The Power Of The Doctor: Ranking - 246

    The Power Of The Doctor

(BBC Anniversary Special, Dr 13, 1, 5,6,7,8,10/14 with Yaz, Tegan, Ace and (briefly) Dan, Ian, Graham, Mel and Jo Dan, 23/10/2022, showrunner: Chris Chibnall, writer: Chris Chibnall, director: Jamie Magnus Stone) 

Rank: 246

'It's the end...but the moment has been prepared for #13, in an episode full of hellos and goodbyes, returns and disappearances, in a special episode marking 100 years of the BBC'

Against all odds the Chibnall era ends on a relative (dimensions in timelord) high, not least because of the sheer amount of pressure that went into making it. Though the BBC have been coy about it all, from the sound of it there was a strong possibility that if RTD hadn't stepped in then this would have been it for DW. There are all sorts of excuses why it might be but ratings have been markedly falling the past few years and DW had gone from being a flagship programme that always arrived in a blaze of publicity to one that arrived in (relative) near silence. This, then, could have been the finale not just for a Doctor or a showrunner but an entire era, perhaps of the whole series. Thank goodness it isn't, but actually if this had been the end of everything then it would have been a sweet and rather fitting way to go. There are lots of nods to the past in this, not just the past few years but most of the show's (then) 59 years without as much emphasis on the series arc of Timeless Children this time. They don't actually get a lot to do but having Tegan and Ace back is wonderful and they make a great double-act, the show's early 80s and late 80s idea of feminism making a good contrast against Jodie's Doctor to show how much has (and hasn't) changed while being true to both their characters (we're just missing Leela!) Had it proved to be the show's last ever scene then the one of the companions self-help group, with old friends from all eras recalling how much the Doctor changed their lives for the better would have been a truly perfect ending. Weep at the first appearances of Mel in 40 years and Ian's in 58! (Trivia: the empty chair you see should have been Polly's but Anneke Wills was late for filming having been 'distracted by some gardening that needed doing' ; I like to think though that it means Ian's still with Barbara and she's just popped to the loo). There are plenty of 'aww' moments like that across this special. Unfortunately the rest of the story? Well, that's a bit less, well, special. The plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense, leaves most loose ends untied (err, what ever happened to those volcanoes, I ask nervously?) and is mostly an excuse to shoehorn some big set pieces in between lots of noisy blowy-up type things. The acting is variable, particularly after Dan leaves and before Ace and Tegan show up. The Master/Cybermen duo have been overused lately and the idea of him not just meeting but actually becoming Rasputin is stupid (for a start, he wasn't a baddy. Make The Master Napoleon or Hitler if you want to go down that route - and what a missed opportunity to reveal that in the DW universe Rasputin avoided being killed so many times over because he was a timelord with special powers). You suspect that most of the reason he's here is so they could fit in the not-that-funny joke about playing Boney M's 'Ra-Ra-Rasputin', which is a cringe moment even for this era. It's still the best Chibnall story in terms of The Master's characterisation though. Sacha Dhawanhas just worked out how to play the part subtly without looking like he's about to have a stroke and he has some very Masterish lines to say ('I have allergies - I'm human intolerant' might well be Chibnall's best line). The Doctor herself is better catered for than in most of her run too, with lots of opportunities to be bold and clever, even if she sadly reverts to being a passive victim who has to be saved by everyone else in the second half. There are some Daleks in there too but their appearance feels more like a tickbox cameo than because the plot needed them there. Oh well, at least its not Tzim Sha teaming up with the P'ting and the talking frog, which is what I was fearing. It's also hard to stay cross for long with a special that gives so many things to warm the hearts of fandom. So many doctors! So many companions! So many monsters! At last, a Chibnall special that really does feel gloriously, gorgeously special. never mind the bits that don't work for once because the bits that do more than make up for it - something which, on balance, is kind of how I feel about the Chibnall era as a whole.

Positives + The hologram is an inspired Avatar-style way of getting as many Doctors to appear as possible without having them all there to overwhelm the plot. It's a shame there's no Tom Baker (who was reportedly ill when they were filming it - I suspect Paul McGann got his lines) but we do get Doctors 5,6,7,8, David Bradley's impression of 1 and in the regeneration sequence 10/14 as well as 13. That's more Doctors than we've had in any other episode. McGann steals the show, just as he did for the 50th, being the most Doctory by refusing to wear the cloak the others do. It's Dr 5's talks with Tegan and Dr 7's talks with Ace that have the biggest emotional whallop though. More in the forthcoming spin-offs, pretty please!!!

Negatives - While the oldies are well catered for the newbies are underused to say the least. Poor Dan gets the worst leaving scene since flipping Dodo in 1966! Ten minutes into the story he suddenly decides that he's had enough and quits, even though there was nothing in that 10 mins that should have made him feel he was 'pushing his luck' (I mean, riding a train in the sky is a lot nicer than, say, being exterminated over and over. It all feels as if he's making way in the script for the 'Thasmin' romance that sadly never properly gets going beyond some longing looks and another awkward conversation. Bear in mind, too, Dan's house was blown up in his first story so he's effectively homeless and the Doctor doesn't offer to buy him one to say thankyou, the way Dr 11 did Amy and Rory. It's a rotten end to a decent companion who deserved more. Why not just give him a big farewell scene in the previous story if he's surplus to requirements?