S13.E01: Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse

[DanaK]

Quote

On Halloween, all across the universe, terrifying forces are stirring. From the Arctic Circle to deep space, an ancient evil is breaking free. And in present-day Liverpool, the life of Dan Lewis is about to change forever. Why is the Doctor on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista? And what is the Flux?

Premieres October 31, 2021 at 6:25pm on BBC1 and runs about 50 minutes. On BBC America in the US, it runs at the same time at 2:25pm Eastern Time (1:25pm CT, 12:25pm MT, 11:25pm PT) and runs until 3:37pm ET, and will repeat at 8pm ET with a couple of extra minutes (billed as an "extended cut") and again at 3am ET the next morning (similar to the first repeat as an "extended cut")

ETA:

Schedule note: For those in the US watching via BBC America, it appears for those in the Pacific Time Zone, mainly those on the West Coast, you’ll be able to see the premiere at 2:25pm PT, 3 hours after the East Coast sees it, instead of what appeared to initially be 11:25am, at the same time as the East Coast and the UK. The other time zones appear to have not changed when the premiere is for them. Below is the BBC America schedule for Sunday. Check your local listings to be sure because the website can be flaky

 

https://www2.bbcamerica.com/schedule?tz=PT&bc=west&from=2021-10-31

Edited October 31, 2021 by DanaK

[Llywela]

Exciting stuff. A bit frenetic for my taste, with a plot that isn't particularly easy to follow, since there's so much we don't know, but fun enough to watch. I haven't really parsed any of it yet - parsing is going to be difficult until we have the whole story anyway.

I like just having the Doctor and Yaz. As predicted, this dynamic works better than when a group of three companions were being treated as a single unit.

Not a fan of John Bishop (or his teeth). I think Dan might grow on me, but to be honest, I much preferred grumpy Karvanista!

[Lantern7]

That was . . . a lot. And loud. And British. I DVR’ed the episode, so maybe I’ll rewatch and figure out how to turn on subtitles.

This “Flux” story will probably work best in one binge, because there are way too many parts introduced. Me at the end of the episode: “Who’s this guy? Oh, right . . .  the guy in Liverpool 1820 that was digging for a mysterious, non-discernible reason.”

I like the dog alien. He tries to be menacing, but you just want to scratch behind his ear to see what happens.

You think stuff like house shrinkage is covered by insurance in that world? Like “act of god,” only with aliens.

[DanaK]

That was so much fun and did a lot of different things I didn't expect. I loved the antagonistic back and forth between Dan and Karvanista, and a very sure of herself Yaz acting like she's seen it all (and she probably has) with Dan. The slightly antagonistic back and forth between Yaz and the Doctor was interesting. Loved the pre-credits escape of the Doctor and Yaz, though why did they land on bedding on the floor of the Tardis? There was a lot going on, but clearly these are characters we'll see again and all very interesting. That ending was ominous.

I'm going to have to think more about what I liked, but what a great start!

Edited October 31, 2021 by DanaK

[DanaK]

37 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

That was . . . a lot. And loud. And British. I DVR’ed the episode, so maybe I’ll rewatch and figure out how to turn on subtitles.

This “Flux” story will probably work best in one binge, because there are way too many parts introduced. Me at the end of the episode: “Who’s this guy? Oh, right . . .  the guy in Liverpool 1820 that was digging for a mysterious, non-discernible reason.”

I like the dog alien. He tries to be menacing, but you just want to scratch behind his ear to see what happens.

You think stuff like house shrinkage is covered by insurance in that world? Like “act of god,” only with aliens.

