Doctor Who S09 E01 The Magician's Apprentice

[Joelist]

And so Season 9 of NuWho launches. And despite the title this is definitely Science Fiction. And...it is part one of a two part episode.

Peter Capaldi is still in fine form as the Doctor, and Jenna Coleman did well as Clara and Michelle Gomez was back in a somewhat unusual turn as Missy (The Master). The basic structure of the episode is a pretty big time travel paradox involving Davros and the Daleks.

Thematically this episode goes back to the classic Tom Baker serial "Genesis of the Daleks" and actually expands on the plot of that serial. It is pretty well thought out too. The pacing was good and the overall tone was proper too, in places ominous and in others more adventure oriented. Really the only thing that felt a little "off" to me was the "rockstar" introduction of the Doctor in the court of the medieval castle.

I am looking forward to seeing how he resolves this situation without causing a massive reset of history.

 

[Bluce Ree]

And so Season 9 of NuWho launches. And despite the title this is definitely Science Fiction. And...it is part one of a two part episode.

Peter Capaldi is still in fine form as the Doctor, and Jenna Coleman did well as Clara and Michelle Gomez was back in a somewhat unusual turn as Missy (The Master). The basic structure of the episode is a pretty big time travel paradox involving Davros and the Daleks.

Thematically this episode goes back to the classic Tom Baker serial "Genesis of the Daleks" and actually expands on the plot of that serial. It is pretty well thought out too. The pacing was good and the overall tone was proper too, in places ominous and in others more adventure oriented. Really the only thing that felt a little "off" to me was the "rockstar" introduction of the Doctor in the court of the medieval castle.

I am looking forward to seeing how he resolves this situation without causing a massive reset of history.

Well, if he deletes Davros from history, the Time War will never have happened and Gallifrey will not have been time-locked with the Daleks, who would no longer exist.

 

[Joelist]

Exactly Bluce!

He would also drastically alter his own history, as then there is no Trenzalore, no reset of his regeneration cycle and so on.

 

[Gatefan1976]

I get to see this is 5 hours, looking forward to it!!

 

[Bluce Ree]

I get to see this is 5 hours, looking forward to it!!

Here, let me spoil it for you with my signature catch-all spoiler line to every single movie.

They all die at the end.

 

[shavedape]

Here, let me spoil it for you with my signature catch-all spoiler line to every single movie.

They all die at the end...

...after being sodomized by a Dalek -- repeatedly.

 

[Joelist]

I know shaved, you're tired of Daleks. However their contract which lets them use the Daleks with the Terry Nation estate does require a minimum number of appearances, and really this is a creative way to fulfill it. It is in essence Genesis of the Daleks taken to its next level.

 

[Gatefan1976]

I know shaved, you're tired of Daleks. However their contract which lets them use the Daleks with the Terry Nation estate does require a minimum number of appearances, and really this is a creative way to fulfill it. It is in essence Genesis of the Daleks taken to its next level.

Yep.
Daleks have to be used once per season at least, but I am glad they have got a little creative with their use lately.

Thought it was good, will reserve judgement till next week to see the other half however.

 

[shavedape]

I know shaved, you're tired of Daleks. However their contract which lets them use the Daleks with the Terry Nation estate does require a minimum number of appearances, and really this is a creative way to fulfill it. It is in essence Genesis of the Daleks taken to its next level.

Yep.
Daleks have to be used once per season at least, but I am glad they have got a little creative with their use lately.

Thought it was good, will reserve judgement till next week to see the other half however.

Are you guys pulling my leg? They are actually contractually obligated to use the Daleks? Seriously?

 

[Joelist]

Yup. It is the license BBC has with the estate of Terry Nation. So if you ever wonder why you get them every season, that's why.

Like I said though, since they have to do one Dalek episode at least this is a creative use of them. In essence it puts the Doctor in a much more gut level version of the dilemma he faced in "Genesis of the Daleks".

 

[Gatefan1976]

Are you guys pulling my leg? They are actually contractually obligated to use the Daleks? Seriously?

Dead serious dude.
To be 100% honest, you can't actually find it "plainly written" anywhere, but if you want to go explore the tangled mess that is the relationship between Terry Nation, his estate, and the BBC, feel free

 

[shavedape]

Oh dear Lord.


Do they have to constantly reboot the Cybermen too?

 

[Joelist]

It is part of the whole tangled web that was spun that allowed Doctor Who to "come back" 10 years ago. There were legal rights issues around elements of the Who-verse and this was one of them. Fortunately the others aren't as onerous (would you really want to see the Autons every year?).

 

[Joelist]

Oh dear Lord.


Do they have to constantly reboot the Cybermen too?

Not really. But there is another consideration - they have to feed the "whovians" who start pouting if they don't see their favorite aliens. I suspect that is where the decision to use the Cybermen pops up from. Now I agree they use them sometimes when they really aren't needed - like in last seasons finale. There was no real reason that Missy's creations had to be Cybermen.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Yep.
Daleks have to be used once per season at least, but I am glad they have got a little creative with their use lately.

Thought it was good, will reserve judgement till next week to see the other half however.

But, you see, they really DID all die at the end.

 

[Illiterati]

And so Season 9 of NuWho launches. And despite the title this is definitely Science Fiction. And...it is part one of a two part episode.

Peter Capaldi is still in fine form as the Doctor, and Jenna Coleman did well as Clara and Michelle Gomez was back in a somewhat unusual turn as Missy (The Master). The basic structure of the episode is a pretty big time travel paradox involving Davros and the Daleks.

Thematically this episode goes back to the classic Tom Baker serial "Genesis of the Daleks" and actually expands on the plot of that serial. It is pretty well thought out too. The pacing was good and the overall tone was proper too, in places ominous and in others more adventure oriented. Really the only thing that felt a little "off" to me was the "rockstar" introduction of the Doctor in the court of the medieval castle.

I am looking forward to seeing how he resolves this situation without causing a massive reset of history.

Capaldi used to be in a Scottish punk band with Craig Ferguson (who was the drummer).

Yes, he really WAS playing his own guitar.

I rather enjoyed it. LOL

 

[Joelist]

And....BBC America is grinning like crazy right now!

Doctor Who The Magician's Apprentice was Doctor Who's biggest ever première in the states for the key demographic of Adults aged 18-49.

Overall the episode had 2 million watching, with 1.1 million being between 18-49, nearly doubling the S8 average, making BBC America the third most watched channel in that demographic for the timeslot.

The channel beat the big 4 broadcast networks and ranked only behind college football on ESPN and the finale of Sábado Gigante on Univision. Out of 100 returning dramas, Doctor Who is one of just 14 dramas to show any growth from its prior season premiere.