Doctor Who series 13

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This article is about the 2021 series. For the 1975–76 season, see Doctor Who season 13.
File:Doctor Who Series 13.jpg
DVD box set cover art
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
No. of episodes 6
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 31 October 2021 (2021-10-31) – 5 December 2021 (2021-12-05)
Season chronology
Next →
2022 specials
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

The thirteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, known collectively as Flux, was broadcast from 31 October to 5 December 2021. The series is the third and last to be led by Chris Chibnall as head writer and executive producer. It is the thirteenth to air following the programme's revival in 2005, and the thirty-ninth season overall. The series, initially announced in November 2019, was the last to be broadcast on Sunday nights, continuing the trend set by the previous two series. It was followed by three associated specials, all of which aired in 2022.

Jodie Whittaker returns for her third and final series as the Thirteenth Doctor, an incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in her ship, the TARDIS, which externally assumes the appearance of a British police box. The thirteenth series also stars Mandip Gill and John Bishop as the Doctor's travelling companions, playing Yasmin Khan and Dan Lewis, respectively. The series follows the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions as they navigate a universe-ending anomaly called the "Flux", while dealing with enemies and secrets from the Doctor's past.

The series consists of six episodes, which form a single story across the series. The six episodes were directed by Jamie Magnus Stone and Azhur Saleem; Stone returned from directing for the previous series, with Saleem directing as a new contributor. Chibnall wrote all six episodes of the series, co-writing one episode with Maxine Alderton, who also returned after writing for the previous series. Filming commenced in November 2020, and was completed by August 2021. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics.

Episodes

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See also: List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

For the first time since The Trial of a Time Lord (1986), and the third time in the programme's history, the series tells one complete story across its entirety, rather than self-contained episodic stories.[1][2] It is the second time where all episodes are encompassed by a single story number; The Key to Time (1978–79) maintained separate serial designations.[3]

No.
story		 No. in
series		 Title [lower-alpha 1] Directed by Written by Original air date UK viewers
(millions) [4]		 AI [5]
297a 1 "The Halloween Apocalypse" Jamie Magnus Stone Chris Chibnall 31 October 2021 (2021-10-31) 5.81 76
297b 2 "War of the Sontarans" Jamie Magnus Stone Chris Chibnall 7 November 2021 (2021-11-07) 5.13 77
297c 3 "Once, Upon Time" Azhur Saleem Chris Chibnall 14 November 2021 (2021-11-14) 4.70 75
297d 4 "Village of the Angels" Jamie Magnus Stone Chris Chibnall and Maxine Alderton 21 November 2021 (2021-11-21) 4.57 79
297e 5 "Survivors of the Flux" Azhur Saleem Chris Chibnall 28 November 2021 (2021-11-28) 4.83 77
297f 6 "The Vanquishers" Azhur Saleem Chris Chibnall 5 December 2021 (2021-12-05) 4.64 76

Casting

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See also: List of Doctor Who cast members

The series is the third to feature Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.[6][7] Mandip Gill also returns as Yasmin Khan.[8][9] Following the departures of Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole in "Revolution of the Daleks" (2021), John Bishop joined the cast for the series as Dan Lewis.[10]

Jacob Anderson appears in a recurring role as Vinder.[11][12] Jo Martin returned as the Fugitive Doctor in "Once, Upon Time", having last appeared in the twelfth series episodes "Fugitive of the Judoon" and "The Timeless Children" (2020).[13] Additionally Jemma Redgrave reprises her role as Kate Stewart, a recurring character alongside the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, who was last seen in "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion" (2015).[14] Also appearing in recurring roles throughout the series are Thaddea Graham as Vinder's paramour Bel, Craige Els as the Lupari Karvanista, Rochenda Sandall and Sam Spruell as the villainous Ravagers Azure and Swarm, Annabel Scholey as Claire, and Kevin McNally as Professor Jericho.[15]

