Doctor Who (BBC/Disney+) (2023)

This is probably going to be the longest episodic Doctor Who review from me of all time. I feel very disconnected from many fans of the series. I feel the same disconnect with Star Wars fans, and we tend to value different things too, but I can more easily defend my opinions there. My absolute loathing for what Russell T Davies wound up doing to the franchise is something I'll have to go into a bit of detail here for context to my reactions to the episode (good and bad). Because I seem to be alone in my loathing of him.

Doctor Who fans tend to believe the relaunch went downhill during Stephen Moffat's tenure and was pure dreck during Chris Chibnall's. First of all, I liked both Chris Chibnall's time as showrunner and Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. Because the show was never overly tragic and remembered to be fun. As for Moffat, I understand all of the complaints leveled at him, and I even agree with more than a few. But if you think Russell T Davies wasn't ten times worse in every single one of those gripes you're not thinking clearly.

Before I do a brief rundown about Davies' failings (I'll review the episode itself afterwards) I need to say my hatred of Davies (and no, hatred is not too strong a word) is why I was both looking forward to this special in a way I was nothing else since Star Trek: Picard was on the air, and equally dreading it. To make my review short before I give it, a lot of what we saw here was promising, and some of it was troubling.

I'm going to detail Davies' worst sins now and make a couple of observations before I do. I firmly believe Russell T Davies is the single worst thing to ever happen to the Doctor Who franchise. I am aware he was responsible for the relaunch and the casting of the amazing David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. I still think we would have been better off if it had remained in mothballs for a few more years and somebody else brought it back. Davies did SO much wrong by the entire franchise it's staggering. What especially disturbs me is how much people love him for those disgusting things.

The second observation is one I want to make in complete fairness to Davies. He last wrote the show 15 years ago. The End Of Time Part 2 was famously his worst episode, and him taking a huge dump on the franchise on the way out the door. That being said, even though I am now near the age Davies was then, I wouldn't want to be judged negatively by crap I wrote fifteen years ago. Granted 15 years ago I was still green enough for it to be excusable, and Davies was a grown ass middle aged man. But still. Both the casting of Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and the return of the Donna Noble arc suggested to me Davies might have felt a little bad how he left things too, and is using the occasion to repair the damage he did. This is the interpretation I hope to God is true, and frankly there are moments in the episode where I think it could be. We'll have to see. I don't want to get my hopes up because Davies has burned me SO many times before, but I'm also not ready to dismiss this out of hand yet either.

Before I review the episode I'm going to briefly list everything I hate about Russell T Davies. There will invariably be stuff I forgot but I hope seeing this crap listed one right after the other will make you understand the "STFU Moffat" movement never had a leg to stand on.

--Russell T Davies' messages are damaging to the gay community. It's pure chutzpah Moffat get this accusation leveled at him for the clumsiness of the Paternoster Gang. Moffat is clueless. I believe Davies' bad messages are completely deliberate and horrible. And he's gay himself! Why do I say this? Because of the second season premiere of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. In it Captain Jack Harkness' omnisexual ex-lover Captain John Hart, played by Buffy The Vampire Slayer's James Marsters shows up and causes all kinds of havoc. Let me just say that society has a bit of a different definition of omnisexuals than Davies had for Captain John Hart. As Gwen Cooper was driving him across town, he was pointing at every person they passed he was sexually attracted to. Gwen disgustedly points out that the last one was a poodle and Hart does not correct himself. Anti-gay zealots use the slippery slope of gayness leading to bestiality all the time and Davies had the comparison brought up on his own show unprovoked! Do you know the irony? That episode was written but Chris Chibnall, which shows when it comes to the Doctor Who relaunch and its spin-offs failing, it's really a nest of cronies all the way down. But Davies was showrunner. If he didn't want to portray one of his major same-sex characters as a deviant who loves screwing dogs he could have nixed the joke. The fact that he didn't speaks volumes.

--Russell T Davies is a racist. This is very hard to argue against, even with cool characters like Martha Jones in the mix. Davies had this incredible knack for making the absolute worst human sociopaths, the cruelest most disgusting bullies, Black. Often rich and powerful to boot. And he'd kill them off gruesomely in punishment. I think Davies is deliberately pressing buttons every time an alien flings one of those guys over the side of the cliff and he screams, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!?!" If he did it once, he's subversive, and making an uncomfortable point. Because he did it repeatedly he's actually deliberately taking Black men down a few pegs. There is no other reasonable interpretation for that. Yes, Donna's husband here is both Black and Awesome, as is her biracial transgender daughter. But the Meep was presented as harmless at first too. I'm not quite ready to declare Davies has learned from his mistakes there yet. I hope I can in two weeks, and the next Doctor being Black is great. But I don't trust him on the subject remotely.

