Spyfall Part One written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Magnus Stone

Oh Brilliant: There’s no longer the need to prove herself and Whittaker has visibly relaxed into the role. She’s found ten minutes into the episode, tinkering with the TARDIS like any of the Doctors in a brilliant visual gag. Fuck all this hashtag not my Doctor bollocks from castrated fans who seem to find enjoyment in shitting on other people’s enjoyment (it literally baffles me), Whittaker is one hundred percent the Doctor and has been from her debut. Here she is unapologetically loving every second of this madness. There are no attempts by either her or Chibnall to prove themselves, they are simply revelling in everything that makes this Doctor so much fun. I really like the Doctor being called in to help the human race again – Chibnall was clear on wanting her to be an independent force last year but there is something very right about the Doctor being drafted in by those in authority and told she is needed. She’s still spearheading this show but leaving plenty of room for her fellow regulars. I absolutely loved her chemistry with Graham, which has been a highlight of her tenure (she pretty much acknowledges that he is there just to provide a running commentary). We needed a really good villain for Whittaker’s Doctor to bump heads with and here she has Barton (in a very well-directed scene) before he is trumped by a much older enemy. Now there’s some promise for revealing darker shades of this incarnation.

Graham: He’s letting his medical treatment slide but on the whole the travelling seems to be doing well for his health. I liked the quick mention of Grace (just to show that it is still a talking point amongst the people Graham knows at home) and then on with the fun. He spent an entire season mourning the loss of his wife and has now claimed his grandson and is ready to move on with things with the Doctor and his family. Graham’s face when he realises the Doctor genuinely used to be a man is hilarious, and I really liked the idea of him exploring her history some more. More grounding this new version of the show in its past. Somehow by dismissing continuity for a whole season has made exploring these things again more exciting. Kudos.

Yaz: I can already feel more of an effort going into Yaz, one of my biggest complaints about last year. She’s wittier, there’s a more charming feeling about her family scenes and she is not just grinning her way through the stories but genuinely affected by them. If this is an example of where Yaz is going in series 12 then we are in for a treat. I especially loved the moment that she admits that she thought she was dead in the weird nether space; Yaz has come to think of herself as indestructible in her travels with the Doctor and it is a shocking reminder to never get too complacent. They seem to be deliberately ignoring the Yaz/Ryan potential in favour of him pursuing her sister. I have a feeling that there might be a surprise or two about Yaz’s personal life later in the season.

Ryan: I wasn’t as Ryan detractor at all (I would rather like to jump into bed with him at the nearest opportunity) but I also think he was played a little too quietly at times last year. He’s a sensitive bloke, I get that but this is Doctor Who where the characterisation is a little broader than your usual show and Ryan felt like he had stepped out of a particularly moody Indie film. So, props to Chibnall for letting him relax and have some fun her. Screaming his head off in the car that wants to kill him, nervously committing espionage, playing about with his Gramps and the spy equipment and bromancing with him as they get to play spy and gamble at Barton’s party. The line of humour between Ryan and Graham is one of my favourite things about this. Showing that the companions absence is having an impact is another thing that the previous year lacked and I’m pleased it was brought up here.

The Master: I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sacha Dhawan is my idea of edible candy when it comes to men on television. I have followed his career with some interest, first and foremost because he is a terrific actor but also because he is extremely easy on the eye. What a pickle I am in now. At first I thought he was being introduced as the new Clive (what with his obsession with the Doctor’s history) and that he would be an ally for the Doctor and friends when they were on Earth. Little did I know where this was leading. The thing is, I was absolutely sold on his performance as O. It wasn’t just the writing (the cheekily added his romantic interest in Yaz to sell his goodie status even more) but Dharwan was utterly disarming for the first 20 odd minutes of his screen time. It needed an actor who could warm our hearts to make the shock reveal that he was the Master hit home as brilliantly as it did. And it worked. I was screaming at my television and I genuinely haven’t had this much of a blast being floored by a twist in Doctor since the first massive Master reveal in NuWho (for some reason, as much as I ended up loving the character, Missy’s was just a little too subdued for my tastes). In the Chibnall/Moffat comparison stakes (because people love doing this sort of thing) the former has re-introduced the Daleks in a better episode (I mean Victory of the Daleks, come on) and brought back the Master with more of a punch (I really like Dark Water but the reveal doesn’t have half the punch that this does). Once Dharwan is let off the loose he displays Simms’ mania and Gomez’s humour with an added element of twinkle and violence that really sold me. I was too busy fan-gasming on my first watch (Ludo had to physically calm me down) but re-watching this scene I was extremely impressed by his turn of performance and how instantly he becomes a character that we know and love. That look in his eye. I am salivating for more. And not just because I want to fuck the Master for the first time. What’s brilliant is you can watch this episode a second time and spot all the little hints and clues. I honestly can’t remember a time when a trick was pulled this assuredly on the show. Chibnall’s humour has been hit or miss but ‘O’ hits the spot brilliantly.

