Cinamore

A year ago, I wrote a conclusion for season one of Doctor Who’s new era on Disney+. In it, I expressed frustrations about the show’s handling but, more importantly, offered solutions for how to fix them in Doctor Who season two. With Doctor Who season two over and Ncuti Gatwa out of the show far too soon, possibly replaced by Billie Piper, it feels apt to do the same again.

When Disney bought into Doctor Who, their terms were clear: two full series. With The Reality War, the eighth and final episode of this second series, Russell T Davies delivers what should have been a culmination a payoff to two years of storytelling built on divine pantheons, cryptic clues about Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and the return of classic Time Lord adversaries: The Rani and Omega. But the shadow of past misfires loomed large.

At its most potent, Doctor Who weaponises the uncanny. The greatest episodes have often been those where the rules of reality itself begin to warp, where the world turns subtly wrong and no one but the companion notices. Wish World leans squarely into that tradition, attempting a heady cocktail of dystopian allegory, psychological horror, and cultural satire. It is bold. It is brimming with ideas. And yet, for all its ambition, it’s also deeply unsatisfying.

I’m no stranger to a good social deduction game. Whether it’s The Circle, The Fortune Hotel, or even Tom Scott’s indie gem Money, there’s something uniquely satisfying about watching people try to outthink, out-bluff, and outlast each other in high-concept challenges. It’s not just about strategy. It’s about trust. Misdirection. Reading between the lines. The thrill lies in seeing someone spot the truth hidden behind a smile or leverage a tiny detail into a major win.

The Story and the Engine is an intellectually thrilling premise, and in some moments, an emotionally moving one. But this fifth episode of Doctor Who Series 14, written by Nigerian poet and playwright Inua Ellams and directed by Makalla McPherson, finds itself tangled in its own web. It gesticulates towards grandeur but rarely grounds its ideas with the narrative discipline they deserve. That doesn’t stop the episode from being one of the most thematically distinctive of the season.

That chance encounter leaves a mark, both figuratively and, as it turns out, literally. Fixated on the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and the enigma of the blue box, a young Conrad grows up to host a podcast dedicated to unravelling the Time Lord’s truth. Lucky Day, written by Pete McTighe and directed by Peter Hoar, is a tense, character-driven thriller that showcases Jonah Hauer-King’s brilliant, compelling performance.

Chichester Festival Theatre launches its 2025 season with The Government Inspector, Nikolai Gogol’s blistering satire on institutional corruption, newly adapted by Phil Porter and directed by Gregory Doran. Premiering on the same night as the UK’s local elections, the production arrives with a sharp sense of topicality, but not, unfortunately, with the sharpness of wit to match.

The Well is a passable, slightly underwhelming entry, co-written by Russell T Davies and Sharma Angel-Walfall and directed by Amanda Brotchie. Revisiting heavily trodden ground, it struggles to reach the lofty heights of its immediate predecessors. An unexpected sequel to one of Davies’ finest episodes, The Well, begins as a mystery: half the colony’s inhabitants have been shot, half assaulted, and, curiously, the mirrors in every room have been shattered.

Lux, the second episode of the series, sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) land in 1950s America to discover that the local cinema is chained up, 15 people are missing, and a cartoon character roams free from his celluloid. Taking the form of Mr Ring-A-Ding, a 2D cartoon projection voiced with theatrical flair by Alan Cumming, audiences learn that our cartoon villain is the next God of the Pantheon: Lux Imperator, God of Light.

Penned by showrunner Russell T Davies and directed by Peter Hoar (It’s a Sin, The Last of Us), The Robot Revolution blends out-of-this-world adventure with a dash of social commentary, kicking off with the abduction of nurse Belinda Chandra by a race of eerie, gigantic red robots from outer space. Addressing the elephant in the room, I was apprehensive about season two. I had reservations following the disappointing conclusion in season one.