--Russell T Davies confuses bad drama with good drama. If he does a story turn the fans have legitimate beefs over (like killing off Ianto Jones in Torchwood: Children Of Earth) Davies will shrug that off with "That's drama!" He doesn't care that fans have investments in certain characters and don't deserve to be deliberately hurt over and over again for the unforgivable sin of liking and supporting the show.

--Russell T Davies thinks first degree rape is a nifty sci-fi concept he would LOVE to try out for himself if given the chance. Owen Harper RAPES a couple in the Pilot of Torchwood using an alien sex drug. And in the DVD special features Davies is absolutely giddy about it and going on how he'd love to have access to something like that. It already exists, Russell. It's called roofies. And I will never go clubbing with you for obvious reasons. Also, you are a gross sociopath.

--Russell T Davies took a giant dump on the franchise in his and David Tennant's last episodes. This is the thing that was the most unforgivable for me. David Tennant was my favorite Doctor. In fact, to use fandom lingo, he was MY Doctor. Not my first, but the one I grew attached to and associated most with the role. Davies decided in his last three episodes "The Waters Of Mars" and "The End Of Time, Parts 1 and 2" to show Ten doing incredibly despicable and horrible things. From the unbelievable revelation that supposedly the Doctor killed all the other Time Lords during the Time War (gee, what a SWELL facet of "committer of mass genocide of an entire species" to add to the character after nearly 50 years.) To browbeating poor, sweet Wilfred Mott for having to sacrifice his own life to save his. His "I could have done so much more," snit was SO freaking cruel and horrible, and I was like "Good riddance" by the time he left. And even feeling that way, because Ten died alone and afraid, and resisting the regeneration with all his might, that's the way I felt, and I'm sure it's how everybody else felt too. What a completely lousy thing to do to the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith and new showrunner Stephen Moffat to make the audience instead of enjoying the regeneration, absolutely resenting and regretting it. It was inexcusable on a purely professional level and huge middle finger to the people continuing the show after he was gone.

All that. ALL of it is why I was pissed Davies was coming back. How was the episode?

There were positive signs that maybe Davies might be using Fourteen as a bit of a redemption arc for Ten, but the last time I trusted Davies to end a great story properly was "The Stolen Earth" and we saw how that went in "Journey's End".

Let's do an inventory of the good and the bad, in no particular order, as it comes to me.

I immediately mistrusted the Meep. Not just because its cuteness was tinged with creepiness, but because it being evil is the most logical "surprise twist" the episode could have done. I will not penalize the show for a telling a predictable story the way it should have been told. I guess my objection is that Davies actually tries to play it as a surprise and as if we'll be shocked right along with Rose and Donna. And if he remotely thinks that about us, if he's grown as a writer in 15 years, that bit does not make it evident.

The solution of Donna and Rose choosing to let the power go on paper sounds like a beautiful notion. But what pisses me off about it is the Tenth Doctor should have known this himself back in day, but always, ALWAYS repeated "If she remembers me, she dies." No variation. He's the Doctor! He's supposed to do the impossible! And Russell T Davies saw the Doctor, and thought in his last episode to reveal the Doctor felt forced to kill every man, woman, and child on Gallifrey. And in the 50th Anniversary Special "The Day Of The Doctor" Stephen Moffat correctly notes he's the Doctor! He'll ALWAYS find another way! I'm mad that Donna had to live a lesser life and give away her fortune because Ten was SO damn sure he couldn't help her. But I DO love that Donna is properly pissed at Fourteen for it.

By the way Chris Chibnall liked the idea of The Last Of The Time Lords just fine himself. Except he's smart enough to know if anyone were to kill 'em all, it would be THE MASTER, not the Doctor. How dumb is Davies for not getting this? If the Master had been the culprit Moffat probably would have never felt the need to bring back the Time Lords at ALL. For good reason. He wouldn't have needed to. What a mess Davies left him to clean up. It's infuriating.

I don't like leading man grooming habits in 2023. There is no reason Fourteen can't be clean-shaven instead of slovenly.

Fourteen saying he loved Donna was a great start in rehabilitating the character, as was him saying he loved Wilf with all his heart. I guess we'll have to see their reunion to see how it goes. I want him to both apologize to the old guy unreservedly and give him the final salute he denied him at the end of his last episode. I am very glad Bernard Cribbins lived to film his final upcoming scenes before he died. Fourteen not seeing Wilf again would strike me as totally wrong.

I am mad and annoyed how and why Fourteen's outfit regenerated too was never explained. I get they didn't want Tennant showing up in women's clothes, but that's not how regenerations work. I assumed there was a weird canon explanation for it, but I still always manage to give Davies WAY too much credit about stuff like that, even after all this time.

The "binary" thing is too cute by half, but at least it works. Barely, to be blunt, but it's interesting Davies was able to do a good callback for it over 15 years later.

Donna telling Fourteen men of a certain age shouldn't be wearing clothes that tight is one of those reasons why Donna Noble was one of my favorite Companions. If Davies doesn't do right by either Tennant or Wilf, I think we've just established he'll finally do right by Donna. About damn time.

