Doctor Who: Season 1 Review (Ups & Downs)
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- Опубликовано: 1 июл 2024
- The dust has settled on Doctor Who Season 1, so how are we feeling about it as a whole? What worked, and what didn't? Here's Ellie with an overall review of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday's debut run!
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Let us know your own Ups & Downs for Season 1, and don't miss our video covering EVERY easter egg in the Memory TARDIS! ruclips.net/video/JX5dRlOUho8/видео.html
I’ve watched them all 😊 can’t wait for another video
My favourite moment right now from season one is still that Time window scene. The interactions between the characters, highly emotional and incredibly suspenseful. Such an intriguing scene that made me more interested and invested in the payoff of the episode/series. Highlight of the series for me.
@@harveyburton7I totally agree it was a great scene, the only scene which competes for me is the scene where Mel enters the memory TARDIS and sees the old costumes and props
Maybe you should try to make your own show? Or maybe if you don't like Doctor Who anymore you should stop watching? This season was one of the best in Doctor Who history. It will go down in Doctor Who history as the season that saved the franchise. Some fans who believe that Doctor Who owes them something will likely drop off but they are being replaced by plenty of more open minded fans who simply want to enjoy the show's vision. This old man (born in the 60's, fan since before many of you were born) is enjoying this renaissance. Feel free to step away if you are not.
I wish ncuti had a signature outfit like the other doctors
Justice for Ricky September
💯
He was the only likable character this season that includes the main cast
He's a racist.
@@DeusLucifer facts
Well..and the blue box!!cant leave out the blue box lol!!shes a character in her own right...and she deserves an Emmy for speaking her parts..aka the 'groaning' 🤣😂✌️🍻🤟@@DeusLucifer
I'll say it again, maybe if we had more than EIGHT episodes a year and long stretches between seasons we'd have more of an emotional connection to the characters.
Absolutely.
Well said. I agree.
Why in the world did they only do 8 episodes?
more like 7 episodes cuz of 73 yards
I think this is a modern TV issue. Even streaming service series are all 6-8 episodes, you rarely get the friends style 25 odd episodes a season anymore
Every episode, I said to my wife "There's the single tear!" Agreed, not to say we don't LOVE Ncuti, but it did get to be a running joke in our house
Same here, even my very emotional daughter was like “come on really!”
DRINKING GAME!! 🥃
@@BeholdenProductions only if you don't binge watch the entire season .......
Russell T has watched Discovery and learned the wrong thing about Michael Burnham?
@@DrFeelGoodHelpDesk ESPECIALLY if you binge watch the entire season 🤪
I'm so glad they launched with 2 episodes. Imagine watching Space Babies and having that first impression sit in your head for a week :(
I imagine that's exactly why they released 2 in one go - I wouldn't be surprised if Disney also thought Space Babies was a weak opening, especially if they wanted new viewers.
@@merked408I honestly don’t understand why they let them make space babies in the first place, what a terrible episode. I was genuinely so disappointed
Yeah space babies alone, could have totally turned newcomers off the show. Devil's chord definitely should have been the first episode.
@@thelastofthetimelords9043 Im a big fan and it nearly turned me off to the new season. Terrible lol
i didnt mind it that much, a goofy episode. Hated devils chord much more, felt like a nothing episode - solid acting but nothign else.
I don't know when or why eight episode seasons became the norm for streaming series, but it has to stop. I haven't watched one yet where it didn't feel like the writers wanted to do more than what they had time for. For a show as complex and character heavy as Doctor Who especially, there needs to be more than that for everything to feel satisfying.
It all comes down to money.
@@marshsundeen doctor who has more money than ever tho
YES!!!! Petition for this!!!!
Part of it is that shows don't have the monster audiences that shows back in the day had to justify making thr 20-22 episode seasons. Or even the 13 or even 10 episode seasons that some shows had.
Regardless, I'm for seasons being longer. 8 is just way too short. They could have easily made this season 1A which would have done better with providing the space to flush out the development.
I’m curious how the decision was reached to do 8 bigger budget episodes vs using the money for 10-12 episodes at the same quality as previous years (IMO the VFX has been decent since the Matt Smith years).
Just my quick thoughts about our "emotional Doctor" and something that I think has been overlooked:
When 14 and 15 are split by the Toymaker, Ncuti says bigeneration is impossible but it's happened. That, however, has a side effect that the Doctor himself refers to in "Devil's Chord". When the Doctor and Ruby are hiding and Maestro calls them out, the Doctor goes into full panic mode and Ruby calls him out on it, because she's been traveling with him for months and she says he NEVER panics. Remember what the Doctor says? He says that, when he battled the Toymaker, his soul was literally TORN IN HALF. To me, this means two things:
First, the Doctor isn't emotionally whole. And that makes him emotionally unstable, prone to wild swings of emotion (which we do see throughout the season).
And second, regardless of RTD says, the Doctor probably won't be able to regenerate without David Tennant's help. Otherwise we won't have the whole Doctor. We'll probably learn that Tennant's time with Donna is healing the damage to that part of of his soul, and Ncuti will need him to heal enough to regenerate.
Just my quick thoughts. I have enjoyed this season immensely.
You have a nice little circus in your head.
@@happyclam1266this comment is so funny
I do think 14's got to come back at some point. I loved his ending but it would be insane to have that character in the wings and never use him
All the unanswered whys of Ruby (snow, hidden song etc) might be paid off by who her Father is.
