Spyfall Part 1

"Aliens attacking spies all over the Earth."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 1st January 2020

Series: 12.01

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Intelligence agents around the world are under attack from alien forces, so MI6 turn to the only people who can help: the Doctor and friends. As they travel the globe looking for answers, attacks come from all sides. Earth's security rests on the team's shoulders, but where will this planet-threatening conspiracy lead them?

Verdict

Spyfall started in quite brilliant style with an excellent opening part! This was quite the start to Series 12 and Chris Chibnall has certainly made a point of opening in style. It was extremely well done. I wasn't too sure if the global scale that was mention in the DWM previews would quite work as covering the whole planet is obviously going to be difficult. I found the initial opening location captions a little much, but once they were moved past and we got into the nitty gritty of the action I loved it. There was action, emotion and just pure good Doctor Who. I have never been too much of a fan of James Bond films (I don't think I've ever sat through a whole one), but I did enjoy the story's title and I liked Ryan and Graham's reactions when they were shown how to use all of the spy gadgets that were on offer to them from C. When it was announced that Stephen Fry would feature, I really wasn't expecting him to get assassinated so quickly but that made for a shocking moment in the best way possible. I thought Yaz was the standout companion this time around and I have a feeling that her little journey to the other dimension (if that is in fact where she went) will come back to have a meaning in the second part. I really liked Daniel Barton's character and I was a little surprised to find him in league with the aliens of light. I was further intrigued that he registered as only 93% human. Just what will be that other 7%? My guess is that it will be connected to the spies having their DNA rewritten. I thought Jodie Whittaker was on top form as the Thirteenth Doctor in this episode and I really do love her as the Doctor. She's outstanding. The moment where she's playing blackjack at the casino-themed party and then yells out Snap! was just absolutely incredible. It had me and my girlfriend in hysterics. A truly wonderful moment. The range of emotion she can show is fantastic as well as she can turn it on from being quirky and comedic to downright serious. That was evidenced in the car when it was hacked and more so on the aeroplane where the episode just turned into something spectacular. I was looking very forward to the cliffhanger that was promised to be a great one and to say it exceeded my expectations is putting it lightly. O had been quite an interesting little character and I liked how he confirmed to Graham that the Doctor had actually previously been a man. You could tell he was dying to read those files on her to find out a little bit more. But then the big reveal came that O was long dead as the result of a tissue compression eliminator. By that point, we knew who the spymaster really was. Or spy Master! To say I was happy that the Master was back would be an understatement as the change in personality once the disguise was up was just sublime. I am so incredibly happy that it was kept a secret and I don't even care how it fits in with the continuity of World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls and the fate of the Master/Missy there. He's back and it was handled so well. Maniacal and excited with what he had accomplished in getting the Doctor and her companions on board an aeroplane due for explosion in the cockpit. Just how Barton was replaced with a bomb was unexpected and needs to be told, but the cliffhanger just seems unresolvable! The Doctor knowing where she had arrived is intriguing and I hope we get answers regarding the dimension and we get to know exactly what the scary light creatures are. Overall though, a fantastic start!