Donna talking to Sylvia about motherhood and her daughter's pronouns is wonderful. Davies didn't used to write wonderful things. It gives me hope things might go differently this time.

I love that Rose points out the Doctor assigning a male gender to the Meep is presumptuous and he's all "Good point". I think Rose will be a good Companion later in the year.

Donna telling Fourteen he can do things differently this time is also another very good sign. Of course Fourteen is on a much more limited clock than either he or Donna know. Hope the news of the next regeneration doesn't cause him to go bananas again.

I liked the new main title. It very reminiscent of the first four seasons of the relaunch with upgraded visual effects. But if all it could easily be used by the next Doctor with no problems, which is another point in its favor.

Speaking of visual effects while I was not as down on the Thirteenth Doctor's run as some folks were, one sad reality I can admit is that the BBC drastically cut the budget after the fat years the Tennant and Smith eras afforded them. Times for Doctor Who had grown lean, and even if it was never in real danger of getting canceled like the old show was (because of the merch) I did sadly notice it had gone back to filming on videotape. Disney+ airing the show has gained the show back its huge budget (and probably then some). I'm glad.

Sylvia punching the Doctor will never get old. After what happened, I felt some catharsis there myself.

Sheesh. This review is SO damn long, and SO damn pointed and biased against Russell T Davies, and surely 15 years later, unfairly so. But this episode was very much a sequel to Davies' tenure of the series and as such I felt a brief revisiting of why that era sucked so much was worth it. The good news is with all that out of the way I won't have to do that for the next two reviews and the reviews will be primarily about the episodes themselves and surely much shorter and easier to read. Here's hoping. The first special was solid, but considering it's the episode marking the actual Anniversary it strikes me as a little odd it's the first. If I scheduled things at the BBC I would have had the first two specials lead UP to the third on the Anniversary. It feels weird to be giving the episode on the actual 60th Anniversary only four stars out of five. But that's what's happening. 4 stars.

I liked the cliffhanger with Wilf, and I like the Doctor hugging him, but I had problems with the rest of the episode. It felt like a normal Doctor Who episode. Which I think is the wrong mindset for the 60th Anniversary Specials. That being said, Russell T Davies made some choices I approve of, which surprises me.

I mentioned in the last review what a disservice Davies did to both Matt Smith and Stephen Moffat in David Tennant's last episode. But the truth is Moffat didn't much boost Davies' tenure either. Outside of River Song and the Weeping Angels, for the most part, what Davies did in the relaunch was ignored by Moffat, at least until "The Day Of The Doctor" (and both River and the Angels debuted in episodes WRITTEN by Moffat, so he at least had a personal stake in them). Not retconned. But Moffat very much treated Matt Smith's tenure as a reboot rather than a continuation, which is something I never approved of. For some reason Davies and Moffat decided to keep clear of each other's canon. I don't know if it was a falling out or not (although that would explain Davies taking a dump on the franchise on the way out) but it hurt the show going forward for both Tennant's end and Smith's beginning.

Here Davies acknowledges both the Flux AND The Timeless Child plotlines, the second one during Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker's run being extremely controversial. I'm glad Davies is actually taking what happened before him seriously. If that bit is ever changed, it will be because of a retcon, instead of simply being ignored. Which is all right.

When Fourteen and Donna are about to get into a huge fight, I love that Fourteen cools downs and grips Donna's head, looks her in the eyes, and holds onto her. Love conquers all.

I think a question I have is if Donna was being truthful when she claimed not to remember the Doctor's adventures in the last 15 years or she is being kind and lying. I think it's up for debate myself.

When Fourteen admits he's attracted to Isaac Newton he's confused, and asks if this is who he is now. And Donna assures him this was part of him back in the day too. I'm not sure I ever got that vibe, but in fairness to her, Captain Jack Harkness sure did.

I don't love "mavity". I hope that is fixed at some point. It's annoying.

Fourteen not only hugs Wilf, he holds Donna in his arms and kisses her on the forehead. I think Fourteen is superior to Ten in every way.

Davies making Newton randomly Black will rankle people, and I'm not crazy about it either (history is history) but the fact that it WILL rankle people IS the actual selling point of doing it. It's also outside of Davies' previous tenure in deciding to make a statement with a Black character in a positive way, instead of a negative way, so that's another thing to suggests he's falling away from bad habits. I'll live with it.

One of the great things about Davies' run, and even I will concede this, is he was pretty much the only showrunner on television who had the ability to make the audience lose their cynicism. His hour long episodes felt so epic because you felt at multiple points the Doctor or the Companions would die or be lost forever. I was scowling near the end of the episode because my cynicism was SO gone I actually believed he was gonna kill off Donna Noble. The fact that Fourteen pulls off the last minute save is now not just gratifying, but it says something good about Davies that he got me to worry and feel an entirely crazy and unlikely thing, and completely lose myself in what was happening.

