DoctorRy

Well I suppose that's Lungbarrow out of continuity...

The Timeless Children closes off a season that is without doubt a step up from the previous one, giving us episodes that are of a much higher quality in terms of writing than what we had before, a more confident performance from Jodie Whittaker (though it would appear at the cost of her companions' performances) and Chibnall learning to give 'em the old razzle-dazzle. After watching the episode I kinda thought I liked it. Lots of surprises, shock revelations that would "change everything" and my favourite monsters - the Cybermen. Working with the Master again. Wait-a-minute.

Gosh, there's so much I want to say, and in truth most of it is a criticism, which is going to sound very negative, but it's hard to grab hold of the positives. Sorry Chibnall, I'm not sure your end-of-series finale quite pulled it off.

I love the Cybermen. They should be brilliant. They were astonishingly scary in the black-and-white days, lumbering around with human hands, or stalking the corridors of their tombs. By the seventies they sort of became somewhat generic monsters, though Eric Saward did, once or twice, try to recapture the body horror that they have. Russell T Davies and Tom MacRae did a relatively good job of reintroducing them as terrifying with the chopping shop images, and Steven Moffat's spider-head in The Pandorica Opens was terrifying.

However, nothing makes the Cybermen less terrifying than by diminishing them. Bad enough Ashad decided they were all becoming robots (and even the Master points out how rubbish this is), but in order to kill three humans, Ashad sends no less than 24 Cybermen to do the job. 24 Cybermen to kill three everyday humans. The Daleks would have sent one and probably succeeded. I love the Cybermen but they do get written as rubbish, and here they are no exception, no matter how cool the new Cybermen look.

And to just clarify, I was talking about the Cybermen's new look, because the unveiling of the CyberMasters was ridiculously stupid. Swanning around in capes, with Time Lord collars and scrawl and frowny faces...the CyberMasters looked beyond stupid. And made no sense...what exactly was regenerating beneath the armour? Is Chibnall's vision of the Cybermen simply men in suits of armour? There's supposed to be just brains up the top there!

I'll talk about the companions briefly because they've been spectacularly sidelined this series by a more invested Doctor and more interesting side characters. It was nice to see Graham have a moment with Yaz where he gave her some Granddad talk - I think the connection between these two is great and it's a shame we don't get more of it. Ryan was...well, Ryan. I won't be sorry to see him go.

Meanwhile...the new Master turns out to be one that does things that require no explanation. We aren't told how he escaped the dimension he was in, or how he managed to get back to Gallifrey or how he was able to ensure Gallifrey was the random boundary choice just when the Doctor was there (or maybe the boundary reacted to DNA? Who knows, because Chibnall wasn't particularly keen to open up this week. Though, given the storyline, that wouldn't have worked anyway). We certainly aren't given any deeper insight into what was going on in Spyfall, way back when, and for that I have to apologise to people to whom I suggested should be more positive and give the future a chance before complaining about Chibnall's writing. It turns out they had every right to complain as Chibnall couldn not be bothered to open up about that story thread. And it's one of many places where there was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

It would have been brilliant to learn that the Kasaavin were creatures who had evolved in the Matrix. It would have been amazing to discover that the Matrix was where they were taking people. If the Master was planning to use the human race as a storage device for the entire Matrix that would have made perfect sense. And by being transported there at the end of the episode...well, there's your explanation for how he got back to Gallifrey. Plus, they could have been a threat while the Doctor was in the Matrix. Instead it's just forgotten about.

Chibnall has a habit of just doing things for convenience sake. Ashad reveals he has a death particle in him that will wipe out every organic thing on the planet. He did make a comment in the last episode that pointed to this, but it was easy to miss. Not that it mattered anyway, because even though neither the Doctor nor the suicidal Master knew about this...everybody else did? There was a myth about the lone Cyberman carrying a death particle, which conveniently brings the Doctor up to speed, but does beg the question, how did she (and the Master - both of whom talk about the CyberWar as though they were were) not know this? How did they not know about the lone Cyberman? Why did Jack warn the Doctor anyway? What prompted that?)

The Irish segments of the previous story were - it turns out - redacted versions of the Timeless Child's life story, including his entrance into "The Division" (and can we pause for a brief moment and wonder, in an episode where Chibnall was keen to name drop Borusa, the Panopticon and the Shobogans, why he decided against Celestial Intervention Agency and renamed it The Division?) all of which were...beamed into the Doctor's head. There is literally no sense of that at all in the episode, and it's mentioned in a throwaway line by the Doctor. It's like when the episode ending is repeated at the beginning of the next one, but with a new scene explaining why the cliffhanger wasn't that scary.

