Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One: The Halloween Invasion review

Covid-19 presented Doctor Who with an unenviable opportunity.

And now the arrival of Doctor Who: Flux shows what the scope of that opportunity was and how the creative team has seized on season 13, this last full season of Jodie Whittaker's Doctor's time in the TARDIS.

In truth, a lot of The Halloween Invasion feels mostly like set-up for the opening chapter of a six part interlinked serial is - and also shows the limits of Covid-influenced production, with pockets of seemingly disparate groups of people pushed together in little acting pods. It gives the opener the feel of a jigsaw puzzle of TV, but also spectacularly manages to open up the mystery of what lies ahead as the universe faces its ultimate end at the sprawling tentacles of the Flux.

Opening with a "What the" moment of the Doctor and Yaz seemingly facing their own deaths at the hands of an unknown assailant, the almost Bond-like rush that kicks off Flux is something that gathers pace as the episode transpires. There's a lot to do here, but writer Chris Chibnall doesn't detract from the idea that Mandip Gill's Yaz and Jodie Whittaker's Doctor has been hurtling through time and space together since the fam was broken up after the events of Revolution of the Daleks.

As well as introducing the series' new villain, The Swarm, and hinting at the Doctor pursuing the revelations of The Timeless Child and her past, Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One: The Halloween Invasion also has a job to do in introducing new companion, Dan played by John Bishop.

It's a little less successful here with Dan feeling more like a character than an actual person, with broad hints about his melancholy and his attitude of "What's the point of being alive if not to make others happy" contrasting with his reasonably laissez-faire demeanour. Bishop delivers a tender performance in parts, and while he may yet have more drama ahead, most of the episode plays to his comedic chops and his growing indignation of his treatment. 

At times, it does feel like Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One: The Halloween Invasion has a lot going on, and little time to breathe. There's Sontarans, an appearance of the Weeping Angels which feels unwieldly and unnecessary, a new villain, a new species and a new character whose future is more closely tied into the Flux storyline as publicity has hinted. Add in a raft of locations and a jump into the past that seems at odds with everything else, and there's a lot to unpack from episode one that doesn't quite fit without the rest of the pieces. (Plus a couple of fan service nods to the past to boot as well). It's all within the usual run time of a normal episode as well - complete with a cliffhanger that's somewhat ruined by a mid-credits teaser for what lies ahead. Flux needs time to breathe, to deepen some of the connection and to hold off the breakneck pace to allow viewers time to process.

And yet, in the midst of it all is some extraordinary VFX work from the team, moulding a universe that feels threatened and a scope that feels expansive and vibrant. It's clear that for some of the series, Covid restrictions prevented multiple actors and locations, but the production team deserves to be praised for seizing the opportunity and running with it, rather than shying away.

Also worthy of praise is Whittaker and Gill - their relationship feels at times fractious and familiar. Yaz appears to be tiring of the Doctor's reticence to reveal all to her, and the Doctor is more interested in showing Yaz a good time rather than fully getting her input into proceedings - it's a relationship that at times feels uneven and yet realistic.

 Whittaker delivers moments of Tennant-inspired manicness ("Let's synchronise watches; forget that, I'm not wearing a watch" she babbles before racing off leaving Yaz to opine her own position in the relationship) as the story races on - but there are moments when the events of series 12 impede on her mindset, and Whittaker does well to play up the more alien edges of a person whose core has been shaken by prior events.

Ultimately, as it would, Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One: The Halloween Invasion lays a lot of groundwork for what's ahead - but it does it with such chutzpah and joie de vivre that it's difficult to not be swept along with the paciness of what's transpiring. 

Doctor Who is back - and for six brief weeks, it looks like it's set to be a rollercoaster - maybe for now, it's best to just buckle up and enjoy the ride and wait for the answers at the end.