The Good: Surely Doctor Who has never looked this good before? I cannot believe this is the same universe trotting show that once gave us The Chase. The visuals commanded here and just shy of a feature film and I wonder if there is going to be some money saving later along the line. The agents being killed at the being reminded me of the string of episodes at the beginning of season seven of Buffy where the show spanned the globe showing us the deaths of the potentials. From South Africa to Moscow to Australia, this episode isn’t afraid to think big and show off its locations.

There were times in series 11 when the regulars seemed to wander through, danger free, and so the sequence with the car careering out of control and all four of them screaming their heads off and scared they are going to die was not only dynamic and exciting but also a great dose of panic from them all.

You might say that bringing in Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry into an episode as decoy to hide the main twist of the episode is a waste of their talents but I think it was a stroke of genius. Both actors are typically excellent in their very different roles and prove to be a fine distraction, despite the fact that both of them are practically talking to the audience when they re-iterate ‘don’t trust anybody.’ They are literally telling you that something is afoot with this episode. I can’t believe Chibnall had the nerve to shoot Stephen Fry in the back of the head! And Henry could have really overplayed his role as the supervillain but instead chooses to play it cool, which is much more intense than your average Bond villain. Not only that but he must know that he can never match the madness of the Master at the climax and so to take another tack would get him more attention. I found the scenes of Yaz and Ryan investigating him very reminiscent of the final Sarah Jane Adventures story, The Man Who Wasn’t There and anything that can remind me of SJA gets a thumbs up in my book.

If the aliens are who I think they are (look at their silhouette and think of the name of the search engine) it would be the biggest comeback for a crappy alien race the show has ever presented. For now, they are intriguingly handled and generate some masterful set pieces. I particularly love how they take on the surrounding matter that they pass through. Fancy Queen Victoria assassinating Stephen Fry? Can you imagine an action sequence that is more British? How they force their way into the TARDIS is way-cool. If you squint the VOR symbol has another O in it. And a D. Or maybe this is complete misdirection.

If it wasn’t for the ending I would have said my favourite scenes were the ones that were unabashedly James Bond inspired at Barton’s party. I’ve seen a lot of Bond pastiches in my time but this was the first time it felt like the right amount of money and razzmatazz was being thrown at it. How gorgeous does everybody look in their formal wear? And the different styles of gambling really made me chuckle (especially the Doctor).

Do you ever wonder if Chibnall watched It Takes You Away very closely and thought ‘I’d like a piece of that weird nether space…’ I love the strangeness of it. For a show as long as Doctor Who, it’s unusual to find visuals that it hasn’t tackled before.

The Bad: ‘UNIT. Torchwood’ ‘There all gone’ I rather like this throwaway dismissal of two entire eras of Doctor Who being swept away but I can practically hear fanboys crying into their pillows.

Result: Once there was a man called Chris Chibnall and he was handed the keys to the castle and he almost deliberately wrote a subdued series of Doctor Who and lulled his audience into a false sense of vanilla with some episodes called Tsuranga and Av Kolos before beating them awake with the two punch attack of Resolution and Spyfall. Doctor Who is somewhere really rather interesting at the moment, and it began halfway through Chibnall’s first season as showrunner. Around the time of Demons of the Punjab the show slipped up a gear and has pretty much been there ever since. Whilst the first series was deliberate in ignoring the shows past and embracing the future, the last two stories have practically revelled in Doctor Who history and given Jodie Whittaker a solid base of continuity to ground her Doctor in. The biggest change here is the huge injection of fun that Chibnall has injected into the story, which was visible from the off. Kerblam aside, I thought series 11 was a little stiff-necked but this is a show that visibly letting its hair down. From the increased action content, to the genuine sense of thrill and danger to the quirky Bond homage to the insanity of the last ten minutes, Spyfall is never once pretending to be a realistic drama. It’s pure escapism and it is taking all of its characters on a hell of a joyous ride. Frankly it is exactly what we need in 2020 after the alarming developments of the previous year. And it looks gorgeous. Globetrotting action and truly ambitious set pieces that would break certain movie directors, Spyfall takes everything that Chibnall asks (bombs on planes, cars out of control, light beings on the attack) and delivers spectacularly. Everything has stepped up a gear; the direction is unabashedly expensive and exciting, the music had me clapping along, the regulars are getting on like a house on fire but showing appropriate panic in the circumstances, the script is witty and smart and the pre-titles and cliff-hanger make not just a welcome return but are both epic. I wouldn’t want every episode to be like Spyfall (because Doctor Who is just a fantastic when it is intimate and character driven – remember Rosa and Punjab last year) but as a mission statement that the series is back and that you shouldn’t get too comfortable this is about as sunny as Doctor Who comes. Before hitting the last ten minutes I would have given this a strong 8 but with the jaw dropper of a reveal and the sheer balls of the cliff-hanger I am happy to dish out yet another: 9/10 (and props for the dedication to the immense Terrance Dicks, in an episode that has so many elements of Pertwee Who involved. His legacy lives on…)