Doctor Who bosses tease Marvel Studios-style episode
The executive producers speak about Sunday's "ambitious" episode Once, Upon Time.
Doctor Who: Flux continues on Sunday and judging by recent comments from the show's bosses, the upcoming episode is set to take a leaf out of Marvel's book when it comes to storytelling.
Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, executive producer Matt Strevens teased Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time, revealing that the episode is an "ambitious" one for the long-running sci-fi drama.
"In terms of form, and structure, especially in Chapter Three – [it] really does take the show in a new direction," he said. "It’s very ambitious, and it credits the audience with sophistication and intelligence.
"Which is something we always do, of course, but with this, it’s very much asking you to trust the show and go on a ride. Not everything is given to you in the moment. As with a lot of television now, it credits the audience with a degree of patience – that they’re not going to know quite what’s going on."
He added that the third episode explores a form of storytelling that the show hasn't done before, comparing it to Marvel films.
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"For me, it was reminiscent of some of the shows that I love – of the way that Marvel Studios are telling stories; the way they'll parcel out the information, and things can seem incredibly random and abstract, but they're not in the end.
"They're part of a very cohesive whole, but you don't get served straight away."
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Showrunner and executive producer Chris Chibnall added that the next episode of Flux – the first Doctor Who series to tell one over-arching story over the course of six episodes – will connect to everything that's gone before it.
"You couldn’t tell this particular story, with this particular structure, in any other season of Doctor Who," he said. "We’re using the shape of a serial to give us a very different type of storytelling."
Episode three will follow The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) as she navigates the aftermath of the apocalypse on a planet that shouldn't exist, with Azhur Saleem making his Doctor Who directing debut.
"A strand that runs through my episodes is the Doctor's journey of self-discovery – delving into places she's never been before and coming up against things she's never experienced," Saleem said. "Which I think is really interesting."
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Read more about Doctor Who:
- Doctor Who: Flux teases twisted flashbacks in first-look Once, Upon Time pictures
- Is Doctor Who adapting the lost ‘Lungbarrow’ story for Jodie Whittaker?
- Doctor Who fans think they’ve discovered the truth about Jacob Anderson’s Vinder
Doctor Who: Flux continues on Sundays on BBC One. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.
