People talk about history repeating itself, but it's a phrase I've never had to use. Well, folks, tonight on Doctor Who, history did indeed repeat itself. The last time Davros appeared, he had a great first part in "The Stolen Earth" which had great moments and a killer cliffhanger when the Tenth Doctor seemingly began to regenerate. Last week, writer Steven Moffat delivered a great opener in the shape of "The Magician's Apprentice", with Julian Bleach reprising his role as the creator of the Daleks. Unfortunately, this episode, while not terrible, delivers a laughable resolution to the crisis and introduces even more contrived concepts into the universe. To dive into both the good and the unbelievably stupid, I'll have to talk spoilers though. You have been warned.
Thankfully, the performances last week were not a one off. Peter Capaldi seems to have turned over a new leaf in his role of the Doctor, having much more fun with the part. Rather than embracing the humourous side of the character in this episode, however, he instead focuses on giving a much more emotional performance, showing the Time Lord being pushed to his limits, believing everything has been stripped away from him. He plays perfectly off of arguably the real star of the episode, Julian Bleach as the villainous Davros. Instead of being the generic mad scientist, he attempts to show a different side to the character to try and allow the audience to humanise with him. That is before he reverts to his standard screaming madman at the end. Writer Moffat also paired this duo with the dynamic of having Missy and Clara forced together, with Missy's psychotic nature contrasting well with Clara's down to earth human. However, this best pieces of acting in the episode come near the end when the Doctor confronts the Dalek shell Clara is controlling. Both Capaldi and Coleman deliver strong and powerful performances in an episode packed full of great acting.
However, while the acting remained great, the plot began to fall apart in this second part. First of all, who thought it was a great idea to replace the iconic sonic screwdriver with the ridiculous sonic sunglasses? This could quite possibly be once of the worst decisions made since the revival of the series 10 years ago. and I hope that this is not a long-term feature in the show. Secondly, how did Missy kill that Dalek exactly? This links in perfectly to my final primary issue with the story and that is why deadly sewer water is responsible for the destruction of the Dalek capital of the universe. Now, I do understand that the "sewer water" is in fact ancient Daleks. What confuses me is why these particular Daleks would kill their own kind and turn against their "lord and creator" at any moment and how they are able to even do so considering their state and lack of weapons. I'm not saying a TV show, especially Doctor Who, needs to be completely realistic but I don't think it's too much to ask for the writer's to at least fully explain and develop any new ideas they are going to throw at the audience 9 series in.
Stellar visual effects have always present in Doctor Who, which luckily continue in this latest episode. The Daleks have always been practical, being controlled by men inside the suits. It's difficult to imagine how different the Daleks would look if they were completely rendered with CGI, but they almost certainly would not look nearly as good as they always have as real suits. Other practical visuals such as explosions are also great.That's not to say that there aren't still issues though, in particular with some of the purely computer generated effects. While some of them like lasers look good, some, like the undeniably silly TARDIS reforming shot, still look strange.
Overall, "The Witch's Familiar" is a good episode but not a brilliant follow-up to the opener. Despite some great performances and solid visuals, the episode is still plagued by a silly plot suffering from an overabundance of confusing plot points. Series 9 is off to a good start, but it still has room for improvement. Next up: an underwater base filled with Victorian looking ghosts. Just another day at the office for Who fans then.
Pros
- Emotion between Davros and the Doctor
- Visuals
- Dynamic between Missy and Clara
Cons
- Confusing methods to kill Daleks
- Sewer water? Really?
Rating: 7/10
Original Air Date: 26/09/15
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Julian Bleach, Nicholas Briggs, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Joey Price
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