The festive period isn’t complete without an appearance from everyone’s favourite timelord, and on New Year’s Day, Doctor Who was back for a special episode with appearances from old enemies as well as old friends.
Cast your mind back to the end of Series Twelve and you’ll remember a bewildered Doctor being transported by the Judoon to a space prison 79 billion light years away from Earth. And we, along with the Doctor’s companions, have had to wait a cruel ten months to discover her fate. As Yaz (Mandip Gill) rifles through the coloured note-adorned Tardis searching for clues as to the Doctor’s whereabouts, Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) are keen to move on. Back on Earth, revamped Daleks are being used to stop civil unrest and, according to the Prime Minister (Harriet Walter), will bring about “an age of security”…
The return of a beloved character
Despite Doctor Who being a British institution, here the Americans stole the show. Behind the return of the Daleks is none other than the brilliantly awful Trump parody, Jack Robertson (Chris Roth), who you’ll remember from Arachnids in the UK in Series Eleven. He comes out with some epic one-liners in this episode, one of my favourites being “This is a PR disaster” in regards to the Dalek-cloning debacle. Another American, and a much more agreeable one at that, is back in this episode in the shape of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) to save the doctor from space prison. It was nice to see his flirtatious ways haven’t been dulled in his decade-long absence from the show; referring to a baffled Graham as a “silver fox” on his arrival on earth. Intriguingly, Jack also manages to name-drop a couple of old favourites from the who-verse throughout the episode. Mentions of past companion Rose and Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper beg the question; will we be seeing them again any time soon?
“The unpredictability of travelling with the Doctor is clear as Jack concludes; “Enjoy the journey while you’re on it, ‘cos the joy is worth the pain’.”
Along with bringing the entertainment factor, Revolution of the Daleks isn’t short of emotion. The Doctor doesn’t exactly get a cheery welcome from the gang when they’re reunited, even getting a slightly-too-hard shove from Yaz. Deep chats are also a-plenty. Mandip Gill shines throughout but especially in a one-to-one with Jack about how the Doctor’s absence has taken its toll. The unpredictability of travelling with the Doctor is clear as Jack concludes; “Enjoy the journey while you’re on it, ‘cos the joy is worth the pain”. Back in the Tardis, the Doctor is struggling with an identity crisis following the Gallifrey drama last season. She’s comforted by Ryan, who believes things “change all the time, and they should, cos they have to”; words which hint that Ryan is ready to leave his time-travelling days behind him.
An episode of goodbyes
In terms of the Daleks themselves – well, they seem to be defeated all too easily. The Doctor decides the best way to kill the mutant Daleks is by summoning none other than the Russell T Davies-era OG Daleks. One detonation of a Dalek ship and the destruction of a fake Tardis later and the Daleks are destroyed. It’s already time for goodbyes. Leaving the Tardis are Ryan, who’s determined to help his pals and protect the Earth, and Graham, who, as Ryan’s doting Grandad, doesn’t want to leave him behind. The final scene is no doubt an emotional one, with details such as Ryan’s yellow beanie and a vision of Grace in the sunlight providing a lovely nod to the very first episode of Thirteen’s run where it all began for these companions.
“Perhaps a two-part special could have given more attention to the Doctor’s stint in space prison, the destruction of the Daleks, as well as given time for a proper send-off to departing companions.”
Despite the slower pace and relatively simple plot of Revolution of the Daleks, parts did feel a little rushed. Perhaps a two-part special could have given more attention to the Doctor’s stint in space prison, the destruction of the Daleks, as well as given time for a proper send-off to departing companions. Let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of Graham and Ryan and with the return of Captain Jack, it will be interesting to see if any other old favourites will make a comeback this series. Most of all, it will be exciting to see the dynamic develop between Thirteen and Yaz, as well as to see how new companion Dan (John Bishop) will fit into the picture. Until then, one thing is for sure; they do get aliens in Sheffield.
Kirsty King
Featured image courtesy of Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to the image.
