Resolution

"There's been a Dalek buried on Earth since the ninth century."

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Format: TV
Broadcast: 1st January 2019
Series: 2019 New Year's Special

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Graham, Ryan

Synopsis

As the new year begins, a terrifying evil from across the centuries of Earth's history is stirring. As the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz return home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth? The Doctor will be reunited with an old enemy and the stakes couldn't be higher...

Verdict

Resolution was a pretty decent episode to serve as the New Year's Day Special, but despite my rating this blog entry will probably sound a bit negative. That shouldn't be the case as I did enjoy it but I do think I might have been a bit jealous. I was delighted that the Thirteenth Doctor got to do battle with her ancient enemy at last but it was far from a traditional Dalek story. I commend Chris Chibnall for wanting to do something different with the Daleks which was fine but I wasn't sure about the size of the Dalek mutant despite it being revealed that it was a reconnaissance scout. That whole concept of them being the first Daleks to leave Skaro was really intriguing and I think there's a lot there to be developed but I really do question how it could know about the Dalek. The Dalek timeline might be even more controversial than the UNIT dating confections but surely if this was one of the first Daleks to depart Skaro, presumably before The Daleks, and for it then to be buried for twelve centuries, would it have knowledge of the Doctor? I'm not sure and it's not a big issue as I thought the scene where the Doctor revealed her identity was done masterfully by Jodie Whittaker. She really was sublime once again and I think she's absolutely marvellous. I loved the addition of the scarf to her attire as it really does work terrifically well. I wasn't too much of a fan of the stuff with Ryan and his Dad, Aaron, but it did give the story more of a human element. I just think it took up a lot of time that wasn't quite needed. The relationship between Mitch and Lin was nice and I thought they were both good characters and the latter's relationship with the Dalek and her literal inner conflict was quite intriguing. Her desire to fight it was very good indeed. I'm really not sure why the specials needed to address the day it airs and I thought the scene with the family where the WiFi and phones had gone off and they'd had to have a conversation was horrendous. It was beyond cringeworthy and just unnecessary. The Doctor calling for Kate Stewart and UNIT was good and I liked the subtle satire towards Brexit with them having lost funding. I'm sure Big Finish weren't too thrilled with that! Yaz had a quiet episode which was a shame but I thought Graham was very good once again. The way the Doctor sold the threat of the Daleks was excellent, especially where Graham couldn't quite comprehend how a giant squid could topple the Doctor and 7 billion people. The Doctor's thoughts concerning how she could never git rid of them was a nice inclusion though and I liked how it was clear how personal the Doctor's relationship with the Daleks was. The design was pretty cool with it being melded in a somewhat repetitive scene from The Woman Who Fell to Earth with the sonic screwdriver being created and I was a big fan of the inner lighting when it spoke. The way it was defeated was nothing more than average for me but it was fine, I just wish there was a little less silliness concerning the microwave oven. I hoped for a bit more about the actual myths of the way it was defeated by the forces of humanity back in the ninth century but what we did get of that was terrific. Overall, a decent episode and it was nice to see an old enemy back but still room for improvement.

Rating: 7/10