The question of Season 1 was Who was her Mother? Maybe, we have been asking the wrong question ...
Agreed - that's what I've been saying to everyone since the end of the last episode.
Overall I wish 73 yards was explained better.
Also, just thinking back to season 4, after only one episode, we can tell that 10 and Donna were besties.
“I’m not mating with you space man!” Priceless. And the adipose meeting scene with the pantomimes. Priceless.
The lack of explaining things this season was my biggest gripe really.
73 yards is one example, another that really irked me at the time was episode 2, we're told that music stopped in the 20s then Doc and Rubes beat the Maestro in the 60s and we're never told how that's supposed to have fixed the timeline. Too many moments this season of asking us (the audience) to "just go with it" instead of giving us satisfying writing that made sense.
I really did still like 73 Yards though, and the season I enjoyed overall, but just not a fan of that writing style (or lack thereof).
@@OneWingedRose yeah…40 years of no music 😂😂😂😂
I was hoping that there would be a big reveal/explanation about 73 Yards in the finale. Where we would hear it and hit ourselves because "damn that makes sense and I didn't see it coming."
But nope. Nothing
This is proof that Moffat is a key writer and should be learned from.
BOOM had tons more internal structure in its plotting... I was amazed at how well developed his work is, and I miss it.
Every season of Doctor Who has its things that work and don’t work.
I just enjoy the bigger picture of the complete journey.
12:00 I agree on the episode count. But 73 yards "villian" wasn't rushed. I thought it was initially too so I get the though! But the defeat of Williams wasn't the point.
I initially thought Ruby was meant to overthrow him all along so we therefore needed to have him appear more frequently earlier and build him up but actually she wasn't. It's just something she figured she could do with the woman, that's it! There's nothing deeper plot wise. The point in the scene with him wasn't meant to be that we were meant to view him as the episodes antagonist. He is just an evil guy that exists in the world, unlike other villians in Doctor who, who are the villian of the story.
The point was that we were meant to see Ruby have this thing that has no reason for being there... that torments her... a demon if you like and she turns the demon into a force for good. You could see it as someone learning to make the most of their life with a disability or mental illness. And the story we're meant to see isn't how terrible he is (though we get plenty to believe it) but rather to see how capable she can be and how she has given herself - and specifically not been given by someone else - a new found purpose here.
Kate sums it up best when she says (to paraphrase) "when we don't understand something we try and make sense of it however we can"
This wasn't how she solved the episode. It was the turning point where she turned her life around after all the bad that happened. The episode isn't about her defeating Williams, that's just a part of it. She could have defeated anyone anywhere; used the woman to stop a mugging or a random bully at work.
It's actually about how she learns to cope with abondonment through this totally meaningless thing that happens.
If you listen to "Council of Geeks" review of this episode it sums it up really well! It's not for everyone and some people want an explanation but the reality is the episode isn't meant to make logical sense. I think when you accept that you can start to enjoy it... or not if that's not your cup of tea and that's fine! But my point is if you try and make logical sense of the events you'll never find this episode any good because it's not meant to make logical sense.
▪︎One thing I really have to applaud them for is making the dialogue understandable. There were times with 13 and the Fam where I couldn't understand entire conversations. The combination of Yorkshire accents, loud sound effects, and louder music (especially interior TARDIS scenes) where I was reading the closed captions instead of watching the show.
▪︎I think that Ncuti got the personality of The Doctor right, even if the crying was overused.
▪︎I like Millie as Ruby, but I feel like we were just getting to know Ruby when she leaves to be with her family.
▪︎There were several properly creepy moments that fit Doctor Who as a series.
▪︎It looked and sounded great. The intro is really great, with the time vortex, nebulas, and planets.
Ooh interesting. The sound and intelligibility is actually one of my biggest complaints of this season. I found that it was often really hard to hear them talking over the music, and the volume was just low overall. I have had to turn my TV up to like 70-80 (normally 30 is very loud) and it was still just 'medium' volume, with the voices half buried under the score.
I wonder what explains that different experience?
My problem with 13 was I could not understand her. I had the same problem with her in Broadchurch. Something in Jodie's voice hits dead spots in my hearing.
I really fear that we won’t see any more (non finale) two-parters. Some of my absolute favourite episodes are mid-season two parters and I just don’t think they’ll fit in such a short season, especially if the finale also takes two episodes. Episodes such as Empty Child/Doctor Dances, Impossible Planet/Satan Pit, Under the Lake/Before the Flood etc. couldn’t happen in this 8 episode format.
Personally I had no problem buying the friendship between Ruby and the Doctor. Obviously I wish we had seen more of it, but how could one NOT become instant friends with two such likable characters as these?
Agree - frankly I found Ruby companionesque.
An up, and a down for me, was Susan Twist
Her appearance in every episode, had me absolutely hooked, I was so excited to find out who she was. Big up.
Then when it was revealed, it was like 'Oh I guess thats it and shes gone'. Felt like an anti-climax. Could say very similar about Rubys mother.
I agree with the general vibe of this critique. It’s a shame that the next season is already in the bag, so none of the issues raised are likely to be resolved in Ncuti’s second season.
in the bag, you mean they didn't regenerate that clown playing the doctor now, in the off season, another year of money saved on DVD's AND MAGS , AND MERCH, 2nd season means, I got more money to blow on non q regular stuff
When the woman in the cloak pointed at the sign that wasn't there... Did that look like the hand (Or the general stance for that matter) of a frightened/sad 15 year old girl? MmMmm! Nope... Didn't.
