Doctor Who has revealed the title for the first “chapter” of series 13 – and it seems the show’s 31st October return date may have been part of a plan.
The opening episode of the six-part series – which bears the overall subtitle of Flux – will be called… The Halloween Apocalypse.
The title of Chapter One of #DoctorWhoFlux is here!
— Doctor Who: Flux (@bbcdoctorwho) October 20, 2021
Get ready for ‘The Halloween Apocalypse’ on 31st October ???? pic.twitter.com/zSTrsl91aR
Pretty evocative, huh? It sounds like we can expect a suitably spooky outing for the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) as they go up against the Sontarans and meet a new friend in the form of Dan Lewis (John Bishop).
The official synopsis for The Halloween Apocalypse reads:
On Halloween, all across the universe, terrifying forces are stirring. From the Arctic Circle to deep space, an ancient evil is breaking free. And in present day Liverpool, the life of Dan Lewis is about to change forever.
Why is the Doctor on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista? And what is the Flux?
Though we’ve known for a few weeks now that the first episode of Doctor Who: Flux would air on Halloween, this is our first confirmation that the premiere will be themed around All Hallows’ Eve. (Let’s face it, it’s a better fit for the show than an Easter special.)
Unlike most previous series of Doctor Who, Flux will tell one serialised story across its six episodes – all written by showrunner Chris Chibnall with the exception of episode four, which has been co-scripted by The Haunting of Villa Diodati‘s Maxine Alderton.
!["Sontaran]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/10/doctor_who_flux_sontaran-afe336d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"doctor_who_flux_sontaran\"")
“It changes the rhythm of the storytelling,” Chibnall has said of this unusual storytelling approach. “It changes the way you tell the stories. It changes the way we deal with characters – characters who go across more than one episode. Monsters who go across more than one episode. And it’s probably more in line with other TV series that you’re watching currently. So it was a big challenge, and then it became a massive creative opportunity.
“So [there’ll be] lots of cliffhangers, I would say is the big thing. Which is embedded into Doctor Who – some of our biggest ever cliffhangers.”
The guest cast for Doctor Who: Flux includes Craig Parkinson (Line of Duty), Rochenda Sandall (Small Axe: Mangrove) and Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), but Chibnall has hinted that there are more guest appearances yet to be revealed, noting that there were “some people [we] might not want to say.”
- Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker on the next Doctor: “The joy of this job is you hand on your boots”
- Chris Chibnall says it took “longer than expected” for him to leave Doctor Who
- New Doctor Who: Flux images tease Sontarans and dog-aliens in episode 1
- Doctor Who might be entering its own multiverse of madness
Doctor Who: Flux kicks off on Sunday 31st October. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.