Doctor Who - The Television Stories

Doctor Who - The Stories

QuickNav to a Season:

QuickNav to a Story:

Flux

The Previous Story
(Revolution of the Daleks)

The Next Story
(Eve of the Daleks)

Season
Details

Synopsis

General
Information

The
Episodes

Audience
Appreciation

Archives

Notes

First and Last

Story Images

Quote of
the Story

Release
Information

In Print

Photo
Gallery

Synopsis

Yasmin, The Doctor and Dan

All across the universe, terrifying forces are stirring and an ancient evil is breaking free. And in present-day Liverpool, the life of Dan Lewis is about to change forever. Why is The Doctor on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista? And what is the Flux?

The Doctor, during the Crimean War, then discovers the British army fighting a brutal alien army of Sontarans. While in another part of the universe Daleks and Cybermen are on the rampage.

While on a planet that shouldn’t exist, in the aftermath of the apocalypse, The Doctor, Yasmin, Dan and Vinder face a battle to survive in the Temple of Atropos - and who are the Mouri?

The Doctor, Yasmin and Dan, while trying to escape from a Weeping Angel that has invaded the TARDIS, find themselves in Devon, November 1967 where a little girl has gone missing and in the village graveyard, there is one gravestone too many. Why is Medderton known as the Cursed Village, and what do the Weeping Angels want?

As the forces of evil mass, The Doctor, Yasmin and Dan face perilous journeys and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their quest for survival. As the forces of darkness take control and it seems that The Doctor’s enemies have won, who can you count upon to save the universe?

General Information

Season:

Thirty Nine (New Series 13)

Production Code:

13-1

Story Number:

297 (New Series: 141)

Episode Numbers:

863 - 868 (New Series: 167 - 172)

Number of Episodes:

Percentage of Episodes Held:

100%

Production Dates:

November 2020 - July 2021

Broadcast Started:

31 October 2021

Broadcast Finished:

05 December 2021

Colour Status:

HD Colour

Studio:

BBC Wales (Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff)

Location:

Wales: Morlais Quarry, Merthyr Tydfil; Penwyllt Quarry; Cardiff; Grangetown; Penarth; Barry; Barry Island; Vale of Glamorgan; Atlantic College, Llantwit Major.
Liverpool: Royal Albert Dock; Museum of Liverpool; Church of St Luke; Metropolitan Cathedral; St George's Hall.
Bristol: A Bond Warehouse, Cumberland Road

Writers:

Chris Chibnall (All Episodes) and Maxine Alderton (Episode 4)

Directors:

Jamie Magnus Stone (Episodes 1, 2 & 4) and Azhur Saleem (Episodes 3, 5 & 6)

Producer:

Pete Levy (Episodes 3, 5 & 6)

Executive Producers:

Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens

Co-Executive Producer:

Nikki Wilson

Executive Producer for the BBC:

Ben Irving

Associate Producer:

Sheena Bucktowonsing

Assistant Directors:

Jac Lewis, Laura Thompson and Tom May (Episodes 3, 4, 5 & 6)

Script Supervisors:

Vicky Cole (Episodes 1, 2 & 4) and Nicki Coles (Episodes 3, 5 & 6)

Script Editors:

Caroline Buckley and Rebecca Roughan

Editors:

Brooke Taylor Michael (Assistant), Hayley Williams (Assistant - Episodes 1, 2 & 4), Joe Keirle (Assistant - Episodes 3, 5 & 6), Alastair Gray (Assistant VFX), Rebecca Trotman (Episode 6), Joel Skinner (Episodes 1, 2 & 4), Cat Gregory (Episodes 3, 5 & 6) and Emily Lawrence (VFX)

Colourists:

Christine Kelly (Episode 4) and Gareth Spensley (Episodes 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6)

Head of Production:

Jacquie Glanville

Production Executive:

Tracie Simpson

Production Manager:

Delmi Thomas

Post Production Producer:

Ceres Doyle

Post Production Supervisor:

Liv Duffin

Location Manager:

Gareth Roberts

Supervising Location Manager:

Iwan Roberts

Production Designer:

Dafydd Shurmer

Director of Photography:

Phil Wood (Episode 3, 5 & 6) and Robin Whenary (Episodes 1, 2 & 4)

Casting Director:

Andy Pryor CDG

Line Producer:

Steffan Morris

Costume Designer:

Ray Holman

Make-Up Designer:

Claire Pritchard-Jones

Cameramen:

