Spyfall Part 1 - Take Two Doctor Who Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2025
- Time to get back into my rewatch of Doctor by launching into Series 12. Now I'm already on record that this is the strongest series of the Whittaker/Chibnall run, but let's take a look at it one episode at a time. Starting with the first two-parter of the era.
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Please note, I don't cover as much of Sir Lenny Henry's character as he perhaps deserved owing to the fact that I don't really know much of his work outside of voices and heavy makeup parts. As a result I missed the fact that his presence was a potentially big deal, especially for UK viewers. No disrespect intended.
My video on the issue of the BBC's support of Transphobia: th-cam.com/video/aN4uc0HZrWE/w-d-xo.html
My video on the BBC's response to complaints of its reporting: th-cam.com/video/skh81N5lcYY/w-d-xo.html
My short on why I'll continue to put up the note at the front of these: th-cam.com/users/shortsHpwwzjzFXiE
Shaun's 1st video, which includes some additional confirmed information: th-cam.com/video/b4buJMMiwcg/w-d-xo.html
Shaun’s 2nd video, which follows how the BBC is trying to dodge accountability for all of this: th-cam.com/video/qfjTG6SVjmQ/w-d-xo.html
Shaun’s 3rd video, following him escalating his complaints: th-cam.com/video/fRn1UZ4fhdE/w-d-xo.html
Shaun's 4th video, covering the BBC's response: th-cam.com/video/3F7GW7Ro4OQ/w-d-xo.html
Laura Kate Dale's protest speech outside the BBC offices: th-cam.com/video/hBjGnWkwAjI/w-d-xo.html
Lenny Henry is mostly associated with his comedy and comic relief for charity so it's fine that you've not really seen his work much, there are some clips on youtube. He is just a is famous without a series as such but had had stand-up show ect. So likely not really known in america... and missing him and his presence is only normal.
For context, we in the uk grown up with him so never seeing him in a serious performance is odd and he was very good in it....even, menacing I would say, which again is more shocking because well, its Lenny Henry!
I just feel, we should have had more of him, because he had that character done so well.
@@pete2097 "Hold up, is that Chef! and is he the villain?" My mom's first reaction to Barton. So even outside the UK, he is definitely recognized.
Lenny also played the Doctor in a Comic Relief special, look it up!
Some knowledge of 80s Britain under Marge and Dennis Thatcher might be required for this Lenny Henry sketch: th-cam.com/video/A9zmbGhpD4E/w-d-xo.html
@@pete2097 Lenny Henry has done more serious acting work, but it's mostly been on the stage. I can recall a radio 4 documentary from years and years ago where the schtick was Henry learning more about Shakespeare. He then actually got cast to play Othello in some big production, either National Theatre or RSC, and got good reviews for that performance - I mean, that was years and years ago too. (Wikipedia says it was 2009 in Leeds Northern Broadsides, and he later appeared in "Comedy of Errors" at the National Theatre)
"I did say look for the spymaster. Or should I say spy Master?"
Top ten anime betrayals.
The Doc probably should have seen it coming though. Early on, she warned her friends to trust no one, only to spend the rest of the episode trusting "O". That was never going to end well for her.
Did you notice that when The Master said "very close to my heart," he had his left hand over the right side of his chest since Timelords have 2 hearts?
I hadn't caught that but it's a cool detail.
Oooh, clever! I wonder if it was in the script like that or if Dhawan improvised it?
@@gozerthegozarian9500 My money is on improvised. I feel like so many people working on this era were always adding a lot of little cool touches
Series 12 did reignite my interest for the show again after the misfire that was Series 11. The first part of Spyfall felt like a traditional Jon Pertwee story in some ways before taking a different approach in Part 2. It was well-paced, it was the most fun I've had with the 13th Doctor at that point (her playing Snap! at the poker table did made me chuckle a bit), it was easily Chibnall's best writing to date at that point, and the cliffhanger reveal of the Master at the end was totally unexpected.
Hard agree, I remember being genuinely shocked at how much higher energy this episode was. Fast paced, funny, exciting, and twisty, it's the Doctor Who I know and love
I honestly think Spyfall Part 1 is one of the strongest openings to a series. It starts great with a lot of intrigue and some high energy action sequences that are fun and exciting, even if some like the car sequence feel reminiscent of past stories (i.e Sontaran Strategem in that case), but it's just such a fun episode, the Kasaavin are simple but effective weird and creepy antagonists, and sufficiently capable to be a threat that you don't even see the Master reveal being an option, Sacha Dhawan is so endearing that you hope he is a recurring character, only to find out he is, but not how you thought. It's just a great opening, and I think is definitely underrated. Kind of reminds me of how I feel towards The Magician's Apprentice where that I enjoy the energy of "I know who everyone here is, but we can just build more and more on it". Looking forward to your series 12 thoughts as you continue through again
When I first watched this episode, I was spoiled that the Master would be revealed by the end, except I wasn't. The way this story is set up, it makes you think the CEO guy is gonna be the big reveal, but then they do a bait-and-switch by the end.
