Doctor Who recap: series 38, episode six – Praxeus

With its ambitious scale and gory deaths, this windswept, sci-fi take on Love Actually was another win for Chibnall-era Who Welcome, as normal service resumes following last week’s spoiler-related hiccups. After the revelations and reveals of Fugitive of the Judoon , this week, perhaps wisely, dials back on all that. There’s no mention of the mysterious Ruth Doctor. But Praxeus is breathless nonetheless, another standout episode in the Chris Chibnall era, which has found its feet after a stumbling start. The writers, Pete McTighe and Chibnall, once again play with the format; the episode begins with the “fam” already separated on separate missions, the Doctor having sent them off on errands (it’s normally at least the 10-minute mark before the companions get separated). But troubling events spanning London, Peru, Madagascar, Hong Kong and beyond, taking in a doomed astronaut and his deadbeat husband, a shifty scientist and two annoying travel bloggers, turn out to be connected. People are exploding and the