Doctor Who: The Halloween Apocalypse Review - 7 Ups & 5 Downs
10. UP - Dan’s Introduction
So, how does our new companion, played by John Bishop, shape up?
As it turns out, rather well, despite being somewhat sidelined in his first episode and never getting a real introduction to the Doctor.
We’re first introduced to Dan Lewis as he sneaks into the Museum of Liverpool to give guided tours just for the hell of it. He is characterised straight off the bat as an optimist with a love for both life and his city (as a side note - thank you Chibnall for continuing to feature UK cities that aren’t London).
Dan helps out at his local soup kitchen, at the expense of keeping his own cupboards stocked, and has a fun but thankfully not overbearing sense of humour. In every one of his scenes in this episode he came across as extremely likeable, wholesome and, by contrast to some companions, seemed like a real person.
Yes, Bishop isn’t the greatest actor to grace the show, and his performance is a little stilted, but very few companions have endeared themselves to us so quickly, and we have a feeling that, provided he gets his share of screen time, he may just turn out to be the best of Thirteen’s companions. Fingers crossed!