Review by C.J. Bunce
Seven episodes down, two to go. I love this season of Doctor Who and I love it for many reasons. Not all Doctors and their companions share the job of holding up the series as much as the new duo of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. Gatwa is a strong Doctor, making the role not only his own but doing it in such fresh, unique, and surprising ways. But Gibson’s Ruby Sunday is due as much praise for her contribution to the show. Her vibrant performance and seamless merger into the Whovian world is an amazing thing to watch. If anything, both Gatwa and Gibson have an excess of personality. That’s not a bad thing for this series.
After a stunning arrival in the 60th anniversary episode “The Giggle” and a brilliant first appearance of the pair together in last year’s Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road,” it seemed like the spirit of Doctor Who is alive and well. But “Space Babies”? Maybe the Kubrick fans and others out there loved that one more than me. But I think most fans will find something in the subsequent five episodes that will put this season to the top of any new Doctor’s freshman tour.
Before I get too far along, I don’t want to knock Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor. You might chalk it up to the curse of the number 13, but I think the writing that was promising at first presented a naive Doctor–the wrong voice for the character and actress by way of showrunner Chris Chibnall’s choices. The plots were too kidsie-goofy. The first woman Doctor should have shown strength instead of uncertainty at every turn. This season the episode “Space Babies”–the first episode of 2024–has that goofy aura, too (and that after an episode where the Doctor and Ruby break out into a musical number). But Russell T. Davies didn’t just stay there. He’s moving around in and out of story types and in and out of both safe and uncomfortable spaces, which is what has driven 70 years of Doctor Who.
Just look at “The Devil’s Chord.” Holy mackerel, what a fantastic villain is Jinkx Monsoon’s Maestro! If you thought Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker (Maestro’s father it turns out) was outside-the-box character creation, you’ll find the Maestro is an even greater showstopper. From the Maestro playing the segue on the piano to the opening credits of the episode itself (brilliant!) to a battle with the Doctor playing the piano and the Maestro on violin, you won’t even care The Beatles are being re-created for a Doctor Who episode. Is the Maestro the most ruthless Who villain yet?
In the next episode, “Boom,” Steven Moffat returned to Doctor Who for the first time since his Peter Capaldi team-up with the First Doctor (recast with David Bradley) in “Twice Upon a Time” back in 2017. Half of the story is the Doctor and Ruby figuring how to get him safely off a landmine on a planet at war. The rest is the Doctor furtively undoing the war itself, and this is Moffat integrating science fiction at its most useful. He doesn’t even try to hide that this is about modern-day AI and algorithms running amuck and what could get much, much worse. This is Logan’s Run mixed with Gattaca--and ultimately a spin on WarGames–as imperfect humans are snuffed out. When will we humans learn from science fiction–AI always means certain doom for its users, and it always arrives pretending to have all the answers and a smile on its face. See Cyberdine, Genisys, etc. Doctor Who could actually do with an after-show, where the writers step in to make it all clear to those viewers who don’t catch the nuance. “Boom” continued a big defining theme for this new Companion: Ruby is going to die or be close to death a lot in this series. And it only seems to get more dire as each new episode arrives. She is quite similar to Clara in that way.
The next episode, “73 Yards,” takes on a classic Star Trek trope, creating events that transpire over the course of an episode and ultimately only exist in that episode. And like Doctor Who’s best episode of them all, “Blink,” the Doctor is gone for most of the story. Here Ruby must live out her entire life trying to learn what is behind a mysterious woman Ruby discovers on a visit to the Welsh coast–a visit that coincides with the vanishing of the Doctor. The bookend of the story isn’t all that clear–why did this happen and what was behind it?–but the journey is a showcase of Ruby’s personality. This is a Companion we all want around for a long time. The best bit? When even UNIT and Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge Stewart turn their backs on Ruby.
“Dot and Bubble” also has problems with the “why” factor. The journey is fascinating, horrific, fun, and even has a rewarding ending of sorts. But what is behind this race of aliens (which look fantastic in the spirit of what has become TV’s all-time best makeup show) and why are the Doctor and Ruby attempting to save–to the exclusion of all others–only this vile, vapid, selfish, young woman who mirrors so many social media-obsessed TikTokers in the world of Earth 2024? We also learn she is racist, but it’s not clear exactly what she’s racist about. Does it matter? This is Davies continuing to make Doctor Who present and relevant, and at that he’s truly challenging the expectations of his audience. Killing off a good guy hero is just another great, edgy writing choice.
This brings us to the latest episode, “Rogue,” which spends a little too much time name-dropping the Bridgerton series, a much smaller, lesser known show than Doctor Who. It’s as much a look at any Jane Austen or early 19th century send-up, but is really about the widespread popularity of cosplay. Yes, cosplay. It also presents the Doctor with his hundredth or thousandth love interest. Could this character, a D&D fan and space bounty hunter named Rogue (played by Frozen’s Jonathan Groff) also be the One Who Waits, referenced in earlier episodes? He’s a hero who sacrifices himself, but not his life, jettisoning elsewhere with some clever new villains, presumably to wait for the Doctor to come get him. Is that the path of future seasons for this Doctor? Again, the bird-like alien characters represent the best of sci-fi creature creation on television.
Even where the story loses a beat, Gatwa and Gibson are there to take up the slack. Gatwa “is” the Doctor in every way, and he just slipped in like he’s owned this character since the beginning. Gibson is one of the best Companions with only seven episodes down. Production design under Phil Sims in this Disney-financed era is stunning stuff, and costume designer Pam Downe and Clarice Gill and the makeup team are truly showcasing some mad skills–just look at the costumes, makeups, and hair in “The Devil’s Chord,” Gibson’s life changes in “73 Yards,” and both Gatwa and Gibson’s costumes in “Rogue.” Fans will be cosplaying this season for years.
You won’t even notice there are no Daleks, Master, or Cybermen. Doctor Who fans have a lot to be happy about. Only two more episodes are coming to the BBC and Disney+ this season. Look for the next episode coming Friday.
