"The Devil's Chord"

After the relatively easy beginning, we are taken way out there with "The Devil’s Chord" a sidestep into the more fantastical story suggested by the Fifteenth Doctor's first story. We are geared up for a pseudo-historical, in which the Doctor meets the Beatles. However, these Four are far from Fab. There are hints of the recent film Yesterday, in which we are shown a world that the Beatles never existed. Here, they do exist, but in a world that has lost the need for music. It is still produced, but with no aim beyond being a background noise, little better than Aeolian tones. Davies paints a world without the love of music as being a world with a part of its soul missing, which makes humanity even more bellicose than ever. As Davies referenced The Ark in Space last time, here we are given a scene reminiscent of Pyramids of Mars, as the Doctor shows what will happen if he does not intervene.

There are several Doctor Who stories where sound is important, but here sound in general and music in particular has never been more critical. The incidental music is muted, only really starting when the Beatles are on screen. The more smart-alec viewers will think that, perhaps, no soundtrack would have been better – until we realise that all of the soundtrack is diagetic. The powerful scene where Ruby plays her piece on the roof of Abbey Road Studios, awakening feelings that people had forgotten that they had.

But this is an offence to the villain of the piece, the diabolical Maestro, child of the Toymaker. I am not a watcher of RuPaul's Drag Race, so Jinkx Monsoon was a complete unknown to me. Her performance is barnstorming – flamboyant, loud and, at times, genuinely scary. She is perfect for the role. We have been told that once the Toymaker and his kith are involved, reality bends to their rules. The Maestro turns every setting into their stage at will and staves and rogue crotchets erupt from the Maestro's baton, attacking like tentacles. Maestro is a vindictive God and a party-pooper in one – when Ruby's piece inspires one person to play Clair de lune by Debussy, Maestro stops her before those peerless arpeggios are played.

With such a colourful supporting character, there is little room for others, yet each is nicely played. However, the opening scene introduces us to the hapless Mr Tim Drake, who calls the Maestro to Earth with his unappreciated genius. The name could refer to the person responsible for the compiling the music on the Voyager disc or, wonderfully, RDT could be a closet Cardiacs fan. The casting is inspired, as he is played by musician and comedian Jeremy Limb, who has a very personal connection to Doctor Who's music, although not as much as a fleeting cameo, later on. As Mr Drake summoned Maestro through his unsung genius, it will take the first ever Lennon-McCartney collaboration to banish them, in a truly cathartic moment. As said, the Beatles are supporting players in this tale, yet both John and Paul get significant scenes with the Doctor and Ruby. Despite looking only superficially like the greatest song writing team in history, Chris Mason and George Caple give nice, unshowy performances as the brains behind Northern Songs. Only the Beatles could have the mythopoeic heft to make this story work, even though they never used the tritone - mind you a story based around "Purple Haze" or Black Sabbath's eponymous song would have been amusing!

The regulars are on top form, with Ruby doing some challenging work. Gatwa is in control throughout, even when the Doctor feels that he isn't. Ben Chessell helms all of this brilliantly, especially in the unforgettable "Twist at the End", where Doctor Who goes full musical with those irresistible 60s shimmy dances. This has all the unreality of any musical sequence, but it seems that Maestro's influence lingers, as their father's did.

"The Devil’s Chord" is a little gem that rewards multiple viewings. It shows how Davies is differing his second run from his first; his attitude has taken into account how Doctor Who has changed since he left and there are clear hints of his successor's attitude, in the concepts...

NEXT: "Boom"