The Most CONTROVERSIAL Season Opener EVER? - Doctor Who: Space Babies (2024) REVIEW
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2024
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I'm experimenting with the format of these reviews to try and help with Copyright and Content ID Claims, so please let me know your thoughts and feedback on this review AND 'Space Babies'! Comments really help in the TH-cam algorithms!
the care Ncuti shows for the Bogeyman (booger Man, was already taken with a copyright :P ) it shows a continuation from the Capaldi story with the T-Rex and his pain when it was killed. Or the story of Matt Smith with the kind of tre-insect aliens couple who were haunting a place and the doctor built a machine to solve the situation. Also : those quirky creatures any Doctor would defend as not disposable for being lifeforms unique and dying.
@@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914 True!
"The sky's gone woke!" had be giggling like an idiot
I don’t know, I appreciate the commentary and the Bogeyman was really cool, but it feels more like a Sarah Jane Adventures episode without any of the charm and the dialogue was super clunky and forced to catch any new people up... but in trying so hard it just ends up making it even more impenetrable. And man, some of those poor babies look terrified.
Yeah man it really did not work for me
If this episode was my first-ever experience with DW, I probably would've not returned for more. As you pointed out, "The Church On Ruby Road" already covered most of what this episode was trying to do and in a much better way. SB wasn't the worst thing ever but it was the weakest first episode of a modern doctor IMO (It felt like watching someone playing with a puzzle except that only 1/3 of it was built right and the rest was scattered around). A very 6/10 to me at least.
When the Doctor said he'd never met a monster made of bogeys before, I went "not another person forgetting Sleep No More 😭"
They weren't made out of bogeys, though. There were made out of sleep dust. Different thing.
@@andrewbowman4611 eh, close enough. Still both made out of mucous.
@@DriverHenryWho3245 Not really. I mean, sleep does contain mucus, but it's mostly dead skin cells.
Though it's a little less jarring here as this whole scenario is played for insanity, while Sleep no More was played for horror
@@andrewbowman4611 ye, that is true.
Fun fact, there were no butterflies per se 150 million years ago. I suppose it might have been a Kalligrammatid.
Also, that is a mistake the original Butterfly Effect story made
The Toymaker, or perhaps The Rani, put it there as a test.
There have been lepidopterans since almost the very beginning of the Jurassic, so it's entirely possible that Ruby stepped on some kind of never-discovered day moth.
I don't agree that this episode was a good litmus test for whether you like DW or not. I've been a fan since NuWho launch and I didn't really like this one or the Devil's Chord.
Didn't hate them, there was just nothing for me.
I didn't care for this one, but I liked Devil's Chord more. The more it goes on, the more I'm enjoying the new season.
While Space Babies isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I had a good time with it and I was laughing multiple times throughout especially the Nanny censoring. The standout is Ncuti and Millie’s. Those two have immediate chemistry and Ncuti is one of those actors who you can’t help but smile with joy and hilarity whenever he appears. There are even times where a saw a bit of Eric too. I wonder if the moment when he almost say s**t was the moment he got told off for.
The passing comment he made telling Ruby to tell her mum not to slap him was pretty funny as well.
It was so so bizarre and I was constantly asking “what the fuck” but I will say, anything with cleverly interwoven subtext will always get a thumbs up from me. The whole “no one growing up wrong” represented so many people who are neurodivergent/lgbtq+ etc. But also there was a commentary on governments insisting babies be born then doing nothing to support or help them which was so well done
Now that you mention it, it feels quite clever they snuck it in.
"cleverly interwoven subtext"... Please, read more books. Of at least somewhat respectable quality. Aka not glorified fanfics.
@@timeandrelativedimen Of books? LOTR comes to mind. ASOIAF is also up there, though it IS longer than most series'. To round up the fantasy recommendations, let's go with The Witcher (8 books in total).
From the more classic ones (books and short stories), depends on what topics you like. Off the top of my head: Pride and Prejudice, Brave New World, Those Who Walk Away From Omelas, Huckleberry Finn, Fahrenheit 451 etc.