Dan Patounas (Assistant), Nic Yates (Assistant - Episodes 5 & 6), Mark McQuoid (Operator), Adam Clewes (Trainee - Episodes 5 & 6), Olga Walus (Trainee - Episodes 5 & 6) and Evangeline Davies (Trainee Episodes 1-4, Assistant Episodes 5 & 6)

Visual Effects:

DNEG

Additional VFX:

Ben Pickles, Zodiak VFX, BBC Wales Graphics (Episodes 1-4), Martyn Western (Episodes 5 & 6), Rory Williams (Episodes 5 & 6) and The 2D Workshop (Episodes 5 & 6)

Special Effects:

Real SFX

Prosthetics Designer:

Danny Marie Elias

Special Creature Effects:

Robert Allsopp & Associates

Creature Designer:

Ray Holman

Stunt Co-ordinators:

Crispin Layfield and Belinda McGinley (Episodes 3 & 5)

Stunt Performers:

Anna Benton (Episode 1), Annabel Canavan (Episode 2), Joseph Paxton (Episode 2), George Harris (Episode 3), Stephanie Carey (Episode 3), Paul Ginns (Episode 5), Jodie Saunders (Episode 6), Yusuf Chandhri (Episode 6), Belinda McGinley (Episodes 1 & 2), Matt Hermiston (Episodes 2 & 5), Rob Jarman (Episodes 2 & 5), Ellie Keighley (Episodes 2 & 6), Christina Low (Episodes 2, 3 & 6) and Guy List (Episodes 5 & 6)

Incidental Music:

Segun Akinola

Sound Designer:

Harry Barnes

Sound Recordist:

Deian Llyr Humphreys

Dubbing Mixers:

Howard Bargroff and Natasha Haycocks

Music Conducted By:

Alastair King (Episode 6) and Alec Roberts (Episodes 1 - 5)

Music Orchestrated By:

Alec Roberts

Additional Orchestrations By:

Huw White (Episode 6)

Music Recorded By:

Paul Golding (Episodes 1 & 2), Olga Fitzroy (Episodes 1, 2 & 6) and Jeremy Murphy (Episodes 3, 4 & 5)

Music Mixed By:

Goetz Botzenhardt

Music Editor:

Neil Stemp (Episode 6)

Title Sequence:

Ben Pickles

Title Music:

Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Segun Akinola

Sontarans Originally Created By:

Robert Holmes

Weeping Angels Originally Created By:

Steven Moffat

Cybermen Originally Created By:

Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis

Daleks Originally Created By:

Terry Nation

Ood Originally Created By:

Russell T Davies

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Jodie Whittaker (The Thirteenth Doctor)

Number of Companions:

The Companions:

Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan) and John Bishop (Dan Lewis) (Joins)

Guest Cast:

Jacob Anderson (Vinder), Dan Starkey (Kragar/Svild/Sestarg/Shallo), Jo Martin (Fugitive Doctor), Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), Nicholas Courtney (Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart - Voice Only)

Additional Cast:

Craige Els (Karvanista), Steve Oram (Joseph Williamson), Nadia Albina (Diane), Sam Spruell (Swarm), Rochenda Sandall (Azure/Anna), Annabel Scholey (Claire), Jonathan Watson (Skaak/Sontaran Commander Riskaw/Sontaran Commander Stenck), Matthew Needham (Old Swarm), Sarah Amankwah (En Sentac), Charlie Oscar (K-Toscs), Richard Tate (Wilder), Paul Leonard (James Stonehouse), Heather Bleasdale (Wilma), John May (Kev), Gunnar Cauthery (Jón), Barbara Fadden (Weeping Angel), Isla Moody (Weeping Angel), Lowri Brown (Weeping Angel), Sara Powell (Mary Seacole), Sue Jenkins (Eileen), Paul Broughton (Neville), Gerald Kyd (General Logan), Jonny Mathers (Passenger), Nigel Richard Lambert (Priest Triangle), Thaddea Graham (Bel), Craig Parkinson (Grand Serpent/Prentis), Bhavnisha Parmer (Sonya Khan), Barbara Flynn (Awsok/Tecteun), Chantella Pierre (Police Officer), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Cybermen/Daleks), Amanda Drew (Voice of the Mouri), Kevin McNally (Professor Jericho), Alex Frost (Reverend Shaw), Vincent Brimble (Gerald), Jemma Churchill (Jean), Penelope McGhie (Mrs Hayward), Blake Harrison (Namaca), Poppy Polivnick (Peggy), Robert Bathurst (Farquhar), Nicholas Blane (Millington), Simon Carew (Ood), Silas Carson (Voice of the Ood), Guy List (Waiter), Kammy Darweish (Kumar), George Caple (Alfie), Stevie - Grand Serpent Victim (Sonny Walker)

