It’s an odd time to be writing about Churchill. With Hollywood’s World War 2 fetish, for once, not resulting in an Oscar sweep, there’s a sense of England’s most famous Prime Minister being viewed with a far more wary, and aware, eye these days. The amiable, wobble mouthed cigar chomping teddy bear is still there but now that image is not alone. Churchill as soldier, as cynical politician and as leader who outstayed his welcome are all valid reads of him and they’re all on display in this wide ranging, nuanced set of stories.

Young Winston by Paul Morris starts the set off with a bang as Madame Vastra is hired to protect Winston from Cuban mercenaries. But this is no mere criminal enterprise. Something far stranger is at work…

Neve McIntosh and Iain Batchelor are superb throughout as Vastra and young Winston and McNeice’s narration does an excellent job of linking the present with the past and giving the story context. That story itself is arguably the most Moffat-esque of anything here. There’s Vastra, the 11th Doctor, a terrible sense of melancholy and powerful alien artefacts hiding in plain sight. As well as chases, the odd fistfight and a raucous sense of adventure.

All of this works because the script never forgets what it’s about: loss. Of youth in Winston’s case, of Jenny and Strax it’s implied in Vastra’s. Everyone in the story is trying to fill a void in their lives and only some of them are doing it the right way. Deceptively light touched but with a real emotional core, this is a great series opening.

Human Conflict by Iain McLaughlin is the highlight of the set. Churchill authorises a dangerous mission to retrieve a Nazi superweapon. In doing so he clashes with the Doctor, discovers that there is a third party on Earth playing both sides in the war and returns to the scene of one of his earliest failures.

This is fantastic and walks the line of inspired lunacy that the best historical Doctor Who stories should. Of course Churchill ends up on the run through his old constituency, pursued by Nazi special forces. Of course the weapon itself is much less important than the ripples of conscience it causes and of course Churchill ends up working alongside the men that he had previously clashed with. It’s a rock solid script, full of great performances and difficult and surprising choices and once again there’s no romance whatsoever. This is Churchill as human, compassionate, relentless general. You don’t like him for a good chunk of this, and that’s both the plan and the point.

I was Churchill’s Double by Alan Barnes is the most science fictional of the series and it stands out as a result. Churchill and John Logie Baird pick up transmissions of one of Churchill’s speeches. Only it’s one he’s never given, and in it, England has fallen…

There’s a ton of stuff going on here and most of it works. What doesn’t are a pair of way too broad guest characters, including a German officer one step off ’Allo, ’Allo. it’s intended to give the episode a romping feel but it would benefit from a little more darkness.

That being said, the rest is excellent, especially the way a classic science fiction conceit is turned on its head. There are big, chewy issues here that continue the different perspectives on Churchill we get this season and all of them pay off impressively. Hard work early on, but persevere.

Churchill Victorious by Robert Khan & Tom Salinsky rounds the set off, and, perhaps the series. It’s VE Day and Churchill’s staff are jubilant. He, however, is not. And is so desperate to occupy himself that he leafs through Special Branch reports and finds something of interest…

Where Churchill’s Double struggles with its tone, this nails it from the outset. It’s also the least sympathetic Churchill has been throughout this series with McNeice playing him as massively arrogant, self righteous and petty. All of those factors are earned and contextualised as Churchill is drawn into the life of a couple whose son is in prison and a strange pub…

And where Churchill’s Double is almost broken by its guest voices, this is made by them. Alisdair Simpson and Susan Tracy as the Wheelers are great, and Tracy in particular has a fantastic speech that gives the series the humanity it desperately needs. Better still, Churchill himself is viewed in a more complex way than elsewhere, and that nuance gives the story a dark, human tone. That fits with the science fiction romp at the core of the show surprisingly well and it ends the series on a real high note.

 

It sounds like I’m damning with faint praise I know, but I honestly would be happy for this to be the last set of Churchill stories we get. Ian McNeice is great in the role and the cast and writing this season are top notch but there’s a definite sense of tying things off. Churchill’s time in public life is coming to an end as the set does and that seems fitting as the new era barrels towards us. Perhaps there are more stories to tell, and this team could certainly tell them very well, but if not, this is as graceful a sign off as anyone could hope for.

Verdict: Complicated, mature and fun. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart