Chris Chibnall’s career as a Doctor Who showrunner has been tumultuous, riddled with inconsistencies, lack of character development and some shabby storylines the last two series had more mistakes than successes.
Series 11 was barely seen at times, despite a few standout episodes (Rosa, Demons of the Punjab) and Jodie Whittaker’s best attempts at salvaging mediocre scripts with her considerable talent. the “Doctor’s Best Enemy,” the Masters, but the episodes without him felt aimless by comparison.
Despite this devastating record, the first episode of the 13th season gave me hope. Chibnall abandons the usual episodic structure of previous series and has chosen to follow a serial narrative broken down into 6 episodes and what an ambitious narrative it seems. Episode 1, The Halloween Apocalypse, was packed with new characters, new villains, and new concepts, all focused on the end of the universe from an undefined threat called “The Flux”.
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This end of the world starts in Liverpool and moves away from the Sheffield pick from the previous series.Chibnall’s best move as a showrunner, aside from casting Jodie Whittaker and Sacha Dhawan, was to embrace the north of England. Often maligned and limited to soap operas and crime fiction, if anything, it is refreshing to see Sheffield and now Liverpool. reintroduced us as places of magic and adventure. You’re just as worthy of hosting this escapist science fiction fantasy as London, which has seen more of the Blue Box in Doctor Who’s endless run than anywhere else.
The impending destruction of the universe is commonplace in Doctor Who, but with a huge budget invested in the visual effects department, it seems more important than ever. Particularly noteworthy, according to Akinola, is for an equally impressive score, his work, although it lacks the thematic genius of the former Doctor Who composer Murray Gold, only got better with each series.
However, the episode is not free of errors. Yaz’s (Mandip Gill) lack of character development continues to disappoint.After the departure of former teammates Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh), I assumed that Yaz would be forced to develop some of his own distinctive traits. It is clear that the showrunners made some attempts; he can now “cost-control” the TARDIS and turn back the doctor’s stubbornness, but that’s not enough to round it off nicely. Perhaps this will be fixed as series 13 progresses, but it seems too late to save the abuse and underdevelopment of the previous series. I hope I have proven otherwise.
Yaz’s fate is disappointing, but the introduction of a new partner is less so. John Bishop plays Dan Lewis with great warmth and humor, an unusual cast that works perfectly.I’m sure it’ll be a fan favorite – we were also introduced to Kavanista (Craige Els), Claire (Annabel Scholey) and Vinder (Jacob Anderson), and so many other characters that at times I felt like I was watching the movie. first scenes of war and peace.
Having so many characters and narrative threads is a bold choice, and while handled skillfully, I have some concerns about how Chibnall will follow a coherent narrative with so much. With my hands heavy, it felt like I was being force-fed with a shovel.
Despite all the difficulties, it was 50 exciting, fast-paced and cheerful minutes of television, and I will tune in with the same enthusiasm next Sunday, ready for more.