Doctor Who is a series
that has enjoyed so many iterations due to its evolving nature. Pick any era of
the show at random and it will reflect the values and style of tv and wider
society at that time. Yet its fans often fail to appreciate this flexible
quality and would prefer it if the series remained the same hence the usual
outcry anytime there is a change of Doctor, showrunner or even scheduling. For
me the criteria of what makes good Doctor Who has never changed and that
is simply do I like it? I don’t care who makes it or what platform it sits on,
I just want some good storytelling.
This season is, oddly, the third season one in the show’s
history (though there have been many resets that could have qualified for that
number) and is being pushed as a good jumping on point for viewers unfamiliar
with the concept. American viewers especially are likely targets as this version
of the programme more than any other needs to succeed in that market to win a
longer term future. You know how streamers like to cancel shows, right? Russell
T Davies returning as showrunner combined with a bigger budget and promotional
reach (adverts on the New York subway!) raises the potential of Doctor Who
becoming bigger than it has ever been. So, as you can imagine American studio
executives saying, “Let’s see if the content delivers…”
Space Babies
What at first seems like a whimsical notion of talking babies
scooting around and running an abandoned space station pivots into something
more substantial linking the Doctor and Ruby’s own abandonment stories, touching
on immigration and government cuts before settling on the importance of fiction
for children. I would really have liked
the issue of the result of cuts to have been tackled in a more serious context but
it’s good to see it acknowledged. There’s
also dialogue regarding individuality which is done a lot more subtly than
you’d expect after the somewhat heavy handed proselytising RTD has been doing
in recent press interviews. The script also enjoys repetition- “push the
button” is repeated several times and becomes a key moment in the climax. And there
are hints of more serious fare down the line- suddenly the appearance of snow
is a portent of darker things.
It’s a typical RTD light touch season opener though with a
lot of exposition disguised as banter between the Doctor and Ruby, so much in
fact that it’s quite a while before we even meet anyone else. The tone is
playfully exuberant so that even when summarising his history, this Doctor
sounds accepting and ready to move on and have fun. In Ruby he sees to have
found a willing companion who quickly grasps a lot of what is going on more
quickly than anyone since Martha. There are similarities with Rose Tyler’s
early days, in intent the story sits somewhere between `Rose ` and `End of the
World` and in fact repeats the panoramic view of space wowing the newcomer of
the latter.
After just two episodes (though I’m not sure what order these
were shot in) Ncuti Gatwa has set out his stall as being a more soulful, zesty
and optimistic incarnation than many. He’s also a little bit sneaky as we see
at the end when he secretly scans Ruby’s DNA. Whether he can keep this energy
bubbling for (we assume) three seasons remains to be seen but this is an extremely
promising debut. Millie Gibson is excellent dealing
with several narrative turns that Ruby has to make and its largely down to her
that the whole cute baby scenario doesn’t become too irritating.. The Doctor
and Ruby spark off each other constantly, trust each other and are just
interesting people. Together they have bags of potential and you feel they could
deal with more ambitious material when it comes. It seems the show has returned
to the idea of these adventures being fun with this Doctor matching David Tennant
or Tom Baker at their most enthusiastic.
A slightly rejigged title sequence and music together with an
impressive space station exterior and even a throwaway trip to prehistoric
times show where the extra money has gone. For me though the talking babies don’t
work too well- their mouths are moving but not especially in sync with what
they’re saying while their facial expressions don’t match the dialogue’s mood
either. Some of this is hidden by pacy editing and the fact that everyone likes
cute babies but as an effect it takes away from the overall story.
For younger viewers the episode is delightfully peppered with
childishly rude references and a running gag where the only adult on the space
station has her broadcasts as an electronic nanny filtered to remove swearing. The
monster is clearly inspired by Alien but thankfully shot with either
fast edits or via a dotty monitor to avoid its man in a suit quality and the unveiling
of its origins will definitely amuse the under tens.
The Devil’s Chord
It makes sense that this episode debuted on the same day as
Eurovision and it may be in that spirit that I enjoyed it more than I might otherwise
have. Hanging for dear life onto the coattails of even the craziest Doctor
Who logic its destined to be a real Marmite story. It is as wild and left
field as the programme has ever been and yet it acknowledges that on screen
with several meta moments.
What works a treat is a very large performance (and it is a performance
in every sense) from Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro who brings personality and
charisma to a role that could easily be annoying. It’s a turn straight from musical
theatre; big vocals, bigger personality and you can see why she is a hit on
stage. Her singing is something else and really impresses. She belts it out
with feeling and as an antagonist is pleasingly effective. I thought it would
be a long time before someone topped the likes of Sacha Dhawan or Neil Patrick
Harris but she has. However if such OTT performances are settling in to be
the norm it will wear thin. Not everyone can carry off this kind of thing as
well as those named in this paragraph.
Some have already harped on about inaccuracies in the Sixties detail but I think its broad enough to fit in with people’s idea of what it was like even it wasn’t quite. Ok so this Fab Four don’t even resemble the Bootleg Beatles but that’s hardly the point. What the episode is really getting at is the importance of music in our lives and we can all surely appreciate that. Even though we’re told music doesn’t hold the same importance to younger people these days our landmark moments are often dominated by it whether happy or sad. As the Doctor and Ruby contemplate a world without music and she plays a single piano causing a momentary re awakening of people’s awareness of song I felt the episode was headed somewhere interesting. It shows the opposite side to the two leads from `Space Babies`; here they are often on the back foot, scared or in trouble.
Yet as matters progress the episode gets bogged down by its theatrical delivery making the the plotting less distinct; distracted by the whirlwind staging and the odd concept of musical notes
as chains which doesn’t quite work (is it symbolic perhaps?). Eventually the
whole thing explodes into a full-on musical number. Go on, you want to criticise
it but secretly you quite enjoyed it. If you’re going to make an episode about
music then why not? Like a lot of fun things about this often disjointed
episode, just don’t make a habit of it.
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