2nd Opinion, Take 2 “The Power of the Doctor” – Saved by Nostalgia
JC reviews the Centenary special.
And so another era comes to an end. To be honest, I’m not exactly upset about it. In fact, this was the first time during the whole revival era I’ve actually been very, very happy to move on. Especially after that cliffhanger (more on that later). I’m just frustrated it took the BBC so long to realise this era wasn’t working.
“The Power of the Doctor” is another classic Chibnall episode. And by “classic” I mean, it has plenty going on and a few good ideas here and there, but it also features all the writing flaws that have plagued this era. It’s bombastic, noisy, zips all over the place giving you no time to process anything, is overstuffed with characters, and features an incoherent plot. Granted, the exposition wasn’t quite as bad for once, but it’s a minor “win”. The difference this time is that there’s a hell of a lot of nostalgia in an attempt to distract you from said flaws, which admittedly works (and is rather ironic considering how Chibnall started his era). After all, who wouldn’t be happy to see lots of returning classic Doctors and companions? Especially ones that were denied a proper anniversary appearance a decade ago.
But let’s rewind a bit. Following the ropey pre-title sequence (seriously, what happened to the CGI budget there?), Dan’s send-off at the start was probably the only moment where I was legitimately surprised at how soon and unceremonious it all was. It really was a “Poochie flew back home” moment. Either John Bishop was too busy, or it felt like Chibnall knew he had so many other things going on that he didn’t know how to incorporate Dan into the story and give him something meaningful to do. But really, Dan has felt like that for most of his episodes following his introduction. It makes you wonder why Chibnall even bothered to bring in a new companion so late when this is what it all amounted to.
The end of Yaz’s story was only marginally better. At least in terms of screen time. It’s interesting how for all the production team’s talk during the last couple of specials, “Thasmin” went absolutely nowhere. I believe the term is called “queerbaiting”, and I predicted it would end this way. I mean, 13 just says “bye” and Yaz goes on her way. End of story. What a satisfying, heartfelt three-episode arc…
But look, why would I really care about Yaz anyway, when Ace and Tegan were back on screen? I thought out of the duo, Sophie Aldred got the best moments. Though I’m obviously biased as I am a big Ace fan. I enjoyed the callbacks immensely (nitro 9, baseball bat, Daleks), and Ace’s scene with Seven was easily my highlight of the entire episode. Now, that’s how you do a genuinely heartfelt moment! And Tegan and Five’s wasn’t bad either. Chibnall, why couldn’t you have done scenes like this with your main cast?
Yes, bringing back the classic Doctors was always going to be a crowd-pleaser. I thought all of them did a sterling job, but it only further highlighted the great gulf between the past Doctors and Jodie’s incarnation. Every time Jodie came back on screen, my friends who I was watching with were all yelling at the screen “no, give us more McGann/McCoy.” etc. Not a good sign.
On to the plot, I really like the idea of a Doctor Who story focussing on Rasputin, but that sadly didn’t happen here. This particular period of Russian history is one I’ve been interested in since I first studied it in school, but the fascinating “mad monk” ends up being almost completely ignored and superfluous to anything. I’m actually annoyed Chibnall used up what would have made for a great, focused historical episode on its own. Why was the Master even posing as Rasputin? Just for fun?
As for the Daleks and Cybermen, their appearance here was very disappointing. The fear and threat level have just completely evaporated from this pair of monsters at this point. Later on, they’re literally just standing around doing nothing whilst the Master goes through his evil plan. I would’ve liked to have seen how this alliance came to be. Even a scene showing the Daleks planning to dispatch the Master once they had got the Doctor would have helped. The only interesting element was the Dalek traitor, but it wasn’t developed enough. Like with Rasputin, that could’ve served for a good episode in its own right.
Meanwhile, the Cybermen still can’t aim for anything, and again shoot down straight corridors/lift shafts and still find a way to miss their shots. I also want to know how Cybermen that have the power to regenerate can be so boringly used (and don’t get me started on that goofy design). And what was the point of bringing back Ashad exactly? He’s barely in it and adds so little. He was interesting in his debut episode because he was written with some complexity, but here is reduced to stock enemy leader. I really hope RTD reinvents both these monsters and can give us another “Dalek”. Remind fans why these monsters have endured for so long, and, above all, why they are scary.
Now back to the Master. I know some fans don’t like this manic portrayal, but Sacha Dhawan actually has a strong screen presence and chews the scenery with such relish, I find it hard not to be entertained by him (but maybe that says more about the bland cast that were sharing scenes with him). If it wasn’t for the returning classics, he would’ve completely stolen the episode. This does point to a big problem that was also evident in “The Timeless Children” though: Jodie is side-lined again in favour of the Master (when she wasn’t being sidelined by classic Doctors and companions). Dhawan even gets to be the Doctor (sort of), while Jodie occasionally cameos as a hologram version. This isn’t great for what is meant to be a last hurrah for the 13th Doctor.
But really it feels like Jodie was done dirty throughout her entire tenure. I’m still not convinced she was the right pick for the role, but with stronger writing, surely she could’ve been a bit better than this? One day if she moves to Big Finish, we might see. As for her final “speech”. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it was just so lacklustre, especially when you compare to previous new Who Doctors. “Oh, the blossomiest blossom…” Are you actually serious, Chibnall?
Summing up Jodie Whittaker’s era, I’m not even sure if she ever got a true Doctor moment. One that made me think, “Now, that’s the Doctor!”. Equally, what was her Doctor about? Where was the character development? What was her story arc? It seemed to be the Timeless Child, but Chibnall completely gave up on that one too. I’m actually glad, but what was the point of it all? Almost 60 years of canon retconned for nothing, not to mention causing an exodus of fans. Was this all worth it, Chibnall?
Jodie regenerating into Tennant would have been a truly gobsmacking moment if it hadn’t been rumoured beforehand. I know in this day and age keeping secrets, especially with Tennant out filming on the streets, would have been next to impossible, but still. What was described as a “shock” in the press turned out to be an inevitability. When the show falls, who ya gonna call? David Tennant. Am I excited, though? Hell yeah! RTD has one last shot to bring Doctor Who back to glory. Let’s really hope some valuable lessons have been learned from the failures of this era.
Overall, “The Power of the Doctor” is a messy and unfitting finale for Jodie Whittaker’s frequently disappointing Doctor, but it has several nostalgic moments that redeem it somewhat.
Asides
- Oh, Vinder was in this one too, wasn’t he. Whoops. A forgettable character was forgotten.
- And there’s Graham too. How did he get to the volcano? And why?
- Look, the Fugitive Doctor as well. Meh.
- How did Tegan survive falling down the elevator shaft?
- So we actually saw more planets than just Earth. Well, I guess all the leftover “universe-ending” baggage from Flux was completely ignored then.
- Episodes Chibnall mined whilst writing this: “The Sound of Drums”, “The Stolen Earth” / “Journey’s End” and “The End of Time”.
- As much as I liked the companions’ support group scene, it was too short. Ian, in probably his last-ever scene, gets one line, as does Jo. Again, a good concept for an episode is wasted.
