S12.E01: Spyfall (1)

[DanaK]

Airdate: Jan 1, 2020

Episode Synopsis (from Digiguide.tv):

The time traveller returns for a fresh set of adventures. When intelligence agents around the world come under attack from alien forces, MI6 turns to the only people who can help - a certain Doctor and her companions. As they travel the globe in pursuit of answers, threats arrive from all sides, leaving Earth's security resting on the team's shoulders. But where will this planet-threatening conspiracy lead them? Jodie Whittaker, Tosin Cole, Bradley Walsh and Mandip Gill star, with guest appearances from Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry.

Written by Chris Chibnall

Directed by Jamie Stone

[DanaK]

Episode First Look

 

 

Episode preview #2

 

 

 

[Llywela]

It's back! I love it when Doctor Who is back on my screen.

I really enjoyed this episode. It was fun, and right now, that's all I ask of my TV.

Also, what a twist. I mean, as soon as O appeared, I knew I'd liked the actor in something else, and it took me a couple of scenes to place him as Sacha Dhawan from Iron Fist, but then the character was so charming and likeable I spent most of the episode hoping he wouldn't die...and then that twist! A new Master for the new era!

Does the plot stand up to scrutiny? Probably not, it rarely does, but we're only halfway through anyway, so I won't go poking at it with a stick just yet.

Very happy to see have the Doctor and her 'Fam' back. And there was plenty of good location-spotting, too, I recognised loads of shooting locations in this one. Great fun.

[Ceindreadh]

Yaz and Ryan chatting happily away about their plans in the office of a man who built his fortune on computers and information, and not stopping to consider that he might have the place monitored.  Worst spies ever!

When Yaz showed up in Australia, I was waiting for them to find out that her DNA had been partly altered by the aliens. 
 

[Llywela]

2 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:

Yaz and Ryan chatting happily away about their plans in the office of a man who built his fortune on computers and information, and not stopping to consider that he might have the place monitored.  Worst spies ever!
 

I know, right, but I kind of loved that they were so rubbish at it. I mean, that rings true, there's no reason they should be good at spying and they did point out in advance that they have no training in that field, so were just making it up as they went along.  I mean, Yaz even disabled that first camera and then didn't think to look for any more! And that after her boss guessed she'd been tapped for undercover work and she ran with it as a cover story.

I liked that Yaz was so shaken by her experience, being taken by the creatures, and that she got to have a moment with Ryan about it. Last season was sorely lacking in those little bonding moments between the characters, so I'm keen to see more of them this year.

[Sakura12]

I'm glad the Doctors back on my screen. Yeah the plot was a little thin but I still had fun and did not guess the twist with Master being back. I'll miss Michelle Gomez, the guy playing the Master now was pretty good at playing an a-hole on Iron Fist so I'll see what he does with the character. 

I liked that the Yaz and Ryan sucked at being spies. They are not trained so it makes more sense then them being amazing at it. 

I kind of wonder with Yaz being shaken from her experience of disappearing The Master will want to tell them what happened to all of her previous companions. So they really grasp what its like traveling with the Doctor. Graham seemed interested in learning more about her. 

 

[HauntedBathroom]

It's a massive improvement on seasson 11.

Still not good, but far more competant than Chibnall's been in the past. Even if I did get the impression he got a load of RTD scripts drunk and took shameless advantage of them.

 

 

[tessaray]

I'd been hoping for an Indian or other PoC Doctor forever, so I loved the twisty reveal. I didn't have access to any spoilers and honestly, wouldn't have bothered even if I had known where to find them, as last season fizzled for me pretty early on.  It was a nice surprise.

Jodie doesn't seem quite as manic, so that was good too. Thumbs up for Graham and Ryan moving beyond the angst of last season.  The glimpses of their normal lives, including Yaz's family was nice.  I am cautiously optimistic about this season. 

[jcin617]

I know Time Lords’ personality changes between regenerations, so I’m assuming this Master put aside everything Missy decided to be (e.g. standing with the Doctor) and went back to psycho-Master mode?

[LilJen]

Enjoyed the scenery chewing when the new Master revealed himself.

[starri]

1 minute ago, jcin617 said:

I know Time Lords’ personality changes between regenerations, so I’m assuming this Master put aside everything Missy decided to be (e.g. standing with the Doctor) and went back to psycho-Master mode?

Didn't she basically acknowledge that was going to happen when she regenerated?  Also, did she have a TARDIS of her own at that point?