Setting:

Liverpool (1820, 1904 and 2021); Arctic Circle; Observation Outpost Rose; Crimea (1855), Temple of Atropos, Planet Time; Medderton (1901 and 21 November 1967); Puzano (2021); Division Spacestation, outside of N-Space; Mexico (1904); Constantinople (1904); Nepal (1904); Great Wall of China (1904); England (1958, 1967, 1987, 2017 and 2021); Earth Orbit (2021); Williamson Tunnels

Villains:

Awsok, Azure, Cybermen, Daleks, Grand Serpent, Sontarans, Swarm and The Weeping Angels

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
863	Flux Chapter 1 - The Halloween Apocalypse	31 October 2021	49'52"	5.8	Yes
864	Flux Chapter 2 - War of the Sontarans	07 November 2021	59'26"	5.1	Yes
865	Flux Chapter 3 - Once, Upon Time	14 November 2021	49'03"	4.7	Yes
866	Flux Chapter 4 - Village of the Angels	21 November 2021	56'40"	4.6	Yes
867	Flux Chapter 5 - Survivors of the Flux	28 November 2021	50'35"	4.7	Yes
868	Flux Chapter 6 - The Vanquishers	05 December 2021	59'17"	4.6	Yes

Total Duration

5 Hours 25 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

4.9

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)

Position = 12 out of 24

Archives

This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.

Notes

Only the First 50 Story Notes are shown below - Click to Show All Story Notes

This story sees Jodie Whittaker return for her third and final season as the Thirteenth Doctor. Mandip Gill also returns as The Doctor’s travelling companion Yasmin Khan. Following the departures of Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole in the previous story, "Revolution of the Daleks". John Bishop joined the cast as new companion Dan Lewis.

As well as the introduction of Dan Lewis this story sees the introduction of Swarm, Karvanista and has the Thirteenth Doctor’s first encounter with Weeping Angels and Sontarans.

Guest stars include Jacob Anderson who appears in the recurring role as Vinder, Jo Martin returned as the Fugitive Doctor (having last appeared in the previous season’s stories "Fugitive of the Judoon" and "The Timeless Children"), Jemma Redgrave reprised her role as Kate Stewart, a recurring character alongside the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, who was last seen in the 2015 story "The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion".

The story features some recurring aliens, including the Cybermen, Daleks, Ood, Sontarans, and Weeping Angels. It also introduced new enemies – namely: Swarm, Azure and the Great Serpent.

This story 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.

This is the first televised story to see The Doctor coming face to face with the embodiment of Time, although such a thing had previously been presented in Virgin Books' The New Adventures novels.

Chris Chibnall wrote all six episodes, co-writing one episode with Maxine Alderton, who returned after writing for the previous season.

Jamie Magnus Stone and Azhur Saleem directed this story - with Jamie Magnus Stone directing the first, second and fourth episodes, and Azhur Saleem directing the third, fifth and sixth episodes. Jamie Magnus Stone returned from directing for the previous season, with Azhur Saleem directing as a new contributor.

According to Production Executive, Tracie Simpson, pre-production for Season Thirty Nine (New Series 13) was set to begin in June 2020, with filming originally set for September 2020. Filming eventually commenced in November 2020, and ran for ten months. Filming was still ongoing in July 2021 as confirmed at the San Diego Comic Con.

Filming for all six episodes of this story, along with two of the 2022 specials, had concluded by August 2021.

The story was first promoted at San Diego Comic Con on the 25th July 2021, where the first teaser trailer was released. Throughout October 2021, a Sontaran spaceship was projected over Liverpool and Jodie Whittaker appeared in an episode of The Graham Norton Show on the 15th October 2021 during which a second trailer was released.

This story premiered on the 31st October 2021 on BBC One. In the United States the story aired the same day on BBC America where the streaming service AMC+ carried the streaming video on demand rights to new stories. In Australia stories are released same day on ABC iview and broadcast on ABC TV Plus.

This story marks the first serialised Doctor Who television story for thirty-two years - not since the 1989 Seventh Doctor story "Survival".

This marks the first time in the show’s history that in the title sequence the name of the story has been included along with the main title of the show. The episodes are also prefixed in the title sequence with chapter numbers.

