The Story & the Engine

This episode is important, and while I do have my problems, it's great that this story can be told on Saturday night TV.

That being said, despite the good acting, brilliant cinematography, and like i say, great concept, the pacing was beyond poor. At the end of the day this was a 10-15 min idea that was stretched out across a 50 min episode. This series has had a pacing problem from the off, but usually it's that there's too much content and not enough time, but this is the inverse.

I felt like it should've been a Big Finish episode, it would've worked so much better as an audio story. I don't agree that this episode is anywhere near a 1 star, but the reviewer who gave it that score IS right when they say this episode is a load of waffle. We needed more from it, not just some tacked on fan service.

The Doctor visits his barber Omo in Lagos, who's vanished along with a few customers.

As always I'm basing my review on my opinion after the first watch. As a huge fan of the show it appealed to me, but this plot is not for the casual viewer, they'd vacate pretty quickly.

I think it's going to need a couple of re-watches to try and work out exactly what's going on, as this is definitely one of the more complex storylines.

Great visuals, some truly incredible concepts, the whole storyboarding idea I thought was incredible.

My frustration, I waited for an exposition, for a big reveal, we had one unexpected and brief appearance, but not perhaps the one I'd hoped for. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole gods angle being used week after week, can't we have some monsters back, is that perhaps why the viewing figures are suffering?

I thought Ariyon Bakare was terrific, he gave a great performance, the man is simply oozing with charisma and presence, I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again.

The Mrs Flood theme is now starting to feel a little tiresome, we've had her popping up now for a very long time, they're guilty of over egging the pudding somewhat.

I liked it, I wanted to love it, but I'm finding the obscurity a little frustrating, Mrs Flood is one thing, but now they've thrown another one in.

6/10.

A solid, if perhaps narratively not particularly satisfying, addition to this series that features some of the themes of the season.

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) arrive in Nigeria in 2019 to both plan another marker to assist with getting her home, and for the Doctor to head to a barbershop he's frequented before, owned by his friend Omo (Sule Rimi). When he enters, he discovers that Omo and a few other patrons are trapped in the shop, caught in a timeloop of repeated hairgrowth and tasked with telling stories whilst a new and intimidating barber (Arlyon Bakare) cuts their hair. The stories seem to temporarily satisfy the barber - and the shop - but the Doctor is a story that can feed the shop indefinitely.

Like the previous episode, one of the themes of this is how a character copes when the Doctor is no longer in their life and the affect that has on them. In this case, it unites with another theme of the season - jilted romantic partners driven to a degree of villainies. Whilst I'm talking themes, there is another cameo for Anita Dobson, as Mrs Flood this time confirming that she had been in and around Belinda before she met the Doctor. There's also a small cameo for Jo Martin - as the Fugitive Doctor, which acknowledges that storyline at least hasn't been dropped entirely. We're also, again, talking about "gods" as drivers of the stories, rather than aliens - which is interesting. There's also no fear to the Doctor in this episode, he's almost imperious, which makes sense as he's in an environment he's comfortable with.

I liked the set up of the episode more than I liked the ending. The threat is never entirely clear to me, if the stories stop then the engine stops. . then what happens? I understand they can't escape but what will the barber do to them?

Again, feeding into the wider story is nicely done, even if perhaps the episode itself might have done a better job with its own plot.

This comparable to the first episode.

What I liked: Some great and relevant eater eggs.

What I didn't like:

It had weird pacing, weird plot, weird setting, fails to get you invested.

All actors who don't really matter for the plot were kind of good, those who do were bad and unconvincing.

I understand they wanted to do an episode in Africa, like that one episode in India (with Jodie). But this one is a fail, because the characters are incredibly shallow. And some dialogues are really bad.

It honestly felt amateurish in many ways.

Too bad because the last few episodes had been great. I hope the rest of the season won't be as disappointing.

Once again, the actors do their job well, and the script for the episode could be on par with some average episodes of classic Doctor Who, but... (after the Doctor finishes crying, naturally) It's all staged in a forced way, with dazzling and unnecessary smiles, winks, closed-eye hugs, a character who betrays the Doctor (which is said quickly) and then they go back to being best pals. Color, shine, cameras, action, and even some guys doing push-ups in front of a lady to thank her.

For me, it's once again that over-characterization of the Doctor as if he were a forest fairy singing "Don't Worry About a Thing" by Bob Marley; even when he tries to be serious, he seems like a harmless character, a harmless doctor. It really bothers me, honestly.