Doctor Who Is NEW!: The Story and the Engine

Welcome to Doctor Who Is NEW! where I post about the latest new episode of Doctor Who.

This week the Doctor and Belinda lands in the year 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria

There may be spoilers, honey! 

The Story and the Engine

by Inua Ellams

This is the first episode of Doctor Who to be set in modern Africa.  

But other than some aerial drone footage shot over the city of Lagos, Nigeria, the episode is completely on set at the Wolf Studios in Cardiff, Wales.   

The Nigerian marketplace set is extraordinary in it's level of detail and realism. It looks lived in, worked in, vibrant and full of activity.  Over 80 extras were employed to populate the marketplace. There is such an attention to detail that even I briefly pondered did the crew fly Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu for some pick up shots in a Nigerian market? 

The Doctor being black is integral to the story.  While we've seen this be an obstacle when confronted by racism ("Dot & Bubble", "Lux"), here it gives the Doctor a special impetus, to experience Nigerian culture and customs.  There is a barbershop in Lagos run by a friend named Omo that the Doctor likes to go to feel welcome, a congenial atmosphere of storytelling and comraderie.   

Things are not so welcoming in Omo's barbershop now.

The Doctor enters the barbershop only to find Omo has been usurped by a sinister other worldly being and the shop is occupied by Omo and 3 customers who are not allowed to leave. 

The Barber is using stories told by the captives in the barbershop to power a mysterious engine.

The barbershop is in Lagos AND in outer space at the same time.

It's travelling across something the Barber calls the Nexus.

And it's travelling on the back of a frickin' huge space spider!!

Well, that's a crap ton of weird to cope with.

Forced to tell a story, the Doctor foregoes one about his own experiences but instead relays a tale of Belinda's job as a nurse, a tale of how Belinda was supposed to leave work to celebrate her nan's birthday but gets pressed into service to help a dying female patient. 

(Much like happens to Alex on St. Denis Medical all the time.) 

Belinda's sharp eye and keen instincts suggests a diagnosis that the physician on call actually follows and two weeks later, the woman returns to the hospital to hug Belinda, thanking her for saving her life. 

It's a clever way to show an example of the life Belinda is so desperate to get back to.

And of course the Doctor would think a tale of humanity would be more significant than any story from his own life.  

We get a montage of previous Doctors and an unexpected cameo from Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor.  

I will be honest that I am not 100% certain of what exactly happens to stop the Barber from whatever bad thing he was up to but I really enjoyed the ride and the episode's outcome.  

5 episodes in and I will say that I think this season is superior to last season and may well be strongest slate of episodes in many years.