“The Magician’s Apprentice” is episode one of season nine of the new Doctor Who.
This episode opens on a rather odd battlefield. There are bows and arrows, biplanes and lasers, and creepy biological land mines (‘hand’ mines). There’s a boy on the battlefield, and he’s trapped in a minefield when the Doctor arrives. The war has being going on a long, long time, and the whole thing resembles the Skaro of “Genesis of the Daleks”. Which isn’t a coincidence; the boy’s name is Davros.
A representative of Davros is now hunting the Doctor. Davros is apparently dying, and wants to see the Doctor one last time.
On Earth Clara is teaching when she notices that the planes are frozen in the sky. This is the work of Missy, the latest incarnation of the Master, and she just wants to get their attention. She has received the Doctor’s will, which means he is shortly going to die. Missy wants Clara to help her find him.
A cliffhanger episode for the season opener, with the story continuing in the next episode, “The Witch’s Familiar”.