Other guest actors in the series include Craig Parkinson as the Grand Serpent, Sara Powell as Mary Seacole, Gerald Kyd as General Logan, Penelope Ann McGhie as Mrs Hayward, Steve Oram as Joseph Williamson, Nadia Albina as Diane, Jonathan Watson as Commander Riskaw and Skaak, and Paul Broughton as Neville.[15][16]

Production

Development

The thirteenth series was in development by November 2019, before the twelfth series premiered;[6] however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on television, the series' production included only eight episodes, reduced from the previous eleven, with six episodes designated to the thirteenth series, with an additional two airing the following year (in addition to the BBC centenary special).[17] Chibnall said that there were times when they thought they would be unable to do the show under Covid conditions, and because the only other alternative was "tiny little episodes in one room, with no monsters", they decided to do the biggest story they had done in their time on the series.[1]

He would also later reveal on the Radio Free Skaro podcast that the series only narrowly escaped cancellation, with him and Whittaker turning down other job offers to make it work: times when the series was not going to be made and even one hour, at the least, when the series had effectively been axed.[18]

The last episode of the three associated specials, which aired in 2022, would be Whittaker and Chibnall's last as star and executive producer respectively,[19] with both Whittaker and Chibnall announcing their intention to leave the programme in July 2021, near the end of filming.[20] Chibnall stated that both he and Whittaker had originally agreed to only do three series, and that "now our shift is done, and we're handing back the Tardis keys".[21] Series composer Segun Akinola also left, saying that he planned to leave alongside the pair.[22]

Writing

In April 2020, Chibnall confirmed that writing for the series had commenced and continued remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] Chibnall wrote all six episodes of the series, co-writing the fourth episode with Maxine Alderton.[24]

Alderton, who had previously written for the twelfth series episode "The Haunting of Villa Diodati", was originally scheduled to be a major writer for the thirteenth series, with Ed Hime and Pete McTighe, both of whom had written for the eleventh and twelfth series, also writing episodes.[25][26] However, Chibnall later told Doctor Who Magazine in an interview that they originally had some great writers scheduled, but with the series changing into one single serial with fewer episodes, the plans were greatly changed, to minimize turnaround.[25]

The story featured some of Doctor Who's recurring aliens, including the Cybermen, Daleks, Ood, Sontarans, and Weeping Angels.[16][27]

Filming

According to production executive Tracie Simpson, pre-production for the thirteenth series was originally set to begin in June 2020, with filming set for September 2020;[28] however filming only eventually commenced in November 2020, and ran for ten months,[17][29] even during the time the series trailer was dropped in July 2021 at San Diego Comic-Con.[1] Jamie Magnus Stone directed the first, second, and fourth episodes, and Azhur Saleem directed the third, fifth, and sixth.[25] Filming for the six episodes of the series, along with two of the 2022 specials, had concluded by the end of August 2021.[30]

Production blocks were arranged as follows:[31][32]

Block Episodes Director Writer(s) Producer
1 Episode 1: "The Halloween Apocalypse" Jamie Magnus Stone Chris Chibnall Nikki Wilson
Episode 2: "War of the Sontarans"
Episode 4: "Village of the Angels" Chris Chibnall and Maxine Alderton
2 Episode 3: "Once, Upon Time" Azhur Saleem Chris Chibnall Pete Levy
Episode 5: "Survivors of the Flux"
Episode 6: "The Vanquishers"

Release

Promotion

The series was first promoted at San Diego Comic-Con on 25 July 2021, where the first teaser trailer was released.[1] Throughout October 2021, a Sontaran ship was projected over Liverpool,[33] and the Doctor's "phone number" was released in a promotional message.[34] On 8 October 2021, the social media accounts for Doctor Who went offline.[35] Whittaker appeared in an episode of The Graham Norton Show on 15 October 2021 during which a second trailer was released.[36]

