Doctor Who "The Story & The Engine" Review – Is This the Worst Episode Ever?

Why Doctor Who's "The Story & The Engine" Left Fans Speechless

Some episodes make you laugh. Some make you cry. And then there are episodes like Doctor Who: The Story & The Engine—the kind that make you check the time on your phone every five minutes and wonder if someone swapped the script with a community theater monologue about barbershops.

This isn't just a bad Doctor Who episode. It's a baffling one. A bizarre exercise in metaphor-first, plot-later storytelling that tries to wear the skin of science fiction while preaching through a soapbox made of TARDIS parts.

As someone who lives and breathes sci-fi—both as a fan and a published writer—I’m not mad because this episode tried something different. I’m mad because it had the potential to be brilliant and buried it under a pile of thin allegory, narrative aimlessness, and smug self-awareness.

So let’s cut to the bone, sonic screwdriver-style.

Production Polish, Narrative Rust

First, the good. The Story & The Engine is beautifully shot. The Nigerian setting is fresh, vibrant, and visually distinct from most episodes in the modern Who canon. The lighting, the costumes, the atmosphere? Top-tier. Disney’s budget is being put to use, and the production team should be proud.

But polish can’t save a story that doesn’t know what it’s saying—or worse, says the wrong things.

The idea: the Doctor gets trapped in a barbershop in Lagos, Nigeria. Turns out, this isn’t just any barbershop. It’s a story-engine-powered pocket universe where oral storytelling is harvested by a quasi-mythical being for energy. People tell tales, memories flicker on the walls, and somewhere in the chaos, there’s a villain who calls himself the spider on the worldwide web.

Yes, really.

When Metaphor Eats Plot

Sci-fi thrives on metaphor—but good sci-fi balances it with worldbuilding, character, and narrative propulsion. This episode doesn’t. It leans so hard into being a self-referential allegory that it forgets to be Doctor Who.

The antagonist isn’t really a person. He’s a concept. He represents trolls, reviewers, critics, and online fandoms who (in the show’s view) don’t create but only consume and destroy. He’s not defeated by clever logic or timey-wimey tech, but by emotional appeals and vague symbolism.

There’s no real science fiction at work here. No stakes that matter. No logic to the way the world functions. Why can’t anyone leave the barbershop? Why is hair being used as a map? What does “destroying the engine” actually mean?

These questions aren’t answered. Because they aren’t meant to be. The message is the engine. And that’s a problem.

When the Doctor Becomes a Guest Star

For an episode built around storytelling, the Doctor barely drives the narrative. She (or he—depending on your interpretation of Joe Martin’s surprise cameo as the Fugitive Doctor) feels more like a commentator than a protagonist.

The episode meanders for nearly 30 minutes before anything remotely action-driven happens. It’s static. It’s stagey. It’s all about characters telling stories at each other instead of doing anything about their situation.

The inclusion of the Fugitive Doctor—while exciting in concept—adds more confusion than clarity. It’s another dangling plot thread tied to the much-maligned Timeless Child lore, thrown in more for continuity’s sake than for emotional payoff.

Reviewers as Monsters?

Let’s talk about that "spider on the web" speech.

In one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the episode, the villain explicitly frames himself as a creature who cannot create, only consume. Who steals stories, critiques, but lacks originality. Sound familiar?

It's a jab. A not-so-subtle jab at critics, YouTubers, fans on Reddit, and anyone who’s ever dared to say Doctor Who isn’t perfect. It’s the writing room’s way of saying: “We’re artists. You’re parasites.”

Which is ironic, considering the episode borrows heavily from the writer’s own stage play (Barbershop Chronicles), just inserted wholesale into Doctor Who. So the line between self-insert and self-congratulation becomes hard to ignore.

This isn’t just meta. It’s petty. And it alienates the very fans who kept the show alive through decades of budget constraints, network cancellations, and questionable continuity retcons.

Where's the Wonder?

Once upon a time, Doctor Who was the show that made the universe feel big again.

It was about a madman in a box, running through time, saving civilizations, toppling empires, and teaching children to be curious, brave, and kind. Even when it dealt with political or philosophical themes, it did so through layered metaphor and character arcs—not finger-wagging sermons with a side of exposition.

The Story & The Engine forgets that.

There’s no joy here. No mystery. No sense of cosmic scale. Just a lecture disguised as an episode.

Land of Geek Verdict

Doctor Who: The Story & The Engine is not just an underwhelming entry in the Disney+ era—it’s emblematic of what happens when a show stops trying to connect with its audience and starts arguing with them.

It’s got all the trappings of prestige sci-fi. But strip away the lighting and costume design, and what you’re left with is a story so caught up in defending itself, it forgets to be anything else.

And as a pro writer who believes in the power of speculative fiction to both entertain and challenge, I can tell you: that’s the real tragedy.

⭐ Land of Geek Rating: 4.5/10

A visually polished, conceptually intriguing episode that quickly collapses under the weight of its own message. Doctor Who deserves better than a bottle episode that forgets to be science fiction.

✅ Pros:

• Unique setting with vibrant Nigerian barbershop atmosphere
• Strong production values and costuming
• Ambitious attempt to explore the power of storytelling
• Joe Martin’s surprise return as the Fugitive Doctor

❌ Cons:

• Incredibly slow pacing with little actual plot progression
• Heavy-handed metaphor that targets fans and critics
• The Doctor feels more like a background character than a lead
• Sci-fi logic is nearly nonexistent—pure fantasy with no rules
• Smug, self-referential writing that alienates its core audience

We’d rather face Daleks in a dentist’s chair than rewatch this one. Stay sharp, stay skeptical, and don’t miss our next Doctor Who deep dive—only at Land of Geek Magazine!

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