil fuels are running out and we need to find alternatives. It's nice to think that they were already planning in the Victorian era.
This is another idea that's handled in an emotional way. This whole scene reminded me of two episodes that have come before. The Doctor saying that they couldn't leave the creature to suffer under the ice anymore reminded me of Series 5's The Beast Below, and the Doctor telling Bill that it was her planet and therefor her decision reminded me of the final scene from Series 8's Kill the Moon.
Except, Thin Ice does this far better than both of the previous episodes. The Beast Below didn't really have any substance to back it up, and Kill the Moon's ending was completely nonsensical to begin with.
This episode makes you feel like the Doctor has learned his lesson from the end of Kill the Moon where he threw Clara into a life or death situation to save a creature, and then abandoned her. Here, the Doctor tells Bill it's her decision, but he'll stay and do what he tells her.
This is the best Capaldi's Doctor has ever been. Telling Bill to make the decision, but understanding how hard it is for her, which I didn't get from Kill the Moon. It's a lovely moment and one that I think should be remembered when talking about Capaldi's Doctor in the coming years.
Now for some bad stuff... The characters in this episode are about as thin as the titular ice. They have no substance to them what-so- ever. The children are just there so the Doctor will have someone to help, and the main antagonist is only there because, every episode needs an antagonist right?
He has a relevance in the story, but no real effect. The only character trait I get from this guy is that he's sexist and he's racist, and he's only both of those things to drive home the themes of the episode, and so we can have that awesome moment where the Doctor punches him in the face.
The CGI is also rather bad. The shot of the monster swimming out to sea looks really cheap, and the death of the antagonist (sorry, I can't remember his name he's so under-developed) looks horrible.
But at least we have the great shot of the Doctor and Bill looking at the giant eye.
There's also a lack of explanation as to the origins of the creature. The doctor states that it might not be Alien, but stops there, and we never get a definitive answer as to where this creature came from, or what it is, which is a shame as I was quite interested in this thing.
Also, will we ever find out what happened to it?
Overall... Thin Ice is a lot of fun. It has a wonderfully witty script, great performances, a good monster, and some fantastic moral undertones.
The characters could be more developed, but it's still as compelling a compelling story that works brilliantly. We really are on a role with Series 10.
- Robinson2511
- Apr 29, 2017
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- Runtime44 minutes
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