The monsters in Doctor Who were much less complex: glowing energy beasts bumping off international intelligence agents and reconfiguring their DNA. In a gluttonous attempt to court multiple fandoms, Spyfall was a smart James Bond pastiche, with Jodie Whittaker's excellent Doctor and her crew drafted in by MI6's boss, C (Stephen Fry), to help save the planet. A box of gadgets, motorbike chases, aeroplane stunts, immaculate arch villain Lenny Henry: it was hardly true to the Whovian spirit, but it lightened up Chris Chibnall's heavy message about sinister tech companies with more power than nations.
Fry's comment on being introduced to the Doctor for the first time was funny and astute — "Don't be ridiculous, I've seen the files, the Doctor's a man," he harrumphed — but there were moments when it all felt a little too meme-ready, a GIF in waiting. Yet as the true nature of helpful nerd 0 (Sacha Dhawan) suddenly became horribly clear, you could feel the show's core storytelling values tighten irresistibly, and, once again, the Doctor was at the centre of her universe.
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