I also recommend movies and TV, namely older Star Trek - movies 2 and 6 especially, and TNG.
@@quantumvideoscz2052 Oh LOTR, what a classic! Probably my favourite book series of all time! A Song of Ice and Fire nearly surpassed it because my god that dialogue and I really appreciated Martin’s treatment of female characters as being real 3D characters. Just need the rest of the series to be published…..😭😭I haven’t read the Witcher books yet, I just finished the Eragon series and I want to go back to single novels for a bit to break them up, but you bet that the Witcher is on the list. As for classics, I’ve read all the ones you’ve mentioned except for Fahrenheit, I’ll say that Emma is better than Pride and Prejudice in my opinion but I’d never say anything bad against Austen’s writing. To add to those I’ve also recently read Catcher in the Rye which was so surprisingly good, 1984, Handmaid’s Tale and have just started reading Sophie’s World.
By the sounds of it we’ve the same taste in books 😁 I totally recommend Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants. There’s a whole series called The Century, you’ll love it if you like big epics. It’s not fantasy but it’s a brilliant fictional story preceding and featuring WW1 and has as many characters as ASOIAF
😂😂😂
I thought it was weird but fun. I am very squeamish about bodily fluids so the monster in this episode nearly made me puke, but the Doctor risking himself to save it is the most Doctor thing to ever do.
It COULD have been. However there was not a lot of context given in the story as to why he saved them. All RTD had to do was have the Doctor realize the monster was only scaring, not killing. Instead RTD brings back the "last one of my species" from the 9th - 11th and it's infuriating. I thought 15th was suppose to be a completely clean slate who got the therapy needed to fully move on.
Yeah I really liked that.
@@dylanotto949 It wasn't related to his trauma at all. He just realized that it another creature, that like him, was the only one like that. That just gave him more reason to save it. Just my thoughts.
@@dylanotto949 even if you deal with trauma through therapy, the memory and how it changed you doesn't go away 💀
To me at least, its more of a principle thing, it seems more like a genuine decision rather than just a reaction stemming from PTSD or something
I’m probably 200 years too old for this one I’m sure toddlers and younger love it
So I had 2 main criticisms. I get there’s a reduced episode count and that means the development and plot has to be rushed along but Russell rushing Fifteen and Ruby’s friendship with the early Tardis Key and 6 month time skip kind of skips them gaining each other’s trust and getting to know each other. They’re just instant besties.
The other is that Russell has leant too far into the silliness aspect of the show that Ncuti (after 4 episodes) hasn’t had an “I am The Doctor” moment yet? Like it hasn’t let Ncuti flex his acting muscles the same way Matt or David did?
A Doctor Who episode? At this time of day, at this time of year, confided entirely within my kitchen?
I this economy?
May I see it?
@@locustboy8448 No.
@carolstott5337 Yes 🙂
You’re an odd fellow but I must say you space a good baby
Doctor Who works best when you just go along for the ride. Quality can be determined in the context of a whole season once the story has been told imo. Just happy to have more Who to look Forward to
Dont complain about product, just enjoy and get excited for next product. You people are too scared you'll lose who to the axe if you critique it. Cattle.
@@davidblyth6886 says the sheep who follows along the lines of those who say shit like that. No original thoughts of your own. Shame really.
Rather go with quality over quantity
@@davidblyth6886 ragebait is dead bud
@@davidblyth6886 And I bet your feed is full of rage-bait half-excuses for videos for you to lap up like a good little follower.
Also in End of the World, Rose points out that the Tardis translation "getting inside her head" was a violation because it was nonconsensual
I like the episode but it was a bit too fast passed which ended up confusing me but I did really love the line "nobody is grown up wrong" especially as someone who has autism and was bullied for it
I find it baffling the flack Chibnall got and then an episode this terrible gets a free pass because it's RTD
Mr Tardis has been going to bat for RTD and Ncuti for literal years at this point, so it's a bit hard to back down from that.
@jackcox6276 -- AGREED!
