The Story and the Engine (2025) Review and its unique freshness

Will Sanger
2 minutes ago
11 min read

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Doctor Who has been around for a long time and told vastly different stories from a variety of different writers. Writers frequently draw from their personal experiences when telling stories which are merged with science fiction, creating stories which resonate. It makes sense with the first incumbent black Doctor to tell stories which explore the Doctor’s black identity. This is where Inua Ellams comes in with an understanding of what he is tackling and a very distinct and different Doctor Who story. Let's delve in.

The Story and the Engine begins with the Doctor and Belinda landing in Lagos, Nigeria 2019 to get a better fix for the Vindicator. Belinda gives the Doctor the blessing to visit Omo’s Palace; his favorite barbershop where he can find a sense of acceptance. The Doctor arrives to find the barbershop under new management. A character called the Barber, whose ship is powered by the telling of stories; the previous servant of Anansi and the gods who empowered them by telling their stories. He has been left bitter by the lack of credit and now wants revenge.

The starting point for the Story and the Engine comes from Inua Ellams’s play: The Barbershop Chronicles focused on the relationships of black barbershops. The Story and the Engine simply puts the Doctor into the middle of the barbershop and mixes science fiction and fantasy elements within which Inua Ellams does seamlessly. You can feel the voice of a distinct and fresh writer paving the way forward for Doctor Who.

What makes the Story and the Engine special is the way it's tied down to its singular location of a barber shop. The best Doctor Who stories are the ones that are highly concept driven. They are defined by an idea, and they are stripped back and incredibly simplistic. This allows the story to home in and focus on its environment. It's what has made the best of the show. It allows the concepts time to be fleshed out and developed organically and for the drama to play out meaningfully, in a character driven way. It gives huge power to the script, the drama and the performances to carry things to the finish line.

The focused location and setting makes the story highly memorable. When a story is isolated, then the idea you are presented with sticks inside your head. I tend to become frustrated when stories move too fast and too swiftly between characters and locations. A singular location brings in the slow-paced feel which I am much more in favor of. It allows the script to have power over its audience, its characters to develop slowly and meaningfully, and twists and turns have the room to make their impact and feel like they have a significant role in the story. Inua Ellams is a playwright, so it's natural for his script of Doctor Who to have the essence and instincts of a stage-play, but I think it’s a very positive thing. It means the story isn’t focused solely on high spectacle. It's based on the drama, the important themes which arise in the story and the journey of where that ultimately takes the characters. There is an emotional and thematic journey which is thought out and well plotted with care and attention. Everything in it feels incredibly personal and real. There is a pace and unravelling which I really like.

Black barber shops are very central to black culture. For black men who have faced racism, judgement and are looked at and treated differently, they can be a great place of community. They can be a place of shared interests, experiences, solidarity and friendship free of toxicity. It feels like Inua Ellams is speaking through the script and translating his sense of comfort and his experiences to the rest of the characters in the story. He is speaking through the Doctor and other characters of the black community in a very powerful, visceral and emotional way. The barbershop is a very clever setting for the story just for how tied into black culture it is. By making the barbershop the primary setting of the story, you are by nature telling a story about black identity. I am white and have no experience of this, but I imagine it’s a very emotionally resonant episode for the black community. Inua Ellams through the melding of his experiences into the story helps you to understand the emotions, tragedy, and friendship of the characters in the barbershop. It appears as if it gets to the root and essence of that sense of community.

I love the idea of the Story Engine and a ship with the image of a spider being fuelled by the telling of stories. It has a confined feeling to it and a sense of suspense and threat upon the characters. It’s a very memorable and creative story. There is a wonderful imagination to the concepts of the Story Engine and the creation of the Nexus. There is something admirably complex and limitless to the Nexus. The concept of the Nexus helps drive the stakes with the interwoven nature of it and its focus on cross-connecting cultures and ideas. With godlike characters appearing in the form of myths and ancient stories across multiple cultures, it makes a great deal of sense and logic. The image of a spider-like ship climbing through a weblike structure feels incredibly vivid and wild, whilst also having a creepiness to it.