I think Chibnall knew that some would be spoiled of the Master's return, and so he designed the antagonists with this in mind. It's honestly genius, I thought I knew the ending already but I didn't.
I had the same experience! really enjoyed that
Literally exactly the same! I didn't know other people had that experience as well, that's cool!
@@2small4theMall love your username btw, that's probably my favorite Bill Wurtz song
@@brucesimmons5517 good to see it was effective for others too haha
I wonder who did the uncredited re-write for that plot point?
I didn't know what Vore was until now and now I do and it makes the episode that much funnier. Thanks for bringing it up 🤣👍
"The CEO of Vor"
I think I saw that on a list of Fanfics to Not Read once
And it's not the first time that something in Doctor Who was named after THAT... apparently the main villain of the last 8th Doctor novel from the Wilderness Years - The Gallifray Chronicles - was named the same way (except it's spelled the exact same way as the word in the real world).
Spyfall works in two concepts: The Master twist, as The Master was introduced with the Third Doctor, who WAS considered the show’s Bond equivalent, and the heralding of the INTENDED year of Bond’s 25th film, No Time to Die. Not quite sure which one was more intentional
Sacha Dhawan's master is the adhd icon we deserve
The thing about John Simm's master with that energy, look at it from his POV, the time war is over, there are only the two time lords left, The Doctor and The Master. He stranded himself at the end of the universe, the furthest out safe point in time to be "The Timelord Victorious" only to have himself reunited and free to do anything he wants. That goal, is to get The Doctor and bring him and his favorite planet to their knees. A goal he very nearly succeeds in. He is a man with a new lease on life for the most part. That energy is to be expected.
I see that a bit with Sacha Dhawan, so it makes me think that this manic energy is common when The Master/Mistress gets a new lease on life, they ride the wave, some are better at containing it while others embrace it the entire time. The "scary" part of each new version is never knowing how they are going to ride that wave. Even with Missy there were moments where she didn't seem like she would contain it and when it slipped from her control she became dramatically theatrical. Which seems to be how most play it, that just barely holding back from the brink.
All in all it makes Simm a stand out for me, because unlike the others, he let it take over.
“Don’t Google it”
I was well warned, and yet...
Stephen Fry playing what you call an M-style character is a nod to his early years: Back in the day, on their hilarious sketch show "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" , he and Hugh Laurie had a recurring, well, bit that spoofed John Le Carre's novels, with Fry playing the character of Control , Control being the M of the Le Carre-verse. Or M being the Control of the Flemming-verse. I don't know which one of them published first and I'm too lazy to look it up just now.
Series 12 had many earthbound adventures that gave this section of the era a grittiness and a rawness that I haven't felt since watching some of the Pertwee era stories, definitely down the line with Praxeus and Can You Hear Me? This just feels like they are trying to inject some Pertwee into this two-parter with a kick of historical in the second.
Still love this two parter and what a great reveal of the master
I may have misinterpreted but I thought there actually was an "O" but at some point the Master shrunk him and took his appearance. I dont think its clear that he was O for a short or long time.
He says very specifically that he shrunk and killed O, and then took his place on O’s first day on the job, which is established to have been some years back.
@@CouncilofGeeks ah yes. These Brits talk too fast for me. Missed that it was his first day.
I think in retrospect this Master is just extra. Having seen the classic Master, I expected the reveal of the Master taking over O's body the way classic Master did. I assumed that at some point there was an O.
In light of Rasputin, no he is that extra.
Really enjoyed this episode. Tbh other than the dire orphan 55 I really like this series
I agree with most of what you’ve said - it’s an improvement, the characters feel more settled, the casavin are very unsettling villains, etc. The only thing that holds the episode back is the last five minutes. 1) This is when I noticed cannot starting to break, since it doesn’t explain how we went from missy to Agent O - both with regards to dying and with regards to character development. 2) I don’t see how Agent O could have had time to make the phone call to Daniel Barton - I specifically looked at that during my second and third watches, but I really couldn’t see it. Nonetheless, the episode is still good.
You talking about how Sacha feels like his character struggling to stay focused on one thing made me think…. Oh, he’s the ADHD master. Actually makes him much more relatable in a way.
It's weird looking back on this. I wasn't sold on Dhawan during the reveal- and O felt very archetypal (quirky tech, secret service guy rather than a fleshed-out character like Yana. But he won me over more in Part 2 cause he felt like he was going for something more atypical Master, more brooding, a rageaholic, a little bit Kylo Ren. But I feel like we lost that over time, I can't really see him as a refinement because Simm was given quieter moments whereas Dhawan just doesn't imo.