This is actually the most I've enjoyed Doctor Who in years, but the reduced episode count definitely hurt the season in a number of ways. Pacing, for one thing. People have already mentioned this, but while I personally like the Doctor and Ruby's relationship a lot it's extremely basic compared to Rose, Martha, Donna etc. Fewer episodes means fewer moments to stop, chill and just chew the scenery. It's those small moments that the first RTD era really excelled in and they were pretty blatantly absent here.
I'm fully on board for season 2, but I hope we're able to stop and smell the roses every once in a while to balance out all the running and screwdriverin'.
I think 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble were the two best episodes this season, with Boom very close to them.
I totally agree with you about Ruby, I didn’t feel their chemistry together like Rose and Christopher or David’s doctors. I was also fed up with the crying, we need our time lord back.
They wasn't together enough for me to build up that connection
Ruby really needed to be developed more and needed more of what Rose, Martha and Donna had. Family drama, a love interest, something that we could latch onto. It's like RTD was trying too hard to make us care about her story. I mean, I do like Millie as an actress, she does seem very talented and a nice enough girl. I just wish she got something better to work with.
Interesting that in all the seasons that he's helmed, the strongest and most fondly remembered stories of the RTD eras weren't actually written by RTD himself.
I go back to RTD for Moffat, Not RTD.
Well there was Midnight, but I take your point.
@@AllThePiecesMatter_Turn left and waters of mars (although that one was a colab) were also incredibly strong
@@thechillindude4478 Agreed. Good call.
Yep silence in the library and forest of the dead. Masterpieces and written by Moffat.
Oh Ellie - when you started citing previous Doctor / companion relationships I just KNEW River Song was coming up! 😆
And you are bang-on with the one moment in BOOM! being the only time Ruby really stood up to the Doctor.
Milly Gibson was incredible in 72 yards, and very likable and pleasant in the rest of the season, I think she needs an up just for that one performance, especially given her age. I'm also ok with the Doctor being a little more raw emotionally, there was that whole scene between Ncuti and Davey T about 15 having had the time to process things emotionally since being 14, so they're not bottling anything any more, they're feeling stuff as it comes.
Did Rogue do much fun or interesting? Love a queer moment, but if we recast Ncuti back to Jody like you did in an earlier point, was that an exciting premise? It feels like everyone's excited 'cause the doctor's got a boyfriend out in the ether now but the individual ep didn't do much and Rogue as a character seemed kinda dumb for all the assumptions they made about having found one alion when he was actually hunting a several, other more different alions.
Looking back, 'Dot and Bubble' genuinely could have just been a Black Mirror episode; if you took the Doctor and Ruby and replaced them with just genuine random outsiders, the entire episode couldve pretty much been the same.
The episode might have actually have been good if it was in black mirror.
10:58 yeah…10-12 would be better at least for series.
I really like that this Ups & Downs landed in a fairly balanced place. It feels accurate to this season, which was a true mixed bag! The issue I’ve had with this channel’s Ups & Downs is that they “up” everything and avoid giving real issues “downs”. I understand this is channel is pro-Who (as am I), but it’s okay to identify a problem without forsaking your fandom.
Anyway, great job Ellie and Danny!
Well…. It’s an improvement on the last five years
Well…let’s be fair. The bar was pretty low. 😂 If it got any worse I think it would be facing cancellation. 😢
@Vobatho I think it still is facing cancellation, but they've already invested in another season. And because they've already done most of the next season, none of the issue raised here will be addressed. The next is looking very likely to be the last.
As much as i Love Ncuti's acting, his character doesn't feel like the doctor.
There is none of the ancient being who possess vast intellect and wisdom. It's mainly the writing that is lacking.
More just a decent everyday guy.
It could be because he hasn't got any meaningful opposition yet.
I still look forward to see more of him next season and hope his character evolve into something more.
Reminds me of the transition from Baker to Davison.
I think you nailed it. I think he hasn’t had a “meaningful opposition”. If this happened in Matt’s…er Eleven’s first series arc I would have felt the same way. A Good Man Goes To War goes so hard. ❤😊
@@Vobatho Yeah they dropped the ball on Suetekh. Too rushed for someone "who waits". Both Maestro and the Toymaker seemed far more powerful and imposing.
It was a cool idea of him "spreading death" with the Tardis but it should have been the 3rd season final reveal as the Doctor starts noticing that there are more "death" than there should be. It could have been this era's "end of time". They could even give more meaning to the significance of different deaths.
No more death-sand and liches.
@@AlexanderForsmanI’m not certain Sutehk was “The one who waits.”
He waited, to be sure, but I think that story has more going on.
@@AlexanderForsman The words I'd describe this Doctor as so far are:
Bubbly, Clumsy, Emotional, Flirtatious, and Careless.
It's hard to make someone come across as ancient and wise with that mix. Not impossible, but uh, I'd personally strive to take Clumsy and Careless out if you want them to feel more Doctor-ey writers!
I feel like each time the Doctor got emotional and cried was earned but the problem was, as I've said is the problem driving so many things in this season, is the 8 episode count. Each of these 8 episodes were the "peak" episodes of the season and we were missing the 1 or 2 "filler/worldbuilding" episodes in between. Had we a real episode count, the 8 episodes we got would have been spread out and felt less like, oh there he goes crying again. ((I LOVE the fact that he's emotional))
The problem of not enough episodes.
