THE POWER OF THE DOCTOR REVIEW

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10th Doctor, 13th Doctor, 15th Doctor, Ace, Cybermen, Daleks, David Te3nnant, Doctor Who, Janet Fielding, Jodie Whittaker, regeneration, Sacha Dhawan, Sophie Aldred, TARDIS, Tegan, The Lone Cyberman, The Master, The Power of the Doctor, The Power of the Doctor Review

The Power of the Doctor

Review by Paul Bowler.

The Power of the Doctor marks the end of an era and Jodie Whittaker’s final adventure as the thirteenth Doctor. The stakes couldn’t be higher this time around either as the Doctor battles to save her very existence as she faces the Daleks, Cybermen and her arch nemesis, the Master. The Doctor and her friends must solve the mystery behind a series of bizarre happenings; including an attack by the Cyber-Masters on a speeding bullet train in a distant galaxy, the disappearances of seismologists from 21st century Earth, and the defacing of some of history’s most iconic paintings. As the Doctor is confronted with threats on multiple fronts, the Daleks are also inexplicably trying to contact with the Time Lord, and just what kind of hold does the masterful Rasputin have over Tsar Nicholas in 1916 Russia? The Doctor soon faces a battle to the death against her deadliest enemies. Friends and allies, both old and new, will unite and fight alongside her before one last heartbreaking choice seals the 13th Doctor’s fate forever…

Jodie Whittaker’s five year tenure comes full circle in The Power of the Doctor.

This feature-length episode is a time twisting epic, written by outgoing show runner Chris Chibnall, and directed by Mangus Stone (2020’s Spyfall Part One, Praxeus, Ascension of the Cybermen and the Timeless Children, along with the 2021 Flux episodes The Halloween Apocalypse, War of the Sontarans and Village of the Angels. The Doctor’s companions Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop), accompany Jodie Whittaker for her final outing as the Doctor, and Jacob Anderson also reprises his role as Vinder from Doctor Who: Flux to briefly rejoin the TARDIS team.

Indeed, a host of friends and foes make a dramatic return in The Power of the Doctor, including Classic companions Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Tegan (Janet Fielding), along with Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) for the special, even Bradley Walsh returns as Graham… and that’s just for starters! The Master (Sacha Dhawan) is back too, as is Ashad / The Lone Cyberman (Patrick O’Kane), and classic monsters the Daleks and the Cybermen all have key roles in this blockbusting adventure which also pays tribute to past Doctor’s and the legacy of Doctor Who.

Jodie Whittaker’s five year tenure comes full circle in The Power of the Doctor. Her final bow provides a timely celebration of Doctor Who itself, and the special also nicely bookends numerous aspects of the 13th Doctor’s era. The Power of the Doctor is a veritable roller coaster ride from beginning to end. In terms of scale its certainly also one of the most spectacular to date  as it features the most special effects shots ever seen in an episode of Doctor Who. Every big action set-piece is massive, even the pre-credits feels like a mini movie in itself. Writer and show runner Chris Chibnall’s era has been something of a mixed bag at times but he certainly delivers the goods here in the scripting of Whittaker’s final adventure. 

Airing as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations, this adventure is packed with action and Easter eggs galore that fans of every era of the show will enjoy. Following the frenetic opening the Doctor discovers the Cyber-Lords have a machine-like world lurking in the Earth’s shadow, one that’s tethered to the Master’s TARDIS and seemingly powered by a mysterious child-like entity. Its not long before the Master’s presence is felt in both the past and the present, leading to a reunion for the Doctor and Yaz with some old friends at UNIT, before the Daleks and Cybermen also enter the fray! There’s a wealth of emotions, action and humour woven throughout Chibnall’s overarching plot as the 13th Doctor rallies against the Master, the Cybermen and the Daleks who have joined forces for a volcanic team-up in order to spring a deadly ‘forced regeneration’ on their mortal enemy.

