In this latest Doctor Who New Years special, the Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) and her companions find themselves trapped with the Daleks in a Groundhog's Day situation (yeah, for a show about time travel that's been around since the 60s, I'm surprised that they haven't done this yet) where time resets each time they're killed.
People may be getting tired of current showrunner Chris Chibnall using the Daleks for each New Years special, but they work pretty well as foes for this scenario. If the whole story involves people dying and you need someone for quick kills, the Daleks are the right fit. The show makes good use of their tactical expertise in this more than the average DW episode.
This is probably one of the most fun and humorous episodes from Chibnall's run. The real strength of this is the two guest characters: grumpy Sarah (Aisling Bea) and awkward, good-natured Nick (Adjani Salmon). They're really the stars of this and not the Doctor & Co. They're both really entertaining and well characterized. The Doctor's newest companion Dan Lewis (John Bishop) is the standout of the regular cast here. He continues to be the most humorous and likable of the gang, and Bishop really sells the character. It's too bad that he'll probably be gone soon due to an upcoming showrunner change (at least it's traditional for companions to change; they might surprise us).
Recommended. This was just an all-around well-done story.
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