It’s a measure of just how embedded in popular culture Doctor Who now is that this screening — for the first two episodes of the new series — takes place in The Doctor Who Experience, a theme-park in West London.
Operating the door is Danny Cohen, the Controller of BBC One. “Evening, evening. Welcome to the show,” his wry servitude underlying just how big an event the return of Doctor Who continues to be. Even controllers are happy to pretend to be ushers if it’s in the service of their childhood hero, the Doctor.
The first episode finds us in Utah. River Song (Alex Kingston), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) have all been invited, by a stranger, to meet for a picnic