254b – "The Witch's Familiar" | |||||
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Doctor Who episode | |||||
The two-parter saw the return of the original silver-blue Daleks from 1963.
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Cast | |||||
Others
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Production | |||||
Directed by | Hettie MacDonald | ||||
Written by | Steven Moffat | ||||
Script editor | David P Davis | ||||
Produced by | Peter Bennett | ||||
Executive producer(s) | Steven Moffat Brian Minchin |
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Incidental music composer | Murray Gold | ||||
Series | Series 9 | ||||
Length | 2nd of 2-part story, 50 minutes | ||||
Originally broadcast | 26 September 2015 | ||||
Chronology | |||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer) | 94% |
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score) | 8.6 |
The A.V. Club | A- |
Paste Magazine | 9.0 |
SFX Magazine | |
TV Fanatic | |
IndieWire | A+ |
IGN | 8.9 |
New York Magazine | |
Daily Telegraph | |
Radio Times |
"The Witch's Familiar" is the second episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2015. It is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacDonald. It is the second part of the story, following "The Magician's Apprentice".
In the pair of episodes, alien time traveller the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) battles his old enemies the Daleks and attempts to save his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). Julian Bleach and Michelle Gomez reprised their roles as Davros and Missy, the current incarnation of the Master, respectively. The episode received critical acclaim, with many praising Michelle Gomez' performance as Missy and the interactions between the Doctor and Davros.
Several different designs of the Daleks from across the series' history reappear in the episode, alongside their creator, Davros, and their home planet, Skaro.
After being seemingly killed by the Daleks at the climax of "The Magician's Apprentice", Clara finds herself outside the Dalek city with Missy. Missy explains how they managed to escape: using energy fired from the Daleks' weapons to teleport themselves away via their vortex manipulators (which they'd used to find the Doctor in the previous episode), destroying the devices in the process. Missy illustrates the method by relating a previous instance in which the Doctor performed the same trickery.