This story marked the first time a new BBC logo was used on screen since 2005. The new BBC logo was incorporated into the title sequence and the end credits.

The six episodes that form this story form the longest continual storyline in the revived series (at 325 minutes in total).

Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse

This opening chapter introduced the Flux, a universe-breaking force which is bound for Earth, as well as Swarm, a figure from The Doctor's past who escapes his confinement and frees his sister, Azure, from her earthly life. New companion, Dan Lewis, also joins the TARDIS team.

The beginning of the first episode marks the first time in a televised story that the TARDIS has an all-female crew.

The start of this episode offers a brief glimpse at the dynamics of Yasmin Khan's largely unwritten solo travels with the Thirteenth Doctor.

Yasmin has been taught how to operate the TARDIS. The Doctor previously taught Donna Noble some of the basics (see "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky"). The Tenth Doctor also briefly assisted a range of former companions to help fly the planet Earth back home after the Daleks moved it (see "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End"). Clara Oswald was also capable of piloting a TARDIS (see "The Day of The Doctor", "The Woman Who Lived" and " Heaven Sent/Hell Bent").

Dan Lewis' apparent dislike for Leeds, and nearby Sheffield, is most likely banter, stemming from the historic rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Dan is a born Liverpudlian, and the city of Liverpool was historically part of Lancashire before the reform of county boundaries in 1974; both Leeds and Sheffield are typical Yorkshire cities.

Upon meeting Dan, The Doctor is heard to say ‘Nice to meet you, Dan. Run for your life’. This echoes the Ninth Doctor's words to Rose Tyler when they first met in the 2005 story "Rose").

When trying to release herself from the vocally-locked handcuffs, The Doctor claims that her failure to open them might be to do with the fact that she was Scottish when she set them up, and proceeds to attempt a Scottish accent. According to the BBC America subtitles, she first attempts to copy the voice of the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and then the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy).

The threat of the Flux is similar to the antimatter from the DC Comics, in which the 1980s event ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ had an antimatter wave destroy multiple universes. It is also reminiscent of the Nothing from "The Neverending Story", which was a seemingly unstoppable force that swallowed up everything in its path. The Flux tears apart anything it comes across at a molecular level, making it similar to the effects of Davros' Reality bomb from 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End".

The Doctor is revealed to have been pursuing Karvanista, the last living member of the Division, the order which erased her memories of having been the Timeless Child. This carries on from the revelations of 2020 story "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children".

Karvanista's attempt at hypnotism by swiping his hand across in front of Dan's face is similar to that of the ‘Jedi Mind Trick’ from the Star Wars saga.

The Doctor mentions Nitro-9, an explosive used by Ace (see "Dragonfire").

The Cloister Bell is heard as the Flux approaches. The Doctor explains this means the TARDIS is in imminent danger (see "Logopolis").

The Doctor calls the Flux ‘the end of the universe’.

The Doctor is interested in learning more about the Division. She previously learned of her past lives as the Timeless Child on Gallifrey, and knows these memories were taken from her by the organisation (see "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children").

This episode was dedicated to the memory of former Foley artist Julie Atkinson, who passed away on the 28th July 2021.

Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans

The second episode introduced the Temple of Atropos on the planet Time and at the end of this episode saw Dan Lewis officially invited into the TARDIS by The Doctor.

In the second episode Mary Seacole appears during the Crimean War against a troop of Sontarans. Dan is returned to modern day Liverpool fighting against a different troop of the warriors while Yasmin finds herself on the planet Time to investigate the Temple of Atropos.

The opening sequence of the episode (inside The Doctor's mind) is in black and white. The last episode to have a black/white sequence was the ‘Previously’ sequence in "Twice Upon a Time" with William Hartnell as the First Doctor.

The Sontarans chant ‘Sontar-ha’ is an established war chant or when something is positive. This story introduces a negative chant in the form of ‘Sontar-ho’, when Skaak executed Svild for dishonour to the name of their species.

The Sontaran flag symbol resembles the yellow diamond symbol seen on the door of Styre's ship in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "The Sontaran Experiment".

Commander Linx and the Shadow Proclamation are both mentioned in this episode.

When The Doctor tells Mary Seacole ‘half a league onward’, as she is about to enter the Imperial Sontaran Time Carrier, is a reference to The Charge of the Light Brigade by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

In the end credits of "The Halloween Apocalypse" Jonathan Watson is listed as playing the part of Ritskaw while in "War of the Sontarans" he is listed as playing ‘Sontaran Commander Riskaw’ - giving him his Sontaran rank but also a slightly different spelling of his name.

