"Fugitive of the Judoon" is the fifth episode of the twelfth series of the British

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television programme ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 26 January 2020. It was written by

Vinay Patel Vinay Patel (born 1986) is a British-Indian screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for writing the BBC drama ''Murdered by My Father''. Career Before writing, Patel worked as a corporate filmmaker and then a technician at the London-base ...

and current showrunner

Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' and as a showrunner of the long-running BBC sci-fi ...

, and directed by

Nida Manzoor Nida Manzoor is a British television writer and director. She is best known for directing two episodes of ''Doctor Who'' and creating the Peacock/Channel 4 comedy show ''We Are Lady Parts'', for which she won the 2021 Rose d'Or Emerging Talent ...

. The

Judoon The Judoon are a fictional extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial species of mercenary police from the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and Spin-off (media), its spin-offs, first appear ...

search modern-day Gloucester for a fugitive, and the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, ''Doctor Who''. She is portrayed by English actress Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, sta ...

(

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017). She came to prominence ...

) and her companions

Graham O'Brien Graham O'Brien is a fictional character created by Chris Chibnall and portrayed by Bradley Walsh in the long-running British sci-fi television series ''Doctor Who''. A retired bus driver from Essex who is in remission from cancer, the character ...

(

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), as ...

Ryan Sinclair Ryan Sinclair is a fictional character created by Chris Chibnall and portrayed by Tosin Cole in the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Introduced in the first episode of Series 11, Ryan was a companion of J ...

(

Tosin Cole Tosin Cole (born 23 July 1992) is an American-born British actor. He is known for various roles in British television series and films. He began his on-screen career starring in '' The Cut'' and '' EastEnders: E20'', later securing a regular ro ...

), and

Yasmin Khan Yasmin Khan is a historian of British India and Associate Professor of History at Kellogg College, Oxford. Education and career Born in 1977 to Pakistani and Anglo-Irish parents in Kingston-upon-Thames, Khan completed her BA in history at S ...

(

Mandip Gill Mandip Kaur Gill (born 5 January 1988) is an English actress. Her first television role came in 2012 when she was cast as Phoebe McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. After departing the series in 2015, Gill went on to have guest ro ...

) regulate the situation. The episode sees the surprise return of

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...

as Captain Jack Harkness, and introduces

Jo Martin Jo Martin (born 29 April) is a British actress. She played Natalie Crouch in the BBC One sitcom ''The Crouches'', which aired between 2003 and 2005. She joined the cast of ''Holby City'' in 2019 as neurosurgeon Max McGerry. Martin portrayed an ...

as Ruth Clayton, a character revealed to be a previously unseen incarnation of the Doctor. The episode was watched by 5.57 million viewers overall, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Doctor Who Gloucester Cathedral 2019 (3)

While her companions try to get her to talk about her search for the

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

(given her assumption that he escaped the Kasaavin realm), the Doctor learns that a

platoon has descended upon

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and put a forcefield around the city in search of a fugitive. The Doctor manages to bypass the forcefield and arrives in Gloucester. Upon landing and unbeknownst to the Doctor, Graham is teleported to a stolen spaceship piloted by Captain Jack Harkness who mistakes Graham for the Doctor. The Doctor intervenes when the Judoon try to attack the apartment of Lee and Ruth Clayton, and stalls them long enough to question the couple and find a hidden box. Lee refuses to answer the Doctor's questions, but he covers the group's escape, turning himself in to the Judoon before being killed by their contractor, Gat, who recognises him as the fugitive's associate. Whilst the Doctor flees with Ruth to

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

, Ryan and Yaz are teleported to Harkness' ship, which is now being attacked by its rightful owners. When Harkness learns the Judoons' forcefield prevents him from teleporting the Doctor, he is forced to ask the Doctor's companions to tell the Doctor to beware of the " lone Cyberman" and to not give it what it wants. He is forced to teleport due to the ship's anti-theft attack system while Graham, Ryan, and Yaz are transported back to Gloucester. The Doctor and Ruth are soon surrounded by the Judoon in the cathedral. Ruth reflexively attacks them, forcing them to retreat after ripping off their commander's horn. With Ruth unable to explain herself, she reveals Lee sent her a text before his death that leads them to a lighthouse where she grew up. There, the Doctor finds a

