We’re heading towards a Chucky apocalypse.

After last week’s surreal diversion, we are back with Jake, Devon and, as the title Doll On Doll suggests, more than one incarnation of our favourite psychotic plaything causing mayhem at The School of the Incarnate Lord. There are at least two Chuckies* on the loose and they’re not getting along too well. Cue a show-stopping Chucky-Off which gets the episode firing on all cylinders, and that’s before the opening titles.

The series back at its sharpest satirical best, full of biting set-pieces, mainly at the expense of the Catholic Church and associated hypocrisies and homophobia. To say any more would be to spoil the many delightful surprises.

There are a couple of cutaways to the Jennifer Tilly strand, which, while I find these less engaging, do have a few great gags along the way.

Incidentally, when I say that Chucky is one of the best-looking shows around at the moment, I’m not in any way pretending it can compete with the spectacular visuals of something like The Peripheral. The visual palette of Chucky is limited by comparison. What the show does so well is to set its own visual terms of reference, and stick to them, executing them with love and detail and precision. It’s beautifully lit and the choice of shots, the role of the camera, is like a character in itself. Indeed, it only occurred to me in this episode that the reason there are so many deep focus, low angles is a subliminal reminder that the whole thing could be authored from the fevered imagination of the diminutive doll himself.

Verdict: With a nod to Carrie along the way, and possibly the most bizarre Apocalypse Now reference I have ever seen, Chucky season 2 is back to its romping best. 9/10

Martin Jameson

* Is the plural of Chucky ‘Chuckys’ or ‘Chuckies’???