Season Page

Season --

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 4.1 - The End of Time: Part 1

Season 4.2 - The End of Time: Part 2

Season 5

Season 6

Season 6.1 - A Christmas Carol

Season 6.2 - The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Season 7

Season 7.1 - Christmas 2012 -- The Snowmen

Season 7.2 - The Night of the Doctor

Season 7.3 - The Day of the Doctor

Season 7.4 - The Time of the Doctor

Season 8

Season 8.1 - Last Christmas

Season 9

Season 9.1 - The Husbands of River Song

Season 9.2 - The Return of Doctor Mysterio

Season 10

Season 10.1 - Twice Upon a Time

Season 11

Season 11.1 - Resolution

Season 12

Season 12.1 - Revolution of the Daleks

Season 13 - Flux

Season 13.1 - Eve of the Daleks

Season 13.2 - Legend of the Sea Devils

Season 13.3 - The Power of the Doctor

Episode --

Doctor Who – Season 9, Episode 1 The Magician's Apprentice

Play trailer

Doctor Who – Season 9, Episode 1

The Magician's Apprentice

Aired Sep 19, 2015

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

When Earth's skies are frozen by a strange alien force, Clara cannot find the Doctor, who is hiding from his past.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

In "The Magician's Apprentice," Peter Capaldi and the writers settle into an emotionally engaging tone while raising the stakes for the Twelfth Doctor.

Read Critics Reviews

The Adventures of Merlin

85%

87%

The Adventures of Merlin

Watchlist

Battlestar Galactica

95%

94%

Battlestar Galactica

Watchlist

Legend of the Seeker

46%

85%

Legend of the Seeker

Watchlist

Andromeda

%

59%

Andromeda

Watchlist

Smallville

78%

72%

Smallville

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Peter Capaldi

The Doctor

Jenna Coleman

Clara Oswald

Michelle Gomez

Missy

Julian Bleach

Davros

Jemma Redgrave

Kate

Jaye Griffiths

Jac

View more photos

Noam Cohen

Observer

09/28/2015

The episode, in other words, is fun and strange in the classic mode of Doctor Who.

Go to Full Review

Kelly Connolly

Entertainment Weekly

09/28/2015

From the minute the Doctor's sonic screwdriver flies through the air and lands at the feet of a child yet to be named, "The Magician's Apprentice" feels like coming home.

Go to Full Review

Alasdair Wilkins

AV Club

09/28/2015

B

This is now a Doctor every bit as capable of emotional engagement as his predecessors, and he is broken in a way we almost never see him.

Go to Full Review

Emmet Asher-Perrin

Reactor

01/09/2019

The 'verse feels cohesive, the nods to the past are earned, undistracting, and clever.

Go to Full Review

Mark Rozeman

Paste Magazine

12/07/2018

8.5/10

[It] feels more akin to the penultimate episode of a season rather than the premiere entry. This either means that shit's going to get even crazier from here, or that it's all downhill from this point. For now, I'm putting my money safely on the latter.

Go to Full Review

Craig Owen Jones

PopMatters

12/07/2018

7/10

The Magician's Apprentice was not perfect, but its strengths outweighed its weaknesses, and in leaving us with the image of our non-violent, absolutely moral protagonist pointing a Dalek exterminator at a small child, it made for compelling television.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

When Earth's skies are frozen by a strange alien force, Clara cannot find the Doctor, who is hiding from his past.

Executive Producer: Steven Moffat
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis, Chris Chibnall, Toby Whithouse, Mark Gatiss, Simon Nye, Steven Moffat
Network: BBC
Rating: TV-PG
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date: Sep 19, 2015