Doctor Who: All Chris Chibnall Episodes Ranked From Worst To Best

Firstly, it must be noted that this episode has some of the most beautiful cinematography ever seen on Doctor Who, if not the best. We are immediately taken in to this dystopian future in spectacular fashion, while the concept of game show contestants playing for their lives, while not exactly innovative, is extremely engaging.

Unfortunately, that's where the accolades stop for this bland nothing of a story. The episode suffers from expecting the audience to immediately relate with the companions, without ever putting the work in to make us care. Had this been screened later in the series then it may have worked better, but it's just hard to care about seemingly 'out of character' actions when we just know so little about them in the first place.

The episode is also painfully slow and wastes a stack of tension-building opportunities. The best example of this is when The Doctor is on board a boat with the companions and contestants, with the water beneath them extremely toxic and corrosive. It seems like a no-brainer for the boat to start leaking or at the very least creak, but there are no such issues here.

Instead we get flying carpets that are somehow related to last week's villain, although it's still a mystery as to what the link is. To seal this episode's fate, the acting from our three new companions is painfully on the nose.