The Magician's Apprentice (Doctor Who)

254a – "The Magician's Apprentice"
Doctor Who episode
Davros, creator of the Daleks, as he appears in the episode
Cast
Doctor Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor)
Companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald)
Others Michelle Gomez – Missy Julian Bleach – Davros Jami Reid-Quarrell – Colony Sarff Jemma Redgrave – Kate Stewart Jaye Griffiths – Jac Harki Bhambra – Mike Daniel Hoffmann-Gill – Bors Joey Price – Boy Benjamin Cawley – Kanzo Aaron Neil – Mr Dunlop Clare Higgins – Ohila Nicholas Briggs – Voice of the Daleks Kelly Hunter – Shadow Architect India Ria Amarteifio – Alison Dasharn Anderson – Ryan Stefan Adegbola, Shin-Fei Chen, Lucy Newman-Williams – Newsreaders Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg – Daleks Jonathon Ojinnaka – Soldier
Production
Directed by	Hettie MacDonald
Written by	Steven Moffat
Script editor	David P Davis
Produced by	Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Brian Minchin
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Series	Series 9
Length	1st of 2-part story, 50 minutes
Originally broadcast	19 September 2015 (2015-09-19)
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "Last Christmas" "The Witch's Familiar"

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	92%
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	8.6
The A.V. Club	B
Paste Magazine	8.5
SFX Magazine
TV Fanatic
IndieWire	A+
IGN	9.4
New York Magazine
Daily Telegraph
Radio Times

"The Magician's Apprentice" is the first episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 19 September 2015. It is the first episode of a two-parter, the second of which is "The Witch's Familiar", both written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacDonald. Filming began in February 2015 in Tenerife, Spain.

In the pair of episodes, alien time traveller the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) battles his old enemies the Daleks and attempts to save his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). Julian Bleach and Michelle Gomez reprised their roles as Davros and Missy, the current incarnation of the Master, respectively.

The Doctor has returned to the planet Karn. There, Ohila of the Sisterhood, explains that someone has been seeking him across all time and space. She asks the Doctor if he will go, insisting: "You owe that creature nothing." He says that he will, but that he will first 'hang out' for a bit.

Another prologue to the episode, titled "The Doctor's Meditation", was released in Russia, Canada, the United States and Denmark on 15 and 16 September 2015, alongside a 3D cinematic release of "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven". On 18 September, this was released on Facebook in the United Kingdom, and also made available through other online channels. In this prologue, the Doctor appears in medieval times alongside Bors, who appears to be a loyal friend, and in the 6 minute clip, questions who he must face, asking whether he faces an old friend or a foe. The Doctor replies that he must meditate, but has trouble doing so.