The Story & the Engine is simultaneously an episode of Doctor Who which can be a rewarding watch that captures the essence of the show, and also an on-screen reflection of what’s going wrong off-screen in this era.
First of all, it ticks the boxes of taking its audience to new places and telling a new type of story, but when this is supposed to be a high-stakes game it is instead yet another tale that feels more befitting of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
It truly felt like watching a television adaptation of a children’s book. Which is of course a staple genre of British television itself, normally as part of the Christmas scheduling, and arguably where what was essentially a bottle episode belongs since its contribution to the series’ ongoing plot will probably only be noticeable retrospectively once this eight-episode run concludes.
Talking of minor contributions, there are cameos from both Mrs Flood and the wonderful Fugitive Doctor, but both are so brief (three and 13 seconds respectively) that they don’t actually reveal more about those characters. The Fugitive Doctor is actually delivering lines being spoken by Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor referring back to herself. So they’re not even her words, and seemingly the current Doctor now can remember that incarnation’s life.
With the Disney budget available, neither the intense busyness of Nigeria’s capital city or the barber shop itself is convincingly captured through set design, and the TARDIS set continues to look like an abstract show home rather than an immense time machine (“red lighting means danger” is all we really see it do in this one), which is a huge letdown. It’s thanks to the decisions of director Makalla McPherson, casting director Andy Pryor, Murray Gold’s music, and most importantly the work of costume, hair, and make-up artists that this story can successfully translate from script to screen.
In the credits, the crew includes a Lagos unit, but the BBC has not mentioned any filming in Nigeria and it does not sell the show to a broadcaster in the country anymore. If public service broadcasting was the barber shop in this episode, then the new management controlling the distribution of storytelling is Disney.
Remember those old episodes that were discovered in Nigeria? It was literally front page news, then became a rather messy and prolonged tale about how, if, and when those stories could be shared with everyone. The stories had a very different value to fans compared to some of those handling the discovery, transportation, and distribution of the lost episodes.
Anyway, back to The Story & the Engine. The short story that acts as a prequel to this episode is a great read, and it sets up Omo as the individual who is going to the heart of proceedings. But on-screen, this man who has an existing relationship with the Doctor and previously ran the barber shop is basically shuffled to the side along with the others stuck in the building.
Instead, it’s the new boss, played by Ariyon Bakare, who becomes the centre of the story and then Abena (Michelle Asante). Thankfully, both performances are absolutely incredible: the Barber gets some amazing dialogue, and Abena can say so little yet draw so much attention from the viewer. Both bounce off the Doctor well, whether in direct confrontation, when they’re showing off, or even when they’re just watching him in silence.
How the Barber is introduced is a clever bit of camerawork, as his lower half is seen first then more is shown before eventually reaching his head. It primes the audience in that brief moment for the expectation of seeing a rather villainous-looking individual, since his face is not shown first, and then it turns out he’s just a slightly mysterious and charismatic-looking guy. But thanks to a directing decision, and the Barber’s smile, we know not to trust him.
While the hustle and bustle of Lagos isn’t truly realised, the change in lighting and soundscape for when the Doctor and Belinda go down side streets and then into the barber shop creates the contrast needed to make it seem like they’re a world away from a busy city.
There’s some continuity errors, such as the Fugitive Doctor cameo (and dialogue referring to being black for the first time) and the Doctor’s recollection of Belinda’s encounter with Mrs Flood, but the educational elements in the plot are great and the usage of maps braided into hair to navigate an escape route is an inspired inclusion. I can’t imagine any other show bar a pure historical drama about the slave trade using that as a plot beat. The moments where characters’ hair grows after telling stories is also a funky detail.
It’s hard to rate this episode, because it probably hits very differently for a young child full of imagination (every time ‘feed it a story’ was uttered, it felt like being in a nursery-age storytime group at a library) than it does an adult who is invested more in seeing where the Doctor and Belinda go as the show’s leads rather than literally the places they go.
I hope this episode reaches audiences, through word of mouth, who would not typically watch the show but the scene about having a six-word story felt more like a drive to make something for TikTok than a plot beat.
Overall, it’s a refreshing take on Doctor Who from Inua Ellams, proving once again in this era that the show gets more new ideas when writers other than the showrunner are penning the scripts, and a story set in Africa was very long overdue. Some of what was packaged in could have been handled better, and the ending essentially said Doctor Who is a never-ending story (a fourth-wall break done three episodes prior) with never-ending power, to be enjoyed by all rather than told only at the whim of gods (or corporate overlords, or political sabotaging of the UK’s media industry). A sentiment to hold on to with a likely wait of several years for another series.
Next up is the The Interstellar Song Contest, which also sounds like an early years reading book. Is the contest going to be the setting of a Doctor Who story, or is it going to be another self-referential set piece for Series 15?