The cleverness is also shown by the way the concepts and the ideas of the story tie so seamlessly into the black culture aspect. Oral history has a major basis in African cultures. It’s a key aspect of cultural identity, and stories are passed from one generation to the next. Using storytelling and the reinvention and retelling of stories as a component of the threat of the Story and the Engine was a very clever way for Inua Ellams to tie the black identity themes into the core of the story.

The Story and the Engine is an acquired taste, and it lost and confused some fans and audiences along the way. The biggest issue it comes up against is the exposition. You don’t have technobabble rammed down your throat like in the Jodie Whittaker era, but when focused solely on one location, things get a bit muddled in places. The information and context is there, but the explanations are easily lost amongst dialogue. Some of it could have been better portrayed and explained overall.

I adore the message that is shown on the power of stories. There is a meta message lying underneath the surface about how stories influence and empower people no matter where they originate and come from. Stories and the re-telling of stories help to define people and their identities. The Doctor and Doctor Who as a concept is a never-ending story which is constantly allowed to reinvent itself and continue. The power of that idea in the end saves the day. The Story and the Engine distils and defines the specialty of Doctor Who in its continuing and evolving nature. It’s a magical tale which keeps evolving. It's very clever because it ties the identity of Doctor Who into black identity themes in an incredibly cathartic manner.

Now it's time to move onto the main villain with the Barber played by Ariyon Bakare, who previously played Leandro in the Woman Who Lived. The Barber is a really fascinating character and a very sympathetic person, and I love how Ariyon Bakare personifies the role. The way he uses the scissors and the razor in his performance is brilliant. There is a wildness, eccentric and manic state to the characters’ hair and performance. The way he is constantly toying with and altering his hair with his barber equipment creates a creepiness to the character. You wouldn’t think that hairdressing could be such a creepy and effective quirk and element for the character, but it really elevates the whole personality. It gives you a sense of perfectionism to the Barber. He is a creator who produces stories and hair styling can be considered a form of art. You get the sense of a dangerous creator consumed in his art, which is an incredibly interesting idea. You can see where he has gone off the rails with his sense of ego and vanity.

There is a softness to the actor's voice but an incredible gravity, danger and relentlessness at the same time. The body language of Ariyon Bakare and the way he manifests the character has a wonderful smoothness which is very well judged. It feels like Ariyon Bakare has thought the character through and done the homework to make them feel real and sympathetic. There is an internal thought process to the character which tracks. I love the ridiculousness of the way the Barber announces himself as a god, only to have the audience's expectations flipped as he turns out to be a liar. It’s very cleverly done, and the end result is a more interesting direction. Gods and fantasy themes have been common in the Fifteenth Doctor era. Yet, this is by far the most interesting route that has been taken. It's very out of the box and offers something different. The Barber isn’t a god but isn’t a mortal and his character ties into the storytelling and world-building of the gods.

I love the idea of the Barber being responsible for the influence of the gods by telling their stories and strengthening the gods' bond with humanity. The idea of the Barber wanting credit for the stories he has told, and the creation of the Nexus is fascinating. You can root for and understand his motivations and the reasonings he is coming from. However, the nature of the bond between humanity and the gods means this will have drastic consequences. There is a carelessness to his actions which the Barber does not really grasp. He is a flawed character you can relate to, and I like the way the Barber is redeemed and given a second chance. It resonates a great deal, and it makes sense that the Doctor would feel sympathy for the Barber as he is simply misguided by arrogance, anger and pain.

Abena, played by Michelle Asante, acts as a secondary villain as the daughter of Anansi who has a past history with the Doctor. I like the past, conflict and baggage of her character and the grudge and resentment she feels towards the Doctor for the way she was used in a bet. She has a valuable character arc as someone whose hurt and anger has allowed them to be used and manipulated for cruel and insidious means. Finding solace and forgiveness is key to her arc. The integration of the Fugitive Doctor, I thought, was very unnecessary. It would have been more interesting to leave it open and mysterious as to which Doctor had the bet with Anansi. The use of the Fugitive Doctor makes things more complicated and confusing.

