‘Doctor Who’ Kicks Off “The Halloween Apocalypse” With Too Many Tricks, Not Enough Treats

Like a pumpkin filled with candy after trick ‘r treating, the Season 13 premiere of Doctor Who, part of a season subtitled Flux and titled “The Halloween Apocalypse”, is nearly bursting with stuff. There are multiple enemies, too many universe destroying threats to count, and enough characters that The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) nearly get lost in the shuffle. And also like that basket of Halloween swag, it ultimately will leave you feeling a little sick, confused, and wondering whether that sugar rush was worth the eventual headache.

Part of this over-stuffed nature of the episode is almost assuredly because for the first time in Doctor Who history, the show is broadcasting a six-part event story. Normally, Doctor Who adventures are done-in-one deals, or occasionally the show will aim for a two-parter (three at the outset). They’ve even done season long plots before, but those are usually spaced out and teased before ultimately coming to bear in the finale.

But Flux is different. Flux is an attempt for Doctor Who to reinvent itself as boldly as it did for the modern era back in 2005; this time for the streaming era. Instead of teasing some universe destroying danger in the premiere while introducing a new companion or two, and then looping back 13 episodes later in the season finale, Flux is hitting the ground running. Everything is happening all at once, but it’s not entirely clear what that everything is, or how it connects.

That, in essence, is the big issue with the episode. It’s a packed hour that’s trying to lay down enough story to run through the next five hours, but as a result not enough time is spent on any one story to make the journey feel compelling. If anything, it feels more like several episodes of Doctor Who, each with their own idea, all happening at the same time. That potentially could have worked if there was something rumbling in the background while the main story was going on. But as is, the effect is more scattered than The Doctor on her worst day.

To wit, let’s try to break down everything that’s happening in the episode, which actually kicks off with a banger of a sequence. The Doctor and Yaz are suspended on a gravity pole for unknown reasons by a being called Karvanista (Craige Els). It’s a classic death trap, complete with an acid ocean below, killer drones, and even the added note that if they escape, the planet is about to be destroyed. Who is Karvinista? Why did he trap them? What does he want? How exciting!

Turns out, uh, it sort of doesn’t matter? Karvinista is actually one member of a race of dog-things who are each bonded with a human being. Karvinista is bonded with a guy named Dan Lewis (John Bishop), who viewers will know as The Doctor’s new companion, so he’ll be fine. Also, there’s an entire fleet of seven billion members of Karvinista’s race all coming to rescue humanity from a gigantic, unstoppable cloud of destruction called The Flux. By episode’s end, The Doctor has rallied all of Karvinista’s fellow doggies to create a shield out of their ships while she uses her sonic screwdriver to try and hold back The Flux… And she fails. It overtakes the TARDIS, her ship, and that’s the end of the show!

Just kidding, of course, but despite the nonsense death trap at the beginning which seems like maybe they were writing something else and changed their minds halfway through, this is a totally fine amount of things for a Doctor Who episode. Even the cliffhanger is pretty good, and again, enough to power us through to the next episode.

But wait, as they say: that’s not all. There’s also a creature who has been imprisoned at the beginning of time who has the power to turn beings into dust and suck out their essence. He’s actually known The Doctor forever, and they’ve battled many times, but she can’t remember him at all. Also he has a sister who was masquerading as a human being, and at episode’s end they’re reunited. Wow, an old, secret enemy of The Doctor’s AND a universe threatening energy wave? They’re probably connected, right?

Except then also there’s a woman named Claire (Annabel Scholey) who knows The Doctor and Yaz, but they don’t know her yet. And there’s a Weeping Angel, a statue who only moves when you’re not looking at it that attacks Claire, though she seems to be alive at the end of the episode. And there are two Sontarans, one very old and one not. And a guy named Vinder (Jacob Anderson) who seems like he’s from the future and gets caught in The Flux. And also some guy is mining in London in the 1800s for unknown reasons.

Plus, on top of all of that, black goo is dripping in the TARDIS, the door is on the wrong way, and The Doctor keeps having visions, something that hasn’t happened to her before.

Point being, there are entirely too many things happening already, and having The Doctor be like “whoa, what’s happening, this is confusing and I don’t know any of you people” doesn’t help focus the episode. The Doctor is supposed to be our guide through this nonsense, and I understand there’s a utility in taking that knowledge away from her that makes the danger more intense. Knowledge is her superpower. But having her not know about The Flux, a thing the rest of the universe seems to be aware of, and this guy who turns people into dust, and also Claire, and several other things… There’s a distinct lack of focus here that may hone in by the end of the six episodes, but right now is just not there.

This gets back to what I was saying earlier about Doctor Who moving into the streaming age: this feels like the sort of story that may work when you sit down and watch it over six hours on HBO Max. Week by week on BBC America, not so much. I, a fan of Doctor Who, certainly felt overwhelmed and ultimately more confused and exhausted by the episode than elated and excited to pick apart the mysteries. If the answers were coming five hours from now? Sure. Five weeks? Maybe not.

There’s a tricky line shows need to walk with mysteries, and it’s something that everything from Lost to Loki has had to deal with… How far can you push the audience’s patience? Thinking back to the Lost pilot, you got a plane crash with survivors, you got strange noises in the woods, and that’s it. People were hooked. Once Lost started to pile on mystery after mystery with no end in sight, though, the audience’s patience was tested. Even a shorter run like Loki, or, as a better example WandaVision, started to grate on some audience members who wanted their answers, now.

So how will that work with Doctor Who? Die-hard fans are likely to stick around no matter what, but new viewers may feel like they bit into a Snickers and found a Swiss Army Knife. Surprising? Yes. Nonsensical and confusing? Also yes. Ultimately, though, it won’t be for another five weeks until we know whether this new take on Who is a treat, or a trick.

Doctor Who airs Sundays on BBC America.

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