In this series we were told that Ruby is the Doctor's best friend. In other series we were shown through banter and chemistry. Rule 1: Show, don't tell.
There was plenty of chemistry, just not enough story showing them grow as friends.
@@happyclam1266 Yes, the foundation of a friendship was there, but it was all too rushed for us to watch it happen.
I think Ruby should have been her own mother in timey-wimey oroburos eternal goddess kind of way. And, as a goddess, she's the only one who can defeat Sutekh. That would have been awesome.
I agree, that would’ve been awesome. Perhaps not as awesome but a more clever solution to Sutekh than a rope might have been for the Doctor to use some of his infinite regeneration energy to bring life to death. Sutekh presumably would not be aware of him having infinite regeneration energy as the TARDIS was nowhere near the Doctor for the Timeless Child reveal way back in Series 12.
The singing, dancing, and touchiness of the 15th Doctor gave me "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" Carlton Banks vibes.
I wholeheartedly agree that the emotional outbursts could have been limited to so that they are more impactful and there was definitely lukewarm chemistry between the Doctor and Ruby. I wasn't able to buy into any bond between them.
Basically, I agree with this entire observation but I also want to know whether we will ever know why Ruby was persona-non-grata in 73 Yards? Was Sutekh the "ultimate god" that the Toy Maker and the Maestro had eluded to? It wasn't clear if the 15th Doctor will be fighting a pantheon of gods for the next two seasons or has that plot line concluded? Weird cliffhanger right?
Thanks for a refreshingly honest "Ups and Downs" for the whole series.... matching your more detailed and well-reasoned "Ups and Downs" throughout.
I think an awful lot of the problems could have been avoided, and many of the merits could have been enhanced, just by having a few more episodes, and putting some stories as two-parters, and including some of those "in Tardis banter" moments that are missing.
I appreciate that, maybe, in light of the previous "era" of the show, they were not confident enough to do more episodes... not knowing if the audience was going to be there to appreciate it.
Unlike Chinball, we know that RTD can use his own writing talents, and get together a good writing team, and can manage more than just the "minimum number of episodes", lazily relying on repeated tropes and clichés.
Hopefully, they will have more confidence in the show, in the future - and keeping the audience on their side, should help with that. There are some lessons that the whole production team need to learn, though - For example, the doctor crying every episode has already become a cliché, and, no one is satisfied with a "Reset button" ending.
There is a lot that can learned from "classic Who", and by linking the whole of this last series to a "classic era" story, really emphasized that.
Watching the revamped version of "The Pyramids of Mars" as part of the "Tales of the Tardis" series, really shows how the "Doctor/companion banter" (positive and negative) and the relationship building moments, are essential to any story, and why time *has* to be made for that - it's not a waste of time nor an irrelevance, nor just "padding" for the sake of it.
When you have a show that puts the main characters in peril, week after week, the audience *needs* to care about them. If they don't, they get bored, and switch off/turn away.
We had already watched the original version of the "Pyramids of Mars" story recently (when the rumours of Sutekh first started doing the rounds), so it was interesting to compare the original version to the revised format. It held-up really well!
I also think that the order of the stories didn't work well, and hindered the series as a whole.
I think they should have started with Rogue, and made that a two-parter (plumping out the story with a couple of the "banter" moments, in the first part, to build the Ruby/Doctor relationship), with Ruby's "death" as the cliff-hanger between the two parts.
Ok, it might have been a bit early to ostensibly kill off the new companion - but nobody was fooled by that, anyway.
A little more time could have been given to the relationship spark between Rogue and the Doctor too, as that was a bit too "fast tracked", I feel.
I think that would have been a better way to start the new series, on a slightly more serious note (after the Goblins of the Christmas special), whilst still keeping some of the humour, and lighter emotional aspects.
Then, "The Devils Chord" and "Space Babies" could have been shown as episodes 3 and 4 (in that order), to add back some of the Doctor Who silliness, whilst still bringing in the idea of the "Pantheon of Discord" as an early plot point.
The eventual reveal of Ruby's mother being "ordinary" would have been a brilliant payoff. Ordinary people are sometimes forced into doing things they regret, but that can lead to another ordinary person doing great things - and that would have been wholly satisfactory, if played that way.
But the cynical overplaying of the "mystery box", with overblown, irrelevant "clues" (that just wasted time that could have been better spent, in the other stories) was a bad idea.
And then we had a petulant RTD "blaming" viewers for their own disappointment, because what he provided didn't meet the expectations that he put into the viewers' minds... which was just really poor.
As was him "blaming everyone else" for one ""Narrative collapse" (as he put it) in the finale story - when *he* was the writer of the story and *he* was the showrunner, with ultimate control over the story... (especially when there were a few "narrative collapses" within that finale, if we are honest).
My overall score for the series was 7 out of 10 (I think my husband would give it more).
There was lots that was good, and it was great to have Doctor Who almost back to great form (after a very disappointing era).
There is still room for improvement, which hopefully will come.
But, don't growl at the audience when they are disappointed, because *you* failed to deliver what *you* were promising RTD - that's not the way to keep the audience on board... an audience that you need to like your product (whether you want to admit it or not), if you want to not only keep the show alive, but also to allow it to thrive, for the future!
"The Doctor doesn't break easily."