Jamie Magnus Stone’s stylish direction keeps everything on track, with events racing along at a cracking pace, before giving way to the emotional conclusion that beautifully leads into the 13th Doctor’s startling regeneration.

At its heart though, it is Jodie Whittaker’s outstanding performance as the Doctor that makes The Power of the Doctor into something really special.

It’s clear that Jodie Whittaker had a blast working with Who veterans Jemma Redgrave who plays Kate Stewart, and 80s-era cast members Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred, as Tegan and Ace. Their return isn’t just window dressing either, and they each have a crucial role to play as the action unfolds. There are heartwarming moments aplenty and emotional farewells too. Mandip Gill gives a particularly standout performance as Yaz’s adventures with the Doctor draw to a close, and there are moments that are especially poignant for the Doctor and Yaz. 

Past Doctor’s also show up thanks in part to the Doctor’s subconscious because of the her forced regeneration and her own emergency holographic AI programme, with: David Bradley as the 1st Doctor, Peter Davison as the 5th Doctor, Colin Baker as the 6th Doctor, Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor, Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor and Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor! That’s not all, the same AI enables Tegan to have a heartfelt chat with the 5th Doctor, and Ace gets a reunion with the 7th Doctor as well. Both are magical, fan pleasing scenes, and genuinely heartwarming. It was also fitting to see Bradley Walsh return for the 13th Doctor’s send-off, even thought was a little bizarre to see him suddenly appear and team-up with Ace to destroy a volcano full of Daleks! Later its revealed Graham has set up a support group of sorts for ex-TARDIS travellers, where we see Dan, Yaz, Ace, Tegan and Kate Stewart are joined by three more classic Doctor Who companions of yesteryear: Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), Jo Jones (Katy Manning) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell) reminisce about their adventures with the Doctor. This was another wonderfully staged and unexpected moment that rounded off this episodes nods to the past in fine style.

At its heart though, it is Jodie Whittaker’s outstanding performance as the Doctor that makes The Power of the Doctor into something really special. Whittaker brilliantly channels the bright and breezy essence that has made her incarnation of the Time Lord so unique from her predecessors. Her Doctor has been a celebration of change, she built a fam of her own, boldly confronted injustice and darkness throughout time and space, and always remained compassionate even in her darkest hours. This episode, above all, perhaps delves deeper into the psyche of the Doctor than ever before.

Most notably of course The Power of the Doctor is also the first time that three classic foes of the Doctor have featured together in one storyline since the shows revival in 2005.  The return of Sacha Dhawan as the Master was an inspired move by Chibnall to front the trio of major foes the Doctor must face. Sacha Dhawan brings a scenery chewing performance along with a manic intensity to his incarnation of the Master that is both charming and disturbing. He’s always been the perfect foil for the 13th Doctor, never more so than here, and at times it looks like he could actually succeed in his grand design to highjack her forced regeneration and claim her infinite regeneration cycle for himself. He’s not alone though. The Daleks are also part of his Masterplan, and Patrick O’Kane’s welcome return as the chillingly evil Lone Cyberman makes the Cybermen seem even more deadly than ever this time around.

Now it falls to incoming show runner Russell T Davies to see if he can capture lighting in a bottle for a second time!

The build up to the regeneration itself is another beautifully crafted piece of fan service. It was lovely to see the Doctor and Yaz share one last trip before going their separate ways. Jodie Whittaker is resplendent in her final moments as the 13th Doctor takes in one last sunrise as she regenerates, and in a surprise twist when that regeneration happens she done’t change into her recently announced successor, Ncuti Gatwa, instead she miraculously turns into returning Time Lord David Tennant! Yes, it seems David Tennant and Catherine Tate are indeed reprising their roles for the 60th anniversary, and it has been confirmed that they will appear in three special episodes, set to air in November 2023. The next Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, will then take control of the TARDIS, with his first episode airing over the festive period in 2023!