I truly don't know how I feel about the Master being hot.

Even without the Torchwood name-check, I thought the entire thing felt like a Torchwood episode.  A good Torchwood episode, mind.

[Chaos Theory]

Spies,  gambling,  GPS trying to kill the fam,  the doctor in a suit and then we get a cool motorcycle chase.   How can this episode be any more fun? 

Then we have the master as the spymaster.

Welcome back show!!!!!!!

Edited January 2, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[rwlevin]

Yay, it’s Stephen Fry!

 

Oops, never mind.

[Lantern7]

Dang. Helluva swerve. I mean, I didn't see it coming. Granted, I can be oblivious about mysteries. "O" talks about having a shelf full of material on the Doctor, I don't think, "No way this guy had a brief encounter with the Doctor years ago, and he's actually the Master." But that's what we got. Or is it?

Yeah, it probably is. I had to go through the stuff with Missy back in 2014, where I thought her being the Master was too obvious. I'd think the Doctor would have recognized her old frenemy even with the new face. Or that the TARDIS would've detected something. Or maybe I should just sit back and watch (copy-&-paste) Sacha Dhawan channel John Simm's Master. Of course, the tissue compression device is really old-school. Maybe this is pre-Simm/Gomez? Moffat did seem to make Missy's fate inescapable . . . but fuck, isn't that the fun in reviving characters?

I had fun for the most part. Sure, this is like "Kerblam!" with VOR in place of Google and other sites that have fingers in almost every pie, but it works. And it turns out Barton wasn't the bad guy.

Seeing Jodie Whittaker shook as hell is disturbing. That's all I got.

[DanaK]

Holy damn, I loved this! It was exciting, fun, spooky. What a great season opener. I don't really think I was bored with anything. Can't wait for Episode 2 on Sunday

Loved 13's totally inability (or disdain) to being undercover. Her attempt at card playing was hilarious

Was that 13's theme when they showed up in the tuxes and during the chase? It totally started with a spy-y vibe didn't it?

I knew the spoilers about the Master returning, but I totally figured the Master wouldn't reveal himself until near the end of the season. Totally got me on that show. And the Doctor being so shook up at his reveal was pretty great

I watched this live and had to put up with the many BBC America commercials. That was the real downer

I hate the time difference. I had to wait over 7 hours past the BBC showing to see this and stay off social media to avoid spoilers and plot details. I'm going to be running all over my social media tonight to see the responses. And I guess I'll have to do it for the next 9 episodes.

I get to see this again and the 2nd episode on Sunday in a local movie theater as part of Fathom Events, without commercials and with the 2nd episode ending just after the UK sees it. It should be lots of fun

Edited January 2, 2020 by DanaK

[angora]

6 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

When Yaz showed up in Australia, I was waiting for them to find out that her DNA had been partly altered by the aliens. 

Me too - I'm still not 100% convinced, but I'm basically on board with it being more about how shook she was by her experiences. Poor Ryan calling the Doctor in a panic when he lost her, and poor, poor Yaz for going through that.

Loved Graham and Ryan being so excited over the spy gadgetry, and I loved that Ryan and Yaz were such bad spies. Their little back-and-forth over Yaz's sister was cute too.

Everything about the Doctor at Barton's party was so excellent. I love that she still wore pedal pushers and her boots with that suit, and playing snap at the blackjack table made me laugh.

I knew that Stephen Fry was going to be appearing sometime this season, though I didn't know when, but I recognized him as soon as we heard his voice through the car. Sacha Dhawan completely surprised me, though (in more ways than one, whoa!) I believe this now brings the total of former History Boys who've appeared on Doctor Who up to 4?

I really liked O (his conversation with Graham about the Doctor was great) - it'll be interesting to rewatch this episode in light of what we know now. I twigged that he was the Master seconds before he said it, at which point I shouted, "YES!!!" at my TV. So pumped! Even though we only got a few minutes of him in Master mode, he seems like he'll be great. That manic laugh was absolutely Simm-Master.

But wow, so many questions! I'm going to assume he's the next incarnation after Missy, but O also having been a real person (now tissue-compressed) rather than just a made-up disguise makes me wonder. It suggests that maybe Missy had difficulty regenerating (Simm's Master told her she wouldn't be able to) and took on someone else's form, a la Tremas with Ainley's Master? I hope we get more details next week.

