When one doctor biologically passes the torch to another, it occurs in fire: a cascading, revitalizing burst of energy that dazzles, dazzles, destroys, transforms, and births in equal measure. Although Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor I’ve already been through it all—of a kind– at the end of last year for Doctor Who60th anniversary And at Christmas, its debut season feels like the series is doing just that: a rebirth that’s bursting with energy.
The first two episodes of today’s “season one” of Doctor Who Once again (not the 14th season, according to 2005 estimates, and certainly not the 40th season, which dates back to 1963) – “Space Babies” and “The Devil’s Chord”, both written by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies – run in the a traditional format that Davies used during his previous time on the show. A journey forward in time, a journey back in time. It’s a way to introduce more than just a new companion, in this case Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday Doctor Whois an inherent premise, but also a way to refocus each season on the audience from the start Doctor WhoIt is available in its purest form so that it can once again show what it is capable of. It’s just that this time it has the budget to match, giving it the slick sheen and splendor of a show unlike any before a Disney budget Before.
What it can do is actually a lot of fun. While there is certainly menace and menace in both episodes (the latter’s villain, Maestro, played by Jinkx Monsoon, is a pitch-perfect display of camp boldness and toxic evil in equal measure), the pervasive feeling of this new dawn is for Doctor Who is a feeling of unrelenting adventure. Even when it’s dark and sad, the Doctor and Ruby share a longing to see more of what’s out there, driven by this bond they feel together, one the last of his people, the other searching after his birth parents. With fresh eyes for both Time Lord and humans, her wanderlust is infectious and pervasive Doctor Who with that aforementioned energy, something like it feels like wasn’t always like that in recent years.
This infectious charm couldn’t be more clearly expressed in the remarkable spark between Gatwa and Gibson. Most of the time the two are shouting their lines at each other with joy, but in these two episodes they are even better than when they first met at Christmas “The Church on Ruby Road”, bubbling with a joyful potential that has the Doctor and Ruby dancing around the screen almost constantly. Even in the quiet moments, the more emotional and reserved scenes, the chemistry is right: the doctor has had friends before, even buddies Donna Noble famously misheard says the 10th Doctor. But there’s an ease between the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby that effortlessly makes them feel like equals – not in the sense that Ruby has anything to prove to her new alien best friend, but in the sense that she comes across as understanding Peers immediately become incredibly close to each other and understand what each of them needs from this shared adventure.
Davies’ scripts also match this energy – for better or worse. Both “Space Babies” and “The Devil’s Chord” move at a remarkable pace and in an effortlessly airy manner. While this has a very positive effect on characterizing the relationship between the Doctor and Ruby, it doesn’t always work when it comes to presenting a few adventures that challenge the audience to think a lot about what’s actually happening on screen . There’s barely any time for it, between the deliciously chaotic storm that Gatwa and Gibson create and the stories that jump from one moment to the next, almost as if they were hope You try not to stop for too long and think about the logistics of what is happening. It’s similar to The Church on Ruby Road, but without the more explicitly fantastical aspect of that story: they’re large episodes aimed at a general audience, slightly lighter and perhaps even goofier in tone than usual.
Not all of this levity particularly works – there are definitely a few moments in both episodes that lean a little too heavily into camp slapstick, seeming a little more clumsy than charming – and that general vibe that sets the season premiere, It could be that some are reluctant Doctor Who Fans who want something a little more science fiction-esque and with a little more bite. But it’s also two episodes out of eight this season – and especially for a series so diverse in genre and tone Doctor Who, it’s hard to say if this is indicative of the overall tone of the season. Even if it WasOn the whole, it works more than it doesn’t, especially thanks to Gatwa and Gibson’s charismatic performances: it’s just good to know that the show isn’t necessarily going to surprise you with something darker and more cerebral right from the start.
And really, isn’t this just like the Doctor’s regenerations have been doing for six decades? A bright flash, a chaotic change, a seething energy that swirls around and takes a while to calm down before embarking on the exhilarating task of saving the universe? This is more appropriate Doctor WhoThe newest era starts off the way it does – confident enough that it has enough energy to take us along for the ride too, embracing the same spirit of adventure that its new heroes share. Time will tell, as always Doctor Who, if the season can retain that energy and charisma even as it slows down, breathes, and thinks a little more. But what we accept as a promise here: Just like this regenerative energy, it is bursting with potential that gives us hope that the future will actually be very bright.
Doctor Who returns worldwide with a two-part premiere on Friday May 10th at 7pm ET on Disney+, and will air on BBC iPlayer at the same time in the UK at 12pm local time on Saturday May 11th, before later airing on BBC One this day.
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