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Doctor Who: Everything 'The Halloween Apocalypse’ Did Well.. And The Things That Need Improvement

An interesting start.. but still room for improvement.

By Kristy AndersonPublished 2 years ago 6 min read
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Credit: BBC.

After another rather long hiatus, the classic Sci-fi series Doctor Who has returned with 'The Halloween Apocalypse', the first chapter of a six part story known as Doctor Who: Flux. Flux will be the last series for current showrunner Chris Chibnall, and Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker, both set to depart Doctor Who after a BBC centenary special late next year.

Thus far, the current era of Doctor Who has proved a disappointment to a large portion of the fanbase, many of whom like Whittaker's Doctor, but struggle with Chibnall's writing, much of which is lacklustre and riddled with continuity errors. However, some Whovians have expressed hope that Flux could aave the Whittaker era.

Mixed reception to 'The Halloween Apocalypse' hasn't entirely extinguished that hope, however, it shows that there is definitely still room for improvement. Here's everything 'The Halloween Apocalypse' did well, and the things that can still be improved.

The introduction of Dan Lewis

It is not long into 'The Halloween Apocalypse' that we first meet Dan Lewis, a man destined to join Yasmin Khan as a companion to the Thirteenth Doctor. Just as Yaz had spent most of her life in Sheffield before joining The Doctor, Dan is born and raised in Liverpool. The episode quickly shows us a peek into Dan's life, showing us that he is a good man, giving unofficial tours of the Liverpool Museum, and helping out at the local food bank, however, his empty fridge shows that he is not necessarily in the greatest place in his own life.

Like many great companions, Dan joins up with The Doctor by accident when she and Yaz arrive to rescue him after he has been 'abducted' by a Lupari alien, Karvanista, not realising that Dan is Karvanista's assigned human, and that he and the other Lupari are there to rescue the humans from Earth before The Flux engulfs it. Fans enjoyed the 'Liverpool vs Sheffield' banter between Dan and Yaz, and the Easter Egg in The Doctor's introduction to Dan. The Doctor's first words to Dan:

"Nice to meet you, Dan. Run for your life!"

..Are reminiscent of Rose Tyler's first encounter with the Ninth Doctor.

The Weeping Angel Scene

9/Credit: BBC.

For many longtime Whovians, one of the most exciting pieces of news to come out of the production of Doctor Who: Flux was that the story would see the long awaited return of beloved villains the Weeping Angels. Shortly after returning to Earth in pursuit of Karvanista, The Doctor and Yaz encounter a young woman named Claire. While Claire knows The Doctor and Yaz, they have not met her yet.. but apparently will, 'In the past'. When arriving home, Claire is confronted by a Weeping Angel. Though she knows the rules, not blinking and trying to get inside her house before the Angel reaches her, she is caught, and likely sent to 'the past' where she will again meet The Doctor.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting a return from the Angels, and though it may have been slightly overshadowed due to the very packed episode, the Angel scene did not disappoint, even including a classic Weeping Angel jump scare. Fans also noted that Claire encountering The Doctor before The Doctor knew her mirrors the meeting between Sally Sparrow and the Tenth Doctor at the end of The Weeping Angels debut episode, 'Blink'.

Character Design

credit: BBC.

A few attempts have been made to redesign classic monsters during the Whittaker era, with questionable results. Most of the Whittaker-era redesigns of the Daleks, for example, have been frowned upon. On the other hand, designs for newer monsters, like the Pting, have been praised.

Now, in ‘The Halloween Apocalypse’, the show seems to have struck the right balance between fun new creatures and clever re-designs of classic monsters. The designs of the dog-like Lupari are adorable, and fans of Classic Who are loving the new Sontarans, who bear a close resemblance to the Sontarans of the Classic era.

Now we've talked about what the episode did well, let's move onto the things that weren't so great..

The Motivations of the Lupari

Credit: BBC

After pursuing Karvanista to Earth, The Doctor and Yaz discover what they believe to be a Lupari Invasion fleet approaching Earth. In a twist, while attempting to 'rescue' Dan from Karvanista, they discover that each Lupari is genetically driven to protect a particular human, and that they are actually there to evacuate the humans before The Flux engulfs Earth.

"Huh. Man's best friend."

Unfortunately, having a race of dog-people genetically driven and obligated to rescue the humans feels a little, well, off. It would have made more sense if the Lupari had decided to help out of the goodness of their hearts rather than an obligation. Since dogs are generally considered good and loyal for no particular reason, the joke may actually have hit better if the Lupari stopped to help for no other reason than it was a kind thing to do.

There's no good reason given for Thirteen keeping the truth from Yaz

Credit: BBC

Throughout most of 'The Halloween Apocalypse', there is clear tension rising between The Doctor and Yaz. The main source of this tension is Yaz being upset that The Doctor doesn't seem to trust her enough to tell her anything important. We, as the audience, know that Thirteen is chasing Karvanista for information on The Division, the organisation she waorked for as the Timeless Child, but Yaz is not told any of this.

Clearly, this storyline builds on the events of the last New Year Special, where Yaz chooses to continue travelling with The Doctor, unwilling to give it up despite being somewhat unhappy with her. This sort of continuity in character relationships is a good thing.. But there still needs to be a reason for it. There is no good reason why The Doctor couldn't tell Yaz at least part of why they are pursuing Karvanista, even if she is not comfortable telling her everything. As it stands now, The Doctor is creating unneeded conflict with the one companion who remained by her side.

Too Many Characters

Credit: BBC.

Dan wasn't the only new character we met in 'The Halloween Apocalypse.' There's also Claire the Weeping Angel girl, Dan's friend Diane, Vinder, supervisor of the outer-space 'Outpost Rose', villains Swarm and Azure, and finally, a pair of Sontarans planning to take advantage of the whole situation as a means to conquer Earth. The problem? Aside from Dan, who gets a decent amount of screentime as a new companion, we jump from story to story and character to character much too quickly to get to know them or care about what they want.

Part of the problem with the earlier part of the Whittaker era of Doctor Who was that there wasn't enough story or screentime available for all three regular companions, or even The Doctor herself, to get the development they deserved. Vinder and Claire are both listed as recurring characters, which adds another two characters to deal with on top of the three regulars, and that's without bringing guest characters and villains into the mix. With only five more episodes to tell each character's story, this doesn't bode well.

Hopefully, we'll see things calm down enough to tell a coherent story in the coming weeks.

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About the Creator

Kristy Anderson

Passionate About all things Entertainment!

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