Let's move onto Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. This for me, is one of his best performances as the Doctor, and one of the most interesting directions of his character. Ever since Peter Capaldi portrayed the Doctor, I've been fascinated by the idea of the Doctor discovering their identity and desired self throughout each incarnation. It creates a meaningful character arc. Having a Black man as the doctor allows for compelling narratives about racism. Dot and Bubble's introduction of racism to the Doctor explains why the Doctor later sought out accepting communities. There is something lovely about the feeling of comfort and warmth that the Doctor feels within Omo’s Palace. He has a sense of friendship and support, which means a lot to the Doctor. This could have easily felt contrived, but it rings true for the arc of the Fifteenth Doctor’s character when you put his experience in Dot and Bubble into perspective. The Story and the Engine is a story that explores the nuances of race. It shows what it's like for a regenerating Time Lord of previous privilege to encounter such difficulties and you feel for the Doctor.

I love the personal anger of the Doctor when he realises that Omo has betrayed him. There is a feeling of disgust in Ncuti Gatwa’s performance and a feeling of raw emotional pain which rings true. The Doctor is a character of intelligence and superiority but is still open to hurt. The betrayal of friendship hits the Doctor very hard. I love the Doctor’s conflict with the Barber. Ncuti Gatwa has a lot of charisma and confidence and an energy when going up against the Barber. I like the Doctor’s kindness and compassion towards the Barber. He understands that the Barber was misguided, irrational and the thoughtful and compassionate nature of the Doctor helps the Barber to start afresh, which I like. The engine not being able to take the power of the Doctor is a lovely moment. You feel the heroism, age and wisdom of the Doctor in his experiences at that point. Ncuti Gatwa puts the compassion, danger and limitless nature of the character across with so much conviction. It feels like a defining and important moment for his Doctor. You can feel the past Doctors and memories of the past centered and focused. Ncuti Gatwa is distinctly the Fifteenth Doctor, but you feel a distinct legacy behind him. The Fifteenth Doctor is acting upon the continuing legacy of his values and his predecessors. He is acting upon the differing and joined personalities and incarnations as he vows to never let his past down, which is beautiful.

Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu, is a very engaging companion. I like the compassion and the kindness of her character a lot. She feels a lot of understanding for the Doctor in the sense of community he feels within a black barbershop. She’s clearly someone with her own experience of racism and cares for the Doctor enough to allow him the time he needs. I do think her character is underserved in this episode. She spends a lot of time in the Tardis, which sadly reminded me of how Nyssa was used in the Fifth Doctor run. Her common sense, kindness and warmth towards Abena, I did still think, was a strong part of the episode.

Omo, played by Sule Rimi, is a character with a friendship and history with the Doctor that feels very believable. There is a sense of support between him and the Doctor and a feeling of warmth in Omo’s character. He clearly admires the Doctor’s intelligence and misunderstands how his actions would hurt the Doctor. Omo is a character in a difficult position, and you feel for the decisions he is forced to make. There are a number of other side characters in the black barbershop who are unfortunately underdeveloped. The performances are fine enough, but the writing doesn’t do much with the characters themselves. If the story was a two parter, it would have had more time to flesh out the individual characters more.

The Story and the Engine is directed by Makalla McPherson, who previously directed the likes of Queenie, Ama’s Story, and Waterloo Road. I think the directing itself is rather weak and lets the story down. There is a static stillness to the whole thing which hinders the story’s ability. It feels very stilted, and you could have done with more variety in the way it's filmed with such a fixed location. The benefits are that the camera does sit back and let the performances and drama do the work, which is a valid approach. Some fans were frustrated by the pace of the story, but I think it’s a lot about how the story is visually represented. There’s not much visually interesting about the style of it, and I don’t think the Lagos location was particularly convincing. The streets feel quite confined and enclosed and there is a lack of believability to engross you in the Nigerian location and environment.

So, overall, how do I feel about the Story and the Engine? Well, I think it’s a brilliant story and one of the best of Ncuti Gatwa’s era. You have a focused and a confined setting with brilliant and imaginative concepts which pave the way forward for the show. It’s a story with a layered, complex and sympathetic villain and a unique journey for the Doctor. It's interwoven with themes and morals which reflect the cultural identity of the black experience and African community in a raw way. It has its issues with an underdeveloped guest cast and the muddled exposition of the story. However, I think it’s a terrific story which shows the importance of stories to people with a fascinating idea at the centre of things.