We’re at the Bon Jovi Point of my Top 60 countdown1 and once again I’m cheating – but again, with good reason. If I count Flux as 6 separate stories, then all 6 of them will make the list; by treating it as one I still get to discuss the great points of all 6 stories, but free up the space to talk about 5 more. Genius! Almost as clever as splitting The Doctor into three to wrap up all your plot points, but we’ll get to that…
Hands up then: who’s heart sank when they heard that Chris Chibnell was writing all 6 episodes of Series 13? I can’t say I was initially that excited at the prospect myself; coming out of Series 12 & Revolution of the Daleks, I was fully aware of his shortcomings as a writer. Come December 2021, though, I was won over. Flux was nothing short of a masterpiece: as a series it stands up with Series 5 as the best series of Doctor Who this century; as an event, watching week on week & discussing it with friends on Twitter & Podcasts it was one of the most exciting things I’ve done as a fan; and as 6 individual episodes, well, they’re just absolutely magnificent pieces of entertainment.
Flux was a series born out of necessity. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Chibnall had Series 12 and his festive special in the can, and was working on Series 13. Lockdowns followed, productions halted, and for a brief moment it looked like the end of Doctor Who. No S13, nothing to follow it: if not the end, then another long hiatus lay in wait. Chibnall had other plans – rather than destroying the show, he actually saved it. Stick that in your pipes and smoke it, haters!!
Flux plays to Chibber’s strengths. He came to Who after 3 seasons of Broadchurch, where he excelled at long form storytelling; being forced to cut his full length series down to 6 episodes and deciding to tell one story over them suited him to the ground. No murder mysteries here, but the format is the same: same set of characters (another element forced on him by the pandemic that turns out to be a bonus), one central plot but some good twists & turns & red herrings along the way. The end result was something that was far, far better than it had any right to be, given the circumstances in which it was conceived and born. If nothing else, Chibnall deserves praise for getting the damn thing made.
But like I say, the story – and the episodes that it’s made up of – are exceptional. So in the time honoured tradition of these things, I’ll spend some time on each one.
The Halloween Apocalypse
Flux didn’t so much launch as BLAST OFF with this episode. Right from the start it’s high octane, with an audacious set piece that is as ambitious and faced paced as anything else we’ve seen to date. Chibbers comes flying out the traps, setting up all the strands that we’ll be looking at in the next 6 weeks, and introducing most of the elements as well. Top of these are Dan & Karvanista. I remember well the pre-publicity for Karvanista showing an armoured dog, looking noble – like a canine Tharil. To have him revealed to be a gruff, no-nonsense Northerner was a wonderful rug pull. John Bishop joins the long line of people who’s casting we’re fools for doubting, as he gets all the best lines in this episode – I do wonder what effect having a professional comedian on the team had on Chibnall’s writing, if Bishop added anything or it just made him up his game, but from this episode onwards the show is as funny as it’s been since Douglas Adams was in charge. So many zingers!
We also get an introduction to one of the best villains we’ve had in many a year, Sam Spruell’s Swarm. Swarm is silky & sinister; louche but deadly. Spruell steals every scene he’s in, which is no mean feat when you consider how much makeup he’s buried under; prosthetic acting is a skill that doesn’t get recognised enough, especially when there’s dental work involved.
One of the more ludicrous criticisms I heard of this story when it was broadcast was that there were too many plot strands left open, too many unanswered questions. I can only assume these people were raging when they didn’t find out whodunnit in Episode One of Broadchurch… THA is fast, funny, fantastic, and a real statement of intent. Oh, and how great was it to have proper cliffhangers back again?!?
War of the Sontarans
One of Chibnall’s great strengths as a showrunner is how well he’s brought back classic foes & monsters. He made the Daleks cunning & clever again in Resolution, put the Man back into Cyberman with Ashad – making them a scary threat again – and also rescued the Sontarans from a fate worse than being a comedy potato in the Moffat era. Here they are a genuine menace; they actually feel dangerous, like they have taken over the world, and are basically using time travel to play war games in their own real life Holodeck. The redesign also hits the spot, making them look like genuine warriors and not the Power Ranger Klingons of the RTD era.
Special props to Jamie Magnus Stone, the Mastermind2 of this episode, for giving us something that is so visually stunning. From the battlefields of the Crimea to the Sontaran ship exploding above the Liverpool Docks, it’s just gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
And again, Kudos to Chibnall for another funny, well paced, action packed script. Splitting the story in three – an idea he’ll come back to – means there’s never a dull moment. And this is one of Jodie’s finest performances, calling out General Logan in the British Hotel a particular standout. Speaking of which: always great to see some recognition for Mary Seacole3.