[DanaK]

I've researched the history of Who, but I don't know about the tissue compression thing

I totally loved 13's response of "I've had an upgrade" to Frye's confusion about who was the Doctor and then his response after being corrected by his man that he's read the Doctor's files and he's always been a man

[tessaray]

On 1/1/2020 at 9:06 PM, angora said:

But wow, so many questions! I'm going to assume he's the next incarnation after Missy, but O also having been a real person (now tissue-compressed) rather than just a made-up disguise makes me wonder. It suggests that maybe Missy had difficulty regenerating (Simm's Master told her she wouldn't be able to) and took on someone else's form, a la Tremas with Ainley's Master? I hope we get more details next week.

In classic Who, Mary Tamm's Romana regenerated into a duplicate of Princess Astra, both played by Lalla Ward. So a Time Lord can pick their face, even though the Doctor mostly leaves it to chance.  

ETA:  I'm curious to see what explanation they come up with. 

 

On 1/1/2020 at 8:34 PM, starri said:

I truly don't know how I feel about the Master being hot.

I am a-okay with it. 🙂 Though to see him channel Simms' Master was a bit depressing. That OTT maniacal thing gets old. 

[DanaK]

I forgot to mention, we got the pre-title scenes (or whatever you call the scenes before the theme that Series 11 ditched) in this episode. I thought Chibnall said we wouldn't get them for the first episode, but I could be mistaken

As much as I enjoyed The Woman Who Fell To Earth as a new viewer, this was a major step up from that. But the second season of a Doctor should obviously strive for being much better since the first season opener is typically the messy post-regeneration episode when the Doctor is not working at full speed

Edited January 2, 2020 by DanaK

[Florinaldo]

So Sacha Dhawan is back in the DW universe, this time fully in the series itself; he was also in Adventures in Space and Time, the very enjoyable TV movie about the early days of DW, in which he played the gay director who worked on many of the very first episodes with Hartnell. Will he stick around though? They got rid of Stephen Fry rather fast, barring a radical plot twist; the latter may be in contention with John Clesse for the shortest famous actor guest appearance on the show.

The tissue compression eliminator harks back to the Delgado and Ainley eras; these two versions both liked disguises and impersonated other people just about every time they appeared. Is it the same with this incarnation or did he pull a Romana and choose his new likeness? All other regenerations have been portrayed as totally out of the regenerating Time Lord's control (including the general whom Twelve shot, as well as the transition from Jacobi to Simms). It is often assumed that the Romana one was just a lark, a throwaway gag inserted by script editor Douglas Adams.

4 hours ago, tessaray said:

Jodie doesn't seem quite as manic, so that was good too.

Her performance still reminded me too much of Bubbles from Absolutely Fabulous but perehaps a rewatch will help to correct that impression.

The plot seeemd a little drawn out, using well-worn ideas and situations from past seasons. I suspect that the overall plot of the two parts will turn out to have been perfectly suited for an hour and a half of show, but so much they wanted the shock of the Master reveal as a cliffhanger they could not resist extending the story.

34 minutes ago, tessaray said:

Though to see him channel Simms' Master was a bit depressing. That OTT maniacal thing gets old. 

I hope this was done just to establish the connection with a familiar recent incarnation of the Master and that the actor will be given the opportunity to develop his own characterisation.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Florinaldo

[DanaK]

7 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

When Yaz showed up in Australia, I was waiting for them to find out that her DNA had been partly altered by the aliens. 

I hadn't considered that at all. It will be interesting to see what happens

As for the companions making cover stories to their families and friends, I had figured the Doctor was always returning them soon after she took them away on their adventures. I hadn't considered that normal time was happening and they were having to make up excuses

[PWHCHCH]

Missy was never explicitly the next Master after John Simms Master. So I’d love if this new incarnation was in between those two. Make it a bit timey wimey. 

[DanaK]

As someone noted on Twitter, at least half of the stuff in the trailers was in this episode. So they may be hiding some surprises.

[Eulipian 5k]

25 minutes ago, DanaK said:

 

As for the companions making cover stories to their families and friends, I had figured the Doctor was always returning them soon after she took them away on their adventures. I hadn't considered that normal time was happening and they were having to make up excusese

 Heh, the Doctor is always off returning to the same day or week, or city, ask Sarah Jane. Clara was making cover stories up to put off Danny Pink.

[phalange]

“I’ve had an upgrade. Hi.” Love it. 

