SPOILERS ABOUND!!!!!!!

Production Details

• Doctor: The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker)
• Companions: Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) and Yazmin Khan (Mandip Gill)
• Writer: Chris Chibnall
• Directors: Jamie Magnus Stone (Part 1) and Lee Haven Jones (Part 2)
• Producers: Nikki Wilson and Alex Mercer
• Guest Starring: Sacha Dhawan (O/The Master), Lenny Henry (Daniel Barton), Stephen Fry (C), Sylvie Briggs (Ada Lovelace), Aurora Marion (Noor Inayat Khan), Mark Dexter (Charles Babbage), Shobna Gulati (Najia Khan), Ravin J Ganatra (Hakim Khan), Bhavnishna Parmar (Sonya Khan) and Struan Rodger (Voice of the Kasaavin)
• Music: Segun Akinola
• Script Editor: Fiona McAllister
• Executive Producers: Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevans
• Running Time: 59 minutes (Part 1) and 60 minutes (Part 2)
• Release Dates: 1st January 2020 (Part 1) and 5th January 2020 (Part 2)

Introduction

So after a year long hiatus, Doctor Who returns with a lot to prove. Series 11 has been… divisive to say the least and whilst the fan backlash has been blown way out of proportion with some nasty things said on Twitter, in my opinion it wasn’t entirely unfounded as Series 11 lacked anything substantial with an inconsistent Doctor, underdeveloped companions, slow-moving and clunky stories, a lack of any significant threat and a huge let-down of a finale. Suffice to say, I was underwhelmed and whilst I don’t think it’s as bad as series 7 or series 8, it’s in a similar ballpark.

So Spyfall (I hate the title too), written by Chris Chibnall whose name is now mud in the fandom, has the task of winning us back and on that front, it succeeded… but it’s still got a way to go to be as good as it was in the 00s.

Trailers

Series 12

Spyfall Part 2

Synopsis

Earth’s greatest intelligence agents are being picked off by a mysterious race known as the Kasaavin, who are rewriting their DNA. MI6 calls the Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan for help as they suspect that tech mogul Daniel Barton may be involved. With the help of Agent O, the fam investigate Barton and his involvement with the Kasaavin. However, when O is revealed to be the Master, the situation grows more dire as the whole universe may be at stake…

Review

Let’s just get this out of the way: Spyfall is an awful title. It’s clearly a parody of Skyfall but it’s not even that clever and it’s a terrible pun. Personally, I think it should have been called The Spymaster but hey ho… too late now.

Anyway, the story fixes series 11’s issues somewhat by upping the pacing and keeping it flowing well throughout the most part which is good because the plot, when you think about it, doesn’t quite add up. The Kasaavian’s plan is never properly explained. As best as I understand it, they want to convert humanity’s DNA into massive hard drives but to what end? How does it help them conquer the universe? What does Daniel Barton and the Master have to gain from it? Why did they target other points in time? It’s never really explained and the episode kind of falls apart.

In that regard, it’s similar to the Series 6 opener, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, it’s entertaining and ambitious but the plot never really adds up when looking back on it. But at least that had a clever resolution whereas here, they unironically used the ‘I bribed the architect’ gag from The Curse of Fatal Death as the resolution happens immediately and off-screen. It’s a lazy way to resolve the conflict and ends the story on a bit of a dud.

But like I said, it is entertaining and that’s largely due to the performances. One problem with series 11 was that, despite doing her best, Jodie Whittaker never really clicked with me as the Doctor. Don’t get me wrong, I support a female Doctor in principle but 13’s inconsistent characterisation and Jodie’s lost performance held this Doctor back. Luckily, this all changed here. This is a Doctor who is nervous and doesn’t always know what she’s doing but she is kind and really enthusiastic and oh my gosh, I just related to the Doctor! The final moments are where she truly shined as she is finally allowed to have some dramatic weight and her facial acting is brilliant. I hope to see more of Jodie Whittaker acting her heart out.

The companions however really start to feel overcrowded. It was a smart move splitting them up as we got some character development but they don’t get much room to breathe. Yaz finally gets a scene of development but it’s only one scene and Graham and Ryan are pretty much comic relief (though Graham remains a treasure in that regard). This is especially egregious in episode 2 where they have no impact on the plot as the Doctor basically fixes it all.

As for the supporting characters, Lenny Henry is nice and threatening as Daniel Barton but his character lacks the sufficient motivation to be evil. I do like that his evil plans tie in with people ignorance towards internet privacy. It’s a very unique and topical angle in sci-fi and I’m glad to see it used here. Stephen Fry on the other hand is completely wasted as C as he is killed off after 5 minutes of screen-time. The Kasaavin as villains have an effective design and they have some truly creepy moments in part 1 but they’re too vague to be suitably threatening and the fact that they’re unable to cause lasting harm to our main heroes massively devalues the threat. Maybe if they came back they can be properly explained but as of now, they’re pretty weak overall.

But the true standout is Sacha Dhawan as the Master. The reveal and cliffhanger at the end of part 1 was genuinely surprising and helps raise the stakes and his performance from then on is electric. He successfully combines the class of the Classic Masters and the craziness of the New Masters whilst also bringing something new to the table. This is a Master full of rage and pain and you get the impression that he doesn’t enjoy this as much as he lets on. Because of this, he might actually be my favourite Master from the Revival Era since he blends the fun craziness with genuine evil and menace.

Part 2 shines when it focuses on the Master hunting down the Doctor in the past. Dhawan and Whittaker have some terrific chemistry together and their dynamic remains faithful to the past whilst keeping things fresh by swapping their genders, creating a somewhat kinky power dynamic (‘Call me Master’). Also giving him back the TCE (complete with doll effects) and his own TARDIS fills me with so much glee!

Setting half of part 2 in the past was a stroke of genius as it helped keep things fresh and it even taught me about some unknown historical figures such as Ada Lovelace, one of computing’s pioneers, and Noor Inayat Khan, the first female wireless operator to be sent behind enemy lines. Though I am okay with the big historical figures like William Shakespeare and Rosa Parks, this is a nice change of pace and they work well with the Doctor.

But it’s really the ending to the story that truly got me excited for this series. Basically, the episode reveals that the Master destroyed Gallifreyan society after learning the truth about ‘The Timeless Child’ aka our arc for Jodie’s era which not only gives Jodie Whittaker something to do in these but it also fixes a problem with the Moffat Era. See in The Day of the Doctor, Steven Moffat brought Gallifrey back which was fine but he proceeded to do nothing with it. He brought them back in Hell Bent but didn’t do much and the Doctor just leaves with no fanfare. With that awkwardness hanging over Doctor Who, Chris Chibnall made a smart decision in redestroying it as it gets rid of that burden whilst simultaneously setting up a potentially interesting storyline. It’s a smart move to say the least.

The production values aren’t as great as they were in series 11 but they’re still solid, especially in part 2 with mostly good direction and excellent music from Segun Akinola who leans into the Bond-pastiche more than everyone else. The period design is well done, as to be expected with the BBC, and Jodie’s tuxedo looks fantastic, blending Bond with the Doctor seamlessly. I was also pleased to learn that her bow tie was made in my home town. I never felt more proud of it.

Conclusion

Spyfall is a very fragmented episode since the plot ultimately doesn’t add up and it’s frustratingly vague but it manages to still be fun with strong pacing, an excellent performance from Jodie Whittaker, a new and exciting status quo, good comedy and action, strong time travel elements and a phenomenal new Master. It’s a step in the right direction for Doctor Who and I hope it keeps its upward trajectory

Score: 8/10

Graham, don’t ever leave the series…