I do not feel or believe any emotion in the recent episodes, those cut backs to the 2005 episodes really hits it home. They feel a bit more like cartoon characters now
Pros
- The intent of the story that RTD was going for was a very positive message that I support. I do wish that instead of the fart joke at the end we got more closure in regards to the government/planet being punished to leave the babies to die.
- Ncuti and Millie are great dramatic actors. Comedy...hit or miss. Thats dependent on the writing though, not them.
- The music was better than Jodie's season
- I'm actually fine with the TARDIS key scene. It at least establishes Ncuti's Doctor as way more trusting.
Cons
- The comedy. Idk if i could handle another Series 1 + 2 kind of kid show comedy with grossout humor
- RTD could have made a better explanation as to why the Doctor saved the boogeyman besides repeating Series 1-4 again.
- This is NOT a season opener episode. This felt like a more mid season episode. Usually with openers you want it to be something really easy to follow or really scary and Space Babies was neither due to the fast pace editing.
That's fair enough I did like the ending but everything else felt a bit rushed story and pacing wise.
Forgot to add this to pros. The one attention to detail I loved was the fact that Ruby would have accidentally brought the TARDIS to the day the Daleks invaded earth if she didn't add a 5th digit. It explains the Doctor's excitement and rewards the returning audience who pay attention to details.
@@dylanotto949just for reassurance, Ncuti can do fantastic work with comedy if you’ve never seen his work on Sex Education. I think this really is just down to the writing, bodily fluid/toilet humour isn’t my thing either, but he does genuinely have great comedic timing and can absolutely deliver funny as hell lines, super naturally.
I just hope we get some darker stories this season, like with series 1.
I'm kind of hoping for a shift, akin to series 1, where the first half is more silly and lighthearted whilst the later half is more dark. A finale with a tone similar to Parting of the Ways would be awesome and would allow Ncuti to show off his acting even more.
Agreed
Series 1 was pretty dark from the start is you ask me. End of the World killed off most the cast at the end. Pretty brutally. Literally see a woman burn to death.
Sensible stories would be nice, before Ncuti leaves to save his career.
I met Russell at a masterclass at the school of journalism which was a great experience and I asked him about the possibility of future autistic representation in Doctor Who and he said that it is coming but always visible as some audiences would expect. When Captain Poppy asks The Doctor about being grown up wrong and he comforts her, I perceive that as how some neurodivergent people first see themselves as mentally different or unsure about themselves when they are first diagnosed and how the might struggle to fit in and socialise in the public. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but as an autistic person and if this one form of neurodiverse representation Russell is slowly giving us for the show, I’d say it’s a step in the right direction.
Anyone agree or anything that I might’ve missed?
I hope we get some good neurodivergent representation in this new era of Doctor Who 🤞 it's really overlooked in media in general, and for a show with a (in my opinion) very ND-coded main character and a lot of ND fans (including me) who resonate with the show, it's just too fitting.
My worry is any new fans watch this or the church on ruby road and have a negative impression like me and turn off. For me both episodes I was cringing when the goblins or the talking babies appeared.
The Dick and Dom reference at 13:24 made me very happy
BOGIES!!!!!
2:23 “The sky’s gone woke!”
The reply of teh Doctor would be :
"wow... it's actually an ageless process older than even our sun"
So has the ocean
Watched your channel for years… sorry, but to say this episode is a litmus test as to whether you enjoy Doctor Who or not is ridiculous. This episode was not indicative of what we’ve come to expect. RTD is around my age, and, like me, is a lifelong fan - since Saturday, I’ve said to friends and family that, I cannot understand why he didn’t write an episode - for, in part, a potential new audience - that was more Doctor Who in tone than this one!
Tribe is part of the system, it's his job to take the shows side for perks
That's not what was said. This is the litmus test for the _new_ series. This series is starting with a lighter tone than it previously has. It's an acquired taste.
@@pious83 See from 23:03 - he then references the whole 60 years of Doctor Who if you didn’t like this episode, which baffled me tbh.
