Specials, Episode 2 | 1 part | First broadcast: 1 January 2021 | Writer: Chris Chibnall | Director: Lee Haven Jones
Cast
- Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor
- Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien
- Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair
- Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan
- John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness
- Chris Noth as Jack Robertson
- Sacha Dhawan as the Master
- Harriet Walter as Prime Minister Jo Patterson
Summary
With the Doctor imprisoned in an alien Judoon space prison following the events of the previous finale, businessman Jack Robertson exploits recovered Dalek technology to build a private security force of drone-controlled Dalek shells for the UK government, a plan that spirals catastrophically out of control when the Master infiltrates the operation and awakens the true Dalek consciousness within, forcing a freshly escaped Doctor—aided by a returning Captain Jack Harkness—to stop a full-scale Dalek invasion while also permanently parting ways with two of her closest companions.
Interesting Facts
- This special marks the departure of companions Ryan Sinclair and Graham O’Brien, who choose to remain on Earth at the story’s conclusion after two and a half years traveling with the Doctor.
- John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness returns for his first extended appearance since his brief cameo in “Fugitive of the Judoon,” teaming up properly with the Doctor’s companions for the first time.
- The reappearance of businessman Jack Robertson from “Arachnids in the UK” ties this special back to one of Series 11’s more satirical episodes.
- The episode opens with the Doctor imprisoned off-screen since the previous finale, addressing a gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic delaying production of the next full series.
- It was the last Doctor Who Dalek story to air before a significant, multi-year format shift as the show transitioned into the serialized “Flux” era.
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