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The Power of the Doctor is the 2022 Centenary Special for the current Doctor Who incumbent, Jodie Whittaker, and it sees the Cybermen return, yet again… yawn.
This time, on an even more futuristic-loking Snowpiercer-type of train. Oh,and they’re not Cybermen, but CyberMasters. Surely, with all the wokeness around, they should be CyberNonBinary?
Either way, they kidnap a young girl, for all the difference that makes.
But never mind a plot, since we saw the return of Sophie Alfred as Ace, even though I never saw her Doctor Who episodes, with Sylvester McCoy, since I gave up early on into Colin Baker’s era. However, I remember Janet Fielding as Tegan, and her time with Peter Davison.
There was also a low-key exit early on, since Dan decided he’d get back to reality because one year of flying with the Doctor is more than enough. Thus, this just left Jodie with her lover, Yaz.
But… a Dalek appears, seeking a sort of truce because it has information relating to both humans and Daleks. Like Finn in the recent Star Wars trilogy, this one has gone rogue. He wants her to ensure the Daleks are destroyed, but the Doctor has killed them all time and time again, and they never go away. Well, that subplot seemed intriguing at first, but then just disintegrated into a way to apparently defeat them again, even though you know they’ll always come back.
Meanwhile, it was off to “St Petersburg” in 1916, even though back then, it was still called Leningrad, but the Cyber things are up in space with the child. And then it’s off to UNIT HQ in present-day London, where they learn the current Poundshop Master has stuck his face in a bunch of big painting.
But, about the child, was I not paying attention, or after floating about a bit, did she never feature again? Or was she that swirly thing from Yars’ Revenge?
Cue lots of running about, something even more more daft when Jodie was encased inside a Dalek, then some bollocks about regenerating her into The Master, with The Fly-inspired pods.
Either way, an hour in, and I still felt like I was waiting for the plot to start. In fact, given how the Master’s long beard was likened to Rasputin, the only enjoyable moment of the episode was hearing a bit of that Boney M song.
Oh, and after the late explosion of the UNIT building with bad dust CGI, it was ridiculous that they let it all blow in their face without covering their faces like normal people would do. Plus, the pretend ‘dusting off’ their clothes, which had no dust on them.
And, that last moment with zero atmosphere between Jodie and Yaz (and not just because the were sat in deep space)…
Now, some spoilers, which I’ll hide behind a spoiler header, so you can’t read them automatically.
Doctor Who returns in November 2023 with the 60th Anniversary Special. You can watch The Power of the Doctor on the BBC iPlayer.
You can pre-order The Season 13 Specials Steelbook on Blu-ray, ahead of its release on November 7th.
You can pre-order The Power Of The Doctor on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release on November 7th.
You can buy Eve of the Daleks / The Power of the Doctor on Blu-ray and DVD.
Doctor Who: Flux is available on Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray and DVD.
You can also buy Series 12 on Blu-ray, DVD and Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook.
Also available is Revolution Of The Daleks on Blu-ray and DVD.
The episode is now on the BBC iPlayer.
Score: 2/10 (for the unexpected parts, not the plot!)
Director: Jamie Magnus Stone
Producer: Nikki Wilson
Writer: Chris Chibnall
Cast:
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Yasmin Khan: Mandip Gill
Dan Lewis: John Bishop
The Master: Sacha Dhawan
Ace: Sophie Aldred
Tegan: Janet Fielding
Kate Stewart: Jemma Redgrave
Vinder: Jacob Anderson
Ashad: Patrick O’Kane
Deputy Marshal Arnhost: Joe Sims
Train Marshal Halaz: Sanchia McCormack
Curator: Danielle Bjelic
Alexandra: Anna Andresen
Nicholas: Richard Empsey
Messenger: Jos Slovick
Dalek/Cybermen Voice: Nicholas Briggs
And those I listed in the spoiler section:
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.