Doctor Who recap: The TARDIS returns in The Ghost Monument

We get our first glimpse of the brand new TARDIS in The Ghost Monument.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The new Doctor, Ryan, Yas and Graham struggle to survive on a deadly planet, as they try to find the TARDIS in the second episode of the current series of Doctor Who, The Ghost Monument. (Spoilers follow.)

After finally seeing the brand new intro, The Ghost Monument kicks off exactly where The Woman Who Fell to Earth left off: with the Doctor, Graham, Yas and Ryan in space.

Thankfully, they’re picked up rather quickly (not to mention conveniently) by two people in two separate spaceships: Angstrom and Epzo. Both were searching for a planet with a name that’s best translated as “Desolation”.

It takes a while for the two ships to arrive on the planet (or, in Epzo’s case, crash land). But once they reach a tent containing the powerful Ilin, everything starts to become clear.

Angstrom and Epzo are involved in a huge intergalactic race. They need to reach something called “the Ghost Monument”, or at least, one of them does. One will be given a huge prize, the other will be stranded on the planet for life. And considering the planet is supposed to be incredibly deadly, that’s not much of a runner-up.

A neat little twist revealed early on is what the Ghost Monument really is: the TARDIS. The Doctor was able to find it after all, the planet just wasn’t where it should have been. So that quickly became a great hook for the episode.

Angstrom (Susan Lynch) is someone who’s desperate to win a race in The Ghost Monument.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Angstrom and Epzo

Over the rest of the episode, what then unfolded was something of your typical “deadly race” plot. The planet was revealed as being full of deadly devices and traps, such as robots and killer cloths. Even the water was undrinkable because it would literally kill you.

But while the race aspect of the episode was fun, it was of course learning more about the characters that really added to it. Particularly Angstrom and Epzo, and why they were involved in the race.

Angstrom was desperate to save her family from a race ethnically cleansing hers. She became convinced that the prize was the only way she could do that, despite the high mortality rate in the race. Who were the race that committed the cleansing? Well, we’ll get to that in a moment.

As for Epzo’s motivation? He’s just in it for himself. He’s a really basic character, and one you’ve seen many times before: a loner who doesn’t “play by the rules”. (His words.) However, not only does Shaun Dooley help to add an edge of coolness to the character. But his story about how his mother failed to catch him was brilliant. Not for the story itself, but for the punchline that came at the end of it:

"I love my mum."

The Doctor finds a big surprise as she finds out what happened to Desolation.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

A surprise mention

But one particularly interesting moment in the episode was the Doctor finding out exactly what caused so much devastation to Desolation. The explanation itself wasn’t that interesting, not at first. A group of scientists were forced to create the deadliest weapons; some of the weapons wiped out all life on the planet, particularly the cloth-based creatures known as the Remnants.

Initially, the explanation sounded pretty basic, predictable and disappointing. Especially after the Doctor was making such a big deal about why they needed to know why there was no life on the planet.

However, it got a lot more interesting the moment one word was mentioned: Stenza. The exact same race that Tim Shaw from last week was a part of. And, as it turned out, the same race that was wiping out so much of Angstrom’s people.

What does this mean for the rest of the series? Well, it sounds like the Stenza could be the new major threat of the show. Especially if they’re already building them up like this. Time will tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they returned for the series finale. Are they worth “Big Bad” status, though? Well, “Tim Shaw” wasn’t exactly memorable. But who knows. Maybe they’ll be more interesting over time.

Oh, and we had one more surprise mention: Venusian Aikido! Third Doctor fans (like yours truly) were bound to have loved that little reference. It was also great to see it used well, too.

The Doctor is finally reunited with her ship at the end of the episode.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Timeless Child

There was one other thing introduced with this episode: the “Timeless Child”, as mentioned by one of the Remnants. Will this be another major arc of the series? Interestingly, it seems to be related to the Doctor personally. It’s not something that she’s aware of, but it does sound like it’s important. Both to her, and to the rest of the series.

More from Winter is Coming

The episode ends with both Angstrom and Epzo coming in joint first place. In some ways, a predictable ending, but one that works for the episode. I’m curious to see if we’ll see more of these two characters at some point.

However, it looks like the TARDIS isn’t anywhere to be found. At least, not initially. It’s a great moment, and the look of pure defeat on the Doctor’s face is heartbreaking to watch. It’s a moment that’s beautifully played by Whittaker.

Of course, with a little help from her sonic, the TARDIS does arrive, and Graham, Ryan and Yas enter it for the first time. We also get to see the brand new interior!

How is it? I’m not too keen on it just yet, but I’m hoping it’ll grow on me. It’s been the same with other TARDIS interiors of the New Series. (I think I was rather spoiled by the TV movie. Say what you want about it, but that TARDIS set is still one of the most gorgeous that the show’s ever had.)

The episode ends with them heading off home. Of course, as we see from the trailer for the next episode, the TARDIS isn’t exactly taking the direct route…

Re-Watch: The Power of the Daleks (Second Doctor story). dark. Next

Did you enjoy The Ghost Monument? What did you like most about it? Do you have your own theories of what’s to come based on this episode? Let us know in the comments below.

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