All the spy stuff was fun, like Yaz and Ryan undercover, the Doctor in a bow tie (bow ties are cool!), and a motorcycle chase. 

Ryan telling Yaz he won’t let anything happen to her was sweet.

I didn’t see that ending coming, though I was a bit suspicious of “O” and all the files he had of the Doctor. Curious about what exactly—according to the Master—is a lie. 

[elle]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

2 hours ago, DanaK said:

As for the companions making cover stories to their families and friends, I had figured the Doctor was always returning them soon after she took them away on their adventures. I hadn't considered that normal time was happening and they were having to make up excusese

 Heh, the Doctor is always off returning to the same day or week, or city, ask Sarah Jane. Clara was making cover stories up to put off Danny Pink.

There was an episode with Amy and Rory that addressed this too, them disappearing for months at a time. I think it was the beginning of the "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"* episode.

*it was the episode "Power of Three".

Edited January 2, 2020 by elle
Correcting the episode title

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

 Heh, the Doctor is always off returning to the same day or week, or city, ask Sarah Jane. Clara was making cover stories up to put off Danny Pink.

I think I was thinking that because 13 said she returned the team home 30 minutes after they left in Arachnids. It's also possible I was thinking this just for 13's era.

I was really surprised to hear Graham thought 13 was joking about being a man before. He and Grace did listen to her talk about how it felt to regenerate. Man, 13 apparently has told them so little

 

Some reviews:

The Independent (mostly positive) https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/doctor-who-spyfall-bbc-review-jodie-whittaker-lenny-henry-new-episodes-a9264521.html

Den of Geek (mostly positive) https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/doctor-who/285154/doctor-who-season-12-episode-1-review-spyfall

Radio Times (mostly positive) https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-01-01/doctor-who-spyfall-part-one-review/

The various reviews point out of course it's hard to judge Part 1 of a 2-parter because the story is incomplete

Edited January 2, 2020 by DanaK

[Leia1021]

Wake me when 14 shows up. Still can't stand this incarnation and it never feels like Dr. Who to me. (Been watching since 3 and Jo).

[Prower]

Okay, who directed this episode and why do they hate humanity?!

Director: "Let's establish this scene with a wide. Very nice. Now go into a close up, now extreme closeup, closeup, and 5 more extreme closeups! Okay, now let's do a shoulder shot, but so close up, you can barely see an inch of the other persons shoulder!"

Camera man: "Should we maybe shoot something in between wides and closeups?"

Director: "I don't understand, what in between?! That reminds me, even in quiet scenes with people talking, remember to film handheld and shake the camera around a bunch!

I also can't forget to tell the editor to cut every 2 seconds! You can't let anything breathe. Otherwise people might notice how shit the script is!"

After finishing Mr. Robbot recently and marveling at the gorgeous cinematagrophy there, this dumpster fire was quite a shock. It was so bad in some parts I couldn't even concentrate on the episode. But maybe that was a good thing...

 

Most of the characters are still annoying and the acting is still mostly bad.

The writing is way worse than the acting.

The cinematagrophy sucks...

Why am I doing this to myself?

So Unit is just gone? Well that's kinda dumb. I hope the next showrunner reveals they were just underground.

All of the Tardis team should have died 10 times over, when they got shot at and I was so rooting for it.

We all know that a billionair wouldn't have a passanger jet, but a private luxury jet and they just used it because they still had the set from the first scene. Right? Right.

That was probably the worst master reveal ever. Character gets introduced pretty much exactly half way through the episode, 30 minutes later "Yeah I'm the master btw. and now I'm way crazier than Jon Sim on his worst day, right off the bat!" I literally said "Oh, fuck you." out loud at my screen. Why slowly tease and reveal a new master, when you can just throw him in. I want Michelle Gomez back pronto and throw in a bunch of new writers while you are at it!

On 1/1/2020 at 11:02 PM, elle said:

There was an episode with Amy and Rory that addressed this too, them disappearing for months at a time.

99% sure that was about them aging faster than they should. Precisely because the doctor would drop them off a minute after pickup. These writers have just no idea how doctor who works...

Edited January 2, 2020 by Prower

[elle]

35 minutes ago, Prower said:

99% sure that was about them aging faster than they should. Precisely because the doctor would drop them off a minute after pickup. These writers have just no idea how doctor who works...

In the episode with Amy and Rory there was a specific mention of food left behind in the refrigerator and something about Rory's part time job. I don't recall if someone said anything about them appearing aged but that would follow why Any quit her modeling career.