@@iancran No, he references what he does _for a living._
I hated Space Babies. It was giving Love and Monsters. That being said, really liked The Devil’s Chord.
I strongly disagree on those who hate this episode, I just think it's a nice fun episode, I mean I know it's not a great episode and this feels silly, But I couldn't care on what they say. It's enjoyable enough that's it The End.
Thanks for pointing out Susan Twist, I'm VERY faceblind and didn't notice
I think my biggest problem with this episode is like someone else here on TH-cam said, that the Doctor and Ruby is talking down to the babies, using silly voices and treating them like...well...babies. I know that they literally ARE babies, but, like that TH-camr said, I think they feel more grown up because they can talk.
I didn't like Space Babies too much, the Devil's Chord was okay but felt a bit rushed, especially the writing. I do look forward to Boom though, I hope Steven Moffat nails this one :)
I mean I feel like almost every season of NuWho has started its seasons with more lighthearted and wacky episodes. Rose, End of the World, New Earth, Smith and Jones, Partners in Crime, Eleventh Hour, Deep Breath, Smile etc...
Disney+ has the church on ruby road as episode 1, space babies as episode 2, the devil's cord as episode 3
I am a little fatigued with watching Doctor Who and feeling like a lot of the content belongs in a Comic Relief special - I felt that more than ever with Space Babies and The Devil's Chord.
Space Babies with a snot monster sounds like it should of been a episode of Red Dwarf then Doctor Who. I mean there 4th series had a Curryman and this was just as ludicrous, unfortunately it appeared on a episode of Doctor Who!!!! WTF. Yes sad when seems more of a parody seen on Comic Relief.
Why weren’t the babies 6 years old?
I think it had something to do with how the baby machine grew them, right?
9:20 I interpreted his grimice at going to 2150 cos of the Dalek invasion.
The viewing figures are tanking…
We don't even have the figures yet...
I thought it was rubbish. I would have said the worst thing ever, but then I watched the following episode.
Lol New to Doctor Who, eh??
@@pious83 Yeah, I've only been watching since 1974.
@@galesito1733 Ok...
it wasnt so much controversial as it was bloody boring.
Every time I see Eric I get angrier and I don’t know why
God, I was the same 😆
I don't disagree about the Cliff's Notes approach in the beginning of the episode; I really feel like that was a primer for new Disney viewers to quickly "catch up", rather than be intended for actual character development. There are a number of story beats across Space Babies (and The Devil's Chord) that mimic older scenes with different companions from the show (Rose and Sarah Jane specifically, possibly others). The real question is: who is the person in the background at around 11:48 in Space Babies? Bad camera angle that caught a crewperson, or something that will be revealed later?
Thanks or another interesting review William, & I think your tweaked format works.
One issue I disagree with you is where you said that Ruby Sunday was "recruited" by The Doctor.
IMO, in Ruby Road the teenage Ruby character was stalked, then groomed by an older character calling himself The Doctor, & then for no apparent reason goes off with him. Similar to ongoing UK news stories which you will be aware of.
Therefore, I dispute that Ruby was recruited. Similar stalking story in Eve If The Daleks, where you also skirted round the problematic resolution of why the woman went off on holiday with her creepy stalker.
Best wishes William, but can you try & be more honest with what we actually see & hear on-screen?
I wasn't a fan of this one at all if I'm honest, it's just that pacing and storyline revolving around weird space babies that I just don't like. as well as the tone being all over the place from my perspective.
To me having the episode almost do an almost exact recreation of ruby entering the tardis does make space babies feel like a part 2 of ruby road since they are in the exact same outfits from ruby road like no time has passed for them even though for us viewers it’s been 5 months since the special aired even though I enjoyed the episode it felt like a season opener akin to new earth and partners in crime that felt like it didn’t need to establish the companion like those season openers cause roes was established in season one and Donna was established in the runaway bride even though at the time she was meant to be a one off character originally also they leaned into the toilet humor a but much in my opinion
I think Millie Gibson's overacting is intentional trying to present her as the stereotypical companion function, super inquisitive and human. I feel like Russel's setting up for the reveal that the Doctor and Ruby are actually in a show and that's the reason they're drumming things like this up as well as a plethora of many other reasons.
