Doctor Who Is NEW!: Resolution

So here we go with what will be the last all new episode of Doctor Who for a year, the only new episode of Doctor Who for 2019.  

I'm already a bit on edge about what 2019 might bring. The fact that 2019 will NOT be bringing any more new Doctor Who is not helping my mood any. 

So what did we get with this New Year's special episode of Doctor Who?

Resolution 

by Chris Chibnall 

So we didn't get surprised by a last second change of title to Resolution of the Daleks. And if we had, it would have had to be Resolution of a Dalek.

All this trouble for a single Dalek? Well, yeah. And if we learned anything from the 2005 classic ”Dalek”, a single Dalek can be as much of a nightmare as a whole army of them.  

The story begins with a story, a legend from the 9th century of a collective human army coming together to defeat (barely) a devastating and deadly threat from another world. That threat was a single Dalek. Here in the  21st century, a part of the organic component of that Dalek has come to life and sunk its tentacles into a hapless human woman in an effort by the Dalek to rebuild itself and summon a Dalek invasion fleet to Earth. 

Have a Dalek doing most of its dirty work as a tentacle creature attaching itself like a parasite to humans is a bit outside the norm of Dalek stories. But just because the organic part of a Dalek has never done this before is not outside the parameters of possibility. Indeed, this new configuration of Dalek being a threat outside the tank adds a layer of threat and menace to the Daleks. Too often, Daleks are portrayed as robots and disabling their pepperpot shaped tanks is enough to defeat them. In “Resolution”, we have a Dalek that defeating its tank is just part of the battle.  

After a season of Chris Chibnall giving us all new (and to be blunt, frequently tepid) villains, there was much rejoicing that Doctor Who would serve up a classic foe and the most iconic of them all, the Daleks. The Doctor vs. the Daleks? You can’t get more iconic and classic Doctor Who than that, right?

Of course, it can be argued that Chris Chibnall still has not given us a Doctor vs. Daleks match up.  This Dalek is different with unique powers and abilities. I can see that point but it’s not one that I am particularly troubled by. Chibnall did something different with the Daleks that to my mind has enhanced the bleating pepperpots into a greater threat. 

The Doctor has her work cut out for her, tracking down a Dalek that is more than just an overpowered battle tank but a foe of insidious evil, cleverness and cruelty as it high jacks a human woman for its own nefarious purpose, to rebuild a proper Dalek tank. Jodie Whittaker gets to finally channel some of the rage of her predecessors when she realizes she's up against a Dalek, an element of her character that has been sorely missing during the preceding Series 11. Jodie still gets in some of her patented mile a minute silly banter but there is a drive, a fierce focus in her Doctor in this episode that elevates her performance as the Doctor. I think Jodie has been very good as the Doctor to date but this is I think the first script that really challenged her and pushed her to the best of her predecessors.  

In addition to a single Dalek threatening to end all life on Earth, we had time  for some family drama  when Ryan's father finally shows up. Aaron Sinclair is not your typical deadbeat dad. He loves his son but lacks the maturity to show it when times get tough, like the death of Ryan’s mother or Aaron’s own mother, Ryan’s gran Grace who died back at the start of Series 11. There’s a scene with Ryan and Aaron sitting in a shop, talking. It’s a scene with considerable emotional power as Ryan makes his case as to exactly why he’s pissed off at his father. It goes on a bit too long as I’m thinking, “We’ve got an alien tentacle thing on the loose we need to catch up to”. But there’s no denying it’s a powerful moment for Ryan who has struggled with abandonment issues through the course of the season. 

Given Chibnall's resistance to using stuff from Doctor Who's past during Series 11, it was nice that UNIT and Kate Stewart get name checked.  Except UNIT is “on hold… pending review.”  UNIT has been brought down by Brexit? Really? Say it isn't so. It’s a funny moment with the Doctor trying to communicate with a call center rep the urgency of the situation who can only tell her UNIT is not available but perhaps another military resource may be of help.    It does take the vast resources of a paramilitary organization off the board which ratchets up the tension that the Doctor and her friends are going have to deal with this Dalek without any help. I do hope that this “review” is resolved because I do want to see this Doctor interacting with UNIT, Kate Stewart and Osgood in the future.

There’s a lot of action in this episode including a car chase and stuff blowing up real good. With so much humor, drama, action and danger packed into this episode, I would dare say that I  would rate this New Year's special as the best episode of the Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era.