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

buried outside under a blank gravestone. Ruth, meanwhile, enters the lighthouse and, breaking an alarm box, is engulfed in energy which restores her memory. Ruth then reveals her true identity as a version of The Doctor. With neither remembering the other, the Doctor assumes Ruth to be an unknown past incarnation while Ruth reveals that she used a chameleon arch to hide herself from her former associate Gat. Ruth's TARDIS is then taken aboard the Judoon ship, and the Doctor and Ruth confront Gat, who is revealed to be a Time Lord with orders to retrieve Ruth. Against Ruth's orders, the Doctor introduces herself, and shows Gat a vision of the destroyed Gallifrey that she saw. Gat is killed when she fires a sabotaged weapon confiscated from Ruth. After the Doctor is dropped back to Gloucester by Ruth, she is reunited with her companions, who relay Harkness's message. Confused by recent events, the Doctor senses that something is coming for her.

Production

Development

"Fugitive of the Judoon" was written by

, who wrote an episode of the previous series, "

Demons of the Punjab "Demons of the Punjab" is the sixth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs, and first broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2018. ...

", as well as by showrunner

Casting

appears as a character named Ruth Clayton, later revealed to be a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor. Martin is credited as Ruth and with an "introducing" credit as the Doctor, as previous new incarnations of the character have been since 2005.

Neil Stuke Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''. Career Stuke played Matthew ...

was also cast, and the episode featured the

. Further cast members were announced in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' #547 in early January 2020. The episode featured the return of

Jack Harkness Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, ''Torchwood''. The character first appears in the 2005 ''Doctor Who'' episode "The Empty Child" and subsequently features in the ...

played by

, after a ten-year absence from the series. Barrowman's appearance was not publicised prior to broadcast.

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...

, executive producer and lead writer of ''Doctor Who'' between 2005 and 2010, receives on-screen credit as the creator of the Judoon and Jack Harkness.

Filming

Nida Manzoor directed the third block, consisting of the fourth and fifth episodes. Filming in Gloucester took place across 22 May and 23 May 2019; Gloucester had previously been used as a filming location for the 2008 special "

The Next Doctor "The Next Doctor" is the first of the Doctor Who (2008–2010 specials), 2008–2010 specials of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' that was broadcast on 25 December 2008, as the fourth List of Doctor Who Christmas s ...

". Scenes in the interior of Captain Jack Harkness's spaceship were filmed at

Clifton Cathedral The Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Bristol (not to be confused with the Church of England Bristol Cathedral). Located in the Clifton area of the city, it is the seat and mother church of the ...

, Bristol.

Broadcast and reception

Television

"Fugitive of the Judoon" aired on 26 January. According to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', the BBC had withheld press previews of the episode until only a few hours before it was to air, indicating that there were significant revelations and surprises within the episode which they did not want to have spoiled.

Ratings

"Fugitive of the Judoon" was watched by 4.21 million viewers overnight, making it the sixth most watched programme for the day in the United Kingdom. The episode had an

Audience Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...

score of 83. The episode received an official total of 5.57 million viewers across all UK channels.

Critical reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

calculated a 100% approval and an average rating of 8.25/10 from 18 critics. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Doctor Who''s twelfth season takes a hard left turn for the better in the surprising and delightful 'Fugitive of the Judoon'."

References

External links

* * * {{navboxes, list1= {{Doctor Who episodes by Chris Chibnall {{Thirteenth Doctor stories, selected=Television {{Captain Jack stories {{Judoon stories {{Multi-Doctor stories 2020 British television episodes Thirteenth Doctor episodes Doctor Who stories set on Earth Television episodes set in Gloucester Doctor Who multi-Doctor stories