The Master destroyed Gallifrey, it turns out, because "they" lied about regeneration. Or because the Doctor is part of him because he can regenerate...or something. The Doctor is furious about learning she lived a huge number of lives before Hartnell (giving us a brilliant moment for Whittaker where she rounds on the Master in anger, shoving him to the ground), but after the Ruth Doctor appears and asks her when she was ever defined by her past, the Doctor gets over it pretty quickly and moves on. The Master's snarls of "Nothing will ever be the same again" turned out to be hyperbole. Because, everything will be exactly the same. Except the numbering of the Doctors, and god knows what that will be. (Also...is the Doctor still half human on his mother's side? And did the pre-Hartnell Doctors use the same TARDIS that the Doctors used? And why was Ruth's TARDIS a police box?)

But, and please don't think I'm suggesting I'm a better writer than Chibnall, wouldn't it have made more sense if it was the Master who was the Timeless Child? I mean, I could get behind the Master's anger at being lied to by the Time Lords and his desire to wreak revenge on the entire civilisation that stole his unique abilities. And then wiped his mind after he'd been an effective CIA agent for goodness knows how long. I'm not even suggesting the Doctor shouldn't have an earlier regeneration cycle...just that the Doctor as the Timeless Child doesn't seem to work for the story as well as the Master would have.

My thoughts on this episode tally very closely with my feelings for the recent Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There's a lot of great stuff that carries the viewer along and allows you to get entertained. But the moment you pause and start to examine it...there's a lot of stuff that crumbles and obvious plot corrections that would have made much more sense in the context of the story. Plus...who were the Timeless Children?

I said above that series 12 was a step up from series 11 and I maintain that. Chibnall's writing is much better this time around, but it's still a bit jerky, and it still seems that he works better with other writers. Chibnall very much enjoys surprising his audience, but often at the expense of providing a working plot. And whereas both Davies and Moffat cared more about story than plot, I don't think surprise should trump plot. It was a fault in Broadchurch season two, and it's a fault here as well.

But does it matter? After all...the Daleks are coming...

The Cybermen are an odd Doctor Who monster. As a concept they are wonderfully creepy, but all too often they are used as a standard "monster of the week". In those situations, there's a real problem with how to deal with them, and so as a result they have convenient weaknesses that can be exploited to deal with them. Arguably they aren't the most effective monsters, but when used well, they are definitely the most creepiest.

The Lone Cyberman is a great use of the Cybermen, let's be clear. The partially converted head beneath the helmet is disturbing and gives us a better idea of what the Cybermen are supposed to represent. This one, though, is odder than most - an arm from the originals, a body from the most recent, a head from Davies era; he's less a partially converted Cyberman, and more a Frankenstein's monster of Cybermen - pun, presumably, intended. But he works. He has an anger that plays against his emotionless offspring. He's scary because he's a stepping stone, and that makes the Cybermen scary as well.

The Cybermen are back - redesigned for the new era and looking more like the creatures that plagued Patrick Troughton in his final year. They are awoken to join a script that doesn't really flow, and so things happen that we struggle to understand. Why did the Lone Cyberman apparently attack one of the new Cyberwarriors? Why did it scream? Why didn't that happen to any others?

It's the start of a series of questions, and it's probably not fair to judge the episode based on the strength of its story. We assume that everything will be wrapped up next week (though this being Chibnall, we may have to wait longer). The Doctor and her gang are fighting Cybermen from the outset, but the Doctor is suddenly made acutely aware of her reckless behaviour and the consequences this could have on her friends. Sent away, they are naturally split up, with Graham and Yaz ending up on a spaceship where they have plenty to do, and do the companion role justice.

Ryan, on other hand, is stuck with the Doctor and does very little. I think, in the long term, it might be a good thing for Ryan to depart. He has been less and less consequential on the episodes he has been in recently and doesn't work as the comic relief (that's Graham's job). On balance, he's the best choice to jump ship.

The episode is populated with a number of humans who seem to be nothing more than cannon fodder for the Cybermen - or possibly to whinge a lot and prove we should be grateful for the companions we have. I honestly don't remember any of their names, including the old chap that is on the boundary.

The boundary is some sort of gateway, apparently this time to Gallifrey (it's never looked like that before), and by the end of the episode an old friend has returned - the Master is ready to chew the scenery. The Doctor looks puzzled...next week everything changes.

In amongst all of this is a peculiar little Irish story that is clearly not real. Brandon - a young boy who is found in the middle of the road - grows up, is a police officer and can't die. He can age, though, unlike his father, it appears. What's the point of it all? Tune in next week, because there's nothing to connect this to the main storyline. Maybe it's some sort of Cyber-dream?

Ascension of the Cybermen is great fun. It rolls along like a fright ride at the fair, with lots to get wrapped up in and enjoy. But there's a strange feeling of having witnessed a light show. It looks good, but there's not a lot of substance to it. But, as I said earlier, this is part one, so let's give it some leeway and see how the story wraps up.

