Doctor Who Series 10 Recap: “Knock Knock”
This week’s episode, “Knock Knock” give us another perfect episode, this time based on the standard Whovian Haunted House trope.
In a writing masterclass, there’s usually a section where the professor breaks down story telling components to their core, known as “The Seven Basic Plots”. So far, it feels like Moffat sat down and for his last season is handing us a Doctor Who writing masterclass. There are only “x” basic plots in the Whoniverse, and here they are, in order. We start with the “Companion Origin Story”, which is usually followed by “The One Where They Go To the Future” and “The One Where They Go To The Past”. (Sometimes, like in the Martha season, these are reversed.) Other Stereotypical Whovian Stories involve horror tropes, such as “The One Set In a Spaceship”. (That’s coming next week.) Then there’s the one that aired tonight: “The One Set In a Haunted House.”
Bill: Time Lords. That’s hilarious. Do you wear robes and big hats?
The Doctor: No, big collars mostly.
Recent versions of this Whovian trope include Moffat’s famous episode “Blink” in series 3, James Cordon’s guest star appearance in “The Lodger” in series 5, and “The God Complex” in series 6. This one has more in common with the latter than the former ones, with the sprawling cast of extras, all of whom might as well have had “fodder” stamped across their foreheads. Like in “The God Complex” the extras are offed, one by one throughout the hour, while The Doctor and Bill try to figure out what in heaven’s name is happening, and how to make the horror stop.