I do wonder what happened with Tegan when she returned to Earth, how did she explain disappearing for her airline job

On topic! Where was the party supposed to be?  I missed if there was a title card.

[John Potts]

Well I loved it. What I particularly liked was that nobody was stupid - even the Redshirts bodyguards weren't idiots, even if they still died (probably - they might show up alive, I guess, since Yaz and the Doctor will). And yes, a very old school Master reveal (Tissue Compression Gun, disguises and all). But it set things up nicely and never dragged.

One thing did puzzle me though - was it the Doctor who had arranged all those "Secondments" for Yaz*? She certainly does know enough people to arrange something like that although he/she normally expects her Companions to just cope with being dropped off years after they left/on a different planet/in a parallel universe.

34 minutes ago, Prower said:

We all know that a billionaire wouldn't have a passenger jet, but a private luxury jet

Well, it was a fake anyway, so maybe it's all the Master could run to.

2 hours ago, GSManiac said:

Missy was never explicitly the next Master after John Simms Master. So I’d love if this new incarnation was in between those two.

Or between Roger Delgado and Peter Pratt/Geoffrey Beevers. The Master was marooned on Earth during that era, when he would otherwise have no particular reason to hang around on such a relative backwater (although it might just be to mess with the Doctor, which would be entirely in character)

* I realise they never actually happened, but somebody had to provide the cover to make them look real enough

[Prower]

7 minutes ago, elle said:

In the episode with Amy and Rory there was a specific mention of food left behind in the refrigerator and something about Rory's part time job. I don't recall if someone said anything about them appearing aged but that would follow why Any quit her modeling career.

Well, usually the Doctor drops people off shortly after leaving, barring any accidents that are convenient for the plot. I'm pretty sure it was also Amy and Rory that talked about that people started to notice that they were aging faster than they should.

3 minutes ago, John Potts said:

Well, it was a fake anyway, so maybe it's all the Master could run to.

The master didn't run to some random plane. The CEO remarked earlier in the episode that he had a passanger plane. It's just dumb.

If you want real proof that it was just because they had the set left over: (these kinds of) Passanger planes don't have cargo hatches in the back.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Prower

[hnygrl]

Glad I’m not the only one. That was BAD. All around awful. I think I’m gonna skip this series for the first time ever. 

Lord, that was bad. And can someone please explain how missy not only regenerated from a non-regenerate-able kill shot  but got off that ship with no tardis???
 I keep saying it but Jesus Lord in heaven, that. Was. Bad. 

wake me up when 14 comes. 

[Llywela]

35 minutes ago, elle said:

I do wonder what happened with Tegan when she returned to Earth, how did she explain disappearing for her airline job

She lost the job. The Doctor left her at Heathrow in one episode when they finally made it there, without bothering to ask if she still wanted to be left. Then he ran into her again on another adventure and she said she'd been sacked (hardly surprising after not turning up for her first day, or any other day after that) and wanted to come back to the TARDIS.

30 minutes ago, hnygrl said:

Lord, that was bad. And can someone please explain how missy not only regenerated from a non-regenerate-able kill shot  but got off that ship with no tardis???

The Master always survives against the odds, turning up again without explaining how they survived has been traditional for the character since the 1970s. I mean, at one point the Master had been reduced to literally nothing more than a pot of slime, and he still managed to hijack a new body and survive! Before that the character was burned to a crisp but still survived and had adventures in that form before acquiring a new body. Surviving against all the odds is a huge part of who the Master is. Like Dracula! Or a cockroach. 😉

Also, we don't actually know that this Master comes after Missy, could just as easily slot in somewhere before - the Master's personal timeline has always been all over the shop.

I know a lot of fans really loved the Twelve-Missy storyline and development and are upset to think it is being undone, but I really hated it so I'm happy to move on from it. I disliked the Ten-Simm!Master stuff as well. For me, New Who has yet to actually get the Master right, so I am keenly interested to see how this one pans out.

For starters, if this new Master has teamed up with these alien spies for whatever purpose, then I fully expect them to turn on him in the next episode, because that's traditionally what always happens when the Master tries to form an alliance. He always gets double-crossed, usually just when he is attempting to do the double-crossing!

