Frustrating approach to its villain. But generally, an enjoyable story. The aquatic setting is really interesting and well realised, and used as a good backdrop to explore another side of the Eighth Doctor. The amnesia and forgetting Lucie is interesting, however, a little rushed with little consequence within this story. Its nice to find a world the Doctor was so intent on protecting after the time dedicated there, which was a nice approach to develop and strengthen this Doctor's character.

I feel like Orbis is kinda the Eighth Doctor's version of Trenzalore: the place he defends for hundreds of years and is willing to die for, and I really liked that we got to see Eight in a Time Of The Doctor-esque setting. There were some really heavy hitting moments, like when the Doctor tells Lucie that 'Sometimes people don't want to be saved, sometimes, it's time to die, you should respect that', an (in my opinion) incredibly profound line that really shows how committed he is to the planet. I enjoyed the other aspects of the story as a whole (although the ending was really depressing), and I'm hoping this leaves an impact on the Doctor-Companion dynamic over the rest of the series (shooting the Doctor probably won't do great things for the Doctor's friendship with Lucie I'd assume, and he's 600 years older).

love the idea of aquatic themed aliens and a lot of the stuff with 8 on the jellyfish planet is really cute. unfortunately the episode is tanked when the main villain is introduced – she is fat and transfem and these two things are disrespected and made fun of constantly, including by the eighth doctor himself. really disgusting – not sure i can ever completely forgive briggs for this one.

This is a weird one, and not in a bad way.

Orbis picks up immediately where we left off, with Lucie getting a nasty visit from the Headhunter. They've got access to the TARDIS; bad news is it's apparently leaking time waste and destroying the vortex, a side effect of the Doctor's absence.

Like Sisters of the Flame, we get a more vulnerable, more serious Lucie, and it works well here too. Sheridan does a good job selling her dismay at the Doctor having forgotten her, while still mining some good comedy out of the situation. Olsson is still strong as the Headhunter, and she's back to being very sinister and cryptic. Her true scheme is hinted at at the end of the story and we'll see who's she's really working for by the end of the season.

The Doctor is a little out of his depth here, having gotten amnesia (again) and been stuck on Orbis for 600 years! McGann turns in a fun performance, giving us a Doctor who's lost, but perfectly content with his new life tinkering with new inventions and living with jellyfish people.

The people of Orbis themselves are charming, just very sweet, innocent people, especially our one-off companion Selta, played very well by Laura Solon. It's very fun to imagine these people as literal giant jellyfish, wobbling awkwardly as they follow the Doctor around.

Next we have the Molluscari, our villains, who are - delightfully - some kind of giant oysters with pincers. The sound design really shines here, as we get the Molluscari clicking their pincers and clapping their shells to cheer for their leader. It makes for more fun imagery. The leader, Crassostrea, is our antagonist, played by Andrew Sachs, who turns in an immensely entertaining performance. This is one villain who's just silly and fun in the best ways. Also, his female organs are growing in. Good for her!

A nice, vivid story that ends in sheer horror, Orbis is a great start to the season.

4.5/5