Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 8: The Reality War

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Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 8: The Reality War

Here we are, about to watch the final episode of Series 2. For some, this one might be the last episode EVER! 😮. More details later in this Post.

Actually, watching this week’s finalé episode was a tad convoluted. First, there was NO early iPlayer release, so there was no opportunity for me to watch this from 8am, as usual. Second, in addition to tonight’s TV transmission, it was being shown at most UK Cinemas together with last week’s episode, Wish World (part 1 of this two-parter). In short, we’d be watching tonight’s final episode at the same time as everyone else, at 6.50pm – albeit on a bigger screen! 🤔. It’s longer than usual too, with a runtime of an hour and 10 minutes. 👍

A quick word about LAST week’s story before I immerse myself in tonight’s conclusion. Much to my surprise, I REALLY enjoyed ‘Wish World‘. For me, it had all the ingredients of a good DW yarn – a genuine mystery, a clear sign of who was good and bad, lots of tension – and best of all, no crying by our hero!! 😉. In short, the best of this series! Interestingly (or not), asking around my fellow Whovians, they didn’t all share my view – thus is the divisiveness of Doctor Who these days!

Season Series 2 so far…

Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 7: Wish World – Saturday, 24th May, 2025 @ 6:36 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 6: The Interstellar Song Contest – Saturday, 17th May, 2025 @ 7:01 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 5: The Story and the Engine – Saturday, 10th May, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 4: Lucky Day – Saturday, 3rd May, 2025 @ 6:58 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 3: The Well – Saturday, 26th April, 2025 @ 7:06 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 2: Lux – Saturday, 19th April, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 1: The Robot Revolution – Saturday, 12th April, 2025 @ 6:40 pm
Doctor Who Returns (almost!) – Saturday, 5th April, 2025 @ 8:00 am

5.15pm: OK, I’m going in!

I picked up Jo & Janet and we headed for The Savoy Cinema in Corby (Ann sat this one out – she’s not a fan, not even close! 😕). There was just one performance – 5.45pm – beginning with a repeat of last week’s Wish World (great!) and then followed by the real reason we were all here – tonight’s final episode ‘The Reality War’.

Don’t read any further if you’ve not watched this one yet. It’s impossible to review it without giving away a lot of the reveals (and there’s plenty of them). A quick check online (12 hours after I saw it last night) shows that the internet is still awash with comment and opinion – and I reckon that’ll continue for some time! Now, read on (or not). 😯

The Screen was already about 40% full when we arrived, but closer to 80% by ‘curtain up’. In fact, it was the busiest I’ve seen this cinema in ages! A wide range of age groups too (which was surprising!). From the ‘other side of 60’ to bright young things that clearly couldn’t tell the time, switch off their phones nor go for longer than an hour without needing another obligatory drink/popcorn/trough of chilli!

Trailer

Synopsis

“Battle rages across the skies as the Unholy Trinity unleash their deadly ambition.
The Doctor, Belinda and Ruby have to risk everything in the quest to save one innocent life. Battle rages across the skies as the Unholy Trinity unleash their deadly ambition”.

Any Good?

Crikey! Where to start with this one!!! 😯. There’s so much to unpack on so many levels. As a few of you pointed out, I’m late posting this, but I needed a night’s sleep to try and make sense of it all – and I’m not sure I have!!! 😕

OK, at its most simplistic level, this was a really entertaining episode – never a dull moment, plenty of action and the cinematography is a visual treat. There are a lot of characters to absorb, but where the plot comes to a satisfying conclusion, and where most characters live happily ever after! So, that’s a good start. I’d add that seeing it at the cinema with my fellow fans added to the experience. These days, there’s something about Who on the big screen that just adds to the spectacle of it all. Whereas some TV programmes don’t translate well to a larger format, this one was made for it! On with the show…

Looking more forensically, there was so much to wrap your head around, this wasn’t the one to cut your teeth on as a Who noobie. A knowledge of DW lore as well as knowing who wears the white hats (and the black ones too) is a must. The SFX were lavish, and it’s easy to see where a lot of the (Disney?) investment in this series has gone – that, together with the enormous cast! Unusually, there’s more than ONE foe to jeer at – The Rani, the Rani (yes, that’s right – two of them), Conrad Clark (from an earlier episode) and of course, the biggest of ‘big bads’, Omega (the first Time Lord) – more on him later!