In the second episode the subtitles provided by BBC One and BBC America erroneously spelt Linx's name as ‘Lynx’.

Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time

In the third episode The Doctor enters her own time stream to discover her own unknown past life working for the Division, discovering her part in ending the Dark Times as well as stopping Swarm and Azure's rule. This episode sees the return of the Cybermen and the Fugitive Doctor. The Daleks also make a minor appearance. This episode introduces the character of Bel, the Grand Serpent and Awsok. Another Weeping Angel also appears.

The third episode saw the Thirteenth Doctor revisiting lost memories in her own time stream. The re-introduction of the Fugitive Doctor began to piece together how she fits in with the Siege of Atropos and the origin of the Flux. It also connects the Division, and their creation of the planet Time.

This episode focused in on each of the character's history. It also shone light on Vinder's story, including how he came to be on Outpost Rose, and what will be his main motivation: reconnecting with his pregnant wife, Bel, who is shown making her own way to find him. Bel's storyline in this episode also highlights the Flux's impact on the wider universe, with many worlds overtaken, and provides an anchor for the audience to understand what the Great Disruption has done to local time.

This episode firmly establishes the Fugitive Doctor as a past incarnation, something which had been left ambiguous since her debut. Specifically, it places her near the end of The Doctor's association with the Division.

The credits of this episode cemented the term ‘Fugitive Doctor’ for the mysterious incarnation of The Doctor that was first played by Jo Martin in the 2020 story "Fugitive of the Judoon". This name had been widely used in the Doctor Who fandom up to this point.

In this episode the BBC iPlayer subtitles during the ‘Next Time’ trailer, at the end of the closing credits, incorrectly names Peggy as ‘Maggie’.

Chapter Four: Village of the Angels

Show All Story Notes >>>>

First and Last

The Firsts:

John Bishop's first story as companion Dan Lewis.

Nicholas Courtney's first credit since the 1989 Seventh Doctor story "Battlefield".

The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Azhur Saleem.

The first use of the term ‘Fugitive Doctor’ for the mysterious incarnation of The Doctor played by Jo Martin.

The Thirteenth Doctor's first encounter with Kate Stewart.

The Thirteenth Doctor's first encounter with the Sontarans.

The Thirteenth Doctor's first encounter with an Ood.

The first serialised Doctor Who television story in the revived series.

The first time in Doctor Who that in the title sequence the name of the story has been included along with the main title of the show.

The first Doctor Who story that starts with the TARDIS having an all-female crew.

The first time that a victim of a Weeping Angel is killed on-screen.

Story Images

Show Text

Yasmin and Dan in the TARDIS

Karvanista

Azure and Swarm

Sontaran

Vinder

Time Priests

The Doctor and Yasmin

A Weeping Angel

The Doctor with Professor Jericho and Claire

The Doctor as a Weeping Angel

The Doctor with Tecteun

The Thirteenth Doctor, Twice

Quote of the Story

'It's life, innit? Nobody gets by without some bruises.'

Dan Lewis

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
DVD	Flux	January 2022	BBCDVD 4498	Photo-montage	DVD boxed set containing all 6 episodes of this story
Blu-Ray	Flux	January 2022	BBCBD 0553	Photo-montage	Blu-Ray boxed set containing all 6 episodes of this story
Blu-Ray	Flux	January 2022	BBCBD 0554	Photo-montage	Limited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing all 6 episodes of this story
CD	Original Television Soundtrack - Flux	November 2022		Photo-montage	Music by Segun Akinola (includes music from "Revolution of the Daleks")

In Print

No Book Release

Doctor Who Magazine - Review	Issue 571 (Released: Winter 2021)
Doctor Who Magazine - Review	Issue 572 (Released: January 2022)
Doctor Who Magazine - Review	Issue 573 (Released: February 2022)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The Thirteenth Doctor

Yasmin Khan

Dan Lewis

On Release

DVD Cover

VIDEO

Blu-Ray Cover

VIDEO

Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook

VIDEO

Original Television Soundtrack Cover

AUDIO

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 571

Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 572

Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 573

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Thirteenth Doctor

Season 39 (New Series 13)

References

Doctor Who is the copyright of the British Broadcasting Corporation. No infringements intended. This site is not endorsed by the BBC or any representatives thereof.