I love that the chris chibnall showed his love for the classic era in his time as showrunner cause it was nice seeing the doctor being underestimated like in the classic era even though Sacha Dhawan didn’t work for me as the master cause of feeling more like one of Batman’s villains then the master despite having seen the master die at the end of season 10 he always felt to angry even though Rodger always looked like he was angry it came off more like he was calculating then actually angry the episode does fit the bond genre nicely
BENNY. BENNNNNY.
oh sorry, i'm too excited, too early.
BENNNNNNYYYY
Also I love the way you end all these videos and thank you for doing these I look forward to next wednesday
Finally, I can have opinions on Doctor Who again
Honestly, I put Spyfall Pt 1 as a top ten nu-Who episode for me.
Hell yeah, day just got a bit better!
I find it too soon for the Master return, 12 Episodes (or one Peter Capaldi Season) without the Master, I wish we have a lot longer without the Master...
I forgot the name of the company and I got whiplash all over again
but also? personally I really liked the spy theme and the obligatory bond references. it was presumably paying homage to pertwee's era, with how bond-like that was and how the master was there the whole time in disguise, which is great imo since pertwee was a colleague of ian fleming during wwii in the naval intelligence division
I do remember feeling this was a stronger episode than the previous series (was mixed on the special in between, particularly its use of Daleks), but I also found it a little...underwhelming. The second part was worse for me, but I'll hold off on that criticism for the next video.
It's funny, I have the exact opposite feeling on the John Simm Master vs. Sacha Dawan's - I feel like early Simm is gleeful and quirky but somewhat restrained until he goes overboard as everything's gone his way (not big on the End of Time version, which went further overboard until his final moments), whereas Dawan's felt like an attempt at being that without the restraint, so just trying to be more wacky. This episode was certainly Dawan at his best in this role, however, as I feel it pushed him even farther along the (for lack of a better word coming to mind) demented glee.
Baring Village of the Angels I think this is the only Chibnall penned story I properly enjoyed. For once it felt like Chibnall knew exactly what story he wanted to write and gave himself ample time to write it, instead of the usual Chibnall approach of writing a dozen different storylines and putting them in a blender.
Hey I have just realized something, I think I may have only watched 3 maybe 4 stories from the 13. Doctor era but I have watched videos about probably all of them.
Spyfall is... a mixed bag
Part One is a really good episode and loads of fun, it's Part Two that really lets the side down
@@christianwise637 So like a lot of TNG Two Parters (with the Exception of 'Chain Of Command')
In married with children Peggy came from Wanker county so did the Americans not know that word?
I thought you were merging two-parters for these reviews?
I did that for the "Overdue" reviews, but when it came to "take two" it actually makes more sense to do them individually because that's how the original reviews were.
@@CouncilofGeeks okay, thanks for clarifying. Good luck
Series 12, aside from the finale, was actually pretty bloody good. Much better than 11 certainly.
I was really drawn into the plot of Ryan and Yaz investigating VOR. It was interesting to see these two consumed by their new roles as investigators and learn more about the CEO- a man who is swallowed up by his own hubris and anger. Really intriguing stuff, I ate it right up! However, the plot was too rushed for such a bloated episode. It left me hungry for more!
No it doesn’t feel right that series 12 is almost 3 years ago why do you ask
Looked up the word and could not find anything
Same... ~shrugs~
I have a pretty high internet literacy and have no idea what you're referencing. 6:52
I had to Google it and I still have no clue what it means 🤷♂️
Okay, I shouldn’t of looked it up
I liked Spyfall but why did they give Jodie that hideous ill-fitting tux? She looks silly not like a cool spy.
it's a lil Easter egg for the 12th doctor, it's the same coat he wore.
I googled 'vor' and found nothing and eventually stumbled on 'vore' - I don't think it's as common of a term as you think it is tbh.
I sniggered at it with recognition when I first saw the episode. But then, I have a dirty mind...
_"I don't think it's as common of a term as you think it is tbh"_ Agreed; it isn't particularly common, nor was it at the time. It seems that a very small number of folks knew the slang term "vore" and pointed it out, otherwise I don't think 99% of the audience would have been any the wiser.
I had no idea :o I was also googling vor and found some reptile from star wars...
@@ftumschk I didn't know what that term meant when I first watched the episode, but I was aware of people sniggering about it online after the episode, so I guessed that it meant something NSFW. I didn't learn what it meant until I watched Stubagful's review of this two-parter, and now I can't watch this episode the same way ever again
@@dickottel Well, I googled "vor" and "vaw" (because Vera mentioned that it wasn't spelled the same way) and only got to "vore" because someone mentioned the actual spelling in the comments. To be honest I found that the fact that "vaw" comes up as a kind of acronym for something is depressing. The actual meaning of "vore" I found sorta interesting.
That beginning, the important note, is so stupid! It's horrendous! Why is the "p" in front of "begin?!?!?!" None of the other letters are Infront of the text! Why is te "p"????
I totally guessed he was the Master, and I didn’t like the characterization at all. Too forced and cartoonish for me - like he was trying to out do Missy, which he definitely didn’t.