That's because The Doctor always held their emotions inside to an unhealthy extent, and they're at the point right now where they're trying to let their emotions be freely expressed, while still struggling with it (like in Rogue). This is the character progression of The Doctor, they are doing "therapy in reverse", and at a point currently they are letting themselves feel things they'd otherwise have unhealthily kept inside till eventually exploding.
That is both a good thing but also on brand for a character that for the better part of 4 decades kept a lot of their emotions inside or at least didn't reveal that side of themselves. 13 was The Doctor attempting to heal and then going through a existential crisis and falling back into old habits near the end.
This is how the character has been progressing since 13 which I am shocked nobody is mentioning that analyzes the show.
13 cried too but it was always through a fake smile despite the fact she was hurting deeply and dealing with a lot.
14 started realizing they were being more emotional and was coming to grips with it, found themselves more vulnerable than before(Wild Blue Yonder) but convinced themselves it was "good" they hadn't really revealed their emotion to Donna and saw it as a moment of weakness and then tried to shut it out at the end of the episode as usual. But near the end of his run he allowed himself to finally heal and be emotional, and 15 and Donna helped him get there to the point he allowed himself to be happy and feel those emotions.
15 is The Doctor for the first time trying to be in touch with those emotions and feel them and has a harder time keeping them inside, whereas before The Doctor would have held in their emotions to an unhealthy degree, 15s emotions are on his sleeve even when he's trying to hide them. Does it happen often? Yes and it would have happened tons of other times in the past if The Doctor hadn't become so adept at keeping his emotions closed off and inside. That is not the case anymore, and The Doctor is experiencing that openness for the first time since we've known them.
THAT is why I have a problem with people saying he cries "too much" and that The Doctor wasn't known for that as much before, as if there wasn't a story point of that very thing and why The Doctor is progressing that way currently. As someone whom when they were younger was very good at keeping their emotions in check or inside, the moment I finally started allowing myself to feel them.. moments that I would have shaken off before, made tears come and I didn't even notice it, it's part of the process for many people. Because of that I am in a much better place now emotionally and managing them. And you'll find many people with a similar story.
The Doctor being relatable in that sense is not a bad thing, it's a wonderful thing. It's a personal Golden Up from me.
15 is not "positive and high energy while hiding their pain through a smile till something finally breaks them" that was 13. 15 is positive and high energy whilst truly getting used to allowing themselves to emotionally honestly express their pain, even unintentionally because of what happened to 13 and 14. That is the difference, and it's a wonderful one.
Thank you so much for saying this! I honestly hate how so many people say The Doctor should be more closed off despite the fact that it's been made very clear that it isn't a healthy way to deal with things! One thing I've loved is how The Doctor has realised that they can't keep doing this. They realised that they have to address the things they feel
My up would be that for a long time I enjoy watching Doctor who again and its been great to talk about a programme that i have loved since a kid. I'm just happy to be a true whovian again hopefully it just get better and better.
As much as I liked Boom and Rogue, 73 Yards is easily my favorite episode this season. It might not have had the Doctor but imo some of the best television to ever come out of Doctor Who, up there with Midnight and Heaven Sent. The first 10/10 episode since Moffat left the show.
How Ellie could watch 73 Yards and still not have strong feelings about Millie as a character is truly baffling and makes me wonder what Ellie is smoking.
The shedding of a tear is not an emotional outburst”.
One thing that struck me personally, was how and I don’t know if this is the right phrase “high functioning” this incarnation of the doctor is! I think the joyful and humouristic quality is them not quite picking up on social queues or adapting to their surroundings quickly and the companion having to explain what is “appropriate” in that scenario. I think twelve and Clara is a perfect example, Clara almost having to be the leader in those scenarios to help the doctor understand what is happening around them. To me it’s not just a display of mutual trust, but it shows the doctor as clever as they are, aren’t always able to pick up on things and is truly an alien from a whole different planet! It to me also shares the relationship, in those socially awkward moments for the doctor they almost become the “companion” and I love that it’s something shared! It’s comedic but also believable!
Can we all just agree that it's leagues above the Chibnall era? I'm no longer worried about the future of the show, but excited to see what's next. I haven't felt that way since Capaldi left.
These are my thoughts too. I actually looked forward to a new episode every week. D'you know how long it's been since I did that for Doctor Who?
No, we can't all agree on that. We're fans! I think you'd get bored pretty quickly if we all just agreed with you. :)
Just wanted to give you and everyone at Who Culture a huge thank you for adding another huge layer of fun to this season of Who! Really increased my enjoyment overall. You all do great work.
I honestly loved the season. It reminded me of my time in Scotland watching seasons 1-4. I really liked how eclectic the tones and genres were and the social commentary. But I also liked the energy and adventure. Although I agree with some of the downs, overall it was a fantastic experience.
Eight episodes is tough when you have to introduce a new world, conflict and side characters every episode. Leaves little time to really get to know the Doctor (it doesn't help that he's barely in two episodes). I felt like I knew Ruby way better than the Doctor by the end of the season.
I think the episode "Rogue" is the only episode we actually get a proper deep dive into Ncuti's version of the character. For most of the season, it was like he only had two modes... He was either laughing and joking around or he was devastated and shedding a single tear.
I have to say I agree with everything you've said. I started watching Dr Who in about 1978 or 79 (Chicago US) and fell in love with the show even with the campy fx. Tom Baker was my 1st Doctor.
