Season one of Doctor Who on Disney+ was wibbly-wobbly, whereas season two continues with top timey-wimey tales from the TARDIS.
The Story & the Engine thoughtfully explores the Fifteenth Doctor’s (Ncuti Gatwa) lived experience and the power of myth. Star Wars creator George Lucas was a student of Joseph Campbell (The Hero with a Thousand Faces), so this is my jam.
This Nigerian-set episode is a world where the Doctor is accepted and celebrated in stark contrast to the racism of Dot and Bubble and Lux. A Finetime is had by all as long as they're white.
In a spectacular surprise cameo, Jo Martin reprises her fan-favourite role as the Fugitive Doctor, introduced during Jodie Whittaker's era, as returning series showrunner Russell T Davies continues to lean into the 20th anniversary of the series’ revival to celebrate all things Doctor Who despite an uncertain future.
Seeing previous incarnations of the beloved Time Lord hit hard, and memories of much-missed family and friends flooded back. Also, I'm acutely aware that watching Doctor Who with my octogenarian dad won't last forever. I'm a fan because he introduced me to the series when Tom Baker took over from Jon Pertwee...
Whilst it's a companion-lite story set primarily in a barber shop, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) effortlessly earned her place aboard the TARDIS in The Robot Revolution, there's a flashback to a fleeting meeting between Belinda and Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) during a life-saving hospital shift.
The ongoing dynamic between Belinda and the Doctor is a refreshing change in the modern era. She still wants to get home and sees through the Doctor's disguise, but is empathetic and lets him visit an old friend, Omo.
The spooky child who points Belinda towards Omo's barber shop is Captain Poppy from Space Babies!
There's a fun reference to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and Loki. During lockdown, the Loki spin-off series on Disney+ was widely regarded as Marvel's take on Doctor Who. Make mine meta.
Yes, I'm still rooting for Mrs Flood to be revealed as the Rani. Talking of classic villains absent from the Whoniverse, again, the Doctor namechecked them. Will we see Cybermen, Ice Warriors and Daleks in the two-part season finale?
The Story & the Engine is a poignant story about stories, eloquently riffing on the Eleventh Doctor’s (Matt Smith) quote: "We're all stories, in the end... just make it a good one, eh?"
Amen.
New episodes of Doctor Who drop every Saturday on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland. Season two is available for pre-order from Amazon (affiliate link).
Have you watched The Story & the Engine? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
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