Who In Review: New Year's Day 2019 - New Year's Day 2021

Over the last few days I have watched every episode of Doctor Who from the last two years (except 'Orphan 55' which was utter shite). The modern series has always had its supporters and detractors, but I think that the series of stories which I just watched are some of the strongest episodes for several years (if you don't agree with me, you should probably stop reading now).

It all got off to a relatively underwhelming start on NYD 2019 with 'Resolution', the story which sort-of acted as the finale to Series 11 and also brought back the Daleks. I've never been a fan of the Daleks, but this dealt with them rather well, following the resurrection of a lone scout and featuring a fancy new design which purposefully eschewed a Tonka Toy look for Junkyard chic. Unlike Moffat, Chibnall seemed to understand that in most cases less is more. Unfortunately, this doesn't really work when sending the army after the scout in a lone tank which felt more like an homage to 'Robot' than anything exciting. There were a few other bum notes, namely the 'humorous' inclusion of a family having to talk to each other on New Year's Day instead of looking at their phones/TV and the cringey sequence with 'Call Centre Polly'. The most arse-clenchingly awful part of the episode, however, was the total lack of understanding Chibnall exhibited of how Archaeologists work. This probably doesn't mean a thing to anybody who isn't an Archaeologist, but you would never get a team of two, the most superior being a Supervisor (who claims never to have uncovered a find before - which indicates she has next to no experience in the field, so how is she in that position?) working on an important excavation beneath Sheffield City Hall on New Year's Day. She just wouldn't have the authority, and Sheffield City Council wouldn't have allowed it, never mind the Archaeological Unit she was working for! Forget the nonsense about her being taken over by a Dalek mutant and going on a killing spree with no consequences (we have no idea what happened to Lin on January 2nd); the fact that she and Mitch are even present on site is a pretty unforgivable gaff. Research, Mr Chibnall, research! Other than that, it was an okay episode with some nice cinematography, decent effects and elements of calm interspersed between the action which also gave us some backstory to Ryan by introducing his estranged father.

This was followed a year later by Series 12 season opener 'Spyfall'. After a wonderfully experimental and largely continuity-free first season for Whittaker's Doctor which often felt like Seasons 4 and 19 with its three companions and narrative diversity, 'Spyfall' felt like a step up in gear being a Bond pastiche and featuring the thrills and spills associated with that franchise. Lenny Henry did a sterling job as villainous Capitalist Daniel Barton, Stephen Fry had a nice cameo as C, and Sacha Dhawan debuted as the new Master in a suitably gripping cliffhanger. The second episode, transmitted a few days later, saw the tale take a slightly different turn as the Doctor encountered characters from history which echoed the way Chibnall had previously focussed on lesser known individuals who have shaped the world we know today. Introducing Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan as the Doctor travels through history was an interesting and entertaining way of learning about these two remarkable women as they fought both the Master and the Nazis. Splitting the narrative between the Doctor and her companions was a device which has always worked well and has often been ignored in recent years. This didn't cover up the fact, however, that many elements of 'Spyfall' felt like rehashes of previous stories. The cliffhanger plane crash was very similar to both that of 'Death In Heaven' and Series 9's Zygon two-parter, Graham, Ryan and Yaz's adventures on the run from Barton was very reminiscent to what happened to the Doctor, Martha and Jack in 'The Sound Of Drums', and the appearance of the Kasaavins felt very much like that of the Cybermen in 'Army Of Ghosts'. There's nothing wrong with plundering previous stories and other works for ideas, though. Both 'Earthshock' and 'Attack Of The Cybermen' have regularly been referred to as being little more than the Cybermen's Greatest Hits, and Hinchcliffe and Holmes created an era out of rehashing old films. Overall, 'Spyfall' was an enjoyable story which set up the themes for the rest of the season and brought the series back with an attention-grabbing bang.

In my rewatch, I didn't bother with 'Orphan 55'. It was such an unbelievable low point and had so little baring on the rest of the series (there's one visual reference to this meaningless and shockingly badly scripted story in 'Can You Hear Me?' and that's practically it!) that I elected not to put myself through watching it a third time in 2020 (I watched it on transmission, then again on the BBC iPlayer with my mate Wendy so we could muse on exactly how bad it actually was). Skipping it only improved my enjoyment of Series 12. I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

'Nikola Tesla's Night Of Terror' repeated the trick of 'Spyfall Part 2' with a couple of slightly more familiar names. A rather wonderful historical adventure which presented both Tesla and Edison in a relatively positive light (when it could easily have gone out of its way to make Edison a heartless, corporate monster), the plot was nicely put together and the villainous Skithra nicely realised in their Scorpion form. The only real downfall was the Queen Skithra herself, despite an impressive performance by Anjli Mohindra from 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'. The prosthetics and the voice bore a striking resemblance to the Empress of the Raknoss which didn't even get a mention, although I'm not sure such an open acknowledgement would have been an improvement or a hindrance. Kudos to the lighting designer, though, for covering up the fact that her costume was actually pretty shit (see Doctor Who Magazine Issue 557 Page 38 for a clearer look).

