Series 10: World Enough & Time Advance Review

Note: Doctor Who TV’s pre-air views aim to be as detail-free as we reasonably can while still offering a critique, but as everyone’s spoiler sensibilities are different, we advise you read on at your own discretion.

Incredibly, we’ve reached the first part of the Series 10 finale! Expectations will be high with the promise of old foes and big moments. So let’s find out if it delivers.

The story begins with the Doctor, Bill, Nardole and Missy stopping off on a huge space ship. What starts as a simple exercise in the Doctor attempting to tutor Missy to be “good” (with hilarious results) quickly takes a turn for the worse. The team find themselves caught in the event horizon of a black hole and soon discovers the Mondasian Cybermen about to rise. Behind the scenes, an old enemy is pulling all the strings…

First things first, the version of the episode DWTV saw was incomplete, and had one scene we know of missing entirely from the final broadcast version. Usually this only happens when the production team wants to protect a big plot point (For instance the same thing happened with Missy’s true identity in Series 8). The preview still contained a good 43 minutes of the runtime so we have a very good idea of how things play out, but just not 100% of the complete picture.

Now moving on, for any expectations that Moffat will attempt to top his 2015 finale opener, no, this is not another “Heaven Sent.” That’s to say, there’s nothing quite as bold as that. “World Enough and Time” instead plays it a little safer. After an opening shocker, it’s actually more of a subdued build-up to some the main event. It also contains many of the Steven Moffat elements we’ve come to know from the writer over the years. But that’s not so much of an issue as he does the familiar very well here. There’s some “timey-wimey”, a creepy hospital with equally creepy ‘patients’ evoking his first story “The Empty Child,” and a dash of 2014 finale “Dark Water,” which of course also featured the Cybermen.

Here though we’re seeing the original 60’s Mondasian Cybermen for the first time in New Who, faithfully recreated in every respect. Yes, even the voices are maintained! Fortunately, despite a few worries pre-viewing, they’ve translated successfully to the modern era in the episode itself. The top-knotted converts are utilized in a very effective and creepy way. There’s more of an exploration of the grim nature of Cyber-conversion (well, as grim as a early evening family show will allow).

Of course Cybermen are not the only threats. The BBC haven’t been shy about promoting John Simm’s return as the Master having rather prematurely announced him several months back, and then showing him in the trailers and promo material with abundance since. It’s a shame because the build-up to Simm’s actual reveal in the episode is rather good. You’ve not seen the Simm Master like this before.

For any viewer expecting his return though, the final reveal is lessened and becomes a rather obvious plot point. Not revealing everything beforehand would have kept the illusion and allowed a greater surprise as few would have guessed Simm. It’s just a disappointing case of publicity taking precedence. Regardless, thankfully the latter moments of the episode still come the closest yet to rivalling “Utopia” for sheer fan excitement. Simm hasn’t missed a beat, but is thankfully more toned down than his manic hooded-hobo ways in “The End of Time”.

It’s Capaldi’s last finale, and he’s reliably on form when called into action in the key scenes, but what may surprise viewers is that he’s a got a bit of a smaller presence. This is in part down to Missy’s attempt to be the “Doctor”, and Gomez is at her energetic best (yes, Moffat mines the “Doctor Who” name joke for all its worth, again). This is a much bigger episode for Bill too. Pearl Mackie gets a big chunk of the storyline after finding herself in a hellish place, and suitably goes through plenty of torment.

Rachel Talalay, who directed the last couple of Moffat finales, reliably ensures the episode looks strong throughout. The episode is dripping in atmosphere and ramps up the scares in the more horror-y sequences. As with a lot of Murray Gold’s music this year, the rearrangements of older melodies is what stirs the emotions the most. With Simm’s return, expect to rekindle that nostalgia at just the right moment.

For all the praise, we have a few reservations. Moffat has come under criticism for undoing things in past finales. Some major things happen here again. However the key question is, will any of it stick? It’s hard to get 100% invested in the things that transpire when you have that nagging suspicion at the back of your mind that it can (and likely will) be undone. Usually there’s another series to consider, but Moffat has nothing to lose here, and everything to gain by being braver in storytelling. If he does follow through on some of the things, it will certainly be an ending to remember.

So that ultimately leaves “World Enough & Time” as an exciting and at times harrowing set-up for what could be a great end to the run next week. It all depends on how things plays out…