Did you catch the figure in black standing on top of the outcrop when The Doctor saved the butterfly?
I'm pretty sure that it was just a tree
Tiniest nitpick: The Good Place would fall under the multi camera sitcom category, not the drama category (I love that show).
Also I appreciated you including the part where you mention how attractive Ncuti Gatwa is. I mean, you were just saying what we were all thinking. Even Tom Baker swooned when he saw a photo of him, and complimented his “marvellous cheekbones”.
I actually enjoyed this. I found it cute/scary/silly and fun. I think it's a great start for me.
Time and the Rani is definitely more controversial.
I think Eric is going to come back as Lennie or Lenny Rush's character the one on the segway
nah he is the owner of the local game store i go to... same face XD
In my opinion the space babies was okay but devils chord is better my opinion
Space babies almost works, but personally i think it needed a rewrite, either have them as young kids say 6-8 year olds, or I like council of geeks idea of a headband that talks for them (like in “Pixar’s up”) it’s a fairly standard adventure, with good moments and highlights, almost ruined by a poor effect and a poorly executed, though interesting concept. I don’t hate it, but it’s hard not to like either 😂
6/10
How anyone could defend this crap is crazy
The treatment of the Boogeyman reminded me of the Crooked Man. Initially the Doctor is scared of it but in the end realizes it's truly doing no harm.
You could argue that since the Boogeyman does not try to escape to upstairs, it is benevolent.
For me personally, the joint worst episode since 2005 (equally bad as Orphan 55). Both feel like a Season 24 throwback and I have no idea why you'd ever do that...
The creature was created to scare babies, but where did the idea that it planned to eat them came from? Except being scary I don't think it was physically dangerous.
Long time subscriber and supporter… you’re entitled to your opinion, but I no longer think our views are anywhere near aligned. This episode was terrible. Think I need to unsubscribe 😞
The one thing to remember about Mr Tardis is that'll he will defend something terrible just because "the wrong type of people" dislike it
@@pickles168 If you think this was "terrible". I'd recommend watching the Classic series and the episode "Twin Dilemma" specifically. That should be an education for you.
@pious83 "it's not as bad as one of the worst episodes" isn't the best defence of an episode
@@pickles168 Gibberish aside. Calling a dull episode "terrible" in light of _actual_ terrible episodes is just pig headed ignorance.
@@pious83 You're just doing the same thing. The Twin Dilemma isn't actually that bad. It's just kinda boring bogstandard classic Who. If you want to talk about the worst episode of Doctor Who ever, you point people at Timelash. Not a single redeeming quality there.
Anyway yeah Space Babies sucked.
I think RTD is going an 'Matrix 4' and went "I' don't really wanna do this, but I want the money"
He's getting paid by the BBC to write the series. He's not making a lot of money from this.
@@MrTARDIS Well, whatever the reason, his Heart's not in it like it was in the 2005-09 run.
Whoculture's recent up and down review of Space Babies had 18 ups and 5 downs, what the hell were they watching?
The Space Babies set up was bad. So the babies grow knowledge but they don't age, and they don't mature either? They can run a station, but don't understand weapons? It could have worked if the controls on the station effectively did nothing because "NAN-E" disabled it and has been actually running it from her room, and the bridge was effectively providing the babies an illusion of control. Or maybe have the babies effectively adults in intelligence and maturity, but their bodies are still stuck as babies.
Also, I hated the uncanny valley of the babies' mouth. If you're going to have them talk, have it be psychically or have them make baby noises and add subtitles. This could have worked based on the "I speak baby" way back from 11 and because of the TARDIS's translation abilities, Ruby understands baby too.
Am I the only one who thought the baby who played Poppy was really impressive with her acting? Especially for someone that young! I think if she ever decides to take up acting as a profession when she grows up she has a really bright future ahead of her!