The Power of the Doctor was a spectacular finale for the 13th Doctor that sets the groundwork for a whole new era moving forward. Now it falls to incoming show runner Russell T Davies to see if he can capture lighting in a bottle for a second time!

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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 POWER OF THE DOCTOR TRAILER

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13th Doctor, Cybermen, Daleks, Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker, Power of the Doctor, Power of the Doctor Trailer, regeneration, TARDIS, The Master

At las the long wait is over. Check out the awesome new trailer for Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker’s swansong as the 13th Doctor looks set to be an epic adventure as she faces her final battle in The Power of the Doctor on 23rd October 2022!

Follow @paul_bowler

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 Power of the Daleks Animated Release Confirmed!

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2nd Doctor, animated power of the daleks, animated power of the daleks trailer, Anneke Wills, Daleks, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Power of the Daleks, Doctor Who Season Four, Michael Craze, Patrick Troughton, Power of the Daleks, Power of the Daleks animated, regeneration, The Power of the Daleks, Vulcan

The Power of the Daleks Animated Release Confirmed!

We will get our power! We will get out power!

BBC Worldwide has announced that a brand new animated version of the missing Doctor Who story The Power of the Daleks is to be released exclusively via the BBC Store, and then on DVD. This classic six-part adventure from Doctor Who’s Fourth Season, has often been one of the original series’ most celebrated, and was originally broadcast in 1966.

The Power of the Daleks was Patrick Troughton’s first story as the Doctor following the departure of William Hartnell from the lead role during the final episode of The Tenth Planet (1966) – with the first ever regeneration of the Time Lord! Power of the Daleks saw Patrick Troughton’s newly regenerated 2^nd incarnation of the Doctor, along with his companions Ben (Michael Craze) and Polly (Anneke Wills), arrive on the planet Vulcan for an adventure set in a fraught Earth colony where they would confront the Doctor’s ach enemies – the Daleks!

Although sadly The Power of the Daleks, along with many other classic Doctor Who episodes, ended up being junked by the BBC, now this renowned story has now been lovingly reconstructed, produced by the same team behind the successful animation of the lost Dad’s Army Episode: A Stripe For Frazer (released on the BBC Store in February this year), as a brand new six-part black and white animated version, together with an original audio recording, to allow this classic story to be released 50 years to the day after the stories original broadcast.

The producer and director of The Power of the Daleks animated version is Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon. Charles Norton said, “The Power of the Daleks animation is the most ambitious Doctor Who archive restoration ever attempted and we’re all very honoured to be a part of such a an exciting project. Intelligent, suspenseful and magnificently staged, Power of the Daleks is one of the great lost classics of 1960s television and a superb example of the black and white era at its finest.” Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Worldwide says, “Charles and his team are remarkably talented and passionate about Doctor Who and we are thrilled that fans will soon be able to enjoy this rather sinister but wonderful, classic story.”

Now at long last we will be able to enjoy Power of the Daleks in a format that will be about as close to experiencing the original episodes as possible. It will be great for fans old and new to experience Patrick Troughton’s first story as the Doctor in animated form, it’s a fantastic story, and to see it come to life with animation like this will be amazing!

Check out the trailer for the new Animated version of Power of the Daleks!

Doctor Who: The Power Of The Daleks will be released on BBC Store

on Saturday 5^th November 2016 followed by the DVD on Monday 21^st November.

• Register your interest in the BBC Store download
• Pre-Order the DVD From Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Power-Daleks-DVD/dp/B01LOC83Y2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1473256207&sr=8-5&keywords=the+power+of+the+daleks+dvd

On Saturday 5^th November there will be a special screening of episodes 1-3 of Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks at BFI Southbank, London which will also include a Q&A with Anneke Wills, Charles Norton and Frazer Hines. More information will be available from bfi.org.uk from Monday 19^th September.

