Doctor Who Ascension of the Cybermen Review

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13th Doctor, Ascension of the Cybermen, Chris Chibnall, Cybermen, Doctor Who, Doctor WHo Ascension of the Cybermen, Doctor Who Ascension of the Cybermen Review, Doctor Who Series 12, Gallifrey, Jodie Whittaker, TARDIS, The Lone Cyberman, The Master

Ascension of the Cybermen

Review by Paul Bowler

In the distant future the Doctor and her companions face a brutal conflict in Ascension of the Cybermen. A war between humanity and the Cybermen has raged across the farthest reaches of space, and now the Doctor must do whatever it takes to save the last remnants of the human race from the relentless onslaught of the Cybermen!

Written by Doctor Who show runner Chris Chibnall and directed by James Magnus Stone, Ascension of the Cybermen gets the first half of Series 12’s eagerly anticipated two-part finale off to a great start. Seeing how the 13^th Doctor’s already defeated a Dalek in the 2019 New Year’s Day Special Resolution, it was inevitable the Cybermen would be next on the list of classic Doctor Who monsters for her to confront next.

The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) has already faced the Lone Cyberman, Ashad (Patrick O’Kane), in The Haunting of Villa Diodati, where she made a fateful choice, and now together with her companions Ryan (Tosin Coyle), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) she must fight the Cybermen in force, who return with their previous Nightmare in Silver redesign now sleekly updated (including new handles!), and seemingly more ruthless than ever!

Having given the Lone Cyberman the Cyberium (The embodiment of the Cyber-Races knowledge and history) the Doctor and her friends have travelled far into the future in Ascension of the Cybermen, to a ravaged planet during the immediate aftermath of the Cyber-Wars. The Cybermen have wiped out the majority of the human race, but the Cyber-Race has also been decimated. Now the last refugees of humanity are on the run from the last of the deadly Cybermen, it has brought them all to this dark corner of the universe, and the final battle in which the Doctor must prevent the Lone Cyberman from rebuilding the Cyber-Army!

Opening with the ominous aftermath of the Cyber-War in space (featuring a stunning transition through the eye of destroyed Cyberman into the title sequence), the Doctor and her companions soon end up facing some pretty extreme situations in Ascension of the Cybermen. Fortunately they find some help in the form of Ravio, played by Shetland star Julie Graham, as one of the desperate human refugees still battling for survival against the Cybermen on this planet – one of the last settlements of humanity in the universe. Despite brining countermeasures specifically attuned to some of the Cybermen‘s previously known weakness, the Doctor’s initial plans to help the human refugees fails when two Cyber Shuttles arrive, brining the Lone Cyberman and his Cyber-Guards to the planet – along with some especially lethal Cyber-Drones as well! The TARDIS team get separated during the attack, with Graham and Yaz fleeing with the surviving humans in their Grav-Raft vessel while the Doctor, Ryan and Ethan (Steve Toussaint) escape in one of the Cyber-Shuttles.

Intriguingly it transpires that Ravio and her fellow refugees are in search of something called Ko Sharmus, the fabled boundary to the gateway which they believe will allow them to escape to the other side of the galaxy. Chris Chibnal’s scrip is packed with action and suspense as the Doctor and her companions work alongside the refugees as they split into two teams, with each encountering vastly different outcomes during their quest to reach Ko Sharmus.

Another major subplot of the episode revolves around the mysterious flashbacks to 20^th century Ireland involving Brendan (Evan McCabe), the child abandoned at birth whose life unfolds over the course of Ascension of the Cybermen as he’s adopted by a young couple and grows up and becomes a Police Officer. He even gets killed in the line of duty at one point but miraculously seems unable to die – in a way that seems strikingly similar to Captain Jack Harkness! There is also an especially disturbing sequence involving Brendan near the end of the episode, where he is confronted by sinister versions of his father and mentor, although quite how this man’s life relates to humanities struggle against the Cybermen in the future remains a mystery for now. He presents a wealth of possibilities and no doubt Brendan’s story will be resolved in the second half of this series finale.