One of the biggest problems about Doctor Who is that fans - actually not even fans, anyone really - all have their own on idea on what Doctor Who is, and what makes it good. It's part of the reason why Doctor Who feels so different everytime a new producer takes over, and a big part of the reason Doctor Who fans argue over whether the current series is "proper" Doctor Who or not.

I won't lie, I've long learned that Doctor Who is anything and changes frequently, but I obviously have a preference and that is scary. Doctor Who needs to be scary. Action/adventure is the secondary genre for me. As such "The Haunting Of Villa Diodati" was always going to have a leg up in terms of brilliance for me. Ghost house...you can't go wrong really.

Meeting Byron and Mary Shelley has been a surprisingly long time coming (or not if you like the Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories, and if you do, you probably spent a lot of time fretting over the fact this episode over-writes those). With the Doctor now who she is, it's perhaps to be expected that Byron would become a little besotted with her.

And let's take a moment to chat about the Doctor and Jodie Whittaker. Whittaker's Doctor is developing quite nicely, with the fact she is socially awkward now a strong component of her character. But what I feel has been lacking in the Doctor is some steel. We've seen flashes of it every so often, but tonight the Doctor had "a moment". Here withering tolerance of Byron and his flirting is brilliant, but when she confronts her companions with the truth of their adventures, making it clear that she carries the responsibilities that go with their adventures, and as such gets to make the important decisions...it's a real Doctor moment. It's the moment the Doctor steps up and makes it clear why she is the centre of this television series.

In terms of companions, Ryan is becoming increasingly redundant to the series. His family relationships cleared up, Ryan seems to have nothing to do anymore, except be a bit of a clown. Graham gets all the best lines, but if he's the comedy relief we don't need a clown as well. Unfortunately Graham is a little watered down from last season, and his jokes have replaced the moments of wisdom he had. Yaz remains something of an enigma - she has more to do in terms of the story than Ryan does, and she seems to see her relationship with the Doctor in similar terms to Clair Clairmont and Byron's (romantic?), but she still feels a little painted-by-numbers. I suspect that if Doctor Who were to finish tomorrow, Chibnall's time on the show would be marked by an inability to create good companions.

The rest of the cast were top notch - Lili Miller is rather sweet as Mary Shelley, Jacob Collins-Levy is perfect as Byron, but without doubt it is Stefan Bednarczyk as the valet Fletcher who steals the episode. I was extremely sad when he was killed, given what a brilliant performance Bednarczyk gave. Make a box set of Fletcher, Big Finish!

Which brings us to the monster of the piece, and in some ways the story arc of the series. We know the Lone Cyberman has something to do with the Timeless Child, and Jack has already appeared to make sure that the Doctor doesn't give it what it wants. The Doctor, however, is not in a good mood and proceeds to do just that in order to save the life of Shelley. The Lone Cyberman - Ashad - is one of the creepiest Cybermen ever portrayed on screen. Created from the parts of various Cybermen from the new series, with his face partially revealed behind the half-mask, more human and emotional, Ashad is nightmarish. For the first time ever, one of my children decided to stop watching an episode (though some reassurance and the promise of hand holding brought him back). Ashad is one of the best representations of the Cybermen every on screen, and it is a credit to the production team as to how well he works.

Presumably he will be back, as the Doctor is going to confront him and also the final story of the series. I would argue this is close to the best episode we've seen from Whittaker - a Doctor with pragmatic backbone against a brilliantly realised classic villain in a ghost story. Par excellence.

There's a new villain in town. He's got a bald head and tattoos and in love with a woman trapped between two worlds feeding off nightmares. He's also playing games with human beings... Is he the Nightmare Man, stepped out of The Sarah Jane Adventures to tussle with the Doctor? Is he the Toymaker, the Doctor's deadly foe resurrected for the new millenium? Or is it the Black Guardian...one of the immortal figures that balance chaos and good in the universe?

No. It's not the last two, even though both are mentioned and it's not the first, but just happens to be quite similar. Although I quite like it when the new series references the past, I do feel that name dropping is sometimes a double-edged sword. If you're going to introduce a character very similar to the Toymaker, and then have him say "The Toymaker would be proud", you should possibly be asking yourself either a) why didn't I just make it the Toymaker in the first place, or b) why did I waste time referencing a character so similar? But that's a personal thing.

