Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 22, 2022

The venerable folks at Merriam-Webster, or at least their online underlings, define "flux" as follows:

1. a flowing of fluid from the body, such as diarrhea or dysentery;


2. a continuous moving on or passing by (as of a stream);


3. a continued flow;


4. influx; change, fluctuation;


5. a substance used to promote fusion;


6. the rate of transfer of fluid, particles or energy across a given surface.

While the "flux" in the sobriquet of this so-called "thirteenth series" of the equally venerable series Doctor Who thankfully has virtually no connection to either diarrhea or dysentery, several of the other definitions listed above might be helpful in understanding an intentionally convoluted story that ultimately sees the good Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) splitting herself into three beings in order to handle all of the dangling plot threads involving a universe destroying force that is known by this season's nickname. In another way, though, the entire Doctor Who series is in a state of flux (see above), since this outing is the last "at bat" (and/or sonic screwdriver?) for Whittaker as Doctor Who, as well as chief scribe and show runner Chris Chibnall. Both of these talents may rest assured they're going out on an unusually labyrinthine note as the series attempts to kinda sorta answer a few questions about Doctor Who's complex past.

The kind of perhaps slightly ironic thing about this season's emphasis on revealing some of Doctor Who's background is that it presumes the next Doctor Who is going to actually remember it, since a lot of this season also deals with Doctor Who coming to grips with the fact that her mind and/or memory may have been tampered with at some stage (or stages). This is one of the most epically diverse stories that I personally have had to review in my years of wending through both current and prior seasons of Doctor Who, and along with the Doctor's "personal" issues, this season brings with it an almost exhausting supply of supporting characters spread across several hugely disparate timeframes (as befits a Time Lord, of course).

Among these are Dan Lewis (John Bishop), an amateur historian with a keen interest in Liverpool; Karvanista (Craige Els), a doglike creature who is indeed Dan's best friend, or something like that; Swarm (Sam Spruell), a Skeletor looking villain with a long history involving the Doctor; Vinder (Jacob Anderson), an intrepid space explorer who is one of the first to witness the devastating effects of the universe destroying Flux; Mary Seacole (Sara Powell), an actual real life historical figure who rather amazingly played a part in the Crimean War; and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), whom devoted Whovian will remember from prior seasons. It should be noted that this is merely a representative sample, and comes nowhere near to mentioning all of the many characters who waft in and out of the saga as it progresses.

Engaging in both globe trotting and time shifting, Flux offers an often mind boggling array of interlinked stories, with a kind of epic battle between space and time underlying events. The "McGuffin" here is the Flux, as it, yes, flows across the universe destroying all in its wake, but the real power of this season is in its rather fascinating denouements concerning the Doctor, as well as the sheer avalanche of various historical milieus and situations the wending tale explores.

This is one of the more ravishing seasons of Doctor Who just in terms of sheer visual splendor. Swarm and his sidekick Azure (Rochenda Sandall) have the ability to do a little "Flux"-ing themselves, and when they touch people, those folks disintegrate - colorfully. Outer space sequences offer not just the expected pleasures of cool looking ships (and the TARDIS, of course), but a whole host of phenomena as the Flux proceeds onward. When the Doctor confronts her memories, there are really appealing stylistic bells and whistles applied to things, including some great looking footage that combines black and white with color.

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. I'm assuming this digital capture was finished at 2K, but I frankly wouldn't be surprised to find out there was a 4K DI, since detail levels are often excellent and even some notoriously problematic issues like repeated use of CGI can look surprisingly sharp and well detailed throughout this season. The palette is rather lushly suffused a lot of the time, and some of the outer space sequences in particular really pop beautifully, with some extremely vivid reds, blues and purples. As the Doctor begins to suffer a bit of a "split personality", there are some quasi-hallucinogenic techniques that creep and can admittedly introduce some softness and lack of fine detail. There was just a smattering of noise in some very dark scenes, but otherwise I noticed no issues whatsoever.

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series features a great sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There are so many different timelines and events filling every episode in this season that the sound designers have ample opportunity to introduce a wealth of immersive effects. Everything from a 19th century zealot who is building tunnels underground, to future prisoners who are kept isolated in containment cells on almost volcanic looking planets, are just some of many elements which combine to keep the surround channels generally active throughout each and every episode. LFE is quite pronounced at times, and even supposedly tamer scenes like some expository moments in the TARDIS can offer good engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Bringing Karvanista to Life (HD; 4:36) focuses on this series' shaggy dog element.


• Introducing John Bishop as Dan (HD; 6:51) looks at yet another new companion.


• Mary Seacole and the Sontarans (HD; 7:55) explores "real" historical characters and more fanciful ones.


• Meet the Ravagers (HD; 7:27) introduces the bad guys (and gals).


• The Return of the Fugitive Doctor (HD; 9:16) looks at the "battle between time and space" and, um, who exactly Doctor Who might be.


• Meet Vinder & Bel (HD: 9:05) offers introductions to two more characters.


• Launch Trailer (HD; 1:05)


• Commentary on Chapter Two - War of the Sontarans features Jamie Magnus Stone, Sara Powell, Dan Starkey, and Ray Hellman and can be accessed under the Audio Options menu.

Disc Two

• The Weeping Angels Return (HD; 7:36) features the scary and threatening characters.


• Directing Doctor Who (HD; 5:47) offers some of the staff's ideas on what directing the show is like, and profiles this season's directors.


• Kate Stewart and Unit Return (HD; 7;25) gets into some of the background of Unit.


• Meet the Sontarans (HD; 7:25) feature the militaristic race that plays into this story.


• The Flux Story Breakdown (HD; 16:15) tries to stuff the season's novelistic tale into fewer than 20 minutes.


• John Bishop Video Diary (HD; 9:22) has some fun candid footage.


• A Series Sneak Peek with Mandip Gill (HD; 15:10) is a sneak peek for this series.

Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This season makes a couple of potential missteps in terms of character design and/or makeup, with both Karvanista and the Sontarans probably likely to provoke laughter as much as wonder, but the story itself is kind of amazing, actually, and should keep Doctor Who fans easily entertained. I'm not sure the "answers" here actually add up to much, but with such a colorful array of storylines and time periods, it's hard to really complain too much. Technical merits are solid and the supplements enjoyable. Recommended.