The Cybermen in Ascension of the Cybermen are relentless, unstoppable and brutal in the extreme in pursuit of their goal. Humanity is desperately clinging on, Cybermen lurk at every turn, and they never, ever seem to give up. The Cybermen have always been my favourite Doctor Who monster. I’ve sometimes felt they’ve been given a bit of a raw deal in the modern series, so it’s great to see them back to their menacing best in Ascension of the Cybermen.

Patrick O’Kane is also back as the Lone Cyberman, Ashad, he’s every bit as frightening as he was before, and perhaps even more so this time around now that the stakes have become so high. The Lone Cyberman makes for an imposing figure as he strides though a flaming battle scene, his chilling presence is almost palpable as he corners Ethan in an abandoned building, and he seems to delight in his power almost malevolently. In fact he seems quite emotional at times for a Cyberman. It is in his unsettling holographic communiqué with the Doctor on the Cyber-Shuttle where the Lone Cyberman seems almost frighteningly unhinged, believing himself to have been chosen to revive the Cyber-Race and instigate the death of everything!

Impeccably directed by James Magnus Stone, Ascension of the Cybermen gradually draws the numerous strands of the plot together in the most exciting and ingenious way imaginable. Graham, Yaz, and the human refugees find a huge Cyber War Carrier drifting in deep space. This eerie scene is littered with countless bodies of dead Cybermen floating in the void. The human refugees believe they’ve found a ship to help them reach Ko Sharmus, instead they discover this vast carrier holds a sleeping army of Cybermen, and when the Lone Cyberman arrives he quickly sets about reviving them.

These new look Cybermen Warriors have been subtly redesigned enough to make them seem fresh and revitalised for their return. Featuring sleeker armour, a chrome-like finish, spikes, and a head reminiscent of the Invasion style Cybermen from 1968 to complete their new image. The new Cybermen look amazing, an unrelentingly powerful force to be reckoned with, and I got a distinct Earthshock vibe watching the Cyber-Army marching though the cavernous interior of the War Carrier. I was quite shocked how the Lone Cyberman seemed to terrify the new Cybermen as they were revived – scary to think there’s a being frightening enough to actually make a Cyberman scream!

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Ryan and Ethan are astounded when their journey reveals that Ko Sharmus isn’t a location, it’s actually a person! On this strange world they’ve discovered the man called Ko Shamus (Ian McElhinney) explains that he remained behind to help other surviving humans escape the Cybermen. He also leads the Doctor to the boundary, where the gateway-like portal opens to reveal the ruins of Gallifrey beyond, and the Master (Sacha Dhawan) suddenly steps though the portal to confront her! With Graham and Yaz facing an army of Cybermen in space and the Master gloating to the Doctor that everything is about to change forever, Ascension of the Cybermen delivers one of the best cliff-hangers of this entire series.

It seems this time the Doctor may well have put her companions in terrible danger – more than perhaps even she can handle! The Lone Cyberman has achieved his goal with the revival of the Cyber-Army, the revelations about Ko Sharmus were certainly unexpected, and the surprise return of the Master rounded the episode off perfectly.

Featuring terrific performance all round, Ascension of the Cybermen is a superb return to form for the series. It had the Doctor and her friends on the run from numerous threats, the danger from the Cybermen has never been greater, and the episode builds to a game-changing cliff-hanger that has the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz in a situation that looks seemingly impossible for the TARDIS team to ever reunite or escape from.

As you probably all know I’m a big fan of the Cybermen, so I’ve been really looking forward to their return in these episodes, and I’ve been very impressed with the results. I thoroughly enjoyed Ascension of the Cybermen, it was a thrilling, action packed episode, and I can’t wait to see how everything’s resolved in the final episode of Series 12: The Timeless Children.

Images Belong BBC.

