Who Reviews Orphan 55 by Matt Rabjohns

Doctor Who in series 12 has begun with an increased focus on action. I am in no way saying that series 11 was lacking in this respect, as it truly wasn't, but so far series 12 seems to be grander, more epic and definitely more adrenaline fuelled. But is this at the expense of the superb run of stories we had last series? I can answer that question with a resolute no.

Orphan 55 starts of very, very like an old Sylvester McCoy adventure. In fact, several elements of Paradise Towers raise their head right from the get go, only this time it is not Mel wanting a holiday but Graham. Although the place they land up in is very different to the grubby, murky Paradise Towers! With some pretty stunning location work in Tenerife the episode certainly looks incredibly bold and vivid.

Graham and the rest of the gang are then transported by transport cube to Tranquillity Spa. Things look splendid and attractive and clean and warm and fuzzy. But this is always a complete misnomer in Doctor Who. Maybe in this respect the script does seem perhaps just the slightest bit clichéd. So many stories are based on the crew of the TARDIS landing in an apparent Heaven which turns out to be hell. But where the story does succeed is in the acting and the inherent drama department.

Firstly, Jodie Whittaker gives a stunning performance. The care and concern of her incarnation of the Doctor is wonderful to behold after the darker aspects of previous new era Doctors. So far, she has been about compassion and consideration. And for me at least this has made her last two seasons wonderful to view. She was most assuredly a wise choice to be the first woman to play the Doctor officially in the show.

Tosin Cole gets to have a good strand of storyline with Gia Re's Bella. One can almost be tempted to think their rising closeness over the course of the episode might lead to something lasting. It’s a real pang of emotional power when the story resolves with Ryan and the gang reluctantly having to leave Bella and her rather less than perfect mother to face the villains of the piece, the hideous Dregs.

Yes, the Dregs are a very creepy design. And the revelation of what they turn out to be is sadly believable and this part of the story comes over very strongly. Doctor Who has frequently housed some subtle moral pointers within stories and this one is no exception. In fact, I would go as far to say that since Jodie became the Doctor the Dregs are the most fearful and viciously portrayed aliens she has yet faced. They certainly would have kept me up at night.

Other stand out performers are the wonderful Julia Foster as Vilma and Col Farrell as Benni. Vilma's hurt at the loss of her friend is palpable and jarring. And yet she is given some wonderful backbone when she buys the other characters time to escape by bravely facing off against the enemy with venom and defiance. These two make a thoroughly convincing pair given that the limitations of a 50-minute-long story mean sometimes true depth to characters may be lacking. But in spite of the format these two characters do seem more real than many others in pervious new era Doctor Who episodes.

Laura Fraser is also another excellent performer. Although her character of Kane does come over as not the best Mother ever in the world. The embittered and hardened soldier with a heart hidden behind a frosty exterior. Her relationship with Bella is done very well, there are some serious electrical sparks between the two of them as the story progresses. Yet again the confines of such a short story don't inadvertently detract from the great performances. Somehow Ed Hime's script gives his characters a chance to immediately grab you so that you feel at once for every single character in the story.

James Buckley is competent and compelling as Nevi, although his character is a little dismissive and unfair to his obviously talented young son Sylas, portrayed well by Lewin Lloyd. Again, the father/son relationship is believable. In fact, it’s good to see a younger character being given such an important role within the story. And Sylas comes over as being intelligent but not too overtly nerdy or aloof. He just wants his Dad to notice him more and see what he is capable of. A sentiment I'm sure many people around the world can sympathize with to the full. Yes, grown-ups, your children are more than just noisy ingrates. Sometimes they can even teach adults a thing or two about many subjects!

Amy Booth Steele has to fill the role of Hyph3n, she is visually striking with her squirrel like appearance which immediately annotates her character with the word cute. And in the long tried and trusted but not always satisfying BBC penchant of old, yes, they kill her off. This is sad as she could have been a returnee character, she had the character and feel of a returnee to me. Sadly, though the BBC penchant wins out yet again.

Perhaps the script does have some clichéd moments. I don't know how often the show has done the "Something seen in the first few minutes helps the gang at the perilous climax of the show" thing. But how it always does these stories in new and varied and inventive ways perhaps shaves off a little of repetitiveness.  And this time an alien virus gets to be part of the story's resolution!

There is also most assuredly the problem of three companions. Whilst I am loving all three companions with Jodie, every story probably means that only one or two of them will really shine in the story. And this time its Ryan who gets his hour to shine. But Mandip Gill may well have just not of been in this story at all for all she gets to do and the use she is put to within the story. But I'm sure that Mandip will have her story this season too. Bradley Walsh as ever though is reliably brilliant and Graham has surely become one of my personal favourite companions of the new era. Having said that, though Yaz is side-lined, I still wouldn't be without any of these three companions. They all have great characters and compliment Jodie as the Doctor no end. They have great screen presence and I am not looking forward to the day they all say goodbye to us.

This story packs a lot into 50 minutes. It does have its dark and stark peril; it does have a very relevant central theme that needs close attention to and learning from. It does pack some punch. Maybe it’s not absolutely completely perfect. The beginning does seem to commence at a break neck pace and one is pausing to catch one’s breath. So many characters are flashed before our eyes, but at least they are all given enough character so as not to become run of the mill or forgettable. The main thrust of the story also brings back echoes of the Curse of Fenric for me. In that we get a glimpse of yet another possible future for Mankind. The plot twist towards the climax did surprise me at least. So, it is great when a story does manage to present me with some surprises along the way at least.

The final scene in the TARDIS as Ryan is distraught ends the story on a poignant note. Although we do have to have the apparently obligatory nark on the Doctor, this time from Yaz as she questions her actions with a somewhat over mean and cruel look in her eye, although this is quickly mellowed as the Doctor gives her honest reply to her. Then Jodie is given another chance to display her Doctor's awesome moral centre when she warns them all to make the most of their chances and not become merely the senseless dregs of humanity. As a great believer in moral fortitude these are scenes I always adore.

There is much to commend in Orphan 55, its perhaps definitively not quite a 10 out of 10, but it does boast some great and creepy monsters, some superb character moments, some memorable action set pieces and some stunning visuals, and it’s all capped off by a phenomenally driven and dependable Jodie Whittaker. She most definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, is making her incarnation just as unforgettable and loveable as every Doctor who came before.