Definitely figure out how to turn on subtitles. That's the only way I can understand most of the dialogue (and John Bishop is especially troublesome), at least the first time through

[John Potts]

I felt this was a bit... overstuffed. There was lots to like: John Bishop was surprisingly likeable (and pretty reasonable about the whole "kidnaped by a space dog"), Yaz had clearly gained some off screen skills (which I'm fine with), we got a few callbacks (Rose station, the cloister bell) and we end on a good old fashioned cliffhanger. But there were elements that could have been omitted entirely - like the Sontranians (I guess their conversation was meant to be funny?), the guy on the space station (maybe he'll become important in a later episode?) and the Weeping Angel. If I'd been writing it, I'd had the plot centre entirely on Dog Alien and have the Doctor trying to thwart him only to end on him saying, "Look, you jerks, I'm trying to save your asses!" and then have the Flux show up at the end (though you could keep the Doctor's psychic flashes - I'm guessing the monster is somebody captured by a Pre-First Doctor incarnation?).

I'm sure it will make (some) sense when we get to the end of the Season!

[DoctorAtomic]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

That was . . . a lot. And loud. And British.

I watch the EPL on NBC here in the USA, so I had a big laugh at 'Klopp era!' when she saw Anfield. So I'm in the mountain time zone and I got the 1 hour and 20 minute version at 3.25 today. 

There was a lot going on! I had a lot of fun, but they threw in a lot of characters in. 

It looked to me like the Sontarans were behind the flux, but that didn't seem right to me. I am leaning that there's some business with them in 1820. 

 

[cardigirl]

Why was the dog alien try to kill the Doctor and Yaz at the beginning of the episode? 

[DanaK]

15 minutes ago, cardigirl said:

Why was the dog alien try to kill the Doctor and Yaz at the beginning of the episode? 

I think because he didn't want to answer the Doctor's questions about the Division or she was interfering in his mission to save humans. Maybe she just annoyed him

I loved that Yaz was helping to fly the Tardis

[ElleryAnne]

I agree with a lot of what everyone else here has said.  The episode was too busy, but there were good parts in it.  I don't mind it when the beginning of the episode tosses us into things at a frenetic pace, but there are only so many threads that need to be introduced in ep1 of a six-ep series. 

I would have been happy if this episode had focused on introducing Dan, Vinder, dog-alien, and the Flux.  That would have been more than enough.  The 1820's Liverpool tunnel stuff, random Arctic Circle couple, Sontarans, Claire and the Weeping Angels, I'm sure they'll make sense later, but I didn't need them jammed into this episode. 

I liked the dog alien - was his name Karvanista and his species Lupari, or was Karvanista his species too?  Does Lupari refer to the species overall or to guardian-angel dog aliens as a job description or something?  And dog-alien worked with the Doctor as an operative at some time in the past?  IDK.  I definitely need a second watching to pick up on what I missed the first time through.  (Not missing Game 5 for it, though, so it will have to wait a couple of days.)  

I'm so glad to see Yaz get some spark to her personality.  I've been wanting that to happen, and I'd about given up on it.  And liking Dan so far. 

Liking Vinder, as well.  His intro in this episode may have been as random as some of the other things, but I liked him immediately.  Whether it was the writing of his dialogue with his ship or just the skill of the actor playing him, I don't know.  But right away I wanted more of his scenes.  (Something about his intro was reminiscent of Jack Harkness' intro, and that may play into it as well.)

I don't like the Swarm alien so far - the one with the stuff sticking out around his head and the creepy teeth.  Maybe he'll be more interesting when the story unfolds further.  He's been locked up since the dawn of time, and the Doctor had something to do with it?  IDK, again I might have missed something there.  I'm not really invested in the whole idea of the stuff in the Doctor's past with the Timeless Child(ren).  The Flux and the chaos it brings seems like plenty to work with on its own, without Swarm.  But maybe I'll feel differently as the rest of the season plays out.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode. 

[WatchrTina]

I am hugging myself with glee at the prospect of Jacob Anderson (a.k.a. Grey Worm from Game of Thrones) having a recurring role this season.  And I am only slightly less excited at the prospect of John Bishop joining the cast.  Bring on the new fam!

I found the new episode confusing but I think we all understand that its purpose is to set up the conflicts that will be addressed in the coming season.

Allons-y!

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by WatchrTina

[Sakura12]

 

I caught this during the extended version which just had the cast talking about this season.