Broadcast

The series premiered on 31 October 2021 on BBC One,[37] and aired through 5 December 2021.[38] The six-episode series is collectively referred to under the subtitle Flux.[39][40] In the United States the series aired the same day on BBC America,[41] while the streaming service AMC+ carried the streaming video on demand rights to new episodes.[42] In Australia episodes were released same-day on ABC iview and broadcast on ABC TV Plus.[43]

In May 2017, it was announced that due to the terms of a deal between BBC Worldwide and SMG Pictures in China, the company has first right of refusal on the purchase for the Chinese market of future series of the programme until and including Series 15.[44][45] In October 2019, a deal was made between HBO Max and BBC for an additional two series of Doctor Who, including the thirteenth and fourteenth series.[46]

Home media

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See also: List of Doctor Who home video releases

On 24 January 2022, the entirety of Series 13 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 2. The first two of the 2022 specials, "Eve of the Daleks" and "Legend of the Sea Devils" were released on 23 May on DVD and Blu-ray. The third and final special of 2022, "The Power of the Doctor", was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 7 November 2022.[47]

The three specials were collected and released on Blu-ray on 7 November, as part of the "Series 13 specials" box set.[48]

Reception

Ratings

The highest viewed episode of the serial was episode 1 "The Halloween Apocalypse" with 5.8 million viewers in its first week, with the lowest being episode 4 "Village of the Angels" with 4.5 million viewers. The average approval rate of the series was 77/100, according to the Appreciation Index, with all episodes scoring in the 70s. The highest scoring being "Village of the Angels" with a 79, and the lowest scoring being "Once, Upon Time" with a 75.[49][50]

The serial did moderately well, finishing in the top 25 every week, achieving a maximum of being the 8th highest watched show with the eighth episode.[4] In terms of overnight viewership "The Halloween Apocalypse" had about 400,000 less than the series 12 premier "Spyfall", having netted 4.4 million viewers. The other episodes had overnight numbers of 3.5-4 million.[51][4]

No. Title Air date Overnight ratings Consolidated ratings Total
viewers
(millions)		 28-day
viewers
(millions)		 AI Ref(s)
Viewers
(millions)		 Viewers
(millions)		 Rank
1 "The Halloween Apocalypse" 31 October 2021 4.43 1.38 8 5.813 6.386 76 [52][4][51]
2 "War of the Sontarans" 7 November 2021 3.96 1.17 13 5.127 5.504 77 [53][4][54]
3 "Once, Upon Time" 14 November 2021 3.76 0.94 19 4.696 5.230 75 [50][4][55]
4 "Village of the Angels" 21 November 2021 3.45 1.12 18 4.572 5.014 79 [49][4][56]
5 "Survivors of the Flux" 28 November 2021 3.82 1.01 21 4.833 5.320 77 [57][4][58]
6 "The Vanquishers" 5 December 2021 3.58 1.06 23 4.637 5.140 76 [59][4][60]

Critical reception

Doctor Who's thirteenth series has received positive reviews from critics. Series 13 holds an 82% critic approval rating on online review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 6/10, based on 52 critic reviews.[61] Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 from six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[62]

Both Screen Rant's Edward Cleary and Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffery and Rebecca Cook ranked the series the lowest of the revived era, while considering it Whittaker's best performance as the Doctor. Cleary thought the series felt anti-climatic and that the ending "doesn't pay off",[63] while Jeffery and Cook criticised the writing and lack of direction, calling it "somewhat incomprehensible".[64] Collider's Ben Clark noted that the show had the third lowest rating on IMDb with a 6.5/10, only ahead of Jodie Whittaker's other two series, 11 and 12.[65]

Awards and nominations

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See also: List of awards and nominations received by Doctor Who
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref(s)
2022 Critics Choice Super Awards Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series Jodie Whittaker Nominated [66]
Saturn Awards Best Fantasy Series: Network or Cable Doctor Who Nominated [67]
TV Quick Awards Best Family Drama Nominated [68]