The narrative flows well, and the longer runtime helps enormously. I think it would have been impossible to tell this story within the constraints of the usual 50-minute slot. There’s even time for a spot of humour (‘So much for the Two Ranis’ – it’s a goodnight from me’ 🤣😂🤣😂. The music, by Murray Gold, was as good as ever too 👍

I liked this story a lot, but there were a few disappointments for me. Personally, given the importance Omega in the DW backstory, his defeat was over far too quickly, as was the fate The Rani (well, one of them!). NG has brought a new sensitivity to the role of the Doctor, and whilst that’s a good thing overall, parts of tonight’s yarn were all a bit too sentimental. Case in point: the reunion at UNIT HQ: can we stop all the hugging and get on with saving the world please!!! 🤬🤬. Those who know me, know that there’s not a single maternal bone in my body, and the screentime for the sprog – ‘Poppy’ – in tonight’s episode, was bordering on excessive (even though I recognise her importance in the ‘bigger picture’).

There’s usually a jaw-dropping moment in Who finalés, but tonight’s featured a biggy, followed by an even bigger, err, biggy, and then THAT really big one! (the biggest of biggies ever in DW?) With audiences so much more savvy these days with plot direction, it must be hard for writers to create that ‘moment’.

This evening was a rare exception, and none of us saw what was to come. The noise we all heard at The Savoy was the collective thud of jaws hitting the floor – not once, not twice, but THREE times. 13 returning, NG’s regeneration and the big reveal of the next Doctor, number 16 – or was she? – all contributed to a collective series of heads exploding around Northamptonshire and further afield!

When Billie Piper appeared briefly as the face of the new Doctor, there was a brief pause whilst we all initially didn’t quite join the dots. Then, when we did, there were cheers from the audience (yes, we’re all turning into Americans), a bit of applause (but very British and no ‘whooping’) though a few fans were already up out of their seats in appreciation – steady chaps! 😀

Overall, it’s a dark story (especially in the final act, where the character of Ruby Sunday reveals a much bleaker future for the Earth) just as all of us thought the story had reached its conclusion.

By 8pm, it was all over – where after retrieving our jaws, we recognised that we Whovians might have to wait longer than usual before it’s on our screens again! No doubt, the internet and newspapers will be awash with reviews, opinions and thoughts about the future of the UK’s longest-running sci-fi series.

The End for Who(m)?

So, that’s it for another series of Who – how was it for you? I know where I stand, but powers greater than us – those with the money – might be about to shape its future! Read on…

I said to myself that if this latest series didn’t woo me back, then it would be my last. Well, having seen Nkuti Gatwa act his socks off in this latest round of escapades, for me, taking all the episodes in this series into account, there’s been enough good stuff to keep me ‘on the books’.

It’s somewhat ironic, therefore, that just as I ‘regained the faith’, rumours began some weeks ago about 1. Disney is pulling out, 2. Nkuti Gatwa has been sacked and 3. Ratings have been so poor, the series is being put on hold. Only time will tell whether any (or all of these) are true! Disney has invested a $100m in the series, but apparently no-one is watching it, outside the UK on Disney+!! – so that’s not a good sign, is it?!?! 😯

Officially, the BBC’s line is: “No decision has been made about series 3 until after the transmission of series 2”. Hmmmm, I’m not sure what to make of that?

Why? Here in the UK, the actual viewing figures are nothing to crow about, according to some. The numbers make it all look like a very niche programme that’s ripe for cancellation! (‘+7’ = Seven days after transmission/‘TV+4-Screen’ = TV + Tablet & Mobile viewing). 3.36m at best?

The BBC has confirmed that the ‘show will go on’ with or without Disney, but Showrunner, Russell T Davies, interviewed on BBC’s Newsround is quoted as saying:

“Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, the viewers of Newsround now will grow up a few years
and start writing stories and they’ll bring it back. So I have absolute faith that that will survive
because I am living proof of it and that’s what happens to good ideas. No good idea ever dies”.

A Radical Theory…

I’ll end this review with a theory: Nkuti Gatwa’s exit was unexpected, and they haven’t cast the NEXT Doctor yet (it’s quite unusual for an actor to only do TWO series – most do THREE at least!). As a quick fix, they’ve introduced Billie Piper, but she ISN’T the new Doctor (note how the end credits say ‘introducing’ Billie Piper, rather than listing her as ‘The Doctor’) – ooo err Missus, that’s ripe for some conspiracy theories, for sure!

See you for series 3… (or not) 🙄😢