Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor Era (2023-2025)

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about season 2 of the 2023 Doctor Who revival! In fact, I'm going to go one better than that and write about the Fifteenth Doctor's entire era, including seasons 1, 2 and the 60th anniversary specials.

I've ended up covering Doctor Who from both ends, as I've completed Doctors 1-9 and now this finishes off Doctors 13-15. I suppose someday I'll have to get around to reviewing the Tennant, Smith and Capaldi eras and complete the set, assuming anyone's even interested in those guys.

I just realised that this could be my last chance to write about the iconic diamond logo. Well, unless I go back to one of Tom Baker's serials. I wasn't kind to it during my classic series marathon, writing that "it looks like it belongs on a bottle of ketchup", but they've done a great job of updating it in 3D and it's grown on me. Incidentally I'm glad that Doctor Who does update its logo every now and then... and I'm equally glad that Star Wars doesn't. I don't even know how that logic works.

Anyway, at the time of writing this is the latest point in Doctor Who, the very edge of what has been filmed and aired, so if you're watching the series for the first time then good news: I won't be spoiling anything that happens next. On the other hand, that means there could be SPOILERS here for absolutely everything that currently exists, though I'll mostly be sticking to the episodes featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Era (2005)

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about series 1 of the 2005 Doctor Who revival! In fact, I'm going to go one better than that and write about the Ninth Doctor's entire era. This isn't going to make any difference to the text really, as Christopher Eccleston only had the one season, but it does mean that I'm giving the article a different title! 

I've already covered Doctors 1-8 years ago when I watched a Classic Who marathon on Twitch, so a look at Nine's run is well overdue. In fact, I'm going to start right now by criticising the logo. An oval covered in light bulbs is a bit of a strange choice and the cheap-looking lens flares aren't helping. I prefer the fiery variant that's been in all the end credits and I suppose one of the producers agreed with me as they made it the main logo in season 3 and put it on the DVD boxes.

Okay, there are going to be SPOILERS below, but only up until Parting of the Ways. So if you're watching the series for the first time this should be safe for you.

Doctor Who (2005) 1-13: The Parting of the Ways

Episode:

709

|

Serial:

166

|

Writer:

Russell T Davies

|

Director:

Joe Ahearne

|

Air Date:

18-Jun-2005

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I am almost finished with writing about Doctor Who for a while. I've just got one last episode of the 2005 series to go. It's the second half of the Bad Wolf two-parter, The Parting of the Ways!

I don't want to put any SPOILERS up here in the intro text where anyone can read it, I save that for the rest of the review (and I'm going to be spoiling ever moment of this story, so be warned). But I will say that the title was part of Russell T Davies' original pitch document for the series, from way back when Captain Jack was called Jax. The episode itself was changed slightly due to production issues but the title actually stayed the same.

It was directed by Joe Ahearne, who had proven to be a safe pair of hands by this point, and someone Christopher Eccleston liked working with. Unfortunately it was his last Doctor Who story as he felt a bit worn out after directing five episodes in one series. That's a feat only matched by the legendary Graeme Harper. In fact there are only a handful of directors who made it to five during their entire time on the series.

Okay Saul Metzstein also directed five in one season, but it was series 7, which was split across two years, so that doesn't count!

Doctor Who (2005) 1-12: Bad Wolf

Episode:

708

|

Serial:

166

|

Writer:

Russell T Davies

|

Director:

Joe Ahearne

|

Air Date:

11-Jun-2005

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching Bad Wolf, the 708th episode of Doctor Who! It's also the 12th episode of this 13 episode season, so it's the penultimate story. Or penultimate episode anyway.

Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways started a tradition of two part season finales that has continued to this day... mostly. Okay classic Doctor Who ended a season with a two-parter a few times as well, but the show was all serials, so that just meant a story had fewer episodes than normal. Since this there have only been three seasons that ended on a single episode (or four if you split Heaven Sent/Hell Bent), so it seems like the idea was a big success!

Oh, I should mention that "Bad Wolf" is an interesting title, as it's this season's important phrase. It has been mentioned here and there in episodes but its meaning remains elusive. Personally it makes me think about the phrase "Big Bad" in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, which referred to the villain the heroes would have to defeat at the end of a season. Hey, that series is getting a revival soon as well, 20+ years after it left TV. That beats Doctor Who's 16 years absence!

Anyway, there are going to be SPOILERS below, but only about things that that happened up to 11th June 2005. If you're watching the series for the first time, you'll be safe. I won't give away anything that happens in part 2.

Doctor Who (2023) 2-08: The Reality War - Part 3

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the end of my The Reality War review! It wasn't my original plan to split the episode into three parts, though it would've split into two pretty well. The way the episode is structured, the second half kind of works as a separate chapter, and that's the bit I'm covering this time.

Here, have some useful links:

• Wish World
• The Reality War - Part 1
• The Reality War - Part 2
• The Reality War - Part 3 <-- You are here. 

If you'd rather get through life without knowing anything that happens in this episode, or the previous stories leading up to it, I'd suggest that you stop reading now as there will be SPOILERS beyond this point.

Doctor Who (2023) 2-08: The Reality War - Part 2

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the second part of the second part of Doctor Who's second season finale! It's also the end of the second chapter of Russell T Davies' second era as showrunner, so I'm taking a second to write about it properly.

Here, have some links to help you get around:

• Wish World
• The Reality War - Part 1
• The Reality War - Part 2 <-- You are here.
• The Reality War - Part 3

Beware, SPOILERS ahead.

Doctor Who (2023) 2-08: The Reality War - Part 1

Episode:

892

|

Serial:

319

|

Writer:

Russell T Davies

|

Director:

Alex Sanjiv Pillai

|

Air Date:

31-May-2025

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the conclusion of Doctor Who season 2. Maybe even the conclusion of Doctor Who entirely! I doubt it, the brand is one of the strongest and most enduring that British television has, though anything can happen these days. We're definitely not getting a Christmas special this year, that much I'm sure of.

I usually try to write this bit before watching the episode so I can be authentically clueless, but I have to mention here that this turned out to be an extra long episode inspiring lots of words, so I'm splitting this review into three parts. This is going to make things confusing, because the episode is already the second part of a two-parter.

These links should help make sense of it:

• Wish World
• The Reality War - Part 1 <-- You are here.
• The Reality War - Part 2
• The Reality War - Part 3 

If you don't know what happens in the story and want to keep it that way, then I'd suggest you avoid reading any further. There will be SPOILERS ahead.