I love the episode being dedicated to Bernard Cribbins.

Did I mention I love the new main title in the last review? If I did, I think I should point out I also love the new end credits.

The monsters are so dangerous because they know everything the Doctor and Donna do. In fact, the scariest thing is that once Fourteen works out the solution, they do too. And then it's a race. And Monster Fourteen can run on four limbs like a puma!

I feel like Davies needed to go all out here, but was a LITTLE too invested in giving Tennant an actual "normal" episode for his brief return. I don't agree with that choice, but Tennant and Catherine Tate's performances as the monsters were amazing, and played to the hilt (particularly by Tennant). 3 1/2 stars.

I am a person who is routinely disappointed by Doctor Who 2005, no matter who is running it. I believe there have been a total of four perfect episodes since 2005. Everything else is in the range of good to bad to disappointing. Doctor Who 2005 is a show that can never seem to stick the landing. It doesn't help that the first three arcs of the relaunch (Bad Wolf, Torchwood, and Vote Saxon) weren't actually arcs at all, and simply repeated catchphrases that really meant nothing. But I think before today, the relaunch did FOUR episodes that lived up to the show's potential and promise: They are (in airdate order rather than quality order)

The Stolen Earth
The Wedding Of River Song
The Day Of The Doctor
The Power Of The Doctor

A few things to note about these four episodes. The Stolen Earth was the best cliffhanger of the series, and the conclusion to it "Journey's End" was increasingly awful and embarrassing as it went along. Again, the show could NOT stick the landing.

The Wedding Of River Song was the best season ending cliffhanger ever, promising the question of "Doctor Who?" finally being answered. Because Moffat ultimately chickened out, the show didn't stick the landing there either.

I have no negative notes about The Day Of The Doctor. The 50th Anniversary Special was purely perfect in every way. Of course most of its awesomeness is because of what it promises for the future, and ultimately the stuff with the Time Lords DID fizzle out. But unlike The Stolen Earth and The Wedding Of River Song, the episode will never be penalized for me for that. Because it turned the Doctor away from the killer of the Time Lords permanently. Whatever else followed, the series was better for that. Also Tom Baker!

And while The Power Of The Doctor is similarly hard for me to gripe about, the shock regeneration ending could have been a groaner if these three specials hadn't stuck the landing.

And damn it, "The Giggle" did! For the first time ever! And it's notable to me because although Who 2005 has done episodes with actual endings before (although they are rare) not only are they almost uniformly infuriating instead of amazing. They are never satisfying and often do a quick joke cliffhanger tag at the end. And "The End Of Time" is something Russell T Davies needed to make up to the audience for. He hurt us BAD. And bringing back David Tennant made me leery because I was fully aware of how badly Davies screwed not just him but Matt Smith too.

I don't know if Davies saw this as his apology, but it did that for me. I'm not going to go so far as to trust him going forward, but he not only did right by David Tennant, he did AMAZING by Ncuti Gatwa, the Fifteenth Doctor. We actually got his first real episode NOW instead of the Christmas Special, which is great. But I would have resented him for taking over for David Tennant anyways. Until Davies comes up with this nonsense "bigeneration" thing and Fourteen is allowed to live, get him own TARDIS, settle down, and declare himself happy for the first time in his damn life. One of the reasons I love Matt Smith's regeneration is they allowed him a moment of confort and grace not just with Clara but a vision of Amy Pond too. It was everything Tennant was denied.

Beside not killing off Fourteen, I love before the audience is even aware the bigeneration is gonna happen, Donna and Fourteen's friends stay next to him and promise they won't leave him as he "dies". And he accepts the coming death that isn't because he's gained enough wisdom to do so. Apparently Bernard Cribbins died after his brief scene last week but Granddad is still out there and he and Fourteen are okay now.

I love Ncuti Gatwa. Not just because he's clearly gay (or at least bi) but because he strikes me as the first Doctor EVER that is emotionally healthy. I feel like Thirteen had her moments of being at peace, but it's not like the Master ever let her truly enjoy them. Fifteen HUGS Fourteen after the trauma HE'S been through. Not because Fifteen needs it. But because Fourteen does. And he's talking about going through fixing yourself by doing the steps in the wrong order, and MAYBE Fourteen settling down is the right answer. Damn, I love Fifteen already, and I'm glad Davies gave him SUCH a strong introduction and allowed me to love him.

One thing I think Davies was kind of taking a shot at was the tragic endings to both Moffat's Companions and the Time Lords and Universe in general during Chibnall's tenure. Toymaker's mentioning the slight ways the Doctor made his Companions' death "easier" is just not good enough. This goes for River Song too. "Well, that's all right then!" is both shockingly cruel and points out the inherent flaws of Moffat and yes, Davies himself always killing off the Companions without really killing them.