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About The Author

Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook

Doctor Who The Haunting of Villa Diodati Review

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13th Doctor, Chris Chibnall, Cyberman, Doctor Who, Doctor Who The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Doctor Who The Haunting of Villa Diodati Review, Frankenstien, Jodie Whittaker, Mary Shelly, Series 12, TARDIS, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, The TARDIS

Doctor Who The Haunting of Villa Diodati

Review by Paul Bowler.

Spine-chilling danger and a moment in literary history entwine in The Haunting of Villa Diodati as the Doctor and her companions travel to Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816, where a group of renowned luminaries have gathered in the Villa Diodati to tell ghost stories. The Doctor soon discovers that some monsters are real. For this is the night that will inspire Mary Shelly to write Frankenstein, just as a horrific threat is about to arrive, and the Doctor will face the most difficult decision of all – but will it be the right one?

Written by Maxine Alderton and directed by Emma Sullivan, The Haunting of Villa Diodati continues Doctor Who’s twelfth series’ predilection for darker themed stories and encounters with key historical figures on auspicious dates in history.

Based around that fateful evening where Frankenstein was inspired – when Lord Byron challenged Mary Shelly to write a ghost story – and her subsequent desire to create a fable that would curdle the blood, the setting and events of The Haunting of Villa Diodati provides a superb backdrop for this Doctor Who episode.

Jodie Whittaker’s 13^th incarnation of the Time Lord and her companions Ryan (Tosin Coyle), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) take the TARDIS to Lake Geneva because the Doctor wants to go somewhere fun, so after instructing her companions not to mention Frankenstein, and with the intention of soaking up the literary atmosphere they are shocked to find there’s actually sinister elements at work on this dark, stormy night.

The ensemble guest cast for The Haunting of Villa Diodati includes Lewis Rainer as Percy Bysshe Shelly, Maxim Braldry is Polidori (who wrote the first Vampire story), Lilly Miller plays Frankenstein author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Shelly), along with Nadia Parkers as Mary’s step-sister Claire Clairmont, and Jacob Collins-Levy as Lord Byron.

The Doctor soon senses the house is unrelentingly evil. Percy Bysshe Shelly is also conspicuous by his absence, while ghostly, creeping things lurk in the shadows, and there is also a distinct lack of writing going on as well considering the zenith of creative minds currently assembled within the gloomy walls of Villa Diodati.

Maxine Alderton’s story wonderfully encapsulates this iconic moment in history with the Sci-Fi themes of Doctor Who, and the result is a thrillingly atmospheric tale. Fear not, the Doctor doesn’t just travel back in time and give Mary Shelly the idea for writing Frankenstein. Maxine Alderton has crafted something far more ingenious, melding subtle nuances, exquisite details, all stitched together with intricate characterisation and chilling moment of horror. The Haunting of Villa Diodati is stylishly directed by Emma Sullivan, dynamic camera angles, swarthy shadows and flickering candlelight all complement the gorgeous period setting – with the lavish costumes designed by Ray Holman completing the look of this episode perfectly. It’s also nice to see the Doctor and her companions turned out in period attire for this adventure as well.

With the skeletal remains of a 15^th century soldier getting animated and Mary’s warning of Percy Bysshe Shelly’s ominous vision of a burning figure at the lake, it soon becomes apparent there is something very wrong with the house. The Haunting of Villa Diodati is like a very old-school, creepy kind of Doctor Who episode. Following the moody scene setting opening quarter things go a bit Scooby-Doo for a while as the Doctor and her friends begin to investigate their way around Villa Diodati’s inexplicable shifting rooms and corridors. Fortunately the initial spell of goofy high jinks quickly pass, giving way to nightmarish perils, as the perception filter trapping everyone in the house lifts and the real menace is unveiled – the Lone Cyberman!

