It’s Doctor Who Day – the 57th birthday of the sci-fi institution – and the BBC have marked the special occasion by revealing new details on the upcoming holiday special. We already knew that “Revolution of the Daleks” was bringing back the Time Lord’s pepperpot nemeses – it’s kind of in the title – but today we learned that John Barrowman is also returning as Captain Jack Harkness.
This revelation came via our first clip from the episode (see above), which features the immortal Time Agent reacting to the sound of the TARDIS materializing. Though we’re still waiting on a full trailer and an actual release date, the BBC has treated us to the first poster for the special, which teases Jack and the “fam” – the Doctor’s friends, Yaz (Mandip Gill), Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) – versus the Daleks. Meanwhile, the Doctor herself (Jodie Whittaker) is stuck in space prison.
Yes, if you cast your mind back to the end of season 12, you’ll remember that the TARDIS was breached by a troop of Judoon who set about teleporting the titular hero into a cell in a maximum security intergalactic penitentiary. A previously released promo image saw the Doctor decked out in a red prison uniform, which she’s also wearing in this poster. That shot likewise showed her having made tally marks on her cell wall, suggesting she’s been stuck in that one place for a long, long time since she was locked down in March. Yup, we know how you feel, Doc.
Here’s the official synopsis for the episode, which teases how Jack will have to step up and save the day when the Daleks unleash “a disturbing plan” on Earth.
“In the upcoming special titled, Revolution of the Daleks, Captain Jack will be on hand to help ‘the fam’ as they discover a disturbing plan forming involving one of the Doctor’s most feared and dangerous enemies, the Daleks. With the Thirteenth Doctor locked away in a space prison, will Captain Jack be able to help save planet Earth?”
As for the the aforementioned villains, they’ll sport the redesigned look first introduced in the 2018 special, “Resolution.” It’s also been rumored that the episode will involve a Dalek civil war – which is corroborated by this poster, as it sees a black Dalek and a bronze Dalek facing each other, each with armies behind them.
Stay tuned for further updates on the Doctor Who special, coming sometime this holiday season.