I kept pushing this review into the future, because...
I am a Time Lord.
Ha!
Seriously, it was because whenever I tried to put it together all I'd come up with was:
"WOW, that was fun!"
"WOW, that was fun!"
The Doctor has shown various degrees of emotion over Sixty plus years, but they were always obviously there. The new one expressed them more openly. That meant, yes, the Doctor cried regularly, but also that the Doctor showed fantastic amounts of joyful enthusiasm