Resolution (TV story)

Resolution was the first New Year Special of Doctor Who since The End of Time: Part Two in 2010. It was broadcast on New Year's Day 2019 and was, according to Chris Chibnall himself, was a "de facto" conclusion on series 11, despite the previous story being the finale.

This episode featured the return of the Daleks, who were the first returning enemies since Chibnall took over as showrunner at the start of the series. The creatures got their first redesign since the New Dalek Paradigm were introduced in 2010's Victory of the Daleks.

Behind the camera, it also marked the return of Wayne Yip, who had previously worked on Doctor Who and Class during the Steven Moffat era. He was the first returning director since Chibnall made his start.

Notably, this episode broke the tradition of yearly Christmas specials, which had aired every 25 December since 2005.

Synopsis
On Earth, New Year's Day 2019, the DNA of a creature sealed away since the ninth century is beginning to stir. In the wake of a change in Ryan's fortune, the Thirteenth Doctor must gather together all her friends and resources to prevent the return of the Daleks.

Plot
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Cast

 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
 * Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
 * Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
 * Lin - Charlotte Ritchie
 * Mitch - Nikesh Patel
 * Aaron - Daniel Adegboyega
 * Police Officer Will - Darryl Clark
 * Security Guard Richard - Connor Calland
 * Farmer Dinkle - James Lewis
 * Mum - Sophie Duval
 * Teen 1 - Callum McDonald
 * Teen 2 - Harry Vallance
 * Call Centre Polly - Laura Evelyn
 * Sergeant - Michael Ballard
 * Voice of the Dalek - Nick Briggs

Crew
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TARDIS

 * When the TARDIS is locked down, the Doctor asks Graham to get some peanut butter to grease the geo-feudal locks with.
 * The TARDIS is capable of bio-tracking, as well as holo-projection.
 * It can also triangulate mobile phone signals, track CCTV cameras, monitor satellite footage, and follow GPS and number plate tracking.

History

 * The Three Custodians were involved in the Battle of Hope Valley in the 9th century.
 * The Doctor takes Team TARDIS to 19 New Year's Eves in a row.
 * Graham's favourite was Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, which the Doctor says was the original.
 * Ryan's favourite was Sydney, 2000, where they watched the fireworks from the Harbour Bridge.
 * Yaz's favourite was 1801, when they discovered a dwarf planet with Giuseppe Piazzi.

Locations

 * The Three Custodians intend to bury the three pieces on Anuta Island on the South Pacific, in Siberia, Russia, and in Yorkshire, England.
 * Sheffield Town Hall is later built over the site of the third Custodian's remains. The site itself is in the sewers.
 * The Doctor wants to take her friends to Quantifer, a settlement on the edge of the known universe, for their twentieth New Year's Eve.
 * After discovering the mutant in the sewers, Team TARDIS visits Graham O'Brien's house.
 * Ryan and his father Aaron visit a café around the corner from Graham's house.

Organisations

 * The offspring of the Three Custodians become the Order of the Custodians.
 * MDZ Research is a weapons research company.
 * The Dalek accesses the Black Archive on Lin's computer.
 * Lin is chased and then stopped by a Hallamshire Police car for speeding. She was driving at 103 miles per hour.

People

 * Aaron Sinclair, Ryan's dad, previously pursued engineering.
 * Richard, the MDZ security guard, has a boyfriend.
 * The Dalek is a recon scout.

Objects

 * The TARDIS lands on Graham's wooden chair when the team arrives at Graham's house.

Weapons

 * The soldiers in the Battle of Hope Valley fight with swords.
 * The third Custodian is killed by an arrow on his way to the Yorkshire burial site.
 * Lin, controlled by the Dalek, retrieves its Dalek gunstick from the MDZ Research facility.

Technology

 * The Dalek commands Lin to open her laptop, which he uses to assess Earth's military capabilities.
 * Aaron is trying to sell a Matsoki microwave oven.
 * Ryan mentions that you can buy a microwave online.
 * The Doctor follows Mitch's mobile phone signal.
 * Lin, controlled by the Dalek, shoots out CCTV cameras with her Dalek gunstick.

Vehicles

 * The Dalek drives Lin's car while controlling her.
 * They proceed to steal Will and the other officer's police car.

Archaeology

 * The woman at the archaeology dig, Lin, laments that they aren't digging up Alfred the Great.
 * According to Mitch, they found Richard III's remains at a car park in Leicester.

Science

 * The Doctor takes Team TARDIS to see cosmic fireworks.
 * The TARDIS detects the Dalek mutant's attempt at a spatial shift.
 * The Dalek is brought back to life accidentally through ultraviolet light.

Zoology

 * Lin thinks the Dalek mutant looks like a massive squid.

Story notes

 * This is the first full Doctor Who television story to not feature a Doctor Who logo as the opening titles are omitted in their entirety.
 * This story was originally thought to be a Christmas special and was rumoured to have been skipped.

Ratings
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * The Doctor has been on Earth for the start of New Year 2000 before, in her fourth, (COMIC: The Forgotten) sixth (PROSE: Millennial Rites) and eighth incarnations. (TV: Doctor Who)
 * A Dalek is found buried on Earth. Another Dalek was also found buried on Earth in 2012. (TV: Dalek)
 * The Doctor has previously encountered Daleks outside of their casing. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)
 * Ryan mentions that he has dyspraxia. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth, The Ghost Monument, Kerblam!)
 * Ryan calls Graham "gramps". (TV: It Takes You Away, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos)
 * Ryan's dad, Aaron, appears. The Doctor mentions he missed Grace's funeral. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Arachnids in the UK)
 * The Dalek accesses the internet to research the planet's capabilities. (TV: Dalek) It accesses the Black Archive. (TV: The Day of the Doctor, et al.)
 * The Doctor mentions she has faced the Daleks before and that she learned to be like them. The Ninth and Twelfth Doctors were also compared to Daleks, albeit by other people. (TV: Dalek, Into the Dalek)
 * The Doctor refers to her companions as her "extended fam". (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Arachnids in the UK, The Witchfinders, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos)
 * The Doctor requests for UNIT and Kate Stewart. (TV: The Invasion, The Power of Three et al.)

DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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Digital releases
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