Doctor Who returns with a new experiment in serialized storytelling

Welcome to the beginning of the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor. And, more importantly, welcome to the era of serialized Doctor Who! In case you missed the show’s marketing memos, showrunner Chris Chibnall decided to handle the restrictions of filming a season of Doctor Who during a global pandemic by telling one long story across a six-episode miniseries. Today’s premiere, “Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse,” gives us our first taste of what we can expect from the serialized event that’s officially called Doctor Who: Flux. And if this episode is any indication, it’s going to be a frantic affair.

“The Halloween Apocalypse” opens in medias res, with Yaz and the Doctor pulling off a death-defying escape on an alien planet. And the pacing doesn’t let up right through to a cliffhanger set during the end of the universe. It’s a lot to take in, especially as the episode introduces not only new companion Dan Lewis (John Bishop) but also half a dozen characters who are set to recur across the serialized adventure. Thankfully, the episode’s fractured, frenetic pacing finds its center in a line the Doctor tosses off about halfway way through: “Nothing’s as it should be, Yaz. Too much out of the ordinary tonight.” In an episode that doesn’t do much hand-holding as it leaps through time and space, that line offers a little bit of reassurance from Chibnall. This episode is supposed to be confusing, but it’ll all pay off in the long run.

That’s the hope, at least—although the Chibnall era is no stranger to broken promises. But amidst the chaos, there are things about “The Halloween Apocalypse” that have me feeling optimistic about the season. For one thing, this episode does a nice job fleshing out the Doctor and Yaz’s status quo without relying on the kind of “stand and monologue” scenes that are often a Chibnall weakness. In the time since Ryan and Graham left the TARDIS in “Revolution Of The Daleks,” Yaz and the Doctor have become the sort of well-honed duo you only get when a companion has been around for multiple seasons. Like the Tenth Doctor and Rose in season two or Twelve and Clara in season nine, they feel like equals. But while the Doctor has been trusting Yaz with more responsibilities and building up the fun side of their friendship, the ancient alien still hasn’t opened up about what she learned about her past in “The Timeless Children.”

In fact, what the Doctor passes off as just a casual mission to “see a man about a dog” is actually an attempt to learn more about “The Division”—the secret organization she worked for in her now forgotten original cycle of regenerations. Dog-like Lupari officer Karvanista is the only living Division operative the Doctor has been able to track down. But that becomes a secondary concern once she learns the Earth is in danger. One of the most fun reveals in the episode is that Karvanista and his Lupari fleet aren’t the ones who intend to harm humanity, however, they’re actually there to save it. Each Lupari is “species-bonded” to a particular human. And begrudging as that bond may be, they’re duty bound to save their respective humans from the incoming Flux—a sort of universe-eating force that destroys everything in its path. That’s how Liverpool-loving, wanna-be museum tour guide Dan Lewis winds up sailing through the stars, first on Karvanista’s ship and then on the TARDIS itself.

Reframing Karvanista as a gruff, reluctant ally helps alleviate my initial concern that this episode had too many villains. Instead, Karvanista shares more in common with the other recurring characters this episode introduces: Eccentric 1820s builder Mr. Williamson, Sally Sparrow-esque modern day mystery woman Claire, museum worker/potential Dan love interest Diane, observation outpost operator Vinder (Game Of Thrones’ Jacob Anderson), and a Sontaran commander. All of these characters share a sense of confusion and/or compulsion—from Karvanista’s need to protect Dan to Mr. Williamson’s need to dig random tunnels under Liverpool to some classic Sontaran blood-lust. Like the Doctor’s unspoken obsession with learning about her past, there’s a sense that each of these recurring players are driven by impulses they don’t fully understand.

Indeed, the biggest weakness with “The Halloween Apocalypse” is that everything feels pretty up in the air at the moment. That’s especially true of a Tim-Shaw-meets-Red-Skull creature known as Swarm, who frees himself from an asteroid prison, locates his sister as one-half of a couple living in the Arctic Circle, and activates a “psychic connection” with the Doctor. It’s a lot to take in—particularly the sister reveal and the sister’s subsequent kidnapping of Diane, both of which feel like they maybe should’ve been saved for episode two. Though Swarm’s people-disintegrating powers seem to be linked to the all-powerful Flux, there’s not much about him to latch onto until he finally reveals he was the Doctor’s original mortal enemy before her memory was wiped. Now he’s back for one final fight.

While Swarm is one of the many elements of this serialized season-starter that fall under the “wait and see category,” there’s also a confidence to this episode that hasn’t always been there in Chibnall’s era of the show. In particular, “The Halloween Apocalypse” does a nice job fleshing out Dan in relatively little screentime. If Yaz represents the Doctor’s excitable, confident, adventurous side, Dan reflects the side of her that’s selfless but also a little bit sad. He volunteers at a food bank but is too proud to take anything to help with his own food insecurity. And though he has the confidence of someone who will jump into leading his own museum tour, that seems to come from a place of loneliness and longing more than anything else—sort of like how the Doctor’s adventures with Yaz are disguising a deeper identity crisis.

Maybe the single biggest weakness of the Chibnall era is that it’s failed to paint a nuanced portrait of who the Thirteenth Doctor is and how she’s different from her predecessors. And while introducing a bunch of new characters runs the risk of pulling focus from the Doctor, it could also be a way to bring new elements of her personality to light too. As with most things in this episode, however, it’s a question that’s still very much in flux.

Stray observations

• The CGI in this episode is the ropiest it’s been since the Russell T Davies era. Maybe it’s a nod to the fact that Davies will be taking over as showrunner again after Chibnall and Whittaker depart following three 2022 specials.
• While I’ll sad to see Whittaker leave her role as the Doctor, I won’t be sorry to say goodbye to this version of the TARDIS. It’s so cramped and unwelcoming that it almost doesn’t make sense when new companions are shocked that it’s bigger on the inside. (Maybe that’s why the Doctor has to be the one to say the famous line for Dan.)
• The Lupari shielding the Earth with their interlocking ships felt very Guardians Of The Galaxy.
• While some of the humor in this episode felt forced (particularly the Sontaran stuff), I did enjoy Dan and Karvanista’s confusion over “forebears” and “four bears.”
• There’s some great tension in the scene where Claire is hunted by the Weeping Angel. She’s the character I’m most excited to learn more about.
• “What’s the point of being alive if not to make others happy?