Yes, Captain Jack’s dire warning about the Lone Cyberman finally cones to pass in The Haunting of Villa Diodati! The Lone Cyberman is a terrifying sight. A lumbering, grotesque parody of a Cyberman, it has travelled through time in search of the Cyberium – the entire history and knowledge of the Cyber-Race – which has found a human host on Earth – Percy Bysshe Shelly! The Lone Cyberman looks amazing on screen, it’s like a macabre junkyard demon, and its voice is genuinely chilling. Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is faced with her most challenging dilemma yet, will she heed Captain Jack’s warning about not giving the Lone Cyberman what it want’s, or will she be willing to sacrifice Percy Bysshe Shelly instead to stop the Cybermen once and for all?

The 13^th Doctor gets some fantastic confrontational scenes with the Lone Cyberman. Initially she faces him alone in an electrifying face-off, but it is once the action shifts to the cellar that Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation of the Time Lord really steps up to the plate. Faced with an impossible choice she must challenge not only the Cyberman but also the convictions of her TARDIS team as well.

Lilly Miller is also fabulous as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Shelly) in the final showdown with her modern Prometheus the Lone Cyberman, or Ashad (Patrick O’Kane), as she he begins to remember the man he was, giving the Doctor the chance to unexpectedly turn the tables by allowing the Lone Cyberman to have the Cyberium and save Percy Bysshe Shelly as well – but at what cost?

The Haunting of Villa Diodati was a brilliant episode, full of thrills, scares, and Cyber-chills! I loved the dark gothic look of the episode and how the mystery of the Lone Cyberman was revealed. The Cyberium was another interesting concept, this quicksilver-like liquid embodiment of the Cyber-Race offers a wealth of new possibilities, and it will be fascinating to see how the Cybermen will continue to evolve now the Doctor has surrendered it to the Lone Cyberman. It was also fun how, in a story full of things that went bump in the night, that Graham was the only one who apparently saw a ghost!

Now the Doctor and her companions must fix the calamity the Time Lord has potentially instigated. They must travel to the future, find the Lone Cyberman, and stop him rebuilding the Cyber-Army! The Haunting of Villa Diodati is easily the best episode in Series 12 so far. The stage is now set for the thrilling two-part series finale, I can’t wait for the Cybermen to return in force, and to see how everything will be resolved in Ascension of the Cybermen and The Timeless Children.

Images Belong BBC

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About The Author

Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook

Doctor Who Can You Hear Me? Review

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13th Doctor, Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Can You Hear Me, Doctor Who Can You Hear Me Review, Doctor Who Series 12, Jodie Whittaker, TARDIS, The TARDIS

Doctor Who Can You Hear Me?

Review by Paul Bowler

There are no bogie men, but that’s not exactly true in Can You Hear Me? Returning to Earth for a break from their adventures in time and space, the Doctor and her friends are soon forced to confront their darkest fears. With a call for help from space, horrific monsters in 1380 Aleppo, and something terrifying infecting peoples nightmares in Sheffield, the Doctor must investigate the cause of this haunting mystery from beyond the stars…

From the creepy opening scenes at a hospital in 1380’s Aleppo, it is clear we are in for a nerve jangling episode. Can You Hear Me?, written by Charlene James and Chris Chibnall, and directed by Emma Sullivan, is the seventh episode of Doctor Who series 12, and it sees the TARDIS team touching base with their lives back on Earth. Yaz (Mandip Gill) visits her family; Ryan (Tosin Coyle) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) catch up with their friends. However, events soon take a darker turn when all three of them are struck by frightening visions, and a strange voice calls out for help from the depths of space. As well as heralding an ominous new threat for the Doctor and her friends, these disturbing signs also highlight some deeply personal issues for Ryan, Graham and Yaz to contend with as they endure unsettlingly scary nightmares.

The chilling premise of Can You Hear Me? provides a chance to really showcase the Doctor’s companions when they return to Sheffield and the Time Lord sets off to investigate events unfolding in 14^th century Syria. Mandip Gill, Tosin Coyle and Bradley Walsh all deliver terrific performances. Charlene James and Chris Chibnall’s finely crafted script skilfully utilises the regular cast, which enables us to gain a far greater insight into where these characters are in their lives right now, and how it all relates to the journeys with the Doctor.

