Paloma Bennett
Whovians, don’t blink! Don’t even blink… as you prepare for the apocalypse, a Halloween Apocalypse when The Doctor returns for a new season (series) of Doctor Who. Jodie Whittaker, her companions, the TARDIS and a whole slew of monsters from across space and time will be hitting your screens for Doctor Who: Flux premiering on October 31st, Halloween.
Doctor Who: Flux is an epic six-part adventure! The Doctor and her friends travel to the edge of the universe and beyond during a battle for survival. Series showrunner, Chris Chibnall‘s vision for his season is a massive story where “Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse” feels like a finale, and it goes on from there. “I wanted it to be epic, to be fun with lots of cliffhangers, to be surprising, and to do things we hadn’t yet done with the Thirteenth Doctor,” said Chibnall.
Executive Producer Matt Strevens agrees, “I think probably the biggest challenge was to keep the scale of Doctor Who as big as it had been – with every series you want to go one better; than the last series in terms of that.” COVID curtailed travel, making it challenging to create new worlds, but the Doctor Who team found a way.
Jodi Whittaker feels things go beyond just the scale of the adventure, “I think self-discovery is the biggest journey the Doctor goes on this series.” Whittaker spoke of her final season as an adventure that is “bigger and better than ever” and “there’ll be questions asked, there’ll be answers, there’ll be exclamation marks, and huge exclamation marks!!” She believes Whovians will enjoy experiencing the serialized aspects of this season like cliffhangers or recurring characters and the episodic parts like exploring different worlds.
The October 31st episode of Doctor Who: Flux begins with a spooky-themed episode called “Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse.” On Halloween, 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 (John Bishop) is about to change forever. So why are the Doctor and Yasmin “Yaz” Khan (Mandip Gil) on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista (which looks like a combination of a dog and Chewbacca)? And what exactly is the Flux? These questions will certainly be answered.
NEW COMPANIONS
Flux brings with it two new companions for the Doctor, Dan Lewis (John Bishop) and Vinder (Jacob Davidson). Doctor Who is “one of the best things that I’ve done since I’ve managed to get into this world of show business,” expressed Bishop. He describes Dan as a vulnerable caring person who starts the season working at a food bank. Dan bonds with Yaz and the Doctor throughout the season. Mandip Gil is excited about Bishop’s contribution to the show. “John was so brilliant from the beginning. He was eager and excited and I loved that about him,” she said. Gil also mentioned the special bond that allow them to connect at a human level, “Yaz and Dan have a really wholesome relationship, they have quickly managed to find a place in which they can tease one another confidentially.”
Working on Doctor Who is Jacob Davidson’s dream come true. He has been a Whovian since Sylvester McCoy’s era. During an interview, Davidson implies that Vin will be a recurring character like River Song and Osgood. He hopes that Vinder becomes a fan favorite.
CLASSIC AND NEW MONSTERS
Get ready for monsters, lots of monsters. In addition to being packed with action, humor, terrifying new villains, viewers will also find the return of iconic monsters such as the Sontarans and the Weeping Angels. The new season of Doctor Who tells one story across a vast canvas. The season features a host of acclaimed British actors, including Rochenda Sandall, Annabel Scholey, Craig Parkinson, Kevin McNally, Sam Spruell, Robert Bathurst, Steve Oram, and Thaddea Graham. In addition, Chibnall sketches out new monsters, the Ravagers, as “a couple of characters who we meet who are creatures of another dimension who have a history with the Doctor – but I even think with this I am giving too much away!”
Chibnall found that there hadn’t been a remarkable Sontaran story for quite some time. But, he says, “They have a great mix of threat and humor, they’re very identifiable, they’re great characters as well – a brilliant creation by Robert Holmes.” Whittaker felt like her Doctor was finally getting a moment in history during her interactions with the Sontarans. The showrunner also wanted the Thirteenth Doctor to face off against Steven Moffat‘s brilliant creation, the Weeping Angels, because they are genuinely scary, and he had a lot of ideas.
MORE ON THE FLUX
The Doctor and her “fam” travel from Liverpool to the depths of space via the Crimean war and a planet named Atropos which shouldn’t even exist. Fighting old foes and new creatures from beyond our dimension, the Doctor and company face a race against (and through!) time to uncover a universe-spanning mystery: what is the Flux?
The Doctor Who team is tightlipped about the adventure. All Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens will say about the Flux is that it’s a mysterious, dangerous event that is “kind of the biggest nemesis that the Doctor has ever faced.” It sounds brilliant!
To prepare for Flux, check out the exclusive teaser below. What are your theories about Flux? Tell us in the comments.
The show’s thirteenth season, entitled Doctor Who: Flux, will globally premiere on BBC America, BBC One, and BBC iPlayer at 2:25 pm ET on Sunday, October 31st. The episode will also be available on-demand on AMC+ at 8:00 pm ET the same day.
(Note: Whovians, you can also tune in over to BBC America for the continuation of a fantastic Doctor Who Halloween weekend! Through Saturday, October 30th, you can watch the scariest episodes of modern Doctor Who on your television screens. And if you want to re-watch five frightening Thirteenth Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) episodes before the thirteen-season premiere, tune to BBC America on Saturday, October 30th from 6:00 pm to 11:45 pm EST.)
Comments
Loading…