I 1000% agree with you regarding the emotional direction they decided to take this Doctor. Ncuti was absolutely phenomenal but I just WISH they would keep the Doctor a lot more conservative with his emotional beats. That being said, we did get a glimpse of how this doctor would portray themselves when Tenant came back into the role. We saw this emotional growth through his lens when he said things like, "do I say things like that now?" I think that was the queue for us the audience that the next Doctor would be more in-tune with their emotions.
I love Ncuti Gatwa so far. I think the overall story of this season was hurt by it being so short. Millie Gibson has a great deal of potential and I hope that the story going forward gets more time to develop. They have a good chemistry, just not enough screen time to let it work more. I think that a strength of the classic series was the time they had to develop their interactions and relationships.
Loving the Amy Pond vibes from The Impossible Astronaut, Ellie!
Love Murray Gold.
UP
6:06 YESSS more interior TARDIS/relationship building scenes‼️ Because... how you call Ruby your bestie and she didn't even know Timelords regenerate yet...
For me the fact that this season the doctor is more emotional is a proof that they work on themselves and now he show his emotion
Agreed on the Doctor's emotions and crying. I feel like the 15th having gone through therapy and healed somewhat means that his emotions should energize him, they should be a strength of his incarnation not a weakness. Whenever 15 cried in the show he'd shut down and look/act like he didn't know what to do. I wish we could see him embrace those powerful feelings and let them fuel his desire to do good.
I think there needs to be a simultaneous 10 ups and 5 downs for Russel, he wrote one of his best and worst seasons at the same time 😂
Is your pfp from google bcuz it’s my keyboard xD
Loved the transition to the center at the end. Nicely done.
In terms of the series I feel like it's a rewatch able series, I found some of the mid-who (you can't call it new who now) near the end to not have a lot of rewatch content. I'd watch it once but not really binge watch it, whereas I would watch most of these again (even space babies, as odd as it was). Maybe that should be a ranking system - likely hood of rewatch.
13:59 - When RTD first came back and it was announced how many episodes there were and he said "8", with the possibility of more for future seasons. Well, 14/15 were commissioned at the same time, so hopefully 16 will gert more than 8.
8 is also what the commission was for Whittaker's last series, although they lopped two off to make into the first two specials but they were part of the Whittaker S3 remit - so it's been consistent with the last three full series, although Whittaker's were an hour long generally.
Ncutti is an amazing Doctor, I want to see him alone for a bit in a story that truly tests him.
He will be alone in the Christmas Special.
Yup. Needed.
A bonus was how the Doctor actually changed clothes to match the time period and location. I never understood how the companions would change, but not the Doctor!
I'm really close in my own opinions to the ones here, but there is one thing I'm not. Only one up for Murray Gold? I'd give him an up for each episode he made music for, and another up for his cameo, so he gets a total of 10 ups from me.
I really appreciate that there are more videos coming up, I was concerned that with the season over we would have not many until the Christmas special.
Thanks for all the entertainment and all the knowledge about Doctor Who this weeks. All of the team made them very special. Cheers to you! 🥂
A lot of the issues with this season -- as well as some of the issues that some people had with the Whittaker and Capaldi eras -- could have absolutely been solved if we went back to longer seasons. 8 episodes isn't enough to allow for big adventures, fun moments, a story arc, and enough character development to create complex characters with depth that we want to watch -- and that develop believable relationships with other characters.
The actors are good-to-great. The writers and show runners are experienced and capable. They are just all being asked to do too much in too short an episode run.
Ncute Gatwa Pluses: 1-The Doctor dancing in the kilt, 2-the sexual tension between the Doctor and the Rogue
Ncute Gatwa Minuses: 1-The tears, 2-The primal screams, 3-When will we get to see this Doctor's darker side? We got a sneer from Gatwa in "Boom", and then nothing else.
I also believe when Rose is older (and the actor is more seasoned), bring her back as a companion.
I am looking forward to THIRTEEN episodes of Mr. Gatwa next season!
like that hour long 8 episodes can make for those 10/15 minute scenes of the doctor and his companions banter in the tardis
I totally agree… I don’t need to see the doctor cry every episode… I’m not looking for that. I’m looking for the cry when it’s something rare and warranted!
Right! I think David Tennant said something like, 'After all, it's just an acting job'. I'm paraphrasing, but it's important to remember the essence of good dramatic devices. I love the new TARDIS interior, and the spectacular opening credits, and I really like Millie Gibson's 'girl next door' vibes. I also think the new Doctor's emotional moments are overcooked, and don't get me started on Space Babies.
The way I think about him being so emotional this season is due to the split regen. Before, he'd grown emotionally numb to everything. But now he's free of that so he's more likely to be emotional. But I do agree it happened a tad much.
I pretty much agree with everything that Ellie said, but I have one additional down - the fact that they kept a lot of the background material from US fans. We didn't get the full Doctor Who Unleashed or any of the Tales of the TARDIS episodes, and while we did get abbreviated behind the scenes clips from DWU, I wanted to see the whole thing! I also realize that licensing makes airing the entire TotT episodes difficult, but it would be nice if the BBC would at least make the framing bits available without us having to go to random unofficial channels that have uploaded them.
This season of Doctor Who is the first time I've ever watched any kind of review RUclips channel on Doctor Who and I'm loving it!
