"The Power of the Doctor" is the third and final of the 2022 specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, and was broadcast on BBC One on 23 October 2022. The episode was ordered for the centenary of the BBC's launch, airing five days after.[1] It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Jamie Magnus Stone.
The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions intervene in a CyberMaster attack on a bullet train in space, but Dan is nearly killed during the attack. Having developed a sense of his mortality, Dan parts with the Doctor to get back to living his life. The CyberMasters escape from the train with a child. A rogue Dalek contacts the Doctor, offering information about a Dalek plot to destroy humanity.
The Doctor tracks the child to a second moon that has appeared in the sky in 1916 Russia. In reality, it is a planet that has been fully converted by the Cybermen. The Doctor and Yaz find the child from the train imprisoned on the planet, and discover it is actually an enslaved energy being called the Qurunx using a perception filter.
The Doctor's former companions Tegan and Ace investigate the abduction of a dozen of the world's leading seismologists and the addition of Rasputin's face to fifteen famous paintings. Kate Stewart invites the Doctor to UNIT's headquarters to meet Tegan and Ace and discuss their findings. The Doctor clarifies that the new face in the paintings is actually that of the Master, who she goes to confront at a seismology conference in Naples, where the Master reveals he has killed the missing seismologists.
The Doctor learns the Master and his CyberMasters have allied with the Daleks to end humanity in the present by triggering eruptions from every volcano on Earth simultaneously. The Doctor meets the rogue Dalek, discovering the other Daleks allowed it to contact her in order to capture her, which they do after killing the traitor. Meanwhile, the Doctor's former ally Vinder crash-lands on the Cyber planet.
UNIT arrests the Master, who reveals he sent a miniaturized version of Ashad to Tegan, who assumed it was a warning from the Doctor. The figurine enlarges and acts as a Russian doll, bringing Ashad and a large number of Cybermen into UNIT HQ, freeing the Master. The Daleks take the Doctor to the Master in 1916 Russia, where he has been posing as Rasputin. The Master uses Gallifreyan technology and the Qurunx to impose a forced regeneration on the Doctor, resulting in the Master becoming the Doctor. In her mind, the Doctor encounters manifestations of her First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth incarnations, who inform her it may be possible to undo the forced regeneration with outside help.
An AI program the Doctor created, using images of the Fifth, Seventh, Fugitive and Thirteenth Doctors, leads Ace to meet with former companion Graham and destroy the Dalek volcano machine, Tegan to destroy the Cyberman converter and CyberMasters in UNIT HQ, and Yaz and Vinder to capture the Master and make him undo the Doctor's transformation. Defeated, the Master mortally wounds the Doctor with the Qurunx's energy beam, triggering the regeneration process, before seemingly dying of his injuries.
The Doctor takes Yaz home and departs alone. Yaz attends a support group of former companions including Graham, Dan, Kate, Ace, Tegan, Ian Chesterton, Jo Jones and Mel Bush. The Doctor travels to a cliff where she regenerates into the Fourteenth Doctor, who is alarmed to discover his new incarnation is physically identical to his tenth incarnation.
Sacha Dhawan, who portrays the Master, influenced the storyline of the episode. Chris Chibnall asked him 'If you were to come back, what would you like to do', to which Dhawan replied that he wanted to explore the theme of the Master's disguises. This ended up being a major part of the episode's story. [6]
After the first two specials were produced as part of the eight episodes ordered for the thirteenth series,[7] a third feature-length special was later ordered to coincide with the centenary of the BBC and serve as Whittaker's regeneration episode.[8] The BBC described the final episode as an "epic blockbuster special".[9]
Casting and details of the centenary special, without yet revealing the title or airdate, were released after "Legend of the Sea Devils" concluded.[10]
The title of the special was announced on 14 September 2022.[11]
"The Power of the Doctor" was filmed throughout September 2021, directed by Jamie Magnus Stone,[21] concluding on 13 October 2021.[22][23] Tennant's appearance was filmed on 13 May 2022, directed by Rachel Talalay.[24] Returning showrunner Russell T Davies scripted the incoming Doctor's appearance, with his first line, a reference to his first words as the Tenth Doctor being suggested by Tennant himself.[25] The background of the regeneration scene, where the Doctor lands the TARDIS atop a cliff and looks out over the sea, was filmed by drone at Durdle Door in Dorset. The Lulworth Estate was not informed of the context of the scene when granting permission for the shoot, and after the episode's broadcast expressed concern that it would encourage viewers to place themselves in danger.[26]
Among the musical cues heard in the episode is "Rasputin" by Germany-based pop and Eurodisco group Boney M, originally released in 1978; the Master, as played by Sacha Dhawan, portraying the Russian cleric, uses the song to accompany his impending transformation. Dhawan noted that he was given only "one or two takes" for the set piece, "and we didn't have that long to shoot it."[27]
"The Power of the Doctor" was first broadcast on 23 October 2022 as part of the BBC's Centenary celebrations, and is the third and final of the three 2022 specials.[35][36][37][38] The special is 87 minutes long.[39]
Ratings
The episode was watched by 3.71 million viewers overnight, becoming the fourth most-watched programme of the day, with peak viewership reaching 4.04 million.[40] The episode received an Audience Appreciation Index score of 82.[41] The final consolidated ratings for the episode were 5.295 million viewers, making it the fifth most watched programme overall for the week.[42]
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator website, 100% of seven critics gave "The Power of the Doctor" a positive review, with an average rating of 7.30 out of 10.[28]
The Radio Times and The Telegraph awarded the episode four out of five stars, the latter calling the episode "an electrifying thrill-ride of non-stop surprises".[43][44] The Houston Press' review was less positive, calling the episode "an explosive but confusing close" and concluding that "Doctor Who just doesn’t seem to have a present, let alone a future anymore."[45]
Home media
"The Power of the Doctor" received a separate home media release in Region 2/B on 7 November 2022,[46] in Region 4/B on 7 December 2022,[47] and in Region 1/A on 13 December 2022.[48] The episode is also included in the 2022 specials home media released in Region 2/B on 7 November 2022.[49]
Selected pieces of the score from this special were digitally released on 16 December 2022. A physical CD release containing all 3 soundtracks of the 2022 specials was released on 13 January 2023.[50]
Notes
^Russell T Davies wrote the Fourteenth Doctor's (David Tennant) monologue at the end of the special after Whittaker's regeneration.
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