And so to 'Fugitive Of The Judoon', a story which has been (rightly enough) lauded as one of the best episodes of recent years. Originally advertised as a return for an old foe, it not only pulled one WTF moment with the return of Captain Jack Harkness, but an even bigger WTF moment with the revelation that Ruth Clayton was actually... a past Doctor?!?!? It fired the internet with speculations about how she fitted in to the show's continuity, what was her role in the season's story arc about the Timeless Child, and "wasn't she so much better than Jodie?" (I would argue no - no better than either Baker is than Davison or Troughton, for example. Just different.). The episode itself was more than just a selection of shocking revelations, remaining gripping and interesting throughout, and exhibiting some gorgeous location filming. Not to mention the interior of Doctor Ruth's TARDIS. It certainly left you wanting more!

However, as with all great episodes, it kept us waiting. Next up was 'Praxeus', a story which has received some unnecessarily negative comment. Following such a defining episode with a story on a worldwide scale and incorporating important ecological themes was the right thing to do, regardless of certain areas of fandom once more complaining that the show was being too 'woke' as if 'The Daleks', 'The Dominators', 'Nightmare Of Eden', 'Vengeance On Varos' and the entire fucking Pertwee Era never existed! It gave us the show's first openly gay couple to survive to the closing credits (apparently Giuliano and Marco, and Alice and May Cassini don't count) in what is possibly Chibnall's response to claims of homophobia after the deaths of two bit-part characters the previous season who happened to also be LGBT, but also poked fun at the conceit of areas of modern society who 'Vlog', and centred its plot around the fact that we've created a world where plastic has polluted the planet so much that there are microscopic particles in our water, our food and our actual bodies. The slow revelation of who was responsible for bringing Praxeus to the Earth was very satisfying, and the realisation of the disease itself was suitably disturbing and horrific. The conclusion may have felt a little rushed, but it was worth it for the spectacle elsewhere (not counting that terrible puppet crow in the scenes on the beach in Madagascar). Moving on.

'Can You Hear Me?' is another story accused of being too 'woke' and condemned for the Doctor's inability to console Graham (which was completely fitting for her character this regeneration, and for some of her predecessors, too). Maybe the conversation should have been between Graham and Yaz, instead. Regardless, this episode was another brilliantly written story with a nice twist midway which again looked at an important issue, this time being mental health. Bringing Ryan's briefly-met mate Tibo back was a stroke of genius as this opened the companion up as a character without the link to his family. Seeing him interacting with a friend was a nice piece of development, likewise the scenes with Yaz and her sister which left as many questions unanswered as they did expand her backstory. The dream sequence of Graham and Grace was well presented and the most effective of the three companions' nightmares, but I do wonder if this is because Graham is of a similar generation to Chibnall and the character is therefore as representative of a certain type of fan as he is himself. Ian Gelder and Clare-Hope Ashitey put in brilliant performances as the two god-like beings who, it seems, are contemporaries of the Celestial Toymaker (nice subtle namedrop). Overall, this was one of the highlights of an already brilliant season.

The three part series finale was a stroke of genius. I've always liked the Cybermen more than the Daleks, so to have them return so spectacularly was fantastic. 'The Haunting Of Villa Diodati' was actually the best episode of the season, in my opinion. Wonderfully layered and intricately plotted, keeping the reveal of the Lone Cyberman until late in the day and playing the first two thirds of the episode as a Gothic Horror peppered with funny on-liners and some nicely shot shock moments, it featured an exemplary cast in a script which gave each character room to breathe and evolve. At times it felt very similar to the Smith episode 'Hide', but was better scripted and more beautifully realised. The appearance of Ashad was also incredibly well designed, the effective lighting regularly illuminating his right side and concealing the Human part of his face so that you were regularly reminded he was a Cyberman, and when you did see it it was all the more shocking.

Leading into 'Ascension Of The Cybermen', as the Doctor and her companions track Ashad and the Cyberium into the future, the new collection of refugees hiding out at the edge of the universe are a further example of how much better at writing guest characters Chibnall is than Moffat was. Immediately, they're sketched as believable individuals so that, for example, when Yedlarmi's younger brother is killed fleeing the (admittedly a bit dodgy-looking) Cyber Scouts it actually comes across as quite emotional. In a short period of time, half the survivors are killed and you're asked to invest in the rest as they flee in two parties, both with little chance of survival; and you do. The Doctor, Ryan and Ethan work very well together on the stolen Cybershuttle. Likewise, Graham and Yaz fit in well with Ravio, Yedlarmi and Bescot as they find themselves on a Cybercarrier full of 'warrior class' Cybermen. I'm not entirely convinced by the new design; they look a little stocky, and appear to be thrusting their chins forward. It's otherwise an acceptable design and one up from the 'Iron Man' rip-off from the Moffat era.