Also the Nan-E filter was so funny, easily my favourite recurring gag in the episode!
Overall I enjoyed this episode, not the best opener but not the worst either. A solid start!
A solid shit you mean
@@davidblyth6886Good one.
@@davidblyth6886 no one asked.
Watch the BBC and Disney BOTH try to claim this now.
I enjoyed this DW episode much more than I thought I would. Guess I judged the “book” by its title. Sure, it had faults, but the episode flew by and made me smile.
As for your updated review style, it works for me. I just enjoy hearing your insights. Your reviews always make me think, which is what I want in a review. I don’t need clips as much because my understanding is that these aren’t mere summaries to take the place of watching the episodes….they are analysis and opinion.
Thanks for all you do!
Episode 2 was just pure shit. I honestly stopped there.
First off, and I don’t want to be nitpicky, but the cgi was horrendous for our time. But I just ignored which was fine. Secondly the babies was the most annoying piece of the episode. They look like modern video game characters, it was just so uncanny. Their lip movements didn’t even align to what they were saying. It looked like a robots mouth moving. The most annoying part of the episode was how they were boosted to the planet, they were… uhm… boosted by a giant collection of farts. Wow, a fart joke in 2024, couldn’t the writers think of anything better couldn’t they? The whole episode was just shit.
Always enjoy your reviews Will, and im usually happy to wait for them because the standard is so high, but if the new format helps you get them out quicker, even better! "Lets talk tone" might be one of my favourite "junctions" of yours yet lol
whats that hitchikers guide thing in the background? A steelbook?
Personalized book.
Controversial? Compared with "Asylum of the Daleks" or "The Magician's Apprentice?"
Nah, it's not the best, but it is just fine.
Also, it is just the matter of time that trolls figure out how to use the Internet, and we just have to bear it.
A great review, but one of those times when the review was better than the episode. I'm really glad that Boom came out the week after this, because I was getting worried I was getting to excited for this series. The show still has the ability to switch gears from one night to the next.
I see the flaws but personally really enjoyed it for what it is.
The scribbles and drawings on the walls of the space station was a nice touch I thought.
I wish you had mentioned the butterfly effect and how it was poorly executed after 60 years of time travel and changing histories.
As for clunky exposition, for me it was worse when they tried with the translation circuits.
Remember a very Spanish place name that Ruby said was English and the Doctor didn't correct her? Yeah that was weird and jarring especially when he untranslated the language into the almost Mandarin which was a very odd choice of dialogue imo
Great video, I nearly agree with everything you said, but when you talked about the phone scene. tbh it could have been better, but in my opinion the doctor handled the situation like someone that was in this situation before. I also want to add, that I think you can't compare Rubys and Roses emotions in their respective phone scenes. Yes Ruby asks if her mother is dead, but I think this is rather a matter of fact question instead of real concern. Also if you factor in her reaction when she hears her moms voice and also after she hangs up, you can see her pure excitement and that there wasn't a real fear behind it.
Who knew being in my late 20s was my useby date for the show. I couldn't get on board. I LOVED the performances, the sets, the Bogie man...but it just wore me down. I've become such a serious and dark writer that these light hearted things seem too...offputting to me. Shame really. Oh by the way @MrTARDIS if you see this (the At function foesnt work anymore so...ergh) i gave you a shout out on my other channel. You really did lift me out of those darker circles of the DW fandom and my newly released Dalek animation may have come out a lot worse if at all if it weren't for you. So thank you.
Amazing review as always, Mr TARDIS! I've waited until I had the time to give it my full attention, and you did not disappoint. Loved everything about it, from the well thought out tie-ins with politically relevant / BTS production info, to the small jokes in-between (Though, why did you write that Ncuti looks good in tight shirts? Maybe cause it's just a fact haha). And of course, as always, I found myself agreeing with most if not all of your actual points.