As for this episode that was a lot to take in. I'm assuming all these storylines are going to connect and make sense later, but that was maybe too much in one episode. We had creepy face dude, dog Alien, the Sontarans, and the weeping Angels. Then whatever happened in the past, Grey Worm from Game of Thrones and Dan' friend. 

I still enjoyed it. I always watch this show with subtitles. Otherwise I'd miss half of the dialogue. Lol

The Doctors reverted back to hiding things again. And Yaz has developed more of a personality since last season. The new guy is okay. If I was kidnapped by a dog Alien I'd probably handle it better them some of the other aliens. 

[Chyromaniac]

Did anyone watch both the premiere and the “extended” version- and if so, were there any significant differences?  I’m trying to figure out which recording to keep.

I enjoyed the episode overall- although I feel like it suffers a bit from the decision to treat the season as one overall story.  There’s so much setup going on here for everything else, that there’s comparatively less time for whatever this was supposed to be.  Even in a serialized format, I want each chapter episode to tell a meaningful story- and I’m not totally sure what that would be here.  Presumably it’s about the Lupari coming to save their humans from the Flux, and the Doc showing them how to protect the planet rather than abduct each human individually - but the episode ends before we really know how that turns out.  Maybe that’s something else that’s going to be a recurring issue for the next five weeks - but again, I wanted something to get resolved here.

However, I really liked all the individual elements of the show.  I thought the twist on the Lupari was fun, especially with Karvanista not really caring about Dan beyond his species bond.  The Angel scene was effectively scary- although at this point, you’d think the Doctor(s) would have a stock response for running into people they technically haven’t met yet.  They spend so much time running around contemporary Britain, that this must come up a lot.  The Sontarans were fine, but I enjoy how much they anticipate war and destruction.  And, I’m curious to see what all this stuff about the division is building up to.

 I guess we’ll see how this goes- hopefully the rest of the season will pay off what they set up tonight.  Otherwise it may be tough to think of this episode as being greater than the sum of its parts.

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, Chyromaniac said:

Did anyone watch both the premiere and the “extended” version- and if so, were there any significant differences?  I’m trying to figure out which recording to keep.

I did and it seemed to me the only real differences were that the repeat had 3 behind the scenes segments with the cast and a longer next time trailer at the end, so I would keep the extended repeat, if those things interest you

Edited November 1, 2021 by DanaK

[DanaK]

2 hours ago, ElleryAnne said:

I liked the dog alien - was his name Karvanista and his species Lupari, or was Karvanista his species too?  Does Lupari refer to the species overall or to guardian-angel dog aliens as a job description or something?  And dog-alien worked with the Doctor as an operative at some time in the past?  IDK.  I definitely need a second watching to pick up on what I missed the first time through.  (Not missing Game 5 for it, though, so it will have to wait a couple of days.)  

Karvanista was his personal name and Lupari was his species’ name. As far as we know so far, K is the only living Division agent the Doctor has been able to find; it doesn’t appear she knew him in the past, but something more could be revealed later

[Chyromaniac]

41 minutes ago, DanaK said:

I did and it seemed to me the only real differences were that the repeat had 3 behind the scenes segments with the cast and a longer next time trailer at the end, so I would keep the extended repeat, if those things interest you

Thanks- I watched the repeat live, so if the actual show was the same I may keep the original (since I’ve now seen those bits).  You just never know what might get trimmed for commercials on bbca- I wouldn’t put it past them to air two different cuts of the same show on the same day.

[DanaK]

Overnight ratings: 4.43 million (not sure if that encompasses devices). I was actually fearing below 4 million given how ratings are in general, but that’s pretty decent. We’ll see how that grows with 7 day and 28 day figures

[ElleryAnne]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Overnight ratings: 4.43 million (not sure if that encompasses devices). I was actually fearing below 4 million given how ratings are in general, but that’s pretty decent. We’ll see how that grows with 7 day and 28 day figures

Is that the evening airing only, or both?  

[DanaK]

2 hours ago, ElleryAnne said:

Is that the evening airing only, or both?  

