Thin Ice (Doctor Who)
| 267 – "Thin Ice" | |||||
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| Doctor Who episode | |||||
Promotional image for the episode
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| Cast | |||||
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Others
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| Production | |||||
| Directed by | Bill Anderson | ||||
| Written by | Sarah Dollard | ||||
| Produced by | Nikki Wilson | ||||
| Executive producer(s) |
Steven Moffat Brian Minchin |
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| Incidental music composer | Murray Gold | ||||
| Series | Series 10 | ||||
| Length | 44 minutes | ||||
| Originally broadcast | 29 April 2017 | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer) | 93% |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score) | 7.89 |
| The A.V. Club | A |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| SFX Magazine |   |
| TV Fanatic | |
| IndieWire | B |
| IGN | 8.2 |
| New York Magazine | |
| Radio Times | |
| Daily Mirror | |
"Thin Ice" is the third episode of the tenth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Sarah Dollard and was broadcast on 29 April 2017 on BBC One. "Thin Ice" received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many labelling the topic of racism in the episode as well-executed.
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) visit the last great frost fair in London 1814, but they soon find that something sinister is lurking below the frozen Thames.
The Doctor and Bill find they have arrived in London in 1814, in the midst of a frost fair on the frozen Thames. After dressing in period garments, they take to explore it, unaware the TARDIS sensors have identified a large life form, a kilometre long, under the ice.
The Doctor's sonic screwdriver is stolen by Spider, one of several orphan pickpockets led by Kitty. The Doctor and Bill chase down Spider and Kitty away from the fair. There, glowing lights under the ice encircle Spider's feet and before the Doctor can save him, Spider is pulled through the ice. Bill is troubled by the Doctor's lack of remorse for Spider's death. They track down Kitty and learn they have been paid to bring more people to the fair, with some having gone missing.
The Doctor and Bill get into diving suits and purposely let the lights take them; the lights belong to strange fish, and they find a giant sea creature ensnared by chains, which has eaten Spider and others. Returning to land, they learn from Kitty that their benefactor is the wealthy Lord Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe affirms his family has used the creature to amass a fortune by feeding it victims then collecting and selling its waste as a super powerful replacement for coal. Fearing the Doctor knows too much, Sutcliffe sends the Doctor and Bill to be eaten, while he rigs a bomb to cause the ice to shatter with maximum possible casualties for fish food.
The Doctor and Bill escape, and while Bill works with Kitty and the other orphans to clear people off the ice, the Doctor takes the bomb and places it on the creature's chains. When Sutcliffe sets off the bomb, the creature is able to swim free and Sutcliffe is lost in the freezing water. The Doctor rewrites the deed to the Sutcliffe mansion and its staff to the orphans, allowing them to live there as long as they want.
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