NPH did great as the Toymaker. It's sort of hard to do a flashback clip for a lost episode, but it kind of worked. Needless to say "The Celestial Toymaker" is the next Classic Who episode BBC needs to put to animation. This special demands it.

I love that the Doctor was FINALLY allowed to grieve Sarah Jane. I miss Elisabeth Sladen SO much.

Who picked up the Master's tooth? And who is the unnamed person the Toymaker refuses to play?

I love that the Toymaker never cheats. Donna finds it hard to believe but Fourteen insists it's his bit. And it is. "Best Of Three" was the perfect way out of the Doctor losing.

Donna suggests that Fourteen is an idiot because what if she saves HIS life? And damn it, at the very end, she does! Inviting her into her family is the greatest gift the Doctor has ever been given in any incarnation. Instead of rubbing Ten's misery in our faces, Davies allows us to share Fourteen's joy.

I'm not ready to ENTIRELY make nice with Davies. Torchwood will be VERY hard for me to forgive. But both Fifteen and Rose Noble suggest Davies is working hard to stop his racist tendencies, and David Tennant being granted this says Davies is making it up to HIM too. Makes this the fifth perfect episode of the Relaunch. But the reason this one is great because it's the show sticking the landing for the first time since it came back in 2005. That matters a LOT to me. 5 stars.

It's an interesting beginning for Fifteen. I like his outfit, and I like how joyous he seems in comparison to the other Doctors. Matt Smith had a similar sense of wonder, but Eleven kind of played the fool a bit to keep people off guard. Fifteen seems much more genuine, and like Nine doesn't seem to hide who is he behind facades or personas.

I did not like the Goblins though, and the musical number annoyed me. I did like the fact that the Russell T Davies actually went and wrote a bunch of interesting Black characters. He has a lot to make up for before I trust him there, but that was a good start.

Who is Mrs. Flood? Why is she talking to the camera, and how does she know what a TARDIS is? It's the talking to the camera thing that currently bugs me, simply because I can't explain it.

I am not sold on Ruby Sunday. She strikes me as one of those fairytale female characters Moffat would come up with where their entire mystery is why the Doctor is fascinated with them. Instead of them being, I dunno, interesting female characters in their own right like Rose, Martha, Donna, and Yaz. It's not a habit I am anxious to see the show go back to.

I'm glad they are sticking with the same main titles Fourteen used. Davies used the same main titles for Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant too so this is in character.

Fourteen's three weeks were really special because they involved a LOT of wrap-up for the Tennant era. So I don't hold it against the show for not living up to all that pay-off in Fifteen's first episode, setting everything up. I suspect I might be alone there, but anyone complaining that this wasn't as epic as the first three specials can pound sand. It had a very different mission in setting things up instead of paying them off. And that's something that's perfectly all right. 4 stars.

Classic Russell T Davies.

That is not remotely a compliment.

It could have been worse, but the truth is Davies biggest weakness is that he will come up with a premise he believes is funny and lovable, and is completely unaware that it comes off as creepy and off-putting. And that is the Space Babies to a T. Not to mention the bogeyman made of actual snot.

I was reading on article on Comic Book Resource that while Stephen Moffat and Chris Chibnall's runs were polarizing for fans, Russell T Davies tenure of showrunner was universally beloved. Not only does that not comport with how I remember it (David Tennant's ending got a LOT of deserved shit) but the truth is when it came right down to it, Davies is a far worse storyteller and showrunner than Moffat and Chibnall. I have an additional unpleasant opinion about this very creepy man who doesn't understand that he is creepy. I think he was the single worst thing to EVER happen to Doctor Who. EVEN if he brought it out of mothballs. EVEN if he cast David Tennant. The franchise is worse for his run, and of course, the abomination that was Torchwood.

For the Specials, I gave Davies a LOT of leeway, and when it came to "The Church On Ruby Road", probably more than it deserved. But this entire episode is a red flag of Davies' ridiculousness and unintentional creepiness right out of the gate. It's not even just that Doctor Who shouldn't be engaging in booger and fart jokes. But if it is going to try and be cute and silly, the scenario actually needs to be cute. Nobody ever saw the movie "Baby Geniuses" and actually thought it was cute. Nobody ever saw the show "Baby Bob" and thought it was cute. Talking live-action babies with moving lips are a comedy dead-end. "Look Who's Talking" got away with it solely because the lips never moved. This is creepy as hell.

Is there any hope to be found, or any hope that this run won't turn into a trainwreck? Yes, there is a VERY positive development that I don't think the fans will like or appreciate, but it's actually a good thing. And they'll hate it. But the Timeless Child stuff from Chibnall's tenure was entirely controversial. For a guy who ALWAYS played it safe on the show (which believe it or not is something I admired; Moffat turning Who in Game Of Thrones was WRONG) it amazes me what a huge canon departure that was for Chibnall. It was the biggest retcon in the entire franchise's history, even bigger than the hated TV movie (unsuccessfully) trying to convince us the Doctor was half-human. While the Timeless Child thing was never as BAD as that, it was far more GAMECHANGING than that, and basically upended 60 years of canon.