The fact that Mrs Flood lives next door must have some significance. At the beginning, Ruby came to the Doctor's attention, after he detected dodgy Goblin business, so there is something significant about Ruby independent of the Doctor. Mrs Flood did not immediately realise that the police box was a TARDIS but did recognise it after it dematerialised. I am not sure that either the Rani or the Monk are sufficiently fleshed out to justify a return, but they do appear in expanded media. Perhaps the Monk got stuck in ancient Egypt, or some such place, and came down to the 21st century the long way round, via male and female regenerations.
Lots of us old people cry over nothing. The Doctor is ancient - cut him some slack. Love Ncuti! That wink!
There was a carrot for the snow - Kate's comment about Ruby's father. Implying the bait and switch was which of Ruby's parents was the supernatural being. Her mother's costume could easily be explained (Halloween costume, only thing available for anonymity and warmth.) The pointing however needs a good explanation. If we don't get it, it would be bad.
And maybe the point of all the tears is to show what the Doctor has been feeling and hiding all along?
I loved this season! My major down was the fact that the Doctor didn't have a characteristic outfit. They could even have had different outfits but with the same style. But instead, it seems like he had a different personality each episode.
I am so glad you gave a shout out to Steffan Powell and Doctor Who Unleashed. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him and, as you noted, learning more about what goes into a Doctor Who episode. I think my favourite thing was the giant bank of screens for Boom.
This season suffers from a classic issue with new eras. Every Doctor Who starter season always has that transition period where they are finding their footing. Each new Doctor seemed to suffer from it. But the second series is always an improvement, because we’ve had that opportunity to get to know the characters and now they can move forward stronger.
This season was a good start. For me, a lot of the downs you mentioned did resonate with my experience. Ruby was a good companion, but the show was treating their relationship like they’d had a lot more adventures than we’ve seen on screen. Tell don’t show, yeah, I feel that. Maybe two extra episodes fleshing this pair out would’ve helped a lot. And the final reveal about Ruby's mum…that was underwhelming. Even I sat there and went "is that it?" After all the build up, particularly with the Devil's Chord and the Maestro proclaiming "this creature is just wrong…" I can’t help but wonder if Russel is trying a little too hard to mislead us.
Also, if season two doesn’t invoke Susan for real, actually bring her back to meet the Doctor, then all that foreshadowing and build up would’ve been wasted. Bring back Susan!
And while you’re at it, bring back Romana. I’d be fun to see her again after all this time and see how another time lord reacts to everything that happened to her people (and the revelation of the Doctor's true origin). Play it right, Romana could be an interesting companion/recurring character. (The new River Song, as it were, out on her own adventures regularly crossing paths with the Doctor.)
"I didn't believe it because I hadn't seen it" This. Massively missed the random round the TARDIS chats, the development of the friendship in this season
the emotional point was a similar issue to a (e.g.) Picard outburst vs a Stamets outburst, if Stamets is reacting emotionally and dramatically to something it's just any episode, if Picard is then it's a Scene
Agreed about Ruby and the crying. We didn’t get enough time to get to know ruby before having *that* finale. And the crying…did get predictable and I think we’re forgetting The Doctor isn’t human. It’s almost like they’re over humanising them.
Personally, I loved the episodes, the characters and the story arch. I just wonder whether they work as a coherent season if every episode feels like a special. Do you think it works? Love Ncuti, love Millie, love Russell. The new Doctor is already one of my favourites and the production quality was fantastic. It just feels like there were two or three extra episodes that could have added to give a more complete look to the season. Also, Space Babies was a very good starter in my opinion as it established the new themes for the show in an accessible manner. I would love to know what you think.
The broader standardisation around 8 episode seasons (which seems to have been driven mainly by Netflix) tends to work if it’s an arc-focussed show. But for a show primarily still monster-of-the-week, 8 episodes was not enough to layer a full arc into. Furthermore, with Disney+ handling worldwide distribution, there is no good reason for the 45 minute limitation that existed mainly for syndication purposes.
Felt like they had a whole different ending intended, with perhaps a Ruby arc that was to run over 2-3 seasons, but then, for whatever reason, had to completely rewrite it, thus having no explanation for most of the buildup
That's a very good point about the lack of conflict in their relationship being part of why it doesn't feel fully fleshed out, or that the "best friend" vibe is earned.
That observation made me realize -- Ruby doesn't act like a friend to the Doctor. She's a fangirl.
She just adores him and makes googoo eyes at him all the time, idolizes everything he does.
Of course that's understandable. But it doesn't make for a compelling relationship. And certainly him calling her his "best friend" when she's literally just being a groupie, is actually kinda creepy.
I will join in and say, I honestly like the crying, each time it happened (for me personally) it fit so well that I almost cried too-
I really like how emotional the doctor is, how serious he can be, and how strong the emotional impacts are-
I’m pretty emotional too so maybe I just vibe with it-
I'd hoped Ncuti's doctor would be freed from all that "angsty doctor" baggage so it was a bit disappointing to see him going though emotional torture almost every episode. Would have loved this season to have been a witty, light-hearted but clever romp, and that would have set the stage for some really devastating high stakes drama in the *next* season!
I think dot and bubble should have been pushed to the next series and then 73 yards could have been a 2 parter which involved the doctor a bit more and made more sense and tbh they should bring back Maxine Alderton because she can write really good scary stories proven in doctor who and other media
I can't believe you didn't give an up for Millie Gibson. I thought she was absolutely outstanding as Ruby Sunday, as I expected from her amazing performance of Kelly Neelan from Coronation Street.