Zellin is our scary new bad guy, and he has the ability to take people's nightmares, in a decidedly disturbing fashion, by having his fingers detach and go into people's ears. I can't imagine who came up with that idea but it's not pleasant. Additionally he's been doing this for quite some time...or not, as he and his partner - the woman trapped in a globe holding two worlds apart - seem to be able to pop back and forth through time. A good trick if you can do it.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of this storyline, though, is that it gives us the opportunity to explore the companions a little more. We learn a little about Graham's nightmares (and he later shares this with the Doctor who admits to being unsure of how to respond, like so many of us in that situation), as well as Yaz's and Ryan's, and we get the chance for both Grace O'Brien and Sonya Khan to have cameos. We also learn a little more about Ryan's everyday life. It's nice when the companions maintain their links to their ordinary life. Getting the chance to see them pop in and out gives us a different perspective on their travels. It seems like it might also be giving Ryan a different perspective as, by the end of the episode, he is musing on how long their travels with the Doctor can last. Given Tosin Cole has recently been cast in a new series, the thirteenth Doctor may be about to lose one of her companions.

Back to the story, and the Doctor's confrontation with her enemies isn't just with her companions but also a couple of ring-ins that she's gathered along the way. One is Ryan's best mate Tibo who you may remember from Skyfall. Tibo is pretty dependent on Ryan, which I must admit I initially thought might be leading somewhere else, but it turns out Tibo is suffering from some form of mental illness - presumably depression - which is possibly also shared by Yaz. It's the "issue of the week", as some put it, but it's handled quite well, and isn't shoved down our throats with a lecture from the Doctor at the end. Instead, we see Tibo going to a group meeting and Yaz meeting up with the police officer who once helped her out.

I have to say, though, I like the fact that the thirteenth Doctor is socially awkward. It was mentioned in Series 11, and it's reiterated here, but it makes sense of so much of what she does. Of all the Doctors she's the one that struggles a little to fit in. Unlike the twelfth Doctor who simply doesn't care and is content to be rude, or the eleventh Doctor, whose charm bypasses his idiosyncrasies, or the tenth Doctor who is socially adept, the thirteenth tries too hard to be one of the crowd. It's impressive that she doesn't opt for that when Graham tells her how he's feeling, and instead she just admits she is out of her depth. Graham's understanding of this is just as thoughtful. I'll be honest, knowing someone who has depression and suffering from cancer, this hit too close to home. For me the episode was handled very well from that perspective.

I loved this episode, essentially. I thought it was well handled, and it was spectacularly creepy, which I think is what Doctor Who should often be (most of my favourite stories are). We are only two episodes away from the finale, but I think series 12 is really going from strength to strength.

I should like, if I may, to have a bit of a ramble about Jodie Whittaker's time in Doctor Who as I discuss PRAXEUS, this week's new episode. No doubt one which will infuriate people as Graham is literally the only straight, white male in the episode. It's full of coloureds and queers and girls. Disgraceful.

The story for this one is, again, nothing particularly amazing...it's a bit on par with the Tesla episode, but there's an enormous amount of energy in the episode which helps it along magnificiently. Plus, Pete McTighe (who, as the recent Season 10 Collection box set shows has a genuine love for classic Doctor Who) manages to give something useful to every single companion - Ryan gets a little solo mission, Graham is the sounding board for everyone, and Yaz has a quick trip to beneath the Indian Ocean. There's lots for people to do, and I do love it when a Doctor Who story starts with the Doctor and her companions already engaged in the action (another similarity to Tesla).

McTighe's other characters are great fun - the former policeman and his astronaut husband with the fractured relationship, the amazingly prepared reasearch scientist and her friend, and the vlogger/explorer who has lost her friend are all brought to life magnificiently. And the moral of the story is the amount of plastic that we have in our world, including micro-plastics. The dissection of the bird seemed straight out of the "A Plastic Ocean" documentary.

And it struck me, as I watched it and was hit by that commonality to the documentary that Doctor Who has made a genuine change of direction, akin to what Steven Moffat did in 2010. The thing is, though, rather than targetting it as being "woke", what is happening is something like what happened in 1970. If that was Doctor Who absorbing the DNA of James Bond, The Avengers and Quatermass, what we see now is Doctor Who absorbing the DNA of environmental concern. Chris Chibnall has done his job, taking the program and remaking it in his vision, letting it absorb Captain Power and Doomwatch this time. That's not a bad thing. That's Chibnall's job and when we don't get moments where the Doctor delivers the He-Man message at the end, it's done really rather well.

A lot of the episode is shot in South Africa, which is standing in for Madagascar and Peru (as well as the countries it was in SPYFALL), and again with the new cameras and aspect ratio you get a sense of the phsyical difference Chibnall has brought to the series - again in much the same way that Moffat did when he took over.

PRAXEUS isn't up there with SPYFALL or JUDOON, but it's a good episode that has a proper message, likable characters and a sizable amount for everyone to do. This is what every episode of Chibnall's Who should aspire to at least be. Thankfully, this season seems to finally be hitting that mark.