Davies has said in recent interviews he came back because he is still a fan. Even after he left, he still watches the show every week. And people billing this as some sort of soft reboot are kidding themselves. Whether Davies likes the Timeless Child stuff or not (and I can't imagine as a purist he does) it's part of the canon, and he's respecting it as such. Davies MAY be the worst showrunner since the show came back in 2005. BUT he would be a MUCH worse showrunner if he just ignored all that and did a second retcon to make things more to HIS liking. He's not actually stepping on any butterflies. Which we learn here is actually dangerous.

I did not like this episode. But it's far too soon to chock up the new season as a loss. What I can say is it's not remotely a soft reboot, and anybody calling it that doesn't know or understand the term. And despite it being the same canon, it's not a relaunch either. Because whether this is billed as Season 1 or not, the show was never canceled and never left the air. What it is is the SAME DAMN SHOW. And damn it, I'm gonna review it as such. Anybody pretending this is a new era for the franchise does not understand how the franchise actually works. 2 stars.

That would have gotten five stars from me if not for the musical number at the end. I can't really quantify WHY I disliked it. Maybe because it felt like the wrong ending for THIS episode. But a VERY solid outing devolved into me thinking Russell T Davies just bit off more than he could chew.

There is flaw built into the premise of the episode, and it annoys me because there is no real workaround. We go back to witness the formation of The Beatles. But NONE of their songs are affordable on TV budget, so we can't ever hear ANY of it. Could you imagine the impact the ending could have made if the banishment chords were the first two notes of "Hey, Jude"? Wouldn't that have felt like the proper ending to all that?

But I mentioned the episode was otherwise great. I mentioned in the last review one of Davies' weaknesses is that he doesn't understand a that LOT of his silly and "cute" stuff is creepy and off-putting. But the good thing about that is if Davies WANTS to turn a cute and silly thing deliberately scary, he's already there. That's his entire wheelhouse. If he wants me to enjoy that shit, he's outta luck. If he wants to use it to upset me instead, I'm sorry, HE'S the Maestro there. Say what you will about him, he is great at legit tension and scares, which is SO important to this specific show.

I think the reason Davies' tenure was looked back on fondly, and probably the reason I actually liked a great deal of it, is because the tension and scares were so real, you honestly felt at certain points the Doctor or the Companion were going to die, or at least lose. And the interesting and unusual thing about Davies is that by the third and fourth season he was doing that for EVERY episode. His scares are so genuine, that you forget to be cynical. And despite the fact that I hate him and his writing for other, more problematic reasons, that specific thing was probably the biggest gift he gave the entire franchise, and outside of the Neil Gaiman Cybermen episode, it didn't really stay on past his tenure much. And I can give him credit for that.

Maestro is legit scary and I also need to point out one of Davies' biggest selling points turned into his biggest weakness by the end of his run. Davies had the utterly misguided belief that every single season need to be bigger, and better, and more exciting, and with direr stakes than the last. My fundamental disagreement with this type of storytelling is absolute. Because you can't help but eventually get diminishing returns. And like David Tennant's "The End Of Time", at some point things are bigger and badder for the wrong reasons. At some point you are no longer chasing good drama, but bad drama. And that's how both Davies and David Tennant went out, and I resented the hell out of him for it. And frankly why I don't want him to stay on as showrunner past this season.

But... But... Here's the thing. A decade or so away from the franchise has made Davies actually think of a LEGIT reason to make a season bigger and badder than ever before: Having the Doctor fight Celestials as the Season's Big Bads. I believe the thinking goes that the Doctor usually essentially defeats MOST of his adversaries with a push of a button. When fighting Godlike beings, things are much harder. Mostly because for the first time, the Doctor IS actually fighting beings more powerful than himself. The Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master are all worthy foes. But he can defeat them because he is more powerful than all of them. Even when they crazily start working together. He's the odd's-on favorite.

As far as the Celestials go, he no longer has that. He's the underdog, and really not only seems unlikely to pull off the Big Win, but he doesn't actually currently know HOW to do it. (Paul and John actually pulled off the save this week). That makes things more dangerous for both him and Ruby, especially because it's clear Ruby has a big part in this, as does her birth they can't travel to, but will obviously need to in the finale anyways. That's more tension and stakes than the show has ever had. Which is what Davies does. And I want him gone after this season because even if it IS a success, he'll wreck the next season and the one after that by trying to top it. Inevitably. That's what he does. Russell T Davies takes nice things and destroys them in the name of "Drama". That's his entire brand, why Torchwood was one of the worst sci-fi shows at the time it was airing, and why I do not view his work on Doctor Who favorably. Even if he somehow gave us a great 60th Anniversary Season (and he might; "The Giggle" was outstanding) if he stays on past that he WILL destroy the show, shit on it entirely on the way out, and leave a huge fucking mess for whoever comes after him. I am not the biggest Stephen Moffat fan. But I recognize what a HUGE disservice Davies did to both him AND Matt Smith during Ten's hideous regeneration. Davies blew up the show on his way out the door because he is a narcissist and a bad person. And I LIKE the show, and I don't feel like watching that happening again, so I hope it's just the one season.

