Doctor Who: The Devil's Chord Review - 8 Ups & 2 Downs

10. UP - Jinkx Monsoon As Maestro

Jinkx Monsoon turns in one of Doctor Who's best-ever villain performances in The Devil's Chord. From the minute Maestro interrupts Timothy Drake's music lesson to the moment that Lennon and McCartney traps them in the Abbey Road piano, Monsoon is an utter joy to watch.

As RuPaul's Drag Race's "Queen of All Queens", we knew that Monsoon would nail the camp comedy of the Maestro character. However, her performance of Maestro's palpable rage and malice is a revelation.

The ability to turn on a dime is a vital skill for playing a Doctor Who villain, and Monsoon absolutely nails this. She's also terrific in the scene where Maestro describes the sound of a nuclear winter as "the purest music of all". It's spine-tinglingly evil.

There are so many great Maestro scenes that the rest of this Ups & Downs could be taken up by just selecting each of them. We'll avoid the temptation, but it needs to be said that Monsoon's Maestro is the strongest debut by a Doctor Who villain in years. Here's hoping that they won't be a one-shot enemy.

The glimpse of H. Arbinger at Abbey Road Studios certainly suggests that a Maestro return may already be on the cards.