{"id":37787,"date":"2023-10-10T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1903000"},"modified":"2023-10-10T14:03:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:03:01","slug":"doctor-whos-greatest-two-parter-is-a-peter-capaldi-masterpiece","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-whos-greatest-two-parter-is-a-peter-capaldi-masterpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who\u2019s greatest two-parter is a Peter Capaldi masterpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part sci-fi horror, part countryside Western \u2013 Twelve’s finest hour is one of the show’s crowning achievements. <\/p>

By Christian Tobin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 07:00 AM<\/p>

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\u201cWho I am is where I stand. Where I stand, is where I fall.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The perfect Doctor Who<\/a> two-parter is a tricky thing to pull off. A trademark of the rebooted era, they don\u2019t always come together \u2013 but when they do, they result in some of the show\u2019s greatest stories.<\/p>\n

Ask any fan for their favourite Who episodes and chances are you\u2019ll see the same names cropping up \u2013 and they\u2019re very often two-parters.<\/p>\n

How about the terrifically creepy The Empty Child\/The Doctor Dances<\/a>? The deeply moving Human Nature\/The Family of Blood<\/a>? Or the sci-fi extravaganza of Silence in the Library\/Forest of the Dead<\/a>?<\/p>\n

All brilliant, no doubt. However, allow me to make the case for a two-parter that doesn\u2019t get anywhere near as much love but stands apart as the show at the very peak of its powers \u2013 Steven Moffat\u2019s majestic season 10 closer World Enough and Time<\/a> and The Doctor Falls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Season 10, Peter Capaldi\u2019s final run as the titular Time Lord, remains the great under-appreciated season. It\u2019s no secret that ratings had declined from previous years, with the episode preceding the final two-parter \u2013 The Eaters of Light \u00ad\u2013 attracting the show\u2019s smallest viewership since its 2005 return.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also fair to say that unlike David Tennant and Matt Smith\u2019s incarnations, who emerged from the TARDIS pretty much fully formed on day one, it took Capaldi and Moffat longer to find the Twelfth Doctor\u2019s best self. Season 8 was an up-and-down affair, but by season 9 there were signs that something very special was happening.<\/p>\n

So pity the poor viewers who tapped out before reaching season 10, as they missed Capaldi at his most wise, charming and ferocious.<\/p>\n

Episodes like Oxygen<\/a>, Extremis<\/a> and The Pyramid at the End of the World<\/a> all deserve special mention, but it\u2019s the closing double that really provides the crescendo.<\/p>\n

Welcome to 60 Days of Doctor Who, RadioTimes.com\u2019s ultimate celebration of all things Who as the show gears up for its 60th anniversary. We\u2019ll be bringing you 60 days of exclusive Doctor Who content, from interviews and newsletter takeovers with the show\u2019s stars to the hottest takes from our team of Doctor Who superfans. Stay tuned!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"David<\/div>
BBC Studios<\/figcaption><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section>

So, what makes a good two-parter? Fans are used to seeing the first episode set things up effectively, with a strong premise and well-orchestrated cliffhanger, but keeping up the pace and intrigue over a second part is a far harder task. In truth, only the very best manage to pack enough storyline to justify the extended runtime.<\/p>\n

One way to address that, which Moffat was particularly adept at, is to make the two episodes distinct enough in tone and location to keep the narrative fresh, while ensuring they still very much serve as a single story.<\/p>\n

Season 5\u2019s The Time of Angels\/Flesh and Stone<\/a> was a successful prototype for this approach \u2013 but nowhere was the effect better achieved than in the season 10 finale.<\/p>\n

World Enough and Time is pure sci-fi horror, with the timey-wimey concept of a ship on the brink of a black hole and the Doctor largely powerless to stop the creeping nightmare taking place at the other end of the craft. It\u2019s a claustrophobic watch that closes in on viewers much like the Cyberman helmet eventually does on Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie).<\/p>\n

In contrast, The Doctor Falls is all rolling fields and rural farmland. We\u2019re still on the colony ship, don\u2019t forget, but we might as well be at home on Earth. It plays out as a Western \u2013 a last stand against the oncoming invaders as a small community band together to survive.<\/p>\n

And compared to the previous episode\u2019s ominous images of a polluted cityscape, this is a future worth fighting for.<\/p>\n

\"Mondasian\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Mondasian Cybermen in Doctor Who.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It\u2019s these relatively low-level stakes that also benefit the story. We\u2019ve seen huge universe-ending threats in previous finales, but by focusing on the very personal mission of the Doctor attempting to save his companion and just a handful of people alongside them, it makes the plight all the more tangible.<\/p>\n

Even the Cybermen \u2013 Mondasian, at Capaldi\u2019s request \u2013 are stripped back compared to the shiny prime versions we\u2019re now used to. These aren\u2019t faceless machines crying \u201cDelete\u201d like an AI gone haywire; these are human beings sold a lie and now entombed in chrome. We\u2019re scared both of<\/em> them and for<\/em> them.<\/p>\n

The sense of dread that permeates both episodes is established from the get-go. The pre-credits sequence sees the Doctor begin his regeneration cycle before flashing back to his ill-fated experience on the colony ship. We know his time is running out and we know that he\u2019s alone \u2013 we just don\u2019t yet know how he falls.<\/p>\n

Read more from our 60 Days of Doctor Who:<\/strong><\/p>\n