Doctor Who: Fugitive of the Judoon
by Vinay Patel & Chris Chibnall; dir. Nida Manzoor (BBC, 2020)
Captain Jack’s return is gratuitous, serving mostly to sideline Graham, Ryan and Yaz (staged by Manzoor as a three-person collective). Jo Martin, however, is magnificent as the Fugitive Doctor—both in her own right and shading Jodie Whittaker’s performance with lost-child vulnerability.
Black Mirror: The Entire History of You
by Jesse Armstrong; dir. Brian Welsh (BBC, 2011)
A reductio ab adsurdum turned alarmingly not-too-farfetched projection of where technology might take us by facilitating total recall (and display) of memories. Jodie Whittaker is delightfully nuanced but Toby Kebbell’s character is so manifestly, irredeemably a dick, the relationship seems doomed anyway.
Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell To Earth
by Chris Chibnall; dir. Jamie Childs (BBC, 2018)
The best debut story since Rose. Jodie Whittaker hits the ground running, and Chibnall strikes a nice balance between SF threat, comfort humour and character introduction. All the soon-to-be regulars show promise (while Sharon D. Clarke is immediately much missed as Grace).
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
by Steven Moffat; dir. Rachel Talalay (BBC, 2017)
The Christmas special has some touching performances (Mark Gatiss) and ends on a high with Jodie Whittaker’s first scene, yet for the most part spends too much time prepping the audience for the handover and trying—quite shamelessly—to manipulate our emotions.