UK ratings only

[sugarbaker design]

I didn't mind the various plot strands, I know they're all going to converge at one point.  

Is this Big Bad a new villain?  Because he reminds me of another villain that this iteration of The Doctor has faced before.

[DanaK]

6 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I didn't mind the various plot strands, I know they're all going to converge at one point.  

Is this Big Bad a new villain?  Because he reminds me of another villain that this iteration of The Doctor has faced before.

New villain. Maybe you are thinking of Tim Shaw, introduced in Series 11?

[WatchrTina]

1 minute ago, DanaK said:

Maybe you are thinking of Tim Shaw, introduced in Series 11?

I'm not who you addressed with your question but now that you mention it, YES!  I get a very "Tim Shaw" vibe from the new evil duo.

[sugarbaker design]

15 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Is this Big Bad a new villain?  Because he reminds me of another villain that this iteration of The Doctor has faced before.

 

8 minutes ago, DanaK said:

New villain. Maybe you are thinking of Tim Shaw, introduced in Series 11?

 

5 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

I'm not who you addressed with your question but now that you mention it, YES!  I get a very "Tim Shaw" vibe from the new evil duo.

YES!  Tim Shaw.  The overall look and most definitely the voice. 

I was addressing no one in particular and everyone!

[AncientNewbie]

I really want to snark and watch this with my jaundiced genre vet eye, but then I'm suddenly 10 years old when the music starts and all critical thinking goes out the window. That was a lot--too many plot threads to make a coherent ep--but since they've already told us about this Flux mess being a lengthy storyline, I'm willing to wait to see. 

I didn't dislike Dan, although I would prefer Yaz and Doctor adventures. It's nice seeing Yaz being the leader among the humans. 

[JustHereForFood]

5 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

YES!  Tim Shaw.  The overall look and most definitely the voice. 

I was addressing no one in particular and everyone!

That's what I was thinking as well.

I really liked this episode, my only complain is that I am not that fond of retcons, so I would prefer the new villain be a completely new character, not someone that the Doctor has apparently already met and forgotten.

It seemed a bit weird that the Doctor so quickly dismissed the woman (Claire, I think?) who recognized her in the present. I would have taken her with me if I were in her place, since it seemed like too much of a coincidence.

[MissLucas]

Stuffed but I like plots served in heaps. Also: a lot of beautiful imagery especially the scenes from outpost Rose and the Flux itself.

Thank God I watched a lot of Graham Norton so I knew what to expect when John Bishop opened his mouth!

[Terrafamilia]

I'm left wondering if a Weeping Angel could be stopped with a camera or if you need a living being to watch them (presumably intelligent or all sorts of animals that might be around could do it).

[DoctorAtomic]

In the original Blink, the Doctor fooled them all into looking at each other. What about a mirror? 

What if you watch them from the back and then bonk them over the head with a hammer? 

[DavidJSnyder]

1 hour ago, Terrafamilia said:

I'm left wondering if a Weeping Angel could be stopped with a camera or if you need a living being to watch them (presumably intelligent or all sorts of animals that might be around could do it).

I don’t think a camera without an observer would do anything: and we’ve seen that if you observe the footage from a camera it can attack you as an angel.

[John Potts]

8 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Is this Big Bad a new villain?  Because he reminds me of another villain that this iteration of The Doctor has faced before.

He's somewhat reminiscent of The Trickster, a villain from The Sarah Jane Adventures, who was responsible for the "Bad Universe" in Season 4(?)'s Turn Left.

[Chyromaniac]

I keep thinking that he should be played by Bruce Spence.

[DanaK]

Episode 1 was #2 for Sunday night, behind the Strictly Come Dancing results show (UK TV)

ETA: Actually, that may have been the actual show, not the results; I’m not sure

Edited November 2, 2021 by DanaK

[Maren]

I tend to not rewatch Chibnall's seasons (minus a few episodes), so if it was on before I've forgotten, but what is this Division Thirteen is looking for? Has it been mentioned before?