That was scary as hell. But the musical ending took me out of it entirely and did not belong in it. Russell T Davies can come up with great premises. He's not that solid at endings. That is certainly a huge concern for me and something to watch out for and worry about going forward. 4 stars.

They were selling this Stephen Moffat episode as the best of the season. They shouldn't have done that because I'm invariably disappointed.

Not that it isn't a VERY good episode. It is. Lots of tension which is a Davies-era staple. Even though Moffat wrote this I recognize his scripts were usually tenser under Davies than when he was showrunner.

Shout-out to fish fingers and custard which shows this is NOT a soft reboot. It's the same damn show.

Also a return of the previews at the end. I missed those.

Regardless of the fact that this episode was overhyped, it's still a VERY good one. 4 stars.

If I know fandom, that's probably going to get a rave from Rotten Tomatoes, but I didn't remote like it. And it highlights Russell T Davies' biggest weakness. What happened to Ruby wasn't horror. It was horrible. Everybody running away without explanation was just fucking horrible to watch.

And if the woman is her as an old woman it makes no fucking sense WHY she's telling strangers AND her Mom horrible stories about herself. Davies conceived a horrible idea and ordeal to put Ruby through, and like most Russell T Davies arcs and mysteries, refused to pay his dues or put in the work.

There IS no good explanation as to why whatever the woman said would make people shun Ruby. And a more talented writer than Davies would abandon the idea once they realized that. Even a SLIGHTLY more talented writer if they decided to go ahead with the shady idea would leave it unexplained instead of saying it's old Ruby, which makes ZERO fucking sense, as does her scaring away UNIT. Davies seems to be beloved by much of the fandom. His writing style is however beyond shoddy, and if Stephen Moffat and Chris Chibnall are both considered such, they learned everything bad they did at his knee.

The episode actually starts off WITHOUT the iconic theme song, and it's already lost me.

The political stuff WAS a bit intriguing (and felt truthful to current events) but because the Total Reset Button was hit at the end it was neither here nor there.

I think this entire episode was pure bullshit on every level. On-brand for Davies, and I'll be the only one complaining. But it's bullshit through and though. 1 star.

That is both Russell T Davies at his worst and at his best. That was a harsh episode, and some of that harshness was unpleasant and just gross. Lindie betraying that September guy reminded me that Davies loves doing horrible things for the sake of horribleness. And it bothers me Lindie gets away with it.

But by the end, the damning thing is that despite saving her life, Lindie and her friends demonstrate obvious racism towards the Doctor. And it is a significant moment not just for Fifteen, but for the Doctor in general. Obviously the Fugitive Doctor must have faced this as well, but the Doctor doesn't remember anything before his first fifteen-seventeen lives. The Doctor has witnessed humanity's ugliness time and again. It's the first time it's been directed towards HIM.

I did not like the fact that the Doctor is not in most of the scenes. I feel like Ncuti Gatwa is getting the shaft in the Doctor being set aside. I understand this is a large part of the show since it was relaunched in 2005, but this is too damn early in Gatwa's run to do that. I want to feel more comfortable with Fifteen than I do. I already like him. But I need to feel used to him, instead of the show largely setting him aside for the last three episodes. This is a real problem.

As is the fact that Lindie and her friends are contemptible, and just make me wish the Doctor hadn't saved them, and that we had spent an episode with protagonists worth a damn. How the FUCK are these assholes gonna claim superiority to Fifteen while Lindie doesn't even know how to fucking WALK?! When the Doctor realizes the Dot and the Bubble have grown to hate the people they serve, you realize after the episode is over that's only because the Dot and Bubble are rational.

I'm not giving that a super high grade, but it deserves a TON of credit for tackling racism head on. Which is probably something that should be hindering Fifteen more often than it does. But Gatwa's hurt, rage, and fury over this was amazing and I think he is the right person to play the Doctor in 2024. 3 stars.

That was absolutely wonderful.

A Doctor in touch with his emotions means we can explore a romance for the first time. And it's both same-sex and Jonathan Groff, making it doubly cool.

Who is the Mystery Doctor? The One Who Waits? The Valeyard? Curious that the Curator is not present. But the Mystery Doctor really raises questions, as does the mystery woman who keeps popping up.

I love that the Fifteenth Doctor cries. David Tennant almost did once in awhile too, but he held in the tears. Fifteen lets them flow. It's really cool.

