Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 1 - The Magician's Apprentice (Part 1) - Review

Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez & Julian Bleach

Written By: Steven Moffat

Directed By: Hettie MacDonald

Doctor Who is back for its ninth series since 2005. Last year, Series 8 got off to a great start with Deep Breath, and as the series went on, it became clear that Series 8 returned the series to a pretty solid status. It's now the job of Series 9 to bring the show back to the standards of excellence that it really should be used to, kicking off with The Magician's Apprentice. How does it fare? Well, you can't fault Steven Moffat's ambition...

Like most episodes in Series 9, The Magician's Apprentice is part of a two-part story. One day on Earth, all the planes around the world suddenly freeze in mid-air, sparking international unrest and causing the world to watch on edge. Clara Oswald is brought in by U.N.I.T to assist in their efforts to keep the world calm, to find out what has caused the planes to stop, and to find the missing Doctor. In doing so, Clara discovers a still-alive Missy as the one who froze the planes, but also discovers that Missy is also looking for the Doctor. The two work together to track him down, only to find him partying in 1138. The Doctor is convinced he is going to die, but why?

 

It's wonderful to see that the two-part format is back properly and The Magician's Apprentice kicks off in true style from the moment it starts, with the Doctor arriving on an alien war-torn battlefield. When the Doctor tries to save a trapped young boy from his death, he discovers that it is … a young Davros. Here the thuds of millions of jaws hitting the floor. Yes, Davros is back, and in such a spectacular style. With the camera zooming in on the Doctor's face and the exciting music from Murray Gold playing, I was genuinely amazed, that for the first time in seven years, Davros was back. Being taken back to the Thal-Kaled war was one of many, but also one of the best callbacks to Genesis Of The Daleks in the episode. As the episode progresses, you get the sense that this really is a celebration of many past Dalek episodes, with the Skaro city returning from the Daleks' first appearance in 1963, to realizing the potential of the “Do I have the right?” speech from Genesis Of The Daleks. While this isn't exactly necessary, this is a somewhat rare example of modern Doctor Who getting fanservice right. Like Asylum Of The Daleks, we were told this episode would feature the return of past Dalek models, and its done so much better here, as these models are actually put to use and can be seen. That being said, it is never fully explained just why all these past Dalek models are in this episode

 

Away from Skaro, and on Earth, we are given something of a mystery concerning thousands of planes that have frozen in mid-air. This provides us with the return of U.N.I.T, but this never really feels necessary as the appearance of Kate and Jac is very brief. That being said, the planes mystery is accompanied with a global sense of scale, something that we rarely see handled right anymore, and in a matter of minutes, there is a better sense of scale than In The Forest Of The Night ever managed. More importantly, this subplot sees the return of Missy, and although its only been two episodes since we last saw her, it's great to see Michelle Gomez back again. Michelle is as fantastic as ever and giving a wonderful performance, even if the character that she is playing sadly still isn't the Master.

 

While the Master is still being mishandled, we have something of a one-off side-villain with Colony Sarff. Colony Sarff is a wonderful ingenious creation, and its a shame that Jami Reid-Quarrell will likely be overshadowed by the bigger things at play in this episode. As we saw with Colony Sarff's visit to the Maldavarium, he is a really scary and chilling creation. However, as great as Colony Sarff is, we all know the definitive villain at play here – Davros. Davros has been brought back in great style, presenting the Doctor with a moral dilemma, whilst also allowing the dynamic between the two characters to grow and become even more interesting. Hopefully, this side of the story will be built on more in Part 2. I'm also really glad that Julian Bleach has reprised his role as Davros, as he was truly amazing in The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, despite being criminally underused in these episodes.

 

Davros' most famous creations also return for this episode – the Daleks. Not just the Daleks, but their home world Skaro is back properly this time, including the Dalek City from 1963. While it is brilliantly shot by Hettie MacDonald, and along with the rest of the episode, looks amazing, it does make for some questionable Dalek continuity again. However, I'll wait until Part 2 before discussing this. For Part 1, the Daleks are understandably put to the side, and don't really show up until the end. However, when they do show up, they dominate the screen with their threat, particularly the booming voice of the Supreme Dalek. You can tell that these Daleks aren't going to put up with any nonsense, even going as far as (Spoiler Warning!) killing Missy and Clara, and destroying the TARDIS. Unfortunately, this cliff-hanger, as well as its resolution are incredibly predictable. Steven Moffat isn't going to kill Clara off in the first episode, and I guarantee that the two will survive by teleportation. I guarantee it.

 

So other than the cliff-hanger, are there any other major problems with this episode? It isn't a perfect opener, and it does have some problems. The first of which is its somewhat sloppy structure. It's understandable for Steven Moffat to want to open with a bang and make sure that the rest of Series 9 will feel big. However, there are times where the result just feels like a list of fanservice and locations thrown at the screen. While I don't understand why past Dalek models are here, I like the fact that this episode is a celebration of past Dalek stories. There are a couple of moments though where this feels off – such as Colony Sarff visiting the Maldavarium or the Sisterhood of Karn. It's doesn't feel needed. The way in which the Doctor is presented is also hit and miss. While his entrance to the episode playing an electric guitar and riding a tank is sure to be remembered, and did generate a laugh on first watch, it doesn't feel like something the 12th Doctor would do, and it becomes slightly cringeworthy on repeat viewings. I also don't understand why the Doctor is so sure he is going to die. What was it that sparked this reaction? Was it leaving the young Davros alone on the battlefield? If so, why? Davros seems to have forgotten it since, so why this reaction now?

 

In conclusion, The Magician's Apprentice marks another strong start for a new series. It feels like a culmination of previous Dalek stories into one to create its own unique story. Entertaining from the pre-titles sequence to the very end, with a spectacular return from Davros, a chilling villain in Colony Sarff, high production values, and some strong performances, particularly from Michelle Gomez. Hopefully, the somewhat over-the-top fanservice will be put to one side for Part 2, so that we can focus more on the potentially excellent story to be found here.
Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doctor-who-series-9-episode-2-witchs.html

 

 

The Magician's Apprentice



8/10

So far...