I have to admit, I found it boring at first. I wasn't impressed with Dan. I did like Claire and Vinder tho. I felt like the episode got interesting about midway through. It also feels like it might tie into the Timeless Child (no spoilers, just theory) with Swarm.

[DanaK]

15 minutes ago, Maren said:

I tend to not rewatch Chibnall's seasons (minus a few episodes), so if it was on before I've forgotten, but what is this Division Thirteen is looking for? Has it been mentioned before?

I have to admit, I found it boring at first. I wasn't impressed with Dan. I did like Claire and Vinder tho. I felt like the episode got interesting about midway through. It also feels like it might tie into the Timeless Child (no spoilers, just theory) with Swarm.

The Division was mentioned last season, explicitly in the finale and obliquely in Fugitive of the Judoon. Some previous incarnations of the Doctor had worked for the Division, which was a secret Gallifrey organization that did jobs the Time Lords didn’t want to acknowledge. But they mindwiped the Doctor at various points so she doesn’t remember lives prior to the one played by Bill Hartnell

[Maren]

43 minutes ago, DanaK said:

The Division was mentioned last season, explicitly in the finale and obliquely in Fugitive of the Judoon. Some previous incarnations of the Doctor had worked for the Division, which was a secret Gallifrey organization that did jobs the Time Lords didn’t want to acknowledge. But they mindwiped the Doctor at various points so she doesn’t remember lives prior to the one played by Bill Hartnell

Got it, thank you!! I knew it sounded familiar but I could not remember. Swarm's speech to her makes more sense now. Thank you!

One more comment on the episode: I hope Diane is ok. I knew as soon as she and Dan made plans something would happen! Though I didn't think it would be to her but to him lol. I hope she comes out ok.

And it made me laugh that Dan was getting kicked out of the museum for doing impromptu tours. What museum wouldn't like an enthusiastic tour guide who works for free? Lots of museums have volunteers! He'd clearly be a great one lol. 

[TexasGal]

15 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Thank God I watched a lot of Graham Norton so I knew what to expect when John Bishop opened his mouth!

Me too - I turned the closed captioning on before even starting to watch because I knew there was no way I was going to understand him and Jodie at the same time!

[DanaK]

20 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

Me too - I turned the closed captioning on before even starting to watch because I knew there was no way I was going to understand him and Jodie at the same time!

CC is absolutely the only way I can understand much of the accented dialogue in this show and it's particularly useful now with John, plus it helped to understand the end scenes in the Tardis because the dialogue was getting muffled by the music and other noise

[tennisgurl]

That was a whole lot going on, I think we had about seven stories all happening at once, even if some were just about a scene or two to establish them. I am hoping that they can tie everything together in the next episode where I assume a lot of this will be explained, although that is a LOT to tie together. I enjoyed the frantic pace and I think I will like it even more in retrospect when I know more of what is going on and what all of these plots are about. The episode also had a lot of great imagery, especially the future outpost and the Flux, which looks like a science fiction version of The Nothing from The Neverending Story, this batch of episode is off to a really interesting start. Probably too busy, all set up instead of being just one story and I really have no idea how they are going to tie in everything from Weeping Angels to 1800s industrialists to alien supervillains to planets being destroyed in the future, but it certainly does establish the huge scope of whatever is happening, and it certainly makes me excited to see what happens next.

I like just Yaz and the Doctor, although Dan seems pretty likable, and being surprisingly chill about things like being kidnapped by an alien dog is a trait that makes for a good companion, but I continue to be annoyed that the show just keeps on having mostly companions from the contemporary UK. It would be fun to shake things up a bit, in the classic series they had a lot of contemporary people but they also had people from the past, future, aliens, adorable robot dogs, but now its almost entirely contemporary British people as major featured companions. Maybe they can pick up the outpost guy from the future as well, I would be happy seeing him around. 

I like Karvanista the adorable alien dog warrior and I like the twist that they are saving humanity instead of trying to destroy it, but they really need to work on their communication. The bad guy looks like he's wearing a Mardi Gras Halloween mask, which is appropriate for a Halloween episode. 

