DOCTOR WHO S12
Weighing up the pros and cons of the Time Lord’s most recent series.
1 WHAT WORKS THE OPENING
Doctor Who thrives on reversing its polarities. Duly, showrunner Chris Chibnall answers S11’s timid pitch by flinging everything at the wall for S12’s opener, ‘Spyfall: Part One’. Gratuitous chases, fan service, hidden villains, 007 gags – it’s all here, clumsily dealt but licensed to entertain.
WHAT DOESN’T THE OPENING #2
True to Chibnall form, ‘Spyfall’ opens well and ends waywardly. Although Sacha Dhawan’s energetic cameo compensates for the sluggish script, the twist feels second-hand and the Doctor doesn’t seem to be feeling herself today.
2 WHAT WORKS JODIE WHITTAKER’S ‘DOC’
Between bouts of exhausting exposition, Whittaker’s rabbit-inheadlights Doctor improves intermittently. Even if some quirky quips groan like an old Type 40, she gets strong co-stars and twists to stretch her, until…
WHAT DOESN’T CHIBNALL’S DOCTOR
The writing drops the ball. Between weaponising Nazi racism and letting old men die for her, Chibnall’s characterisation lacks emotional clarity and – most problematically – seems to fundamentally misunderstand how his lead character works.
3 WHAT WORKS THE AMBITION
Not that S12 under-reaches. Historical cameos (Ada Lovelace, Nikola Tesla, Mary Shelley), quality monsters and body horrors (see ‘Praxeus’) mount, as do big, bold and often of-the-now themes: generations, legacies, mental health, global warming.
WHAT DOESN’T
THE BOTCHED AMBITION
But the handling is clumsy. The balance between story/subtext is often lost, notably when the Doc gets preachy about eco-issues.
Doctor Who should be engaged, but not self-important.
4 WHAT WORKS THE GUESTS
Dhawan spearheads a full TARDIS of fine co-stars. Jo Martin’s shock-Doc stands out, assertive and unpredictable, with Goran Visnjic (Nikola Tesla), Jacob Collins-Levy (Lord Byron) and John Barrowman (Jack Harkness) offering lively back-up. Then…
WHAT DOESN’T THE ‘FAM’
The companions pitch up. Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole rarely strike any collective sparks, rendering the vortex devoid of the chemistry that lit up the TARDIS tenures of previous showrunners Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat.
5 WHAT WORKS THE BUILD-UPS
S12 teases a good game with its big reveals. The new Doc’s arrival ups the stakes, briefly distracting from under-fed plotting elsewhere. And ‘The Haunting Of Villa Diodati’ overhauls the Cybermen bullishly, until…
WHAT DOESN’T THE PAY-OFFS
S12 fluffs the landing. Both big and boring, Chibnall’s final twist on Who lore favours exposition over excitement, muddled meta-plotting over mystery, dour introversion over direction. Never mind the Doc’s backstory. Whatever the show’s future holds, it needs to relocate its forward thrust, and the
heart to fuel it. Kevin Harley GAMESRADAR.COM/TOTALFILM DOCTOR WHO S12