Story: Spyfall, Part One
Written By: Chris Chibnall
Length: 60 Minutes
Year: 2020
While it was certainly disappointing to learn that Doctor Who was taking yet another long break after Jodie Whitaker's debut series (and also a seemingly odd decision considering her first series had the best ratings the show had seen in a while), the wait does at least seem worth it! I am not to be counted among those who found her first series to be that bad, I will say that the premiere of her second year is the best stuff her Doctor has had thus far.
The Doctor and her team get recruited by MI6 (lead by "C" who is played by the wonderful Stephen Fry), to figure out what extra terrestrial entity is killing off their agents. All of the agents were investigating Daniel Barton, a former agent who left the spy life behind to become a billionaire search engine magnate. When "C" is murdered by the alien entities right in front of them, it is up to the gang to figure out what is going on, and the Doctor recruits a former MI6 agent called "O" who was the one guy who was onto all the alien stuff within the organization.
It's a dash of James Bond in an actiony opener, with just enough excitement and twists to keep you going without overwhelming you. The episode is dedicated to the great Terrence Dicks, and that feels very fitting. It's Earthbound, had the Doctor team up with an Earth Organization, has a flare of the Bond to it...and the twist at the end also represents that era nicely. Whitaker is great, Chibnall's script is fun...and his big reveal at the end bodes well. And so, here comes the spoilery bits:
The gang chase Daniel Barton to his personal airplane, but a slip of the tongue by O turns the whole story upside down. O claims that he was always a terrible runner, never very fast...but The Doctor thinks that seems off as she read his file and knows he ran track when younger. And that's when we find out that the likable nerd who has been helping the team out, is actually...the Master. Look the Master never truly dies...and whether this is the latest incarnation after Missy...or somewhere in between Simm and her is still yet to be known. Honestly who cares...the Master's timeline is all sorts of crazy. At any rate the turn that Sacha Dhawan takes when he reveals himself to be the latest version of the iconic villain is fun. Maybe a tad over the top, but here's hoping after his enjoyment of revealing himself to the Doctor he settles down some of the more cartoonish bits.
The whole thing wraps up with Barton teleported away from the plane by the Master with a bomb in his place...then the light entities return (controlled by the Master) he tells the Doctor that everything she knows is a lie, the beings snatch the Doctor away to their dimension (Yaz got sent their earlier in the episode but was returned), and the three companions are trapped on a plane with no cockpit crashing to Earth! Cliffhangers are back! What fun to be had, and we only have to wait until Sunday! What a treat!
NEXT TIME: A Little Chaos is a Wonderful Thing...
Written By: Chris Chibnall
Length: 60 Minutes
Year: 2020
While it was certainly disappointing to learn that Doctor Who was taking yet another long break after Jodie Whitaker's debut series (and also a seemingly odd decision considering her first series had the best ratings the show had seen in a while), the wait does at least seem worth it! I am not to be counted among those who found her first series to be that bad, I will say that the premiere of her second year is the best stuff her Doctor has had thus far.
It's a dash of James Bond in an actiony opener, with just enough excitement and twists to keep you going without overwhelming you. The episode is dedicated to the great Terrence Dicks, and that feels very fitting. It's Earthbound, had the Doctor team up with an Earth Organization, has a flare of the Bond to it...and the twist at the end also represents that era nicely. Whitaker is great, Chibnall's script is fun...and his big reveal at the end bodes well. And so, here comes the spoilery bits:
The gang chase Daniel Barton to his personal airplane, but a slip of the tongue by O turns the whole story upside down. O claims that he was always a terrible runner, never very fast...but The Doctor thinks that seems off as she read his file and knows he ran track when younger. And that's when we find out that the likable nerd who has been helping the team out, is actually...the Master. Look the Master never truly dies...and whether this is the latest incarnation after Missy...or somewhere in between Simm and her is still yet to be known. Honestly who cares...the Master's timeline is all sorts of crazy. At any rate the turn that Sacha Dhawan takes when he reveals himself to be the latest version of the iconic villain is fun. Maybe a tad over the top, but here's hoping after his enjoyment of revealing himself to the Doctor he settles down some of the more cartoonish bits.
The whole thing wraps up with Barton teleported away from the plane by the Master with a bomb in his place...then the light entities return (controlled by the Master) he tells the Doctor that everything she knows is a lie, the beings snatch the Doctor away to their dimension (Yaz got sent their earlier in the episode but was returned), and the three companions are trapped on a plane with no cockpit crashing to Earth! Cliffhangers are back! What fun to be had, and we only have to wait until Sunday! What a treat!
NEXT TIME: A Little Chaos is a Wonderful Thing...
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