Not much about the timeless child, which I am totally fine with.

Edited November 2, 2021 by tennisgurl

[DanaK]

6 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

That was a whole lot going on, I think we had about seven stories all happening at once, even if some were just about a scene or two to establish them. I am hoping that they can tie everything together in the next episode where I assume a lot of this will be explained, although that is a LOT to tie together. I enjoyed the frantic pace and I think I will like it even more in retrospect when I know more of what is going on and what all of these plots are about. The episode also had a lot of great imagery, especially the future outpost and the Flux, which looks like a science fiction version of The Nothing from The Neverending Story, this batch of episode is off to a really interesting start. Probably too busy, all set up instead of being just one story and I really have no idea how they are going to tie in everything from Weeping Angels to 1800s industrialists to alien supervillains to planets being destroyed in the future, but it certainly does establish the huge scope of whatever is happening, and it certainly makes me excited to see what happens next.

I like just Yaz and the Doctor, although Dan seems pretty likable, and being surprisingly chill about things like being kidnapped by an alien dog is a trait that makes for a good companion, but I continue to be annoyed that the show just keeps on having mostly companions from the contemporary UK. It would be fun to shake things up a bit, in the classic series they had a lot of contemporary people but they also had people from the past, future, aliens, adorable robot dogs, but now its almost entirely contemporary British people as major featured companions. Maybe they can pick up the outpost guy from the future as well, I would be happy seeing him around. 

I like Karvanista the adorable alien dog warrior and I like the twist that they are saving humanity instead of trying to destroy it, but they really need to work on their communication. The bad guy looks like he's wearing a Mardi Gras Halloween mask, which is appropriate for a Halloween episode. 

Not much about the timeless child, which I am totally fine with.

About those various threads you speak of:

Spoiler

Any particular thread may not be picked up in the very next episode; you could see it in a later episode. Vinder will be recurring, as will other members of the guest cast

 

[DoctorAtomic]

I fairly good with accents because I do watch a lot of BBC, but I typically use captions for all the shows I watch because of the music, etc. 

I'm banking that the 1820 industrialists release the Flux out to the universe and it boomeranged back to earth in current times. I assume the angels are sending people back to that time. It would be interesting if the angels are actually trying to help and sending people back on purpose. The woman who encountered it clearly knew their deal; i.e., don't blink. 

[DanaK]

Just now, DoctorAtomic said:

I fairly good with accents because I do watch a lot of BBC, but I typically use captions for all the shows I watch because of the music, etc. 

I'm banking that the 1820 industrialists release the Flux out to the universe and it boomeranged back to earth in current times. I assume the angels are sending people back to that time. It would be interesting if the angels are actually trying to help and sending people back on purpose. The woman who encountered it clearly knew their deal; i.e., don't blink. 

Intriguing theory on the Angels. I found it interesting that an Angel was included in the montage of people at the end, suggesting to the audience  that we'll see it (and the others) again

[taanja]

On 10/31/2021 at 3:26 PM, DanaK said:

Definitely figure out how to turn on subtitles. That's the only way I can understand most of the dialogue (and John Bishop is especially troublesome), at least the first time through

Subs (CC) is/are the only watch to watch!!!!

Anyway -- I watched twice cuz the first time through  I was like --whoa! wait! what? who?

Have we been introduced to the Flux before? I feel just like The Doctor -- my mind has been wiped clean.

I think I'm going to like the new companion. Dan. So far he seems cool and is sort of taking all the alien and shrinking houses in stride.

I loved the beginning (even though I wasn't sure what was happening -- like did I miss something?) The Doctor and Yaz hanging upside down on the thingy and the Doc saying (paraphrasing) "I suppose you think some of this is my fault/ and Yaz is like -- ALL of it is your fault! Ha! I am really liking their dynamic.

So I guess this season (only 6 eps!!! say what???) is going to bring back all the big bad aliens from previous seasons. Weeping Angels. Check. Sontarans. Check. Daleks. Check. etc....