Once, Upon Time
Hitting the halfway point this is a pause for breath of sorts after the pretty frenetic opening episodes. There’s new characters introduced in Bel and The Grand Serpent so it’s not a total halt – plenty still going on – but we get to go back over our character’s lives and learn more about them. It’s the sort of character development that Chibnall (again) gets slated for not doing enough of; once again he’s proving his detractors wrong & knocking this story out of the park.
The flashbacks to Atropos gives us the chance for another cameo from Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor, a character I would like to see more of – for no other reason than I want to be won over by her. Fugitive of the Judoon is not a favourite of mine, I don’t like a Doctor that uses backfiring guns or snaps Judoon horns off, so I want to see Martin do some more Doctory stuff; restricted to cameos like she is here it’s really hard for me to find something to love in the character other than Martin’s performance.
Village of the Angels
Another Magnus Stone Masterpiece, this looks EXACTLY how I wanted it too. I remember speaking to Trap One Podcast host Mark McManus the week before broadcast about how we’d love fog soaked folk horror story making the best use of how churches & graveyards look in little English villages, and that’s exactly what we got. The atmosphere envelops you in the best traditions of Fang Rock & Fendahl. It’s nothing short of beautiful.
We get one of my favourite characters introduced here: Kevin Mcnally’s Professor Eustatius Jericho. He’s stuffy but warm, loyal and brave; McNally does a wonderful job of bringing to life the man who has seen more than he should and is now thrust into a world where he has to deal with even more. I wasn’t expecting him to stay past this episode, but bugger me I’m glad he did! he brings so much heart & soul – and humour – to the back half of Flux.
The rest of the episode plays out like a classic folk horror; Chibnall does it again & brings us something new & scary with the Angels; and what a cliffhanger, eh? The character of Peggy/Miss Hayward is a missed opportunity which is pretty much the only fly in the ointment here; if this makes it the weakest story in Flux then what does that say about how good the other 5 are?
Survivors of the Flux
So this is the worst story ever made. It’s where the wheels totally fall off Flux & Chris Chibnall is exposed for the hack he is….
AHHHHH, I’M TEASING YOU……!!!!!!
It’s just as good as what’s come before it, and another change of pace. 3 seperate story strands – UNIT & The Grand Serpant, The Doctor & Tecteun, and Yaz, Dan & Jericho do Indiana Jones – play out nicely across the 50 minutes. The UNIT strand is more wheel spinning than the others, but it’s an entertaining diversion into a Dr Who staple’s past. Jodie has a lot of plot & exposition to deliver in her strand; thankfully Barbara Flynn is on hand to help, and you can’t deny how stunning Division HQ looks. Finally, Yaz & Co get to adventure & drive the plot along with some help from The Mad Mole.
Williamson has been a great addition to this story, popping up every episode or so to throw a little bit of mystery, charm and laughs throughout, before coming good here. I was amazed to learn he was a real historical figure, and fascinated to learn more about him4. But, as you may have guessed, it’s the Guru who stands out here for me. What could have so easily been a one note character is brought so beautifully to life by Kammy Darweish in probably the third best supporting performance in all of Doctor Who5: you know the joke is coming, you know what it’s going to be, but you still howl all the way through that scene. Just brilliant.
The Vanquishers
A finale that had a lot riding in it: after 5 weeks of excellence, could Chibbers stick the landing or would it all fall flat? In a feat worthy of BigJet TV he landed it perfectly.
Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I think he got it just right. There were more plot threads to wrap up at this point than he had characters to work with, so splitting The Doctor into three is a work of absolute genius – especially as he’s used the Power of Three in every other episode. We’re back to the breakneck speed of the early episodes, but everything gets wound up nicely, the day & the universe is saved, and we get some proper emotional beats that you would again be forgiven for thinking Chibnall wasn’t capable of – Karvanista’s reaction to the genocide of the Lupari & Jericho’s death stand out. As a finale to the 6 week extravaganza that was Flux, this really hit the spot for me.
Like I say, it doesn’t work for everyone. If you think Swarm & Azure deserve a better send off, or if you think there are some questions that you didn’t get answers to, I can understand that. But for me, it really hit the spot.
The necessity that Flux is made of also makes it great IMHO. Chibnall was forced to be creative with regards to his cast; it makes the series tighter & more character focussed than his previous series. He is much more comfortable writing long form, and it shows in how relaxed & funny his scripts are. It’s Chibnall’s magnus opus: it’s 6 fantastic episodes of Doctor Who that together make one of its best series.
COMING TOMORROW: “I know…!!!”
Skies Full of Diamonds 