"Once, Upon Time", prefixed frequently with either "Chapter Three" or "''Flux''", is the third episode of the thirteenth 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 ...

'', and of the six-episode serial known collectively as ''Doctor Who: Flux''. It was 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 14 November 2021. It was written by

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

and executive producer

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 ...

, and directed by Azhur Saleem. The episode stars

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 ...

as 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, st ...

, alongside

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 r ...

and

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

as her companions,

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 ...

and Dan Lewis, respectively.

Plot

With humanity now on the verge of extinction, the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

, and

Sontarans The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. A warrior race characterised by ...

occupy most of the remaining planets. In the Temple of Atropos, the Doctor jumps into the time storm and stalls Swarm by hiding Dan, Yaz, and Vinder in their pasts. Dan experiences his date with his love interest Diane, until the Doctor appears as a hologram and Swarm's companion Passenger abducts Diane. Yaz talks with her police partner and tries to teach her sister a video game, but sees the Doctor instead. Vinder reluctantly relives his time assisting the dictatorial Grand Serpent and his demotion to a remote outpost upon revealing the Serpent's misdeeds, with Yaz as his superior and the Doctor as a hologram. Vinder makes video messages aboard the outpost. Bel, a survivor of the Flux, evades the Daleks in a forest, finds a Lupari ship and weapons, and escapes to the Cybermen sector. Bel kills a boarding party, then confesses her motivations to the last Cyberman she kills: she is searching for her lover, Vinder. Bel finds Vinder’s messages, and comforts their unborn child. The Doctor jumps into her own timestream and recovers memories of her past

Fugitive Doctor The Fugitive Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. She is portrayed by the English actress Jo Martin, the first non-white person to play the role. Within the ...

incarnation and three other Division officers, including the Lupari officer Karvanista, raiding the Temple to confront Swarm and Azure. Swarm appears in his original form and has vessels called Passengers each storing hundreds of thousands of life essences. The Fugitive Doctor has secretly hidden six powerful Mouri priests inside, and unleashes them. Back in her present, the Doctor finds the priests and encourages them to return to the temple, but the priests forcibly separate her from her past memories to protect her from the time storm's effects. Awsok, a mysterious old entity, chides the Doctor, claiming the Doctor's mission is futile. Awsok reveals the Flux was deliberately created and placed and is the Doctor's fault. The Doctor returns Yaz, Dan and Vinder to the present. Azure reveals they knew what the Doctor would do and brought her to Atropos on purpose. Swarm reveals Diane's entrapment in Passenger, and the Doctor and Vinder promise to help Dan get her back before Swarm, Azure and Passenger leave the temple. The Doctor uses the TARDIS to return Vinder to his ravaged home planet and gives him a device to contact her. After taking off, a

Weeping Angel The Weeping Angels are a race of predatory creatures from the long-running science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. They were introduced in the 2007 episode "Blink", making repeat appearances in later episodes. They also appeared in the spin-off s ...

jumps out of Yaz's phone and seizes the TARDIS console.

Production

Development

"Once, Upon Time" was written by showrunner and executive producer

Casting

The series is the third to feature

as the

, and

, with

having joined the cast for the series as Dan Lewis. The episode featured a guest appearance from

Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Shaun in the E4 series '' Misfits'', twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series ''Whitechapel'', and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan ...

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 a ...

also returned as the

; her appearance was unannounced prior to the episode's broadcast. Additional guest stars for the episode were announced on 4 November.

Filming

Azhur Saleem directed the second block, which comprised the third, fifth and sixth episodes of the series.

Broadcast and reception

Broadcast

"Once, Upon Time" aired on 14 November 2021. The episode serves as the third part of a six-part story, entitled ''Flux''.

Ratings

Overnight the episode was watched by 3.76 million viewers; it was the fourth most-watched programme of the day only behind '' Strictly Come Dancing'', ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'', and ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

''. The consolidated rating counting all views across all platforms within seven days of broadcast was 4.67 million. The episode was the sixth highest rated programme on BBC1 for the week, but across all channels, it was the fifth highest for the day and failed to make the top fifteen programmes for the week. The episode received 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 75.

Critical reception

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 ...

, a

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website, 6 of 8 critics gave the episode a positive review, with an average rating of 7.2 out of 10. Patrick Mulkern, a reviewer for ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'', stated that the episode was "one of the most dizzying and blatantly confusing episodes of Doctor Who." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' Isobel Lewis agreed, calling it a "meaningless mess", but said there were some "hopeful moments" among the "bewildering plotlines." Meanwhile, Michael Hogan with ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' disagreed, believing that the "disorienting" episode was the overall goal and that it was "jam-packed with treats for the fans."

References

External links

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