Either way I am cool with it. I do love me some Doctor Who!

welcome back show.

Edited November 2, 2021 by taanja

[DanaK]

28 minutes ago, taanja said:

Subs (CC) is/are the only watch to watch!!!!

Anyway -- I watched twice cuz the first time through  I was like --whoa! wait! what? who?

Have we been introduced to the Flux before? I feel just like The Doctor -- my mind has been wiped clean.

I think I'm going to like the new companion. Dan. So far he seems cool and is sort of taking all the alien and shrinking houses in stride.

I loved the beginning (even though I wasn't sure what was happening -- like did I miss something?) The Doctor and Yaz hanging upside down on the thingy and the Doc saying (paraphrasing) "I suppose you think some of this is my fault/ and Yaz is like -- ALL of it is your fault! Ha! I am really liking their dynamic.

So I guess this season (only 6 eps!!! say what???) is going to bring back all the big bad aliens from previous seasons. Weeping Angels. Check. Sontarans. Check. Daleks. Check. etc....

Either way I am cool with it. I do love me some Doctor Who!

welcome back show.

We have not been introduced to the the Flux before

The opening scene was simply, we are introduced to the middle of whatever was happening. You didn't miss anything before that. It was an "in media res" narrative technique where the story opens in the middle or end of an adventure, basically it showed us part of a Doctor and Yaz adventure

I don't know if you heard why the season is only 6 episodes, but if you haven't, it's due to Covid. They decided they could only make 8 episodes this season instead of 11 in their normal 10 months time because Covid protocols cost money (they weren't getting a bigger budget) and slowed them down. So we are getting 6 episodes for a very serialized Series 13, plus 2 specials (one for New Year's Day and one in the Spring of next year), plus an additional special commissioned by the BBC to be shown in Fall (Autumn) of next year

Spoiler

which will be Jodie's last episode

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by DanaK

[taanja]

3 minutes ago, DanaK said:

We have not been introduced to the the Flux before

The opening scene was simply, we are introduced to the middle of whatever was happening. You didn't miss anything before that. It was an "in media res" narrative technique where the story opens in the middle or end of an adventure, basically it showed us part of a Doctor and Yaz adventure

 

It took me the second watch to figure that out.

[DoctorAtomic]

I figured the Angel wasn't random because it looked like it was waiting, and the woman had already met the Doctor. They can't talk so it would be a cool twist. 

[JustHereForFood]

Those miners at the beginning of the episode (that I promptly forgot about, until they were shown again at the end) made me think about another British show Gentleman Jack, especially since that show's showrunner has been previously rumored as the new potential showrunner. Now that would be an interesting crossover.

[DanaK]

4 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

Those miners at the beginning of the episode (that I promptly forgot about, until they were shown again at the end) made me think about another British show Gentleman Jack, especially since that show's showrunner has been previously rumored as the new potential showrunner. Now that would be an interesting crossover.

FYI in case you didn't know, those tunnels, called The Williamson Tunnels, exist in real life under Liverpool. The guy put returning soldiers and others to work, but no one knows for what purpose Williamson created the tunnels in the first place

[Maren]

Did anyone else feel like Claire KNEW what was waiting for her when she went home? On my rewatch, I noticed it seemed like after Claire left Thirteen and Yaz, she had to try and push herself to go home, like she was anxious/worried about it.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Maren
Correcting a name

[DanaK]

7 minutes ago, Maren said:

Did anyone else feel like Claire KNEW what was waiting for her when she went home? On my rewatch, I noticed it seemed like after Claire left Thirteen and Yaz, she had to try and push herself to go home, like she was anxious/worried about it.

Yes. It felt like she either knew because of experience or by hearing about it from someone else

[Maren]

3 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Yes. It felt like she either knew because of experience or by hearing about it from someone else

I wonder from who...? Because Yaz and the Doctor didn't see it happen to her...I kept screaming at her to close the door when she finally got over the threshold! Alas, she did not listen lol. 

She didn't have long but she and her story definitely intrigued me. I like the "timey-wimey" type stories!