Soundtrack

Segun Akinola returned to compose for the thirteenth series making it the third and final series to be scored by Akinola,[22][69] as he left and was replaced by his predecessor Murray Gold.[70]

30 selected pieces of score from this series as composed by Akinola was released on digital music platforms on 30 September 2022 by Silva Screen Records, and was released on a 3-CD set on 11 November 2022.[71] The physical release of the soundtrack includes twelve selected pieces of score from "Revolution of the Daleks" as the third disc, which were originally released on digital music platforms on 2 January 2021.[72][71]

Doctor Who: Series 13 – Flux
Soundtrack album by Segun Akinola
Released 30 September 2022 (2022-09-30) (digital release)
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) (CD release)
Recorded 2022
Genre Soundtrack
Length Template:Track listing total length
Label Silva Screen Records
Producer Segun Akinola
Doctor Who soundtrack chronology
Doctor Who: Series 12 – Revolution of the Daleks
(2021)		 Doctor Who: Series 13 – Flux
(2022)		 Doctor Who: Series 13 – The Specials
(2022)

All songs written and composed by Segun Akinola, except where noted. 

Disc 1
No. Title Episode Length
1. "Series 13 Opening Titles" (Ron Grainer arr. Segun Akinola) Various episodes 0:41
2. "A Little Skirmish"   "The Halloween Apocalypse" 3:21
3. "What Lies Ahead"     3:33
4. "Renewed at Last"     5:00
5. "Must Not Blink"     1:51
6. "Dancing Across Space and Time"     8:51
7. "I Know Where We Are"   "War of the Sontarans" 3:24
8. "I Will Find You"     4:48
9. "Parlay"     8:42
10. "Short-Term Repair"     8:17
11. "The Other Things"   "Once, Upon Time" 2:04
12. "When Is This?"     7:45
13. "There Is No Greater Battle"     4:19
14. "All Is Ending"     8:45
15. "I'm Not Giving Up"     5:29
Total length:
 Template:Track listing total length
Disc 2
No. Title Episode Length
1. "Rapid Response Unit"   "Village of the Angels" 8:50
2. "You Are Recalled"     7:29
3. "Village of The Angels End Credits"     0:43
4. "On My Way"     3:15
5. "We Are Conversion"   "Survivors of the Flux" 4:39
6. "An Incredible Stroke of Luck"     4:04
7. "Where Are We?"     6:42
8. "Fetch Your Dog"     6:59
9. "We Have Everything We Need"   "The Vanquishers" 4:14
10. "I Can Rend Them All to Dust"     2:41
11. "And Then We Will Play"     7:15
12. "The Ultimate Betrayal"     7:22
13. "Nothing Is Forever"     3:03
14. "Where Would Earth Be Without You?"     6:31
15. "Series 13 End Credits" (Ron Grainer arr. Segun Akinola) Various episodes 0:51
Total length:
 Template:Track listing total length
Disc 3[lower-alpha 2]
No. Title Episode Length
1. "367 Minutes"   "Revolution of the Daleks" 1:58
2. "A Cuppa"     1:15
3. "Something Revolutionary"     6:48
4. "Breakout Ball"     6:54
5. "The Clone"     6:28
6. "The Production Line"     8:48
7. "Stability and Security"     3:48
8. "Thank You for Being My Friend"     3:52
9. "Activate"     5:51
10. "The Death Squad"     5:59
11. "Bad Boys"     8:10
12. "Bye Fam"     7:19
Total length:
 Template:Track listing total length

Notes

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References

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External links

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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (No permanent link available. Search for relevant dates.)
  5. ↑ Hearn 2021, pp. 14, 26, 40, 50, 62, 70.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Hearn 2021, p. 50.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Hearn 2021, p. 40.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Hearn 2021, p. 14.
  53. ↑ Hearn 2021, p. 26.
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  57. ↑ Hearn 2021, p. 62.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Hearn 2021, p. 70.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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