My Review of Doctor Who's - The Power Of The Doctor

 

Written by Chris Chibnall

Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone

The Doctor (to herself): "Doctor whoever I'm about to be. Tag, you're it."

Elephant in the room first to be addressed - there's no denying that this has been the most divisive era of Doctor Who and for a lot of people, Chris Chibnall handing back the TARDIS keys to Russell T. Davies was certainly needed. This year alone, the first two specials certainly left a lot to be desired. Was this special going to go the same way? Let's see, shall we?

On one hand, the main plot for this episode was certainly convoluted and nonsensical with the action often moving too fast for it's own good. However, on the other hand, this was an episode determined to tie up loose ends (abruptly or not at all), throw in as many returns as humanly possible, combine evil forces together and end on the mother of all cliffhangers, and for the most part, this episode actually managed to accomplish their goals.

The evil part first though. - any episode that features the Master (Sacha Dhawan), regardless of quality will be a must see for me. Last time we saw him, he was left on Gallifrey with his Cyber-Masters. This time though, he used them, the Daleks, a random child and a planet for conversion in order to smoke out the Doctor and Yaz. What for you might ask? Oh nothing, really. Instead of killing the Doctor, the Master decided to become the Doctor. It's not a big deal.

Sacha Dhawan's version of the Master has undoubtedly been one of the most successful elements of this era and in spite of  his ridiculously convoluted plan (become the Doctor, discredit the Doctor, destroy the Earth in a nutshell), he almost stole this episode from Jodie Whittaker. He was delightfully deranged, a good few steps ahead of everyone but ultimately, he overreached and grossly underestimated both the Doctor and Yaz. With his body looking in worse shape than ever, this likely will be the last time we see Sacha Dhawan in the role but not the last time we see the Master. Just give it a while before they pop up to cause havoc for a new Doctor.

As for the returns, you'd swear this was an anniversary special for the show, instead of simply the BBC. If some fans weren't happy with Steven Moffat skimping on returns for The Day Of The Doctor, then you could almost argue that this episode massively overcompensated. Yes, there was the ones we knew about, the ones we expected and then there was the ones none of us saw coming.

I genuinely gasped in excitement when seeing David Bradley, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann's Doctors on the screen with Jodie Whittaker. Was it fanservice over kill? Absolutely but I didn't care. Just seeing them on screen again was too exciting to watch. Not to mention the scenes that Davison and McCoy had with their former companions Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) were utterly sublime to watch.

I don't need to tell you that seeing Tegan and Ace was a delight because it was but so was seeing the likes of Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Vinder (Jacob Anderson) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) all swooping into to help the Doctor and Yaz as well. As for Dan, his exit was rushed but a later scene kind of made up for it and while Yaz hasn't been my favourite companion, I did like the final moments that Mandip Gill had with Jodie Whittaker during this episode.

As for Jodie Whittaker, this episode cemented a strong final performance for her. If you were hoping for a resolution for the Timeless Child, this episode didn't bother with it. Story wise, I wouldn't expect anything further from it. As for the regeneration, I appreciated the shake up in format but David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor was definitely unexpected. What a way to end this special on.

- Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred's names were in the opening credits but this episode also saw the returns of Jo Martin (Fugitive Doctor),  Katy Manning (Jo Jones), William Russell (Ian Chesterton) and Bonnie Langford (Melanie Bush) along with mentions of Sarah Jane, Adric and Ryan.

- We got a brief trailer for the 60th anniversary, which featured the Fourteenth Doctor, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), possibly the Celestial Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) and the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), due for November 2023.

- This was the longest episode in this current era, clocking in at 87 minutes. 

- Despite the first two specials teasing the idea of Thasmin, ultimately this special didn't go through with it, though the Doctor and Yaz did have an ice cream before the former elected to regenerate alone.

- Standout music: The use of Boney M's Rasputin while the Master spent a good portion of the episode disguised as Rasputin was on brand for that character. 

- Chronology: Mostly 1916 Russia and 2022 UK but there were a few different locations here.

The Power Of The Doctor undeniably was something of a messy story in terms of the Master's overall scheming but the returns it had, the various callbacks and references might have alienated casual audiences but they were a delight to watch nonetheless. Also that ending. November 2023 will be a hell of a wait. As for Jodie Whittaker, she did good here.

Rating: 9 out of 10