The reappearance of the Master at the cliffhanger, taking the Doctor to Gallifrey, was an expected surprise, but again we have a series finale with the Master and the Cybermen. This is the third time in a decade, but it nevertheless worked well enough with the focus on the story of the Timeless Child. Throughout 'Ascension...' the narrative had been peppered with the tale of an Irish boy who was found abandoned as a baby and grew up to be a policeman, albeit one who came back to life after falling off a cliff and was eventually (as an old man) strapped to a machine and tortured by his unaged superior officer and his adoptive father. They had no relevance to anything else in that episode, so it was a nice pay-off that these images were actually disguised recollections of the Timeless Child's life story which beautifully correlate with what we see in the following episode. Chibnall keeps the audience guessing, giving the feeling that the Timeless Child is the Master right up until he reveals that the Timeless Child is in fact the Doctor herself. Having handed the plot over to the Doctor's best enemy, the fact that Ashad comes to such a sudden and unexpected end at the Master's hands is actually quite brilliant. Set up as the Big Bad of the series, Ashad doesn't even get a final speech (something Moffat wouldn't have been able to resist!). And having made such a massive change to the history of the show, revealing that the First Doctor wasn't actually the first Doctor (and pissing off thousands of fans in the process), Chibnall brings along the Ruth Doctor once again to point out to Doctor 13 that, really, none of that matters. She is who she is, regardless of what she didn't previously know (a sentiment which is repeated by Ryan in the following instalment). What we've actually been given is access to further possibilities than, as fans, we ever knew we had. Suddenly, the faces brought up by the Doctor in 'The Brain Of Morbius' make sense, as does all the hinting by the Seventh Doctor that he's 'far more than just a Time Lord' with secrets known only to Lady Peinforte and a handful of others. Loose ends which are decades old have been tied up but, ultimately, nothing has changed. Many criticised the ending where Ko Sharmus turned up to set off the bomb which destroys Gallifrey (a final end?) while the Doctor ran away, but his reasons for doing so, and the Doctor's reasons for running are sound. He set the events surrounding the Cyberium into action, and the universe certainly still needs the Doctor - as does the TV show!

And so to the most recent episode. Building on the events of New Year 2019 and bringing back Presidential wannabe Jack Robertson, this was far better than 'Resolution'. Nevertheless, much of the episode only works in context of what we saw in that story (and in 'Arachnids In The UK'). It pays off in the same way that 'Bad Wolf/The Parting Of The Ways' pays off 'The Long Game' and indicates that Chibnall, unlike Moffat, has actually planned ahead and knows exactly what will be happening in the show's overarching narrative over the next few years. The series no longer feels like it's being made up as its head writer goes along, but is a list of encounters which have plausible cause and effect. Granted, some of the clumsy references to MP Jo Patterson taking over as Prime Minister (in scenes recorded long before anyone even knew who the UK's PM would even be throughout 2020 - and certainly not how much of a mess he would make of the job) feel a bit forced, yet depressingly appropriate. The scenes of Daleks slaughtering people openly on the streets of (Post-Brexit?) Britain also stretch credulity somewhat (without a convenient crack in time to help us all forget it). The scenes of the Doctor in prison (Shada?), however, and her rescue by Jack were brilliantly done, despite it all feeling a bit too easy. Will there be repercussions? Jack and Yaz investigating the factory in Osaka was immense fun and part of me wishes Jack had stayed on at the end to travel with Yaz and the Doctor. Likewise, the Doctor, Graham and Ryan's confrontation with Robertson worked incredibly well. The reintroduction of the old-style Bronze Daleks to have them face off against Robertson's 'Drones' was a nice touch, as was the new mutant Daleks' eventual fate, and the use of the TARDIS used to send everyone back to Earth at the end of 'The Timeless Children' was a clever, if perhaps slightly predictable, plot device. One of the stand-outs for me was Ryan's attitude throughout the story. From the moment we first see him he's clearly less interested in adventures in the TARDIS and more invested in the here and now. Basically, he's moved on whilst Yaz very clearly hasn't. Together with his talk with the Doctor about how her view on her past has been changed forever, this felt very much like his final story and very much in a believable way. Priorities change and people move on, and as exciting as travelling with the Doctor may be, it isn't for everyone. It builds on his conversations with Tibo, the return of his father as a less-absent aspect of his life, and the fact that Ryan has always come across as a more subdued and considered character. And that Graham, who is still excited by the prospects of seeing the unknown, chooses to give that up so that he doesn't miss out on anything that happens to his grandson is absolutely right, as well. Unlike the departures of Amy, Rory, Clara and Bill, this leaving scene feels real. Departures don't have to be sudden and horrific, a companion taken from the excitement against their will. Sometimes, most times, change happens because that's how life is. People move on. It doesn't make what's happened in the past unimportant or unmemorable, but it's always done because that's the right thing to do. And, frankly, it made a nice change for a departure to be so down to Earth.

Overall, 'Revolution Of The Daleks' was a decent slab of Dalek action for the festive season, one in a similar mould to 'Spyfall' and an improvement on 'Resolution'. It showed that the series continues to develop as an unfolding narrative and that we should expect elements from the past few seasons to turn up in the future. Not counting 'Orphan 55', we've been given a quite brilliant set of adventures over the last two years, an almost brilliant set of adventures since Chibnall took over as showrunner! And with the announcement of the arrival of a new companion in the forthcoming series, and that it will be aired later this year, I for one am really excited and proud to be a fan of Doctor Who.