Doctor Who – Series 13, Episode 1: “The Halloween Apocalypse”

• Excellent cold open to kick things off, complete with references to Nitro-9 and the Doctor previously being Scottish.
• I’m liking Dan Lewis so far, though given how positively he’s framed with sharing his passion for Liverpool and helping out at a food bank, I hope we get some flaws and additional development to make him more rounded. I’m wondering if it was John Bishop’s idea to stick in the praise for Liverpool F.C. – not that I’m complaining. (Doctor: “I watched the Barcelona match nine times!”)
• So, how do the Doctor and Yaz interact without Graham and Ryan? They argue like an old married couple and provide more food for the shippers.
• Mixed feelings about the various alien designs in this episode. I certainly liked the twisted skull-like look of Prisoner Swarm. It’s pretty funny when Karvanista comes barging in like a proud alien warrior and then reveals himself to be a furry humanoid dog; but he has barely any ability to express himself through his makeup. As for the new Sontarans, I preferred their look from earlier seasons.
• It was around when the Weeping Angel appeared that I thought, “How much are they going to throw into this opening episode?” – though I did like how that scene took the Weeping Angels back to basics with the tense horror approach. And then right after that, another new character named Vinder is introduced. By the time the couple in the Arctic Circle reappeared, I’d forgotten about them.
• Presumably Prisoner Swarm is linked to the Flux given their similar effect on people – but is his reference to previously battling the Doctor, which the latter doesn’t remember, linked to the Timeless Child?

A decent enough starter for this season-long arc, but it already feels like they crammed too many different elements into this opener and there’s already too much to keep track of. Well, we’ll see how it goes. Rating: 3/5.