Ra-Ra-Rasputin

Story: Power of the Doctor
Written By: Chris Chibnall
Length: 75 Minutes
Year: 2022

These long breaks...they are something aren't they?  Feels like forever since I wrote a review of a Who episode.  Hell, I haven't written Star Trek reviews in a while either, though that is more down to a lack of interest.  I am sure someday I will dive back into that, but I'll let the content mount up a bit so it feels worthwhile to go beyond that paywall again. Anyhow...Doctor Who!  It's back!  Jodie Whitaker and Chris Chibnall take their final bows in a big ol' episode which is meant to not only serve as her swan song, but as a special for the BBC Centenary, as the network which has always been the home to the series is currently celebrating it's 100th anniversary.  And it makes for Who to have an offering for those celebrations, since it has been a fixture (on and off) for 60 years!  

The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan are mid-adventure trying to thwart the Cyber-Masters (those Time Lord/Cybermen hybrid nonsense things from the end of Series 12).  Dan nearly dies but manages to make it by the skin of his teeth.  After the Doctor fails to stop the Cybermen from getting some cargo (what appears to be a little girl), they head back to Earth to drop Dan off.  While it is meant to be for a date, he tells them he can't continue on like this and is going to stay on Earth for good.  A shame to lose Dan so early in the episode, but there was a lot to get through and it made sense, so I get it. Meanwhile, we get classic companions Ace (investigating missing paintings), and Tegan (investigating missing seismologists) back for the episode. They believe their cases are linked and team up with Kate Stewart at UNIT. 

The Doctor and Yaz are back on the case of the Cybermen plot, though the Doctor has been given allegedly defecting info from a Dalek that could save Earth...and the Master is involved with it all.  It turns out all the various plot points are a scheme for the Master to force the Doctor to regenerate into himself, he basically wants to steal her body and regenerations, and then destroy the population of Earth. It is very him. And he succeeds....he steals her body and forces himself into becoming the Doctor...and Yaz abandons him on a moon her first chance, and collect Vinder and Ace to try and help thwart the Masters scheme and return the Doctor back to her old self again, all while Kate Stewart and Tegan try to stop the Cybermen from converting all of UNIT and then escaping to wreak havoc on Earth.  

They all succeed, as you'd expect, and the Doctor is returned to her old self, and she takes control to undo the Master's plans before too much damage can occur. But the Master takes his final chance before he dies (seemingly, he usually finds a way out of that), and he gets the Doctor mortally wounded, which triggers her real regeneration process.  Yaz decides that before it can happen, she will take her leave of the TARDIS, as she isn't prepared to face it head on.  

The episode was a ton of fun in my view.  It has a complicated script and has a ton going on, but I had a great time watching it.  I mean when the Doctor is in her head and the Master has taken over her body, she speaks to several versions of her self!  We get to see David Bradley make another appearance as his version of the First Doctor...but then shockingly Colin Baker, Peter Davison, and Paul McGann all show up here as well!  And even more lovely is the fact that this holographic AI of the Doctor that the Doctor has created to help her friends speaks to Tegan and Ace as THEIR Doctors!  Seeing Tegan and the Fifth Doctor have a moment where he pushes her on and says “braveheart” to her. Perfect! Ace and the Seventh Doctor have a moment that feels like closure for two characters who never got it on screen due to the original cancellation. That in itself feels like the BBC gets to right a wrong, so Centenary worth it! 

It also has a great bit at the end where Graham (who also briefly gets to return and be in on all the action), has set up a sort of support group for former Doctor companions. Along with Yaz, Dan, Ace, Tegan, and Kate, we also get to see Jo, Mel, and really excitingly:  Ian!  I mean if you are celebrating Doctor Who and the BBC, you've got to have one of the very first companions make his first return to the show since he left in the 60s. 

The episode is a big cluster of storylines and characters, but while I am sure many fans will decry it being a mess and awful and blah blah blah, I thought it was quite entertaining, and had plenty for a fan like me to enjoy.  You could definitely argue that there was a lot in here that might be off-putting or confusing to the casual viewer...but you know what? A Doctor's finale is not for the casual viewers, it is for the fans. And I think it had plenty to offer.  I can already sense fans complaining, as they have done since whitaker was announced.  But you know what?  I had a blast with this one.  

 Oh, and in the end, the Doctor regenerated into...David Tennant! Even the clothes regenerated this time, which hasn't happened since Troughton took over for Hartnell in the first regeneration.  My goodness, it will be interesting to see the 60th Anniversary specials bring.  It seems that next November we are getting a trio of specials starring Tennant, which will ultimately end in his regenerating into the already announced Ncuti Gatwa, who will apparently not be the 14th Doctor, but the 15th in the end! 

NEXT TIME: Series 13 Recap