Although the audience ratings have been somewhat disappointing (the first episode being the lowest rated opener since 2005) there was much to draw in the occasional viewer with the reappearances of Missy (the female Master), Davros and the Daleks. The pre-titles sequence on the battlefields of Skaro was an audacious start. When the boy trapped among the hand-mines revealed himself to be a young Davros, long-time fans knew this was going to be a ground-breaking story. The Doctor's reaction was unsurprising although one might question how he could be sure this was THE Davros rather than another young lad with the same name!
The episode was heavy on continuity references and, while this is rewarding for long-term fans, there is a danger that this may put off some newer viewers. Davros's henchman Colony Sarff visited the Shadow Proclamation, last seen in 2008's The Stolen Earth, and Karn which, aside from online mini-episodes, hasn't been visited since The Brain of Morbius in 1976. The sequence at UNIT HQ also made many nods to the past and the anomaly detector picking "three possible versions of Atlantis" cleverly waved off contradictory references to the lost city in The Underwater Menace (1967), The Daemons (1971) and The Time Monster (1972).
As Missy, Michelle Gomez delivers a hugely entertaining performance. Like the first Master, Roger Delgado, she has great charm despite being thoroughly evil. Moffat rightly makes Missy commit unnecessary murders to remind us of her true nature. She is also incredibly cruel to poor Clara throughout both episodes. The planes stopping in the sky turns out to to be no more than an attention-seeking act from Missy (and the writer) designed to get in touch with Clara and then track down the Doctor. Missy's motives are unclear throughout, as they were the last year's finale, but they may turn out to be part of a bigger plan yet to be revealed.
The Doctor's reappearance in medieval England will have annoyed fans who hoped the wackiness of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors had been left behind. However, the guitar playing is in a tradition of having the lead actor to show off their talents. Just as Peter Davison and Matt Smith played cricket and football respectively, Peter Capaldi played guitar and played it very well. The tank was perhaps an excessive miss-step though. On the evidence of this two-partner, Capaldi appears to be a lot more fun than last series and much friendlier towards Clara (although they have few scenes together).
The Doctor's admission that he is throwing a "party" because he is facing his death is questionable. It is difficult to understand why the two-thousand year-old Time Lord would fear death from another meeting with Davros. Perhaps his guilt makes the Doctor feel he is doomed, as it did when he made a terrible decision in the conclusion to 2009's The Waters of Mars. However, the trope of the Doctor facing his death has been overdone in recent years following the "he will knock four times" prophecy of the final David Tennant specials; the build-up to the finale of Series 6 in which Matt Smith's would supposedly meet his end by Lake Silencio; the visit to his grave on Trenzalore; and the return visit to the same planet for his "final battle" when he had used up all his full regeneration.
It is only when the Doctor, Clara and Missy are brought by Colony Sarff back to Skaro that the story properly begins. The CGI recreation of the Dalek city is impressive and very faithful to the original models from 1963. The interiors are less interesting and although it is nice to see the classic series Daleks alongside the 2005 gold Daleks, it is unclear why they would be living together in this rebuilt Dalek homeworld.
The Magician's Apprentice ends with impressive cliff-hangers with the apparent deaths of Missy and Clara, and the flash-forward to the Doctor facing the young Davros and using the Dalek catchphrase "Exterminate" for the first time. The scenes with the excellent Julian Bleach as a dying Davros also set up great anticipation for the next episode. There will much more on him in the review of The Witch's Familiar which will be on the blog later this week.
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