Images Belong BBC

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Doctor Who The Tenth Planet: Far From Over

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Anneke Wills, Ben, Cybermen, Doctor Who, Dr Who, Gerry Davis, Kit Pedler, Krail, Michael Craze, Mondas, Polly, regeneration, Snowcap Base, TARDIS, The 10th Planet, The Doctor, William Hartnell

The Tenth Planet

Far From Over

By Paul Bowler

 

Born in London, 1908, William Hartnell grew up during a dark time of war and social poverty. His admiration for Charlie Chaplin inspired him to become an actor, and in 1926 he got this first job working with Sir Frank Benson’s Shakespearean Company. Further parts in theatre quickly followed, along with small film roles, until his career really took off in 1943 with his memorable role as the army officer in The Way Ahead. Carol Reed’s film opened the doors to numerous film roles for Hartnell, often receiving star billing, but the actor was frustrated by the “tough guy” roles he was always offered, preferring the comedy and farce of his early career.

However, fate would soon intervene when Hartnell’s roles in the Granada TV series The Army Game and Lindsay Anderson’s film, This Sporting Life (1963), led to Verity Lambert considering William Hartnell for the role of the Doctor. The rest, as they say, is history. Over the next three years William Hartnell would help forge the role of the Doctor, a mysterious time traveller, an outcast from his own people, a glorious – if somewhat cantankerous – grandfather from another world. Hartnell adored his time as the Doctor, becoming a hero to millions of children as he took his companions on fantastic adventures in time and space: visiting great historical figures like Marco Polo and King Richard the Lionheart, bizarre aliens like the Zabri and Sensorites appeared with strange cultures and customs, they experienced the futility of trying to alter history and the Aztec civilization in 15^th Century Mexico, even turning on each other when the TARDIS drifted towards the edge of destruction, and they were always ready to fight the intergalactic menace of the Daleks which returned time and again to keep viewers enthralled as the Doctor valiantly fought them wherever their evil plans of universal domination threatened to destroy every living thing that dared to stand in their way.

Although Doctor Who enjoyed phenomenal success during its formative seasons, as the series entered its fourth year its popularity has begun to wane somewhat, and with new producer Innes Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis attempting to revitalize the shows format the gruelling schedule sadly began to take its toll on Hartnell who was already in poor health. Once the decision was taken to recast the role of the Doctor it set in motion a chain of events that would not only mark the end of an era, but it would also see the introduction of a new race of monsters whose popularity would go on to rival even that of the Daleks themselves.

So when the TARDIS brought the Doctor, Polly (Anneke Wills), and Ben (Michael Craze) to the South Pole Space Tracking Station under the command of General Cutler (Robert Beatty), viewers would have never imagined how their favourite science fiction series was about to undergo the most crucial metamorphosis of all. In only a few short weeks during October 1966, history would be made as The Tenth Planet was broadcast, and nothing – not even the ever present threat of cancellation – would ever diminish the incredible journey that still endures today as Doctor Who gets ready to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of its unparallel success.

The Doctor arrives at the Tracking Station and discovers that a new planet has entered the solar system, its gravitational pull is threatening a manned space capsule as it approaches, where it is soon revealed to be Earth’s twin planet Mondas. Having been cast adrift in space the people of Mondas turned to cybernetics to prolong their lives, becoming emotionless Cybemen. Now they have returned to replenish their planets recourses by draining energy from Earth and harvesting the population to create the next generation of Cybermen. The Doctor and his friends face a desperate race against time to defeat the Cybermen and prevent General Cutler from launching the deadly Z-Bomb, a weapon that would destroy both worlds. Fortunately Cutler’s plan is thwarted by Ben and Mondas explodes after absorbing too much energy from the Earth, killing all the Cybermen in the process; their bodies disintegrating as soon as they are cut off from their worlds power supply. Ben then rescue the Doctor and Polly from the Cybemen’s spacecraft, but the Doctor appears to be ill, stating that his body is “wearing a bit thin” before rushing back to the TARDIS, where he collapses to the floor as startling transformation begins…

