{"id":7143,"date":"2021-11-14T20:20:24","date_gmt":"2021-11-14T19:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1503656"},"modified":"2021-11-14T20:32:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-14T19:32:13","slug":"doctor-who-once-upon-time-review-a-feverish-kaleidoscope-reveals-a-few-delicious-gems","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-once-upon-time-review-a-feverish-kaleidoscope-reveals-a-few-delicious-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who \u2013 Once, Upon Time review: A feverish kaleidoscope reveals a few delicious gems"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Patrick Mulkern\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 14 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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<\/div> 2.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

Chris Chibnall\u2019s Flux has crossed the threshold into Chris Chibnall\u2019s Delirium. If Chapter One showed the first signs of fever and Chapter Two a momentary lull, Chapter Three is like waking up in the night with the full-blown screaming ab-dabs.<\/p>\n

Once, Upon Time is one of the most dizzying and blatantly confusing episodes of Doctor Who \u2013 and I\u2019ve sat through a fair few \u2013 which makes it tricky to engage with.<\/p>\n

Calling the overall six-part story Flux, establishing that space and time are disrupted and having characters stricken by \u201ctemporal haze\u201d (flitting in and out of phase from one person and<\/em> body to another, and between locations and times) may excuse a lot of seemingly random events, but there has to be the hope of coherence, a glimmer of internal logic. Of course, there can be pleasure in obfuscation and rewards from delayed explanations, and this instalment does start to make sense towards the end, maybe because the standard human brain has jettisoned much of the nonsensical detail that has gone before.<\/p>\n

At a time when Doctor Who<\/a> needs to broaden its appeal, alienating its potential audience rather than drawing it in is a risky business. Viewers poised between Countryfile and the Strictly Results show couldn\u2019t be blamed for fretting that their BBC One signal is on scramble or for turning elsewhere.<\/p>

Devoted fans will probably derive satisfaction from sifting through and unpicking this kaleidoscope of images and information, especially the notes on the Doctor\u2019s past lives, forgotten deeds and involvement with \u201cthe Division\u201d. Followers who abhorred The Timeless Children<\/a> (the series 12 finale in 2020), especially the dismally \u201cMastersplained\u201d new backstory for the Doctor, will likely throw up their arms in horror as those missing chunks of the Doctor\u2019s past are given further currency and legitimised by the events of Once, Upon Time.<\/p>\n

But this is where some of the gems lie. One glistening jewel is the unexpected return of \u201cDoctor Ruth\u201d<\/a> (the \u201cFugitive Doctor\u201d as she is billed), the past incarnation played majestically by Jo Martin. Any excuse for another glimpse of her, please. The same can be said for Barbara Flynn, who elevates everything she touches. She only has one scene, as the enigmatic Awsok, some superior being, possibly a Time Lady (wielding a screwdriver, note), who teases the Doctor with snippets about the origins of the Flux. Let\u2019s have her back soon.<\/p>\n

Jodie Whittaker sails through all these encounters and is on top of the confusion, but I\u2019d love to have been a fly on the wall when the cast first received this script. \u201cUm, who am I now, where am I now and what is this all about\u2026?\u201d perhaps. It\u2019s hard to pin down Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) in this piece. Some of the time they aren\u2019t quite in character or are possibly avatars for other people.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s sharper focus on Vinder, the lost commander. I like his look, his changing hairdos, his jackets\u2026 he can even rock fingerless mitts. Jacob Anderson maintains sensitivity and charisma, even while Vinder\u2019s backstory becomes staggeringly dull. He\u2019s engaged in a crisis of conscience alongside a subdued Craig Parkinson (from Line of Duty<\/a>) as the Grand Serpent (more of a Limp Grass Snake) and two bored-looking non-speaking-artist aliens.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s charming when Vinder sends his love message across time to Bel. Appealing played (and narrated) by Thaddea Graham (from Netflix\u2019s The Irregulars), she reminds me of the lone fugitive types that used to populate Blake\u2019s 7. There\u2019ll surely be more of their fractured romance as Flux proceeds.<\/p>\n

The delirium calls forth hovering gold Daleks, easily picked-off Cybermen (one of whom is unexpectedly talkative; nice work for Nicholas Briggs) and a flutter of Weeping Angels. Chibnall has certainly delivered some banging cliffhangers. And Chapter Three\u2019s hits home as the Angels penetrate the Doctor\u2019s inner sanctum. \u00a0\u201cThe Angel has the Tardis!\u201d she cries, and it is deeply chilling. Roll on, Chapter Four, which with any luck will be a blinking nightmare. In a good way.<\/p>\n