The Magician's Apprentice

"Tell me the name of the boy who isn't going to die today."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 19th September 2015
Series: 9.01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

Davros is dying. The Doctor is meditating ahead of what he believes to be certain death. Missy is back and terrorising planet Earth. Colony Sarff is searching for the Doctor and soon he will be back on Skaro, homeworld of the Daleks as he comes to terms with the horrific thing he did.

Verdict

The Magician's Apprentice was an absolutely stunning episode of Doctor Who and kicks off the ninth series in some style! It really is just superb from start to finish and I honestly did not remember it being quite so good. I mean, I gave the story as a whole full marks upon my viewing on broadcast but after finally getting around to a re-watch before the newest episode airs, I was mightily impressed. After over a year of doing Twelfth Doctor and Clara stories that were either comic strips or audios, it was brilliant to be back watching them on screen together and it is immediately clear how good they are together. I did watch the prologue and The Doctor's Meditation prequel that accompany this episode and they set things up very nicely I must say. The idea of someone the Doctor has known for a very long time being sick could be just about anybody but the way it was revealed to be Davros was just incredible. I remember my reaction on broadcast because the secret had been kept and it was just wonderful that the creator of the Daleks was returning for the first time since The Stolen Earth/Journey's End in 2008. The idea of the Doctor having saved him as a child would be revealed as the thing he was ashamed of but it really is quite staggering to think that not only did the Doctor fail to prevent the creation of the Daleks, but he also saved their creator when he was a child! The play on the Fourth Doctor's infamous line in Genesis of the Daleks was incredible and I really must commend Steven Moffat on that. Clara and UNIT trying to search for the Doctor throughout time on Earth was excellent as we got a wonderful mention of the many stories set in Atlantis and also a probable reference to The Myth Makers which I really liked. We also got to see quite a few past monsters from the past during Colony Sarff's hunt for the Doctor. We saw Hath, Ood and even a cowering Sycorax which was good. The scene set on the Shadow Proclomation was unexpected and it was terrific to see the Judoon once again, even if it wasn't for long. The return of Missy was done fantastically and it has been a while since I've done a story featuring her and I was instantly reminded of how good an actress Michelle Gomez is. She really is outstanding and plays the female Master incredibly well. The idea of she and the Doctor being friends was a little difficult to comprehend after the countless stories of the past in which she's tried to kill him, but I loved how she countered by saying he was also trying to kill her. The reveal that the planet Sarff had brought the Doctor, Clara and Missy to being Skaro was excellent and the image of the Dalek city was beautifully reminiscent of what we saw in The Daleks over fifty years previously. The retro looking Dalek was also wonderful and it was great to see so many designs of Daleks from over the years featuring. We had the Supreme Dalek and even the Special Weapons Dalek! It was quite the ensemble. Conversations between the Doctor and Davros are always special and this was no different here. I loved hearing the past meetings with the voices of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors being heard to follow that aforementioned Fourth Doctor scene. Missy and Clara being surrounded by Daleks was quite brilliant but the scene of them both being exterminated obviously had an adverse effect on the Doctor. Obviously now watching with hindsight, I know they did not die but the image of them being killed was quite staggering. The cliffhanger was very good as with the Doctor thinking his friend was dead, he returned to Davros as a child and looked set to kill him. Could he really do it? It won't be long before I found out. But for now, a stunning episode!