Doctor Who: How well does Season One (2024) work as a fresh start?

History versus accessibility

To be honest, the return of Sutekh was an amazing moment, at least for someone who started watching the show during its 30th anniversary. But for a season that’s presenting itself as a highly accessible starting point for new viewers, bringing back a villain that only appeared once almost fifty years ago feels a little out of place.

One thing that makes it slightly better, at least beyond the TV series itself, was the release of a new version of Sutekh’s original appearance in Tales from the TARDIS: Pyramids of Mars. It was released in between the two episodes, so new viewers got to find out why the villain is so significant.

Even better is that it included an opening and ending scene with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby set during the Empire of Death, helping to make both the classic story and the season finale even more accessible to newcomers. However, as great as something like Tales from the TARDIS is, it's also only accessible to UK viewers right now. It’s a shame, as it's such a great way of bringing Doctor Who history to new fans.

On the whole, this is only a small issue with the series. While Sutekh is a villain that brand-new viewers won’t recognize, there’s no denying that he’s still terrifyingly effective, especially with Gabriel Woolf’s brilliant vocal performance.