MAJOR SPOILERS

 With the world on the edge of destruction and the return of the first Time Lord, can the Doctor restore reality and resume his life as a happy family man with Belinda and baby Poppy? Eh? Something’s not quite right…

So here we are at the end of season 2 and the end of an era as we say goodbye to Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor and “oh, hello” to…let’s save that for later (and no, it’s not an A.I. Charles Hawtrey).

So it turns out that the end of last week wasn’t quite the world going to hell in a handbasket we imagined, as at midnight time goes back and everything resets, more or less. The Doctor himself is saved at the last moment by the welcome return of everyone’s favourite hotelier, Anita Benn, from last Christmas’ Joy to the World. She’s not the only nod to that episode, as seen at the close, although for me that second reference seemed a little forced.

What am I saying? It’s all forced. Look, I generally really enjoyed this episode. It played a little sleight of hand on us. We’re used to Russell T Davies series’ closers going (far too) big and destroying the world or the universe and the Doctor and/or his friends pulling something out of the hat to make everything go back to normal. Stephen Moffat did it too. So did Chris Chibnall (did the Flux ever officially get undone? I genuinely have lost any sense of continuity over the last few years). I was absolutely expecting the same, with Omega doing a Sutekh 2.0 and eating the universe. As it was Omega was really just a plot point, a plan for the Ranis that didn’t go as expected – he manages to chow down on one Rani giving just enough time for the other to make a Two Ronnies joke (thank you!) and do a runner. There’s some very odd lore drift at work here too – once the long thought dead hero of Gallifrey with a planet-sized chip on his shoulder, Omega is now reestablished as a wrong ’un from the start along with his fellow Time Lords. Similarly the Master’s Cybernisation of the rest of his race is now something to do with a genetic mutation that renders them infertile. Have I missed a season somehow? Or does nothing count or matter anymore? I’m not one of those fans who has to have everything neatly fitting together, continuity should never get in the way of new tales to be told, but really it feels like Davies maybe hasn’t really watched the show much when he wasn’t making it, or even when he was. It’s like a half-remembered version of the show’s history. Oh and according to the TARDIS’ flashback Doctors montage, Jo Martin’s Doctor comes in between Jodie and second-go Tennant now? Speaking of which, I really enjoyed Jodie’s surprise cameo here, bringing her usual brand of kinetic energy to proceedings. Not entirely surprisingly neither of the Doctors here thought to bring up the whole Timeless Child issue, in an episode that’s in large part about finding a child who is lost to time and which even reiterates that the Doctor is a foundling. If not now then when? We’re just never going there again, are we?

One thing Davies obviously hasn’t forgotten is how much he liked Billie Piper, because yes, Billie is the new Doctor Who. Or is she? Her credit reads “and introducing Billie Piper”, which leaves some room for another explanation. I did suspect something was up because of the special edition of Doctor Who Unleashed scheduled for next week. Ostensibly a celebration of twenty years of new-Who presented by David Tennant and Billie, it has the whiff of that surprise episode of Doctor Who Confidential that revealed Matt Smith as Tennant’s replacement. I can’t lie, her reveal had me squeeing with delight, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve even seen the word squee let alone done one. Plus it’s nice to be right for once.

In the cold light of later that same evening… yeah do you know what? I’m still excited about her. Who doesn’t love Billie, she’s been a terrific ambassador for the show since day one, was absolutely crucial to the show’s success on its return (no disrespect to Christopher Eccleston but she was the real star of the show for that first season) and has become one of our most well-regarded actors, especially on the stage. Good for her, she’s earned the right to be back in the TARDIS, whoever she may be playing.

There’s so much more to unpack here and I’d be here all night if I tried. I liked that the big “saving the universe” ending was actually just “saving one baby”, it made a nice change. I did not like the way Ruby Sunday was treated like chopped liver by the Doctor, with the rather interminable ending focusing on his relationship with Belinda, a character we never really got to know well enough. To be fair they did spend goodness knows how long living together as man and wife so maybe it makes sense within the narrative, but as a viewer it felt unearned. Millie Gibson’s all too brief inclusions this season have been pretty much its highlights for me; she really does have something special about her and hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Ruby Sunday.

The pacing was all over the shop, it felt cluttered at times, occasionally inexplicable, a tad naff (he’s like everyone’s dad! please…) and the ending dragged on way too long. It’s no secret that there was a reshoot to allow for Ncuti’s departure – I’m fairly sure Millie had on a terrible wig for some shots – so some awkwardness might be expected, but it did feel like you could see the joins a little bit.

But, despite all my gripes, I actually just really enjoyed this, it entertained me thoroughly. I recall something Charlie Brooker once said to Russell T Davies many years ago, the gist of which was that Brooker left his critical faculties at the door when it came to watching the show. I rather feel the same way. I just want to have fun with my old friend who has been with me in one form or another since I was a tiny little boy, who I first met fighting Drashigs in a swamp and last saw (possibly) saying hello to me with a familiar face from the doorway of a Police Box floating in space.

This is almost certainly the last time I’ll be reviewing Doctor Who, and although it’s been fun in its way I look forward to once again leaving my limited critical faculties at the door and seeing where Billie takes me. Hopefully to see Susan, a disappointing no show after her cameo a couple of weeks ago.

Verdict: Far better than I expected with some standout moments and a bunch of surprises. What it lacks in pacing it mostly makes up for in boldness and self-confidence. 8/10

Andy Smith