The way you've explained the issue with the exposition and how it differed from those same beats in 2005's S01, was exactly what I've been trying to explain all week, and you've done it in such a perfectly concise way. It's not just the abundance of exposition overall that bothered me, but the fact that these moments lacked the same emotional depth and character-building connotations that they've had before. They felt more like throwaway lines, which is disappointing when they had the potential to build something real between the Doctor and Ruby. Instead, all we got is empty exposition and teasers for the Ruby-related mystery. I love their dynamic and chemistry as actors, but as far as the characters were concerned it just felt like they're BFFs already, and we've missed their entire getting-to-know-each-other phase.. A fact which was only made worse imo, by the unnecessary time jump in the Devil's Chord.
As far as @10:28 is concerned, we also had Bill who was an orphan living with a foster mum, but you're right, it was never delved into too much, other than the mentions of her missing/not remembering her mum or wondering what she might have been like. That being said, I do feel like the theme of found-family is a much more prominent theme than in just the 60's. I mean, even if you just look at NuWho - we've had strong family dynamics in RTD1 where the Doctor was repeatedly "brought in" to be involved with the companion's family; then we had the Ponds with River and the Doctor being a sort of family for 11/12, we've had the Fam which like it or not was set up to be sort of like 13's version of found-family, and we've even had Nobles in the 60th taking 14 in (him literally referring to Rose as his niece since Donna is almost like a sister to him). I agree these weren't all perfect, but still, I think that the chosen-family themes have always been strong in DW, even before the Timeless Child. I'd even go as far as to say that it's a big part of what makes the show so strongly queer in it's core, and I'm very happy RTD chose to take it on and dive even deeper into it with 15.
I 100% agree with you about the Bogeyman resolution as well. As much as I love the idea of the Doctor having compassion for any type of creature, this felt like a great place for Ruby to show some actual character and stand up to the Doctor, or at least question him about why he felt like it was worth risking his life to save a creature who was shown and established to be nothing but a monster instilling fear into people. And this was made even worse imo by the fact that we had no actual solution for it either. I mean, as soon as the Doctor decided to save it, there was no discussion about what to do with it next - Is the Bogeyman suddenly not a threat anymore? Is he going to live as a refugee as well? How is that going to work..? I mean, as soon as they land on the planet, I expect people there will fear and either shun/turn him away, or try to kill it. It would have made much more sense if the Doctor found it a vacant planet to live on, like he'd done with similar monsters in the past (style Hide or Time heist iirc), or at least, come with the babies in order to explain and make sure that everything turns out alright. Besides, just because he provided a "thrust" for them, they're still on a space station that has no navigation capabilities.. I feel like they're obviously simply going to crash into the planet, if they even reach it at all. I seriously feel like the Doctor should have just taken them in the TARDIS, or even use the TARDIS to drag and safely land their station.. It would have been much safer and made a whole lot more sense, but instead it seems to me like RTD once again rushed the resolution and/or decided to discard it in favour of a (not even funny) "farting space station" joke.
And yeah, very weird choice of a season opener. I have no problem with it not being serious, DW has always been pretty silly as you've said, but it's also quite serious at times which we hadn't really seen in the current era yet. Plus, the back-to-back baby centric episodes, as well as the long string of weird/fantastic villains, just feels like it might be a bit much for new fans. I'm very much looking forward to Boom (and perhaps 73 Yards as well), which seems to be on the more serious/grounded side.. I just hope that new viewers will keep watching up until that point, so that they can see the other side of the show as well.
Look Doctor Who's talking
Red Dwarf want their episode back
You'd think they would have learned from the more childish tonal shift in season 24. Not feeling this at all I'm afraid.
woah man i can't believe they got sarah jane's son to be a snotologist
this episode was shit, end of story.
( 13:23 ) Please can you review Da Bungalow one day! 😂
Space Babies was awesome and hilarious. 😂 Did not care for the bogey monster but that is Russel for you. He has to put some quircky gross thing into every season of every show he does. Hoping Ruby turns out to be Master/Missy in human form because that would be great. Even beter, if River Song managed to survive and become human. Or she just could be one of the space babies. Bringing back the old immortal pantheon is exciting. Loving this new season / series. It's the same ole quirky time travel show it always was.❤❤❤
Disney is handling international distribution, unless you're Irish lol. We're special.