The Cybermen were created in collaboration by Doctor Who’s very own – unofficial – scientific advisor Kit Pedler and story editor Gerry Davis as a possible replacement for Terry Nations incredibly popular Daleks. Pedler envisioned the Cybermen as people who had taken the advances of medical science to the ultimate extreme, replacing their worn out bodies with cybernetic limbs, even computerizing their brains to become nightmarish husks of plastic, metal, and flesh. These creatures are so utterly devoid of emotion that they are no longer even capable of comprehending what it means to be human, as Polly discovers to her horror when she tries to reason with the Cyberman Krail.

With impassive, noseless faces, their bodies adorned with gleaming chest units and lethal energy weapons, these early Cybermen have more than a hint of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein about them. Like Shelley’s creation they are twisted anachronisms of life, a mutilation of science and gothic themes gone mad in the darkness of interstellar space. In many ways they are far more memorable than their modern counterparts, still clinging to the last vestiges of their humanity, utilizing the formality of individual names even though they no longer have any emotional resonance for them, and going so far as to adopt disguises to infiltrate the Space Tracking Station.

After attacking someone from the Snowcap Base outside the TARDIS, our first close-up of a Cyberman as it turns over Tito’s lifeless body reveals the monsters featureless visage, one that is stretched and distorted beyond anything even remotely human, with dark bulbous eyes and a leathery slit of a mouth. The headpiece is like an elaborate sensor array, with tubes and wires spilling out from the bulky chest unit, while the limbs support and array of cybernetics that end abruptly with cold humanoid hands. The patchwork nature of the Cybermen gives some inkling towards their nomadic existence, sacrificing their humanity as the vast expanse of space loomed before them, until their technological advances drew them inexorably back to their origins like some intergalactic swarm seeking to wrap their human cousins in their cold embrace.

Once they arrive, the Cybermen dominate every scene, looming over the inhabitants of the Snowcap base as cold logic dictates their actions. One of the most unnerving qualities about the Cybermen are their curiously harmonic voices, provided by Roy Skelton, an effect that is made more disquieting by the way the creature’s mouths stay open as they speak. It is almost as if the Cybermen have yet to realize that they no longer need to articulate the words anymore. The citizens of Mondas are now lost forever, even their original objective to survive has become consumed by their dedication to logic, leaving only a mutilated husk of flesh cocooned in a shell metal and plastic.

The Tenth Planet is a clear indication of the new format the series was about to take, one that would arguably see the series grow above and beyond its original premise, becoming instilled with many of the familiar themes and concepts that are still prevalent in Doctor Who today. Although the Troughton era would successfully build on  the “base under siege” formula, the early steps taken in The Tenth Planet show considerable flare and imagination in terms of its production. The Tenth Planet quickly establishes the isolated military settlement, where the humans are threatened by an alien menace, and the Doctor has to battle against the blind ignorance of authority (General Cutler’s selfish determination to rescue his son’s spacecraft despite the risks) to save everyone from the extraterrestrial threat by destroying the aliens link to their own power supply. It may seem existentially simply in the extreme, but what the Tenth Planet lacks in finesse it more than makes up for with its sheer ambition.

If you can see past the polystyrene snow and the clear sticky tape holding the Cybermen’s helmets together, there is a lot to enjoy here, particularly an eclectic cast of characters and a greater empathise on the Doctor’s companions. Having only been introduced at the end of season three during The War Machines (1966), Polly and Ben were a world away from the Doctor’s original companions: school teachers Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), whose curiosity about the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan (Carole Anne Ford) led them to a fog shrouded junkyard and a strange metropolitan Police Box. The companions who followed were in may ways a reflection of the original trinity of TARDIS crewmembers, Vicky (Maureen O‘Brien), Steven (Peter Purves), Dodo (Jackie Lane), all offered great potential that was only partially realized in some cases – however the valiant acts of self sacrifice by Katarina (Adrienne Hill) and Sarah Kingdom (Jean Marsh) in The Dalek Master Plan (1965-66) brought home the terrible price the Doctor often pays for his most decisive victories.. Just as the show was evolving, so to was the role of the companion, Innes Lloyd wanted to bring a new dynamic to the male and female companions – and Secretary Polly Wright and Seaman Ben Jackson were a further attempt on Lloyd’s part to update the series with more contemporary characters.

