Doctor Who – The Power Of The Doctor (2022)(TV Review)

I have discussed Doctor Who plenty of times, doing pieces on each of Jodie Whittaker’s series, but the first specific episode review of Doctor Who I did was way back in January 2018, when I covered the recent Twice Upon A Time, the final episode for both Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as showrunner. And now, in October 2022, I am similarly seeing off Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall by reviewing her final episode, the 90-minute fan-service bonanza that is The Power Of The Doctor. Strap in, I have some stuff to say.

It’s fair to say that these last few years in Doctor Who fandom have not exactly been peaceful. The decisions of Chris Chibnall have led to heated discussions, fraying tempers and in some cases flat-out racism and abuse from particularly intense folk. Despite writing this introduction a mere day after the episode, I am thankful to report that I have seen very little animosity towards The Power of The Doctor. It was exciting seeing the giddy responses on Twitter and the genuine rush of appreciation towards Chibnall when a large chunk of his era, especially the recent Sea Devils episode, received little more than a disinterested shrug. I’m hoping to see this positive wave of thought continue as Russell T. Davies returns to the fold, and I’m also glad that on his last outing, Chris Chibnall delivered a crowd-pleaser.

The Power of The Doctor is undoubtedly one of the most packed episodes in the show’s history, and at 88 minutes it’s the longest single episode in the modern era. We already had the announcements of classic companions Ace and Tegan returning, but throw into the mix appearances from Graham, Ian Chesterton, Mel, Jo Grant, Vinder, and too many Doctors to count without having a meltdown, and it’s clear Chibnall went for broke here. While it is sad that Chibnall never quite managed to streamline and focus his great ideas, I do think his era of the show worked best when it acknowledged the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Spyfall Parts 1 & 2 and the first half of Flux are prime examples of this for me. They’re mad, not quite fully coherent and you know damn well the resolution will be disappointing, but for what it’s worth you let yourself go and enjoy it.

The Power of The Doctor is essentially a 90-minute sugar rush and it’s all the better for it. There are so many settings we jump to here – a space train under attack from Cybermen, 1916 Russia, Dalek bases underneath active volcanoes, and a gigantic new UNIT headquarters to name but a few – and the pace is brisk but not so frantic that you feel bewildered.

The return of Ace and Tegan was really welcome too. Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding have never been the best actors on the books but it’s clear they were both very excited to be back and Ace provided some of the most cathartic moments, such as seeing her don her old jacket and bash a few Daleks in with a baseball bat. Awesome stuff.

It is a shame that the ideas of Tegan and Ace feeling abandoned by the Doctor didn’t translate into any fears or worries on Yaz’s part, as the whole reason for Yaz departing the TARDIS wasn’t really elaborated on other than the Doctor wanted to be alone. It was also a shame to see the romantic arc between her and the Doctor just fizzle out, as it seemed that the final beach scene in Legend of The Sea Devils was building to something else.

However, the final scene with them sitting on top of the TARDIS and looking out over Earth is quite possibly my favourite character moment of the whole Chibnall era. It was short, it was understated, but most importantly it gave both Jodie and Mandip a real chance to act. I genuinely felt for the situation and it was a very bittersweet scene between the pair, one that I wished we had way more of throughout their tenure. Of course, Chibnall has had his strengths as a showrunner, and one of those has been his unique takes on returning foes. I have always loved Sacha Dhawan’s Master ever since he appeared in Spyfall, but good God he was knockout in The Power of The Doctor. In fact, I honestly think that this is the best Master episode in modern Who. His Master undoubtedly has John Simm’s zaniness, coupled with a genuinely frightening menace and anger that gives him an emotional core that Simm was sadly lacking. Even Michelle Gomez’s Missy felt like a female caricature of the Master until Series 10 finally gave her some teeth.

The scenes in which he has managed to regenerate into the Doctor’s body, despite making absolutely no sense, are really quite disturbing, and Sacha Dhawan sells every second of it. He even gives off a threatening demeanour when dancing to Boney M’s Rasputin song. No, I am not making a word of that up, he actually does that, and it is glorious.

I’ve mostly been talking about specific scenes and elements of this episode rather than discussing it as a complete and coherent story, mainly because it just isn’t. The plot just barely hangs together, the Daleks and Cybermen were entirely unnecessary, and the whole thing gives off the feeling that Chris Chibnall had a lot of episode ideas that fell through, so he just decided to throw them all in the pot and hope for the best.

I also find it very interesting that Chibnall did not address the Timeless Child at all. This was the storyline spanning all of his era revolving around the revelation that the Doctor was the originator or regeneration, and there were still many more things to learn about it, but because of the change of hands to Russell T. Davies, it will likely never be resolved on-screen. It was an undoubtedly controversial topic, but I definitely would’ve applauded Chibnall if he stuck to his guns and continued the story to its conclusion. To be fair to him, the episode had enough baggage and things to get done anyway, but as it stands we now have tons of new mythology like the Division and Tecteun that has been left redundant. Of course, until Big Finish gets their hands on it.

What we did get, however, was a jam-packed celebration of all things Who, and I’ve saved the best discussion point until last as far as fan service goes. So, let’s talk about the returning Doctors and companions.

Firstly, the idea that there is a non-physical place that the Doctor inhabits during regeneration was genius, and seeing past Doctors represent their consciousness was an absolute joy. David Bradley was surprising enough, but getting Colin, Peter, Sylvester and Paul for just a few lines of dialogue was a dream. Seeing Paul McGann again was the most exciting point of the episode, and that’s saying a lot considering how much I enjoyed it and how much stuff Chibnall managed to get in. Major kudos also have to go to whoever arranged the cameo of William Russell at the end of the episode. Seeing the first companion of the classic show along with the most recent of the new era reflecting on the Doctor as Jodie stands on the clifftop ready to regenerate would’ve worked really well as an ending to the entire show, which it reportedly was until RTD stepped in.

I also thought that Jodie’s regeneration was perfect for her Doctor. There was no extensive whining about the upcoming change, her last words were optimistic and fun, and she went out with a smile on her face. It’s definitely one of the better regeneration scenes we’ve got in the show. The actual scene looked beautiful as well. The budget was up on the show for the entire episode anyway, but that last scene had some of the best music and visual effects Doctor Who has ever had.

The Chibnall era is at an end, and while it was a mixed bag for most of us, I feel really proud to be a Who fan right now. The Power of the Doctor is incoherent in a lot of ways but the immense love for the show oozes out of it at every second as Jodie and Chibnall delivered a thoroughly satisfying and optimistic farewell. I also think that this is the best showrunner departure of the modern era, as neither The End Of Time nor Twice Upon A Time showed RTD and Moffat going out on their top form. Chris Chibnall saved the best until last here, and I watched the credits roll and the future of the show be teased with a massive smile on my face.

The Power of the Doctor gets an 8 out of 10.