Events conspire to take them on some very individual journeys as well during this episode. Graham and Yaz each have their own distinct, and extremely personal nightmares to contend with, Yaz in particular gets some great character development, while Ryan’s issues about not always being their for his friends raises some really challenging quandaries for him to deal with as well. Can You Hear Me? also sees the return of Ryan’s best friend, Theo, played by Buom Tihngang (who we were introduced to briefly in Spyfall Part 1), and Ryan soon discovers that travelling with the Doctor often take a toll on the friendships you leave behind.

This episode guest stars Aruhan Galieva as Tahira, Clare-Hope Ashitey (the lead in the Netflix drama Seven Seconds) who also appears as Rakaya, and Nasreen Hussain as Anita Patel. Each of these characters have pivotal roles to play in Can You Hear Me? and drive the episodes narrative in many surprising and unexpected ways. Once the Doctor has saved Tahira from a monster in Aleppo that not even the Sonic Screwdriver and the TARDIS can identify, its time for the Time Lord to catch up with her friends, and of all their disturbing experiences its Graham’s psychic incursion that enables the TARDIS telepathic circuits to bring them to the cause of the nightmares – a monitoring platform in deep space overseeing a Geo Orb where the woman from Graham’s vision is imprisoned and suspended between two colliding planets in the distant future.

Can You Hear Me? features a sinister new villain called Zellin, played by Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials’ and Torchwood: Children of Earth actor Ian Gelder. He also proved the voice of the Remnants in 2018’s The Ghost Monument, where we first heard about the “Timeless Child”, a phrase that has become even more significant now in Series 12. Zellin is the creepy immortal entity that has set his sights on stalking the Doctor and her friends through time and space on their return to Sheffield. Zellin is one of the most nightmarish beings the Doctor and her friends have ever faced, with deadly fingers that detach and lock into peoples ears to feed off their nightmares, and his brooding presence permeates every aspect of this eerily atmospheric episode.

Jodie Whittaker is also on fine form. She seems totally settled and far more assured in the role of the Doctor now. Series 12 has seen Whittaker markedly refining the characterisation of her incarnation of the Time Lord. Being simultaneously fun, quirky, and resolute in the face of danger, Jodie Whittaker performance is endearingly Doctorish throughout. The Doctor’s scenes in particular with Tahira and her confrontations with Zellin are just some of the many highlights in this episode that enable Jodie Whittaker to really shine as the Doctor.

There are a number of callbacks to previous episodes as the TARDIS team experience their nightmares, especially for Graham when Grace (Sharon D Clarke) shows up with grim news, and Ryan sees the monstrous Dregs from Orphan 55. Zellin seems to have been watching the Doctor for quite some time as well, he mentions the Guardians, the Eternals, and the Toymaker, other god-like beings the Doctor has encountered in the past, and there’s also another mention of the Timeless Child thrown in for good measure to keep us intrigued as well.

Having tricked the Doctor into solving the quantum fluctuation lock Zellin is now able to free the woman from the Geo Orb, who is actually Zellin’s companion, and together they return to Earth to feast on the nightmares of the human race. I really like how Zellin’s and Rakaya’s story is also explained with a neat animated sequence, it signifies just how ancient these beings are, and was an interesting visual way to relay this back-story. Fortunately the Doctor is able to use Zellin’s own abilities against him to trap Zellin and his female companion – along with some especially monstrous company – and effectively puts the god-like beings back in their box for all eternity.

Can You Hear Me? is a cracking good episode, and much like Tahira’s Chagaska it quickly wraps its claws around your imagination. Emma Sullivan’s assured direction skilfully builds the tension as Zellin menaces everyone across both time zones, leading to some really creepy and scary moments. The Doctor and her companions are really put through something of an emotional wringer over the course of this episode, and there are some especially moving closing scenes as Graham confides in the Doctor about concerns over his health while Ryan and Yaz reflect on how their time on board the TARDIS has changed them – perhaps forever.

