11/05/2025

Doctor Who- The Story and the Engine review

 

It’s refreshing to see Doctor Who narratively venturing much more beyond England these days - even if it’s still filmed in the UK - and this story set in Nigeria finds writer Inua Ellams bringing a tale of friendship, stories, and ambition to life mostly inside a small barber’s shop. This incongruous setting becomes the heart of an intriguing and ultimately uplifting story about the value both of friendship and of fiction. That it comes in a week when thee have been news stories about us reading less seems apt though stories as this episode shows can be told just as effectively as they can be read.  The more Doctors and eras we run through the further away the classic series feels yet this episode seems to be able to bring it all together with a strong sense of both the new and the old. It does need to be watched twice- or at least with more attention than I clearly gave it on first viewing- because its deceptively light and has an antagonist whose performance is full of nuance.

 Spoilers past this point.




 Though his first script for the series, Inua Ellams is a self confessed fan and clearly seems to possess a strong understanding of what makes Doctor Who tick so is happy to start slowly and gradually expand to larger concepts as we go. There can’t be anything more informal than a small, barber’s shop in Lagos and its within this that the story takes place. Calling back the vibe of `Midnight` (something of a totem for this season) we are in a confined environment with a small group though the tension here is different perhaps because the patrons have been trapped in the shop for  some time. In fact, the viewer will recognise right away that these are the same faces we’ve just seen on Missing posters in the streets outside. They appear to be destined to repeat haircuts as they tell stories which in turn power a mysterious engine. Right away their hair grows back so I’m glad they’re not being charged.

This is a very human story in the best way, dipping into a less familiar culture perhaps but based around storytelling, a tradition any culture will be familiar with. As Belinda also points out its a human story for the Doctor as well. The power of the patron's stories plays out with vividly animated pictures in a window of the shop – though when the Doctor tells his story about Belinda he gets proper clips, it must be his alien mind! Something has shifted between the duo in this story- perhaps there are unseen adventures- because Belinda may still be insistent on getting back home yet she is more indulgent to the Doctor’s whims allowing him to visit the shop. The smile between them suggests they have become proper friends now.

It feels as if the series is more conformable now with its choices too. Back when Jodie Whitaker became the first female Doctor there was very little course correction to underline this whereas this episode includes a scene in which the Doctor mentions being the first Doctor with black skin and how that can cause issues. It’s not laboured and one of several delightfully penned scenes throughout the episode which show the Doctor instantly taking the positive side of things; that he feels at home here. Later the story has him angered when it seems his old friend Omo (whose shop this actually is) has betrayed him and later again he is apologetic. The Doctor should never be perfect and right every time and this episode understands that.



Our antagonist is known as The Barber, which had some people speculating this would be rogue Time Lord but thankfully he’s something altogether more interesting. Played with great earnestness by Ariyon Bakare, a wonderfully versatile actor, this hairdresser is really a storyteller for the Gods, the person who wrote down their tales so that people would know them but was eventually thrown out. Now he seeks revenge by wanting to wipe them out. Even following carefully it’s not wholly clear how he might do this yet it doesn’t really matter, Bakare sells it superbly with a considered performance. He proves a foe that is not so easy for the Doctor to deal with. There are strong performances too from Sule Rimi as the wise but conflicted Omo, Michelle Asante as Abema whose motivation remains a mystery till later on and Jordan Adene as Tunde who brings a lighter touch to the group.

Director Makalla McPherson, also making her series debut, helms with confidence making some interring decisions notably hiding the Barber’s face till the Doctor meets him. Visually the story has some excellently mounted set pieces- the Lagos market is as busy, vibrant, and bustling as you’d expect despite being a set in Cardiff. The massive spider upon whose back the shop sits is just different enough from other giant spiders of series lore to impress and I like the idea of a massive web in space. Its very fitting when we discover that there is a heart at the centre of this machine. Best of all are the story animations that appear in the shop window; in a way I wished the Doctor’s story was told like this too. That flashback story though tells us a lot about Belinda in a way that `The Robot Revolution` never had the chance to show. Her caring, devotion to duty and humble qualities are all on display in a scene that also pays tribute to nurses in general. Plus we find out she does know Mrs Flood. Then again who doesn’t?



The story has the conceptual daring of someone like Douglas Adams at times yet remains a very down to earth tale and sometimes this can undermine what the episode is trying to achieve. There is a little too much exposition in some of the scenes yet the idea that destroying the Gods would also wipe out millions of people is not really explained especially as for most people the Gods are myths or stories. What difference would it make if they didn’t exist?  Also, it isn’t quite clear how the Barber has the power to force his captives to undergo their imprisonment. There’s a hint he has some sort of hypnotic control over them- and Ariyon Bakare definitely suggests that with some menacing looks- but we’re not sure. The denouement is a tad rushed too but that’s more to do with the running time; a lot of the stories this year could do with an hour rather than forty-five minutes.

A couple of interesting asides happened which have got people talking. One was another short appearance for the Fugitive Doctor - Jo Martin may only have got about ten seconds but she made them count. Surely there is an opportunity for her to return with some more substantial material?  Or was this a clue to expect her again shortly? The other much less welcome moment was the appearance of one of the children from `Space Babies` which is an episode I prefer to leave firmly in the past. Anyway we’ve now had five great stories out of five in a season that seems very consistent and always interesting. Surely an interstellar song contest can’t let the side down?

 

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