Gerry Davis’ Target novelisation added even more depth and substance to the Snowcap personnel, with Ben and Polly getting an even greater share of the action – something which was necessitated during the recording of Episode 3 of The Tenth Planet when William Hartnell became unwell. While the fourth episode of The Tenth Planet sadly no longer resides in the BBC’s archives, this episode was eventually reconstructed from images and the remaining footage to be released as part of a BBC Video set (Which also included Attack of the Cybermen), and it is these final pivotal seconds of grainy footage that catalogues the most momentous moment of all in Doctor Who’s fifty year history.

As the Doctor collapsed onto the floor of the TARDIS the lights inside the time machine wax and wane, before a brilliant glow begins to flair around his face. It is unclear if it is the energy drain from Mondas, the battle with the Cybermen, or just the Doctor’s immense age that causes the regeneration – but his haste to reach the TARDIS indicates that the sanctuary of the time machine is crucial to surviving the transformation.  In those few, brief seconds William Hartnell was transformed into Patrick Troughton, leaving a legacy that would endure to this very day. For me one of the quintessential moments in Doctor Who is when William Hartnell stands in defiance of the Cybermen’s impassive adherence to logic: “Emotions. Love, pride, hate, fear. Have you no emotions sir?” The Doctor’s impassioned speech is one that will resonate down through the decades, infusing every incarnation with a righteous anger in the face of tyranny and evil. It would seem that the Cyber Race also hold this moment in high regard, as it forms part of a  sequence of clips used in Earthshock (1982) when the Cyber Leader reviews their past encounters with the Doctor.

From the moment the Doctor Who theme tune gives way to the special computer tape opening and closing graphics (created for this story by Bernard Lodge) it becomes clear that The Tenth Planet is about to herald significant change. The Cybermen proved immensely popular and would return many times to menace Patrick Troughton’s new incarnation throughout the course of the sixties: appearing in such classic stories as The Moonbase (1967), Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), The Wheel in Space (1968), and even invading Earth in The Invasion (1968), their design evolving and changing with each successive story, rightfully earning them their place amongst the elite pantheon of Doctor Who’s most successful recurring monsters.

We can only hope that the fourth episode of The Tenth Planet might be found one day, but for now at least we can still enjoy the DVD release of The Tenth Planet. The missing fourth episode is presented as an animated reconstruction on The Tenth Planet DVD, using a similar animation process that was employed to represent the missing 4th & 5th episodes for The Reign of Terror DVD. The Tenth Planet DVD also features a documentary, Frozen Out, by Chris Chapman about the making of the story, which will include contributions from Anneke Wills (Polly), Earl Cameron (Williams) and Reg Whitehead (Cyberman), along with designer Peter Kindred and the woman who vision-mixed the first regeneration, Shirly Coward.

The adventures that began in a junkyard in 1963 with William Hartnell could very well have come to an end if the regeneration had not been successful. It was a bold move for its time, but in those closing moments The Tenth Planet secured the series a longevity that nobody could ever have dared to dream possible in 1966. A winning formula was born; Doctor Who endured this change of lead actor, as it would do again, many, many times. We must never forget the great debt we owe to William Hartnell, especially as we enter the 50^th Anniversary Year of Doctor Who. So as we prepare to celebrate Doctor Who’s fifty glorious years let us all take a moment to remember the first great champion of time and space, William Hartnell.