Although the threat posed by Zellin was resolved a little conveniently and quickly this was still an exciting episode. Can You Hear Me? was great, imaginative, and full of strong character moments. There’s always a risk when you pass the midway point in a series that the initial momentum can falter, resulting in filler stories to keep things going until the finale, so I love it when a really good episode of Doctor Who creeps up on you unexpectedly like this. The episode dealt with some powerful issues and also made the bond between the TADIS team feel stronger than ever, especially now they’ve faced their greatest fears together. The episode closes with the Doctor thanking about Frankenstein, which certainly sounds good to me, and their next destination looks set to continue the darker tone that Series 12 seems to be taking as we progress towards the epic season finale!

Images Belong BBC.

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About The Author

Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook

Doctor Who Praxeus Review

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13th Doctor, Autons, Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Praxeus, Doctor Who Praxeus Review, Jodie Whittaker, Series 12, TARDIS

Doctor Who Praxeus

Review by Paul Bowler.

The momentum of Doctor Who Series 12 continues to build in Praxeus, where the Doctor and her companions have split up to investigate a series of mysteries across multiple continents on planet Earth. The Doctor must find the cause behind these strange occurrences and their connection to a new alien menace. What they uncover will place all of humanity in danger. And even the Doctor might not be able to save everyone this time!

Given how Series 12 has already shown the devastation of Gallifrey, along with intriguing mysteries like the Timeless Child and the Lone Cyberman simmering ominously in the background, coupled with the return of the Master (Sacha Dhawan), Captain Jack Harkness (John Barroman), and even the debut of a new female incarnation of the Doctor (J Martin), you’d be forgiven for thinking what Praxeus, co-written by Pete McTighe (Kerblam!) and show runner Chris Chibnall, and directed by Jamie Magnus Stone could possibly throw at the Doctor and her companions next? Praxeus certainly veers off on a significantly different tangent than might have been expected, and the result is an energetic episode bursting with intriguing ideas and scientific concepts.

As we rejoin the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Ryan (Tosin Coyle), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) in Praxeus the gang have already split up and are conducting their own investigations around the globe in response to the alerts the TARDIS received at then end of Fugitive of the Judoon. But what is it that connects a missing astronaut, birds that are behaving strangely in Peru, and a US naval officer washed-up on a beach in Madagascar? Jodie Whittaker’s performance as the Doctor continues to impress in Praxeus as she tackles what could prove to be this series’ most challenging mystery so far. Whittaker’s Doctor runs a gauntlet of emotions as she contends with several seemingly unrelated incidents, including a missing submarine in the Indian Ocean, alien technology giving off strange energy readings in Hong Kong, and identical deaths on two separate continents.

The Doctor’s companions are also put through their paces in this episode as their investigations take them around the world. Tosin Coyle and Mandip Gill have some great scenes as Ryan and Yaz embark on their missions, Bradley Walsh also continues to excel as Graham, and overall everyone gets a good share of the action.

Praxeus also guest stars Joana Borja and Gabriella Tolo as young bloggers Gabriela and Jamila, along with Warren Brown as Ex Police Officer Jake Willis, Matthew McNutly as Jake’s husband and the missing astronaut Adam, Molly Harris as Suki Cheng and Thapelo Maropefela as Amaru. They all inadvertently get caught up in the Time Lord’s chaotic adventure and it’s not long before the Doctor and her companions find themselves in a frantic race against time to save the human race from a deadly alien infection spread by rampaging flocks of birds around the world.

For an episode so jam-packed with characters and a world-wide menace to solve, co-writers Pete McTighe and show Chris Chibnall skilfully make use of the ensemble cast, and skilfully keep the plot on track as the mystery concerning the pathogen unfolds. I really liked the scenes where Ryan and Gabriella team-up to investigate a rather creepy looking hospital as well; Yaz’s character also gets a more significant role in Praxeus, and proves increasingly resourceful as she works with Gabriella in Hong Kong to find the true location of the alien threat.