It's British Baby Geniuses! LOL
I think the monster in the American version is far more alarming
Mel even, I remember RTD saying in the 60th commentary for the Giggle that he thinks Mel's parents were killed by cybermen. There's another link in the lost parenthood theme.
A bit dissapointed with this way too silly info-dump of an episode, thank the Gods that the second episode is so much better!
It looks quite good though and the double-act of Doctor and Ruby is strong, so I'm looking forward to more, fabulous adventures!
Also, +1 for the Fist of the North Star reference in your review!
Fifteen being more open and making sure the same mistakes that happened with those like Martha and looking after Ruby is what I get from the explanations and the phone scene. The exposition mostly felt organic to me I dunno. The questions and answers were logical
Excellent review, looking forward to the rest of the season and your thoughts 💖
0:55 complete and utter bullshit
Buddy the country is fucked rn
“AHHH, THE SKY HAS GONE WOKE!”
Honestly, I did enjoy Space Babies, it was a fun episode. I wouldn’t call it my favourite, but Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is steadily becoming my absolute favourite Doctor. He has so much charisma and presence on screen, and makes his lines feel effortless to pull off.
I will admit, the reveal that the Bogeyman is literally made out of bogeys I did see coming, first when the Doctor commented that he was curious what its skin was made of, and for definite when they found the residue down below. The fact that it was the machine that makes the babies was what made the Bogeyman, however, I didn’t see coming. Nor did I ever imagine I’d feel sorry for a creature literally made out of bogeys, but dammit did Doctor Who deliver! The fact that the Doctor saved it from the airlock was the most Doctor thing I have ever seen in recent years, especially because he would know what it is like to be the only one of your kind.
I am enjoying this new format. One thing I loved about your old reviews was when you yourself show up on screen, rather than just being a voice over clips, so seeing you actively talk to the camera is great.
I thought the Bogeyman design being so scary really made the themes land harder. The real antagonist of the episode was a lack of empathy. The babies were kept alive because of a lack of empathy, the Bogeyman was created accidentally by a soulless computer algorithm rather than intentionally by a human with empathy, Nan-E wouldn't show she's a human to the babies because she was scared of her empathy. The Doctor empathising with something that justifiably terrified him, and showing us the process of how he's able to do it, was what made that episode really work for me
As someone who has watched DW since Patrick Troughton.... Space babies 7/10, Devil's chord 6/10... scripts should have been better... acting especially Jinx far too hammy
only pigs say that
This new format is great! Wonderful video as always. I really appreciate the perspective you bring on behind-the-scenes things as someone who works in the industry. Keep up the great work :)
Absolutely love this new style of review! Easily your funniest video and good to see your face outside of the streams :D
It was wonderfully sweet. I love it.
Nah that clara bit had me laughing so much
as a queer person who loves queer media i feel like i am the target audience and it was really amazing to see jinkx.
im not sure why but i cant take ncuti and ruby seriously, for example, ruby has no idea of the doctors past (his bad habit of going off on his own and his companions refusing to leave his side) and ruby has no knowledge of this and has JUST met him and she says she wont let him go alone as if theyve been partners for 10 years 😭 it also feels like the dr here is just as clueless as the companion 😔
so disappointing, so many things made no sense at all
Love this review!!
I’m not going to say it’s right or fair, but small fact: 50,000 children in the US are adopted for foster care every year alone, more when taking in other factors.
Now is that fair/outweighs the situation for the children that do not and such, that’s for you to decide, but there are a number of children who do get care afterwards.
I don’t think that any example of kids getting adopted and others left behind could be worked into this episode well, but just a small thing that explains why in the US they argue for pro-life. I don’t think in the UK the numbers are exactly there.
great vid and review, loved this episode
Surely no international viewer who decides to give this new doctor who show a go on Disney is going to start with the one-off christmas special from 5 months ago? How is that special even listed on Disney?