[Prower]

11 minutes ago, Llywela said:

The Master always survives against the odds, turning up again without explaining

Which made the doctors reaction all the worse. Whittaker acted that scene like somebody just told her she had super-cancer and the moon was made of chocolate. When the reaction should have been more "Damn that asshole tricked me again". (which was probably not her fault but the director's, who, we established, hates humanity)

 

"Mrs. Doctor, I'm afraid you have super-cancer and... dun dun dun... the moon is made of chocolate"

Edited January 2, 2020 by Prower

[Llywela]

16 minutes ago, Prower said:

Which made the doctors reaction all the worse. Whittaker acted that scene like somebody just told her she had super-cancer and the moon was made of chocolate. When the reaction should have been more "Damn that asshole tricked me again". (which was probably not her fault but the director's, who, we established, hates humanity)

 

"Mrs. Doctor, I'm afraid you have super-cancer and... dun dun dun... the moon is made of chocolate"

To be fair, even though the Master always manages to survive, the Doctor always is shocked by it, every time, always has been. You'd think they'd be used to it by now, but they never are - and they never, ever see through even the thinnest of disguises. The Master is the Doctor's biggest blind spot. Some things really do never change.

[Prower]

22 minutes ago, Llywela said:

To be fair, even though the Master always manages to survive, the Doctor always is shocked by it, every time, always has been. You'd think they'd be used to it by now, but they never are - and they never, ever see through even the thinnest of disguises. The Master is the Doctor's biggest blind spot. Some things really do never change.

I mean, shocked yes. But never this shocked. With Simm it came close. But there it was warranted since the Doctor thought that he was the last timelord. But even then, no wide eyed hand biting.

I think this one could have worked, if we actually had seen O before, maybe as a quasi-companion over multiple episodes. Instead we were told, not shown (a big problem of the show at the moment), that the doctor met O like once for 5 minutes. Big whoop.

 

In general I think it's way too early to bring the master back. Moffat waited multiple seasons for a reason and even with RTD it was at the end of season three. But that's beside the point.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Prower

[doesntworkonwood]

I loved it! It was fun, and I was sure that the reveal was going to be Cybermen ala Army of Ghosts but I was pretty shocked that it was the Master. Looking forward to Sunday!

[NeenerNeener]

6 hours ago, angora said:

I love that she still wore pedal pushers and her boots with that suit

I hate her pedal pushers. I was enjoying the episode until I saw that she was wearing a tux with pedal pushers.

Yaz walking around in that "forest" of vertical bars was really creepy.  I hope we get an explanation of what that place is.

[darkestboy]

I enjoyed the episode but mainly for Sacha Dhawan. Whether or not it's too early to have the Master back, I don't care but he was the obvious highlight in the episode and I want to see more scenes with him and Jodie Whittaker.

Between Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry, the latter somewhat fared better in the episode. Liked the various past callbacks, something which last series did lack a bit.

The glowy creatures looked creepy enough and there seems to be hints of an actual arc brewing so that's nice.

One of the beautifully shot episodes as well and I liked the hopping from different locations. The Bond spoof wasn't too bad.

Weakest element are the companions. None of them really work and I really hope they're all gone by the end of this series, 9/10

[DanaK]

Overnight ratings are in and the episode got 4.88 million viewers, its lowest number yet. However, to put it in context, it got the second highest number of the night and it was shown opposite the program that was #1. Dracula didn’t do so hot for Part 1. I’m thinking New Year’s Day is not the best viewing time even if the networks keep trying. US broadcast networks just put sports on and scripted repeats

lizo mzimba (@lizo_mzimba) Tweeted:
@TomSpilsbury Yes, Emmerdale got 5.00 million, Corrie got 4.87 million, EastEnders 4.46 million. Dracula got 3.57 million

7+ days consolidated viewing figures should tell us more, as will the ratings for Part 2

Edited January 2, 2020 by DanaK

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, darkestboy said:

I enjoyed the episode but mainly for Sacha Dhawan. Whether or not it's too early to have the Master back, I don't care but he was the obvious highlight in the episode and I want to see more scenes with him and Jodie Whittaker.

I know, I was really enjoying O, sat through most of his scenes enjoying him and hoping he wouldn't die, and then bam! O already died years ago (shout-out to the tissue compressor! That's really  old school Master!) and it was the Master playing at being him all along - presumably just for the sheer heck of it? In case it proved a useful position to be in one day? I mean, as disguises/undercover identities go, it's better than Ainley's Master standing around in a random field disguised as a scarecrow for absolutely no reason, but still. I really like Sacha Dhawan, though, so am prepared to forgive quite a bit of illogic. I don't really expect logic from storylines about the Master anyway.

