If my glowing review of the Doctor Who Christmas special back in December was any indication, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the official start of the latest season of Who for a couple of months now. I’ve been a fan of Ncuti Gatwa’s for a bit now, and his take on the Fifteenth Doctor has, so far, been a refreshing change from some of the more dour and downtrodden versions of the characters we’ve seen over the years (I love a complicated character wrestling with moral questions, but I would prefer there to be more joy in the Doctor than darkness – I can get dark and moody most places on television, thank you very much, but I can rarely get the joy a Doctor can channel). And Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday was an intriguing addition to the series, with fun chemistry for days with Gatwa.
Having seen the first two episodes of the new season, which kicks off May 11 on Disney+, I’m happy to report that this dynamic duo remain in great form. And the series, which is once again under the control of Russell T. Davies, is chugging along with a fast pace, some great dialogue, and one pretty creepy and campy villainous turn from Jinkx Monsoon as The Maestro. Not too shabby.
The first of the two episodes premiering on Saturday takes the Doctor and Ruby on an epic adventure across space and time to a Space Baby Farm (yes, it is exactly as the name suggests, a place for farming babies in outer space), where the inhabitants of the space station are being terrorized by a Bogeymonster while trying to keep the station running at optimal specs. Naturally, it’s the Doctor to the rescue in a story that will delight little kids (seriously, a lot of the jokes are aimed squarely at an eight-year-old sense of humor, which is pretty fun) while also teaching them a nice moral about dealing with scary unknowns like the monster on the ship. And, for those new to Doctor Who as a series, this episode also offers up a quick Who primer, touching on key questions about time travel, the TARDIS, and just who the Doctor is.
But it’s the second installment – “The Devil’s Chord” – that really hits it out of the park. Calling back to the promise of The Toymaker at the end of “The Giggle” special – that more of the villain’s legion of villains would be coming for the Doctor – the episode introduces one of that lot with The Maestro, a villain who controls music. And boy, are you in for a twisty, campy, fun as all get out episode. Much like Neil Patrick Harris in “The Giggle,” Monsoon knows exactly what she was hired for and absolutely chews the scenery whenever she is onscreen. But this isn’t just a campy performance. No, there’s some teeth to it, and it makes for a genuinely scary villainous turn. There’s an edge to the character that makes you sit up and take notice and the The Maestro’s devil may care attitude toward the humans they remove from the picture along the way is chilling. And that they do so with a smile is, well, pretty creepy.
Lest you think I find these initial two episodes flawless, I do have one rather major critique with the season arc Davies is building. It’s clear that the central mystery – outside of the various “gods” the Doctor and Ruby will battle until they reach the Final Boss that continues to be teased – is Ruby Sunday herself. Yes, we have another instance of a puzzle box/magical girl alongside the Doctor. In the past, these stories have been the weakest of the lot for the series for two key reasons. First, they turn the companion into something that needs to be solved by the Doctor rather than a character who is there to compliment (and at times, challenge) the Doctor and their way of life. And second, the revelation of just who or what the magical girl ends up being never justifies all the time it takes to get us to that revelation. It’s never as interesting or exciting as the head writer (in past recent Who, it was mainly Steven Moffat who couldn’t help himself with this trope, using both Amy Pond and Clara as puzzles for the Doctor to solve) believes it will be. And the writer spends so much time teasing out the solution that they often forget to craft a character in addition to the mystery.
So, while that is a pretty major asterisk on the season story as a whole – I haven’t seen the rest of the season, so I’m going to reserve my final judgment until I see just what Davies has planned out here – these two episodes are a great continuation of the adventures of Fifteen and Ruby, who continue to be a wonderful duo in this new era of Who.
Doctor Who’s season premieres on May 11. The first two episodes, both airing on the 11th, were provided for review.
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