Ex Police Officer Jake Willis and his Astronaut husband Adam also have key roles in the story, their relationship drives a good portion of the narrative, and Warren Brown and Matthew McNutly’s performances help give added emotional depth to an episode that could have otherwise risked been just a manic run-around. The scene between Jake and Graham was another highlight of the episode, with Graham proving as insightful as ever as he offers Jake some sound advice to gain a fresh perspective on life and get his failing marriage back on track.

There is something very wrong with the birds in Praxeus. It turns out the plastic they have eaten have been contaminated by a deadly alien pathogen that seems to feed on micro plastics – one that has now mutated the birds from the inside and driven them to attack. Praxeus feels a bit like a Sci-Fi version of The Birds at times, with its swirling flocks of marauding birds circling ominously overhead, or chasing the Doctor and her friends across a beach to the TARDIS, and the effects for these scenes are chillingly realised on screen.

Praxeus is Peter McTighe’s second episode for Doctor Who, his first being Series 11’s Kerblam! Together with co-writer Chris Chibnall, McTighe manages to balance the numerous plot strands of Praxeus, and the result is a fast paced and exciting globe-trotting adventure. Much of Praxeus was filmed along with the first episode, Spyfall, in South Africa, and it really gives the episode a great sense of scale. Director Jamie Magnus Stone delivers a roller coaster ride of an episode here, complete with stunning scenery, great special effects, and some especially disturbing moments as well.

With Yaz’s and Gabriella’s discovery of an alien construct and the missing submarine deep beneath a Gyre of plastic refuse in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Doctor and the others travel in the TARDIS to the underwater construct having just found a solution for the infection – thanks to Adam volunteering to be a test subject for the cure. With the scientist Suki Cheng now revealed as a humanoid alien who deliberately plotted to infect Earth with the Praxeus infection to find a cure for her own species, the Doctor must act quickly to save the world, cure the infection, get everyone to safety and carry out a last ditch rescue attempt!

Although there is a stark ecological message at the core of Praxeus, quite literally in fact, at least this time it wasn’t tagged on like it was in Orphan 55, and it was actually integral to the overall plot of Praxeus. I really liked the strong concepts and ideas that formed the basis of the story and how well all the characters worked together. At one point the Doctor name-checks the Autons as having a possible connection to the plastic pathogen, only to dismiss them out of hand as this strategy doesn’t fit with their usual M.O – obviously recalling the classic Doctor Who monsters shaped like shop window dummies faced by Christopher Eccelston’s Doctor in Rose (2005) and perhaps even more significantly during the 3^rd Doctor’s (Jon Pertwee) era where they demonstrated the ability to manipulate other forms of plastic, such as dolls, suffocating plastic daffodils, and a lethal inflatable chair.

There were a few interesting questions posed during Praxeus that remain unanswered. Take the strangely garbed aliens that attacked Graham, Yaz and Jake in Hong Kong. Later the Doctor says she scanned the building and didn’t detect any life signals, so how come the TARDIS registered active alien tech in Hong Kong but not the life forms, and why could the aliens hide their life signs but not the unusual energy patterns from their technology? At one point in Praxeus the Doctor frantically contemplates the mystery of the pathogen in the lab, only to refer to her thoughts in the plural, which concerns her companions. So is this just the Doctor rambling as she thinks, or does the Doctor have two brains? Now that would certainly be another new take on Doctor Who cannon! During the attack on the lab, Amaru was seemingly killed by the birds, yet it is unclear if he was an alien like Suki Cheng, and his apparent death doesn’t seem to register at all with anyone.

With only two episodes to go now until the two-part season finale, Praxeus had a tough act to follow after the dramatic revelations in Fugitive of the Judoon, but Praxeus managed to surpass and exceed all expectations. With its great cast and excitingly paced script providing so many excellent character driven moments, the credible environmental threat presented during this episode seemed all the more potent as a result, and the outcome saw Praxeus evolve into one of Series 12’s most intriguing and exciting adventure to date.

Images Belong BBC

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About The Author

Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook