Doctor Who (TV Series) Resolution (2019) User Reviews

Such a mixed bag, an improvement over recent episodes.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 1 January 2019]

It's funny, but things I've been nagging for, a worthy opponent, a link to the past, and TARDIS scenes all happened, and yet there was just something a little missing.

Nicholas Briggs, thank you for providing the voice, and providing a link, that at least made it feel more like Doctor Who.

I loved the start, and I really enjoyed the ending, for me the stumbling block was the soap scene in the middle, Ryan and his Dad, that was a stretch that felt like it belonged in Eastenders, it was dull, it was too long, the characters unfortunately didn't have the depth to make it matter somehow. I did not like the UNIT scene, that felt somehow disrespectful to the show's past. The Doctor did a bit of a rant, and I hate to say it but she sounded like an angered Librarian.

There were definite plus points, the story basics were great, I loved that whole concept, The Dalek itself was pretty awesome, I loved its appearance, it had some terrific scenes, I loved how bloodthirsty the episode was, so different to the rest of Series 11. Jodie was rather good on the whole, she was energetic, and proved a courageous Doctor.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I hoped for, when I heard the title Resolution, I got very excited. I just wanted something a little more.

Not bad, 6/10

The Ned Kelly Dalek...

[Xstal · 5/10 · 5 January 2022]

If you can build a sonic screwdriver in a lockup, a Dalek casing and associated miscellany isn't too big a challenge to knock up, piece of cake you might suggest, but this gateaux's gristle and chewy and tough to digest. Interesting history lesson, fire didn't exist in the 9th century, or perhaps reconnaissance Dalek flesh is non-flammable as well as being anti-mortuary, these kinds of episode lead us closer to the cemetery or crematory, but not if you have Dalek genes!

Time for Regeneration

[sshipl1 · 4 January 2019]

I love Jodi, but she isn't able to help the scripts. I seriously doubt Benedict Cumerbatch could save this poor writing.

The group concept of companions doesn't work. The lead is not given the opportunity to be in charge. New writing is a must.

Well I liked it

[studioAT · 6/10 · 21 May 2020]

It's a sign of the times for Dr Who that this 2019 special was bumped from its traditional Christmas Day slot, but I can't agree with all the negativity that this episode has received.

I thought it was good fun actually, with lots of nice moments and good dialogue.

Yes, it's taken a little while to get used to the Doctor being a woman, and having a 'gang' around her rather than just one companion, but if you can get over those things (and it seems that lots of people can't) there was a lot to enjoy here.

Nice to see Charlotte Richie of 'Call The Midwife' fame featuring too.

Embrace the change or spend a lot of time moaning I think.

Back on form.

[parry_na · 9/10 · 3 March 2019]

After what might be described as a rather uneven debut series for Jodie Whittaker's 13th incarnation of The Doctor, 2018's New Year special proves that the show is still more than capable of delivering the goods. Concentrating on what it does best, Doctor Who's showrunner and head writer Chris Chibnall reintroduces us to the series's most fearsome monster. After vowing only to bring new villains and aliens to his first series, he has still shown a certain restraint here. The singular returnee is, by its very nature, a nuts-and-bolts affair - but still capable of causing a great deal of trouble. Not only a reintroduction, but a reminder of the power and scariness of the returning baddie. You all know what it is, but I ain't saying!

The cast are terrific. Jodie's Doctor is a bundle of nervous energy, Ryan (Tosin Cole) has his own story to tell, Graham (Bradley Walsh) provides the bedrock to it all, with some funny one-liners. And Yaz (Mandip Gill) - dear old Yaz - who has yet to be given anything really interesting to do, continues to be my favourite, primarily because I really want to know more about this likeable, loyal young police woman. Hopefully future Doctor Who can give us - and her - a really interesting story in her own right.

For now though, Doctor Who has reinvented itself as a slightly more intimate, less spectacular series. For the most part, this works, especially when something earth shattering does threaten to happen - as in 'Resolution.'

Best of the series, could of done without the hammy narration but welcomed some of the cheese that had been missing this year.

[jackVSjack · 7/10 · 1 January 2019]

In my opinion the best of a below average series this year.

Not a bad story, the dialogue felt better on the whole. I warmed to the Doctor a little more too.

This finale doesn't make up for the extremely slow burning series. I've missed the whimsy which has been replaced with the Dad joke humour. Case in point. Oh no the Wi-Fi is down, we'll have to talk to one another. (Roll eyes hard and place head in hands.) OH COME ON! We deserve better than this PLEASE!

But it does help the show to finish on a stronger episode. This episode ranks reasonably high in the specials category with have been very hit and miss over the years. So points there.

I like to be fair. I actually think this was the strongest Darlek story for quite some years. Brought some new ideas and an interesting approach that renewed the classic nemesis which has been funny not scary at times.

Happy the show is taking a year break. Hopefully they will take that time to improve on the scripts for series 12. (Crossing fingers hard but not holding my breath.)

The writing ruins this episode just as it has the whole series

[odonovanmickey · 3/10 · 2 January 2019]

This episode completely encapsulates the series main features: bad writing, forces social issues, good acting.

As a whole the episode is okay, the idea is meh but the acting is still good (Jodie Wittaker is a great doctor in my opinion). However, it continues to be ruined by small yet impactful mistakes. Chibnail somehow even managed to patronise milennials in a episode (supposedly - or rather should have been) focused on the dalek story.

--- SPOILERS FROM NOW ON ---

Firstly that scene where the internet goes down is just trash an I have no idea how no one stopped that.

Secondly they couldn't think of anything better than sucking the dalek off to kill it.

Thirdly Ryan seemed to forgive his Dad even though he had no inclination to at the start. Also WHY DID THEY EVEN PUT THIS IN THIS EPISODE! They've been amping it up for weeks and now they throw it into this episode as a filler seemingly because a) they need some sort of sentimental story every episode for some reason and b) they can't write enough to get a full episode without the sidestory.

Moreover, they developed these archeologicalists then didn't even give them a decent exit.

Finally the start was a bit trash. I mean really. These people had been fighting the dalek relentlessly and with everyone grouping together they only just defeated it. Then the fighter rides away and there just happens to be a bandit there and manages to kill the fighter. Why was it only the one person if this was such a strong foe?

One last thing, the dalek's new casing, or whatever it is, is made of metal. And I know dalek technology and whatever but last I checked bullets, A LOT of bullets, at least dent metal. Also one MUST have hit the eye. Also, during that scene the dalek is accurate AF yet when it's targeting the doctor, not so much. Just saying - continuity isn't this series' strong point.

Very Quirky and an awesome improvement

[chrisjslaughter03 · 10/10 · 22 May 2019]

Well what do you know, this special is the one I wouldn't mind watching over and over from time to time. Then again, creating the most common enemy around from scratch known as the Dalek from scrap metal is highly original. Even interaction with others elsewhere make you feel WOW! Very Quirky story thoughout, sure Series 12 my go back to mediocre writing and guiding but this is an awesome improvement

Another meh episode

[rickay-17092 · 6/10 · 1 January 2019]

Whislt the plot wasn't terrible, the whole family dynamic stuff was just tacked on - not badly written, simply from another show. Oh and by the way the 'jokes' just fell a bit flat. Please stop it Chris.

Forget resolutions, Doc, just regenerate!!

[caitei · 1/10 · 2 January 2019]

I'm not going to bother saying much because this present series is better buried (cut into pieces and buried.) What I will say is that it's embarrassing (the scene when the Doctor reveals who she is to the Dalek had me cringing.) It seems like Chibnall just adds more and more things that don't work, in the hope that it will. Everything is too samey too, the way everyone speaks. I'm bored now, so off I pops to watch something more interesting. At least I can forget it now for awhile.

Great way to end the season and start the year

[jesse-jackson2 · 10/10 · 6 January 2019]

Jodi is great as the new Doctor and this was a great take on the Daleks. Really happy with the way Ryan and Ryan's Dad found a peace. Looking forward to 2020 and the next trip in the TARDIS

It's not THAT bad!!

[lisa68-456-597756 · 7/10 · 7 January 2019]

I was really expecting an absolute dog's dinner for this episode. I actually really enjoyed it I'm happy to say.

Jodie is a fabulous Doctor and I'm enjoying the new companions too.

Don't believe the haters, give it a whirl - I'm glad I did!

Absolute rubbish - an insult to 50 years of heritage.

[Ketchupboy-383-515455 · 2/10 · 1 January 2019]

A dalek story with no daleks. Someone's been reading the "I Am Dalek" book by the looks of it. Everything about this was a horrible and unnecessary mess. Yes doctor who has always been a but silly, but so much of this episode just did not make any sense whatsoever. Human puppet crafts a functional dalek casing (complete with levitation, missiles and scanning apparatus) in a farm shed. Okay. UNIT is shut down due to lack of funding??? Okay. The daleks have always been mostly dependent upon their casing, with dangerous yet very limited capabilities in their organic form - that's the tragedy of their existence. Not any more! (Can't really pin this one on Chibs though) The obligatory science lesson was blurted out in a very unnatural - and almost inaudible - line of dialogue.

Just painful. Worst Dalek story of the new era by far. I hesitate to even call it that. Interesting to finally see Ryan's dad, but that should have had its own episode and not be dragged into a dalek story. Yet again, good cast with painfully bad script.

If the message of the new series is about social justice, tolerance, equality and acceptance, then the daleks were the most potent tool in the writers' arsenal! They are VERY DELIBERATELY the embodiment of SUPREMACY, RACISM, HATRED, OPPRESSION and XENOPHOBIA. Which of these characteristics did this trash episode present in a meaningful way? The daleks have their roots in the very real fears of the 40s-60s and exist as a reminder of the dangers these ideologies present.

I wonder what Terry Nation would make of this new iteration of his monsters. So much for "bringing back classic who". Disgraceful.

Awesome

[ilovejesus-05497 · 10 June 2019]

Seriously- THIS is Doctor Who!

Great direction from Wayne Yip. The Daleks are back. Whittaker's best performance yet. Graham and Ryan get some great stuff. Yaz is sidelined a bit here, but Mandip Gill is good as always. Great music from Segun Akinola, too!

10 out of 10!

A dull Dalek story

[steffankaye · 6/10 · 1 January 2019]

The biggest problem with this episode is that for 40 minutes the episode barely does anything of note and focuses more on Ryan's relationship with his father than the Dalek menace. The last 20 mins sees the best parts of the story with the Dalek back to fighting form and its most dangerous. However, even this is ruined by its daft microwave conclusion and the trash new Dalek design.

Jodie's performance in this episode sees a notable improvement over the previous episodes of the series. Ryan had a large amount of character development. However, this comes in exchange of Graham and Yaz having any sort of role in the episode. On a good note, the TARDIS got a lot of air time.

Overall, this episode like many others in series 11 lacks a storyline with depth trading it in for tedious character studies that not even the Dalek could save.

Opinion change

[dormesher-21565 · 8/10 · 22 March 2019]

My opinion on this episode I still think it's a great episode but after rewatching her first season I have to say episodes like Kerblam are way better so my opinion on this one has changed and I have to say there are better episodes and better stories in her first season after revisiting it.

Verdict now on this episode 8.9/10 just think there are better episodes and this one kinda falls short on rewatch unlike Kerblam and it Takes You Away which had better ideas and still hold up on rewatch.

Also it Takes You Away was much better one rewatch and in my opinion very underrated episode.

Unit?

[willjbarnes-07118 · 7/10 · 2 January 2019]

The New Years Special episode was a good chance to revive the Daleks who have not been on the series for a while. For me, it just didn't get it. The Chris is not as good as previous writers and I think his stories just lack that classic Dr Who feel. Overall it was an ok episode. And you CANT just remove UNIT like that!

Classic and creepy

[jstrommen-40703 · 8/10 · 3 January 2019]

This was a good episode, mining Dr Who history and resurrecting an old foe. It had an ominous feel and good character beats. What puzzles and annoys me are the angry and derisive fan reviews. Even if this was no masterpiece, it was hardly a 1 or 2. Where are these poorly considered, hack reviews coming from?

The Return of a Familiar Villain

[brian_m_hass · 7/10 · 22 January 2019]

In this episode, a creature from an archeological dig site attaches itself to an archeologist's back. The creature forces the woman to become its servant to help it complete its mission on Earth.

The return of a familiar villain during the Whittaker era of the show was very much welcomed by long-time fans of the series. The overall feel of Whittaker's first season of "Doctor Who" was much different from those of previous eras of the show. While new approaches do keep a long-running show fresh, the complete absence of familiar Whovian foes during Whittaker's first season sometimes left dedicated fans feeling somewhat alienated. Older fans often felt as if they were watching a completely different show. The return of a familiar enemy at least reminded fans that they were still watching "Doctor Who."

Chibnall shame on you!

[lucaforde-96-646679 · 2/10 · 2 January 2019]

Ok Chibnall that was cute, now please give us the doctor back. He managed to write the worst season ever, with a 11 episode long lists of disappointments, last of them joking with the daleks and taking the Christmas special away from us. Now that you've done your worst please, please give the doctor to someone who Actually loves it. Btw don't get me wrong, I think Whittaker did a great job, not my favorite doctor, but a very good one despite the horrible writing.

An impressive enemy

[GwydionMW · 10/10 · 1 January 2019]

I can see why this was moved from Christmas. Those have been light and funny. This was much more serious, with good people dying.

It also managed some genuine surprises, despite using some very traditional elements.

This is definitely the best so far.

I could also do without the soap-opera bits with the Companion's relatives. Really it adds nothing and gets in the way of SF thrills.

Much improved but suffers from the usual flaws

[sheffieldscotts · 7/10 · 1 January 2019]

Chibnal continues to preach from his white male middle-class podium. He just can't help himself - mixed race pairings, a white guy telling us he has a boyfriend when there was absolutely no need, another bad-dad trope, and there's even a subtle swipe at Brexit. The moralising this season is so relentless it is painful, and doubtless having the opposite effect of its intent.

On the plus side the story is good and well paced eventhough the dialogue is left hanging - not helped by some very wooden delivery at times. As usual Bradley Walsh is the best thing in it. Ryan is well played and has a central role, Jasmin may as well not have been there, but Jodey Walsh delivers her best performance to date - improved but still way off Smith/Tenant.

Cinematography and music are top notch again and the whole episode is well directed. All we need for season 12 is for Chibnal to get off his arrogant high horse and Whittaker to move from acting less like a primary school teacher to more of a headmistress. Probably a bridge too far.

Not Doctor Who

[matthutton9290 · 1/10 · 1 January 2019]

Like most fans I really wanted to enjoy a new Dalek episode.... But this has to be the most ridiculous episode so far featuring the classic foes. I wouldn't know where to begin even trying to point-out how many stupid plot holes are in the story, such as a building a Dalek from junk in a farmers barn. But worse that the plot-holes is the distraction of Jodie Whittaker's breathing. She obviously didn't pay attention during those breathing exercise classes when learning the ''acting'' trade. This whole series has just been awful, and as a lifelong fan of the show I really don't care if they kill off the series now. as I'd hate it to continue on this track infecting the classic series with more of their nonsense. I am all for strong female leads in movies and TV series, we have had countless great ones... But the problem with these modern PC writers, who want to write strong female leads, is that they don't create anything! A bit like ''fan fiction'' writers, they just hijack existing ideas and try injecting their own poorly conceived rubbish into it.

S11: Solid enough to do the job, with the usual annoying aspects and inconsistencies across the episodes and season as a whole

[bob the moo · 9 March 2019]

And with the usual promotion and importance, the new season of Doctor Who arrived, except this time it had that extra element of the gender change to the character. I had little energy for this issue; not because I was not interested in this change, but probably because everyone seemed so extreme when it came to the change. You had people on one side saying it was the worst thing in the world, while of course on the other the opinion was that this was the best thing and that everything was going to be just great from now on. For me personally I doubted that any of it would make any real difference to a show that hasn't varied too much in the last few incarnations, and probably the gender of the person pretending to be a Time Lord isn't the gamechanger.

And indeed it is not, because this season of Doctor Who is pretty much in the same vein as previous Doctors - good and bad. The episodes are a mixed bag, but mostly they are good but not great. There is no episode in this season that really hit everything spot on, but there are a few that are pretty good either by virtue of action, ideas, or the bit of weight that some of them have. There are a few weaker ones too as is the norm, but the issue is more consistent - which is that it is inconsistent. The show as a whole doesn't have great tonal control, and struggles to mix everything together in a way that gels rather than bits detracting or distracting from other bits. The season keeps some of the heavy-handed politicking of the modern era; in this case it is clumsy call-outs of Trump and Amazon, but it also does that thing that has characters take any opportunity to casually mention they are gay (about which my only objection is just how lazily and pointlessly it is always done).

The cast is mostly good, although a bit too heavy with familiar faces in the supporting roles. Whittaker fits in perfectly from the start - although this is because she is not too different from some of the recent performances. She manages to indignation, the comedy, and the exposition well, and seems to be having fun with the role. The companions are mostly okay, but ranges from Bradley Walsh being really good through to Tosin Cole being consistently dull. The group is a bit large at times though, and the TARDIS does feel a bit cluttered compared to normal, and there is scope to thin that pack a little. They get away with the crowd a little bit by using them as this season's arc in so much as there is one - which there mostly isn't.

In the end it was a fairly standard season aside from the headlines of the casting. It does what you are used to the show doing, good and bad, and in the end I totally forgot the fuss about the casting because everything else seemed to just be as normal.

Finally an episode that I wanted to watch to the end.

[mattwalker86 · 6/10 · 1 January 2019]

Finally more of the TARDIS, a Darlek and less of the terrible writing that has plagued this series. This should be a baseline standard for the next series.

I'm assuming the low ratings are people that rated before they watched, which is a bit unfair for this episode.