| 287 – "Resolution" | |||
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| Doctor Who episode | |||
 Promotional image | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Wayne Yip | ||
| Written by | Chris Chibnall | ||
| Produced by | Nikki Wilson | ||
| Executive producers |
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| Music by | Segun Akinola | ||
| Running time | 60 minutes | ||
| First broadcast | 1 January 2019 (2019-01-01) | ||
| Chronology | |||
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| List of episodes (2005–present) | |||
"Resolution" is an episode of the Britishscience fiction television programmeDoctor Who. It was written by showrunner, head writer and executive producerChris Chibnall, directed byWayne Yip, and was first broadcast onBBC One on 1 January 2019. The special follows theeleventh series as aNew Year's Day special episode, instead of the traditional annual Christmas special. "Resolution" was the only episode ofDoctor Who to air in 2019, preceding thetwelfth series in 2020.
The episode starsJodie Whittaker as theThirteenth Doctor, alongsideBradley Walsh,Tosin Cole, andMandip Gill as hercompanions,Graham O'Brien,Ryan Sinclair andYasmin Khan, respectively. The episode also sees the return of theDaleks. The episode was watched by 7.13 million viewers.
In the9th century, three opposing factions narrowly succeeded in defeating a seemingly unbeatable enemy and hacked its body into three pieces to be hidden away in the farthest corners of the Earth:Anuta Island,Siberia, andYorkshire. The holder of the last piece in Yorkshire is killed before he can bury it, leaving it unguarded. Lin and Mitch, two archaeologists, discover it inSheffield onNew Year's Day 2019, and unintentionally revive it as it remotely summons the other two fragments to become whole.
Whilst watching New Year's Day fireworks from different time periods, theThirteenth Doctor and hercompanions are alerted to this alien presence, arriving in the present day and meeting the two archaeologists. Lin reveals that she saw a large squid-like creature on a wall; the Doctor finds only a large blob of slime. Unbeknownst to the others, the creature has attached itself to Lin's back and has taken control of her mind and body.
Returning toGraham andRyan's home, the crew discover that Ryan's hitherto absent father, Aaron, has returned, and wishes to make amends with his son for not being there, especially since the death of Ryan's grandmother (and Graham's wife) Grace. Graham is skeptical, but supports Ryan when he decides to go with Aaron to a local cafe so the two can talk. Meanwhile, the Doctor andYasmin try to follow the creature, which has made Lin steal a police car and uniform. After examining the slime, the Doctor discovers that she is following a scoutDalek.
The Dalek, still controlling Lin, arrives at an archive base, killing its guard and using his fingerprints to access the archives. Recovering a Dalek ray gun from the archive, she then travels to a rural warehouse, killing the owner and constructing a makeshift Dalek casing out of scrap metal. Eventually, the Doctor and company find Lin freed from the now-rebuilt Dalek's control. After killing a military patrol, the Dalek flies toGovernment Communications Headquarters, massacring the staff, and attempts to summon a Dalek fleet in order to conquer the Earth.
The Doctor, herTARDIS crew, Aaron and the two archaeologists immediately go to GCHQ and scupper the fleet-summoning signal, destroying the Dalek's casing in the process. However, the mutant survives and possesses Aaron, threatening to kill him unless the Doctor takes it toSkaro to rally the fleet. The Doctor agrees, but instead takes the Dalek mutant to asupernova. Ryan saves Aaron at the last moment as the Dalek mutant is cast into the supernova.
Back in Sheffield, the Doctor offers Aaron the chance to travel in the TARDIS, but Aaron declines. The TARDIS crew bid farewell to Aaron and the archaeologists and depart.
Along with theregular series, special Christmas episodes were also broadcast every year between 2005, the year of the programme's revival, and 2017. "Twice Upon a Time" (2017) marked the last special episode created for Christmas, after the traditional special episode was moved to New Year's Day in 2019.[1] The episode title was announced on 8 December 2018 as "Resolution".[2]
Chibnall stated during filming for the eleventh series, which included "Resolution", that theDaleks would not be featured;[3] however, on 25 December 2018, the BBC announced that the New Year's Day special would feature the return of the Daleks.[4]
"Resolution" was filmed alongside the ten episodes of theeleventh series.[5][1]
On 6 December 2018, the BBC announced the guest stars for the episode, includingCharlotte Ritchie,Nikesh Patel and Daniel Adegboyega, as the characters Lin, Mitch and Aaron respectively.[6]
The first trailer for the episode was released after the broadcast of theeleventh series' finale, "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos".[7]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score) | 8.03[8] |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer) | 95%[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[9] |
| New York Magazine |  [10] |
| Radio Times |  [11] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[12] |
| The Telegraph | [13] |
| The Guardian | [14] |
| The Independent | [15] |
| The Times | [16] |
| TV Fanatic |  [17] |
"Resolution" was the only episode ofDoctor Who to air in 2019, as thetwelfth series premiered in 2020.[18] Similar to "Sleep No More" and "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" before it, "Resolution" featured no opening titles.[19]
"Resolution" was watched by 5.15 million viewers overnight, a share of 22.4% of the total United Kingdom TV audience, making it the fourth-highest overnight viewership for the night,[20] but also the lowest overnight viewership for aDoctor Who annual event.[21] The episode received an official total of 7.13 million viewers across all UK channels, making it the 14th most watched programme of the week, and it had anAudience Appreciation Index score of 79.[22]
In Australia, the episode received 424,000 viewers including time shifting views.[23]
The special holds an approval rating of 95% onRotten Tomatoes, and an average of 8.03/10 based on 20 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "With a fresh take on familiar villains and a renewed sense of stakes,Resolution is a strong series special that surprises in both story and spectacle."[8]
"Resolution" received a standalone DVD and Blu-ray release on 18 February 2019 in Region 2/B[24] and 19 February in Region 1/A,[25] and was released on 6 March in Region 4/B.[26] The episode is included in thetwelfth series boxset released on 4 May 2020 in Region 2 or Region B. It is not included on the Region 1 or Region A release of the boxset.[27]
Two tracks from the special, as composed bySegun Akinola, were included in the eleventh series' soundtrack, a 2-CD set that was released on 11 January 2019 by Silva Screen Records.[28][29]
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