The bird aliens were great. It's weird that the Duchess is Suzie from Torchwood. Doctor Who often has explanations for different actors in the franchise cast in different roles but there doesn't seem to be one of Indira Varma. At least not yet.

Best episode of the season so far, and the best one since "The Giggle". I take notice that Russell T Davies didn't write it. 5 stars.

I liked it a lot but I am aware Russell T Davies can rarely stick the landings. That was a great cliffhanger, although I would have preferred both the Valeyard as the Big Bad, and the real Susan Foreman (pretty sure her actress is still alive. Hopefully she pops up next week.)

I don't usually read other reviews before my own, but I wanted a little more info on Sutekh, but instead of going to the Doctor Who Wiki (like I should have) I read the Comic Book Resource review of the episode, which was a mistake. That site has the freaking sloppiest Doctor Who recaps you can imagine. They are always erroneously calling the Fifteenth Doctor the Fourteenth Doctor and NONE of the recap mentioned that Sutekh was a classic series villain fought by the Fourth Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith. The mention of the Trickster makes him being the Big Bad even MORE appropriate for that reason.

Of course CBR knew NONE of this, and is whining that that Doctor Who works best against human villains where you can see the performances of the actors going up against the Doctor. Excuse me? You've never seen the Daleks before? The Cybermen? The Weeping Angels? Doctor Who going up against inhuman monsters is the franchise's bread and butter. The review also seems to be mad at the cliffhanger, which is ridiculous, and claims because nothing about Ruby was settled, it was the wrong episode title. Speaking as a writer who sometimes has sadly given my work titles that don't always entirely fit (My Howler Trilogy is a freaking TRAINWRECK there) I hardly think that's something that is really worth harping on.

As an episode I personally thought it was amazing. I just have a feeling that Davies will fuck up next week. It's what he does. I loved Mel's swift kick in the ass to Fifteen, I loved that Rose Noble is in UNIT (as is apparently Donna), and that Fourteen must still be retired. Davies' major problem is he will introduce a LOT of disparate random elements and try to make everything fit with a simplified ending that answers less than he's insisting it does. Which is not how life works, and it's not how drama needs to work.

Who is Mrs. Flood? The new Master is my guess. She knows too much and is too sinister to be anyone else. The thing working against the idea is that the Master isn't exactly a person who would tolerate spending years as an old lady in an apartment building waiting for their chance to strike. They have a little too much ego to do that.

I like the idea that Susan is the Doctor's granddaughter from parents the Doctor hasn't had yet. People have always questioned whether Susan was One's TRUE granddaughter, and an actual Time Lord, and it sounds like she probably was, or at least half-Time Lord. They just met in a weird order. This episode gave us more information about their relationship than the franchise ever gave out in its entire 60 year history. It's also interesting the Doctor has apparently told Ruby all about her (including her name). The previous Doctors wouldn't have done that.

When the Doctor insists he brings nothing but pain as a way to explain why he never went back for Susan, Kate tell him he brings joy. But the appalled look on her face upon her soldier dying said she thought the Doctor was actually right the first time.

Anyone talking shit about this episode and its scary monster is not a true Doctor Who fan and doesn't get the show. This was great. I'm just prepared to be disappointed. The last time we got that huge "To Be Continued" graphic in a Davies episode was at the end of "The Stolen Earth", in my opinion the best Doctor Who episode of all time when it aired. And yet the conclusion "Journey's End" was a pure cringe mess. I hope that doesn't happen next week. But the truth is all throughout the season Davies has been demonstrating some of his more problematic traits. About the best thing I can say for current Davies is he seems to have abandoned his penchant for using racism as a form of storytelling subversion. That's actually a HUGE improvement I will not dismiss, but he's still been doing a LOT of his other problematic tendencies during the rest of the season. I hope I'm wrong. But despite THIS episode being great I don't dare hope the NEXT episode will be. 5 stars.

Can we be done with this? Can we put Russell T Davies back into Doctor Who retirement? Can the fandom finally be convinced the guy is a hack who presents little to nothing happening as huge ideas? Can we stop acting like Stephen Moffat and Chris Chibnall are the devil and ruined the perfect relaunch? For real?

I think the best thing I can say about that utterly unsatisfying piece of tripe is that I suspect it will push a LOT of people, who gave Davies slack back in the day for NO damn good reason whatsoever, over to my way of thinking. Davies could coast on crap like this in the mid-aughts. Believe it or not, audiences have grown and matured since then, even if he has not.

I love Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor. I would like to see him in some adventures under a showrunner who isn't absolutely terrible in everything they do. That might not even bug me so much if the asshole wasn't inexplicably beloved. Hopefully, this absolutely shitty finale will rectify that, and people will see the reality that might not have been evident back in the day for many people solely because David Tennant (usually) transcended that level of shitty writing.

I really hope we don't have to deal with this crap next season. Truly. Enough already. 1 star.