I agree with you that the companions are still a weak link. I mean, I like them all as individuals, and I even enjoy their group dynamic, but they really aren't being given much to work with - which makes it hard for us to really get attached to them. For me, though, the weakest link of all is the Doctor's dialogue. I've always liked Jodie Whittaker as an actress, I support her in the role 100%, I am prepared to accept her as the Doctor, but damn I wish she was given better dialogue to deliver. Most of all, I wish she didn't sound so uncertain all the time. The Doctor is traditionally more inclined to over-confidence than uncertainty, so that really undermines her, for me.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Llywela

[DanaK]

I’m kind of thinking that weird place Yaz and the Doctor got sent to was them being miniaturized or something similar. The Doctor seemed to recognize the place though

[Florinaldo]

The Master has a knack for finding loopholes to the rules and limitations of Gallifreyan regeneration and death. His take-over of Tremas's body (also played by Ainley) was not really a true regeneration, just as he survived a malfunction of his tissue compression gadget and only had to endure living in a shoebox for a little while. He also bargained with the Time Lords for an extension of his regenerations allocation in The Five Doctors.

So perhaps he has now learned to control the regeneration and can choose his appearance; or is it an application of his TARDIS' chameleon circuit? As others have said, it is a refreshing change to have a younger and handsomer Master; he should invest in a good razor though.

7 hours ago, Prower said:

When the reaction should have been more "Damn that asshole tricked me again". (which was probably not her fault but the director's, who, we established, hates humanity)

It was especially annoying since the "spy master" reference was very anvillicious; it certainly pricked up my ears. Although I was not sure that likeable SD would turn out to be the eternally recurring villain.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Florinaldo

[gonzosgirrl]

19 minutes ago, DanaK said:

I’m kind of thinking that weird place Yaz and the Doctor got sent to was them being miniaturized or something similar. The Doctor seemed to recognize the place though

Heh, maybe they are uber-miniaturized and trapped in the alien's arm hairs.

I was confused as to how/why Yaz was transported to/replaced the caged being. Still kinda sorta am, to be honest. Was that all a construct of The Master then? And are we really to believe that there were no lasting consequences of her being eaten (for lack of a better word) by the being(s)? Might she possibly be only 93% human now?

Another bit of confusion was the MI6 director's skepticism about the existence of aliens. I mean, he knows about UNIT and Torchwood, but has his doubts about aliens? Especially considering he's, you now, talking to one. Huh?

[libgirl2]

We were not looking forward to this as we didn't care for last season, but I have to say we were pleasantly surprised. It moved along well. I do agree the companions are the weakest links. I still don't like Ryan and Yaz. I would love to see Graham be her only companion. 

[Chaos Theory]

Why do I feel like we are all over critiquing Jodie Whittaker and her acting choices?   I thought it was completely reasonable to be shocked at seeing The Master again.   The Doctor will be shocked and appalled each time any of his/her/their old enemies show up and wax poetic about their history.   Plus The Master has always been a bit manic especially during the villain monologue scenes.  

I really like the companions especially Yaz and Graham.   I think they both bring an interesting energy to the show.   

Edited January 2, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[libgirl2]

Just now, Chaos Theory said:

Why do I feel like we are all over critiquing Jodie Whittaker and her acting choices?   I thought it was completely reasonable to be shocked at seeing The Master again.   The Doctor will be shocked and appalled each time any of his/her/their old enemies show up and wax poetic about their history.   Plus The Master has always been a bit manic especially during the villain monologue scenes.   

I had read the spoilers about the Master coming back and thought it would be gimicky but I liked it. And I liked that they brought back the Tissue Compression Eliminator 

[DanaK]

I finally figured out why the majestic music used during the tux intro scene and bike chase seemed so familiar. It was used at the end of Resolution

Edited January 2, 2020 by DanaK

[rwlevin]

12 hours ago, tessaray said:

In classic Who, Mary Tamm's Romana regenerated into a duplicate of Princess Astra, both played by Lalla Ward. So a Time Lord can pick their face, even though the Doctor mostly leaves it to chance.  

Wasn't that also the reasoning that 12 looked like the dad from Volcano Day? That he had so much guilt about all the lives he's destroyed, he subconsciously regenerated into the likeness of somebody he had met before (and ironically hadn't gotten killed? ) plus with the timelords gone, there really aren't any rules about regeneration anymore.