Another minor down: no set costume for the doctor. Would love for him to have his own style instead of having a new costume every week
I can guarantee if this was the case you'd also be complaining about how the Doctor never dressed appropriately for a particular era
I liked the costume changes. It was a refreshing change. Just as Pertwee brought Bond to Doctor Who, Ncuti brought ever changing style. Every actor leaves a mark on the role.
I’m loving him having different outfits. He has an entire wardrobe closet on the Tardis. It always bugged me that he kept wearing the same clothes. I hope this continues.
To be fair, I wish the 13th Doctor had worn more different clothing. They wore a tux in one. But otherwise, it was that rainbow jumper thing. Because merchandising, probably.
With one exception, I agree wtih most of what was said. We know that the Dr moves to a different time frame from the rest of us, it was even made clear in Power of Three when Rory and Amy were discussing how long before their friends realise they are ageing quicker than those around them And there was a 6 month gap we didn't see between Church on Ruby Road and Devil's chord so I did believe the friendship. I do recall No 5 generally NOT liking his companions, even trying to get rid of the "gobby Australian", but apart from that there is no up or down I disagree with. Ironically due to the scheduling conflict we did get 73 yards so having Ncuti not be available was not all bad. I have said several times RTD is great at the bigger picture but not necessarily the fine brush strokes and with the possible exception of one series arc, his finale's are not usually that great and the reset button is his usual escape pod, or seems to be.
The thing that killed me was how no one could find Ruby's mum. How bad is Claudia at finding family's, and how can the ambulance not know who it was. Just seemed a bit silly when it was a regularly NHS worker who would have to be on systems and stuff
I do think that season 1 has laid a strong enough foundation for the future. Did it fully deliver? Not necessarily since we felt we were missing something. Hopefully they see the fan reaction and can fix the issues, because really the biggest issue was that there were missing puzzle pieces in the episodes, ie.scenes and moments of dialog between characters. Imagine what the season could have been with longer episodes or a bigger episode count.
I don't think Russell I stupid. He's said s2 explores and continues Ruby's story. I reckon there's a bigger mystery. Mrs Flood is maybe another time lord or perhaps another God. It'll be revealed that she was responsible for distorting history and making us think Ruby's mum was something else by distorting memories of the past.
The emotional moments worked for me, because, while the Doctor cried (almost?) every episode, if necessary, Ncuti can bring the even stronger emotions to the character, e.g. Dot and Bubble.
We just needed more episodes that were longer! I hate not knowing these adventures that Doctor & Ruby they mentioned them isn’t enough
I think Ruby’s dad will have a supernatural element to it.
I think Gatwa screaming into space was so effective ❤
On the relationship between Doctor and companion I felt that the show assumes we know they are best buddies because they always have been in previous seasons. I felt that RTD chose this approach because of only having 8 episodes and the main actor missing for some of them. It did not feel like a good choice.
There was lots of talk about Disney being committed to the show and providing a bigger budget but it looks more like they are holding back in case it flops and thus are helping it to flop. We need 10 to 12 episodes per season to develop the characters, which is something that many of the big studios think is not important in recent years.
The reveal and the whole ruby orphan thing is very much like Meet the Robinsons
Okay I didn’t know where to put this but I’ve just had a crazy thought about a future incarnation. What if the 16th Doctor is Paul McGann? Revisiting familiar faces? Give Paul a chance at his own TV series? The numbering 8 and 16? I just needed to write it down 🤣
Okay now i have to ask - is there an Ü in "Boom" that i'm somehow missing?
Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, you NAILED it with this video! 👏👏👏You put into words everything that I have felt about this season. To be clear I still LOVE Doctor Who and am loving Ncuti as the Doctor! ➕🟦 Can't wait for the Christmas special! 🎄❄
Personal down - it feels like we were missing half of a season. We're told they are best friends but I feel them becoming besties took place in those "missing episodes" bc I didn't see that happened as well.
3:13 - You're spot on with the crying stuff you're saying. it's all good. Felt that myself.
Re character development. With only 8 episodes (and 1 special which introduced the two main characters) it leaves very little "room" to explore the Doctor's and Ruby's friendship.
And as for the number of episodes, I suspect that Disney basically had a tight hold of the purse strings.
So with a restricted budget they had to work with, when compared to other high profile sci-fi series, and the quality of the effects, (which were quantum leap over the last series), and the calibre of the guest stars, I think the production team did a fantastic job.
The fact that series two is already in the can will mean that we will not see any additional episodes until season three at the earliest - assuming the ratings overall are sufficiently high enough for Disney and BBC Studios to consider a longer series.
I do agree that there was an awful lot packed in in terms of story content, which was to the detriment of the season. And in that respect the season is really only fairly average when you consider the last 19 years of "New" Who, although I did still find it immensely enjoyable.
However, I feel that Doctor Who is heading again in the right direction, after a number of years where it seemed to lose its way.
I disagree on the second down... what makes the doctor compansion dynamic work is for them to go out into new worlds and let the companion wander off, driven by their own needs and interactions. We learn about them... and the doctor, in his reactions. None of these episodes had the classic interactions that were as true with Clara as it was with Pip and Jane and the newly regenerated 2nd Doctor at a moonbase. In fact, from the beginning, companions were going off on their own and making their own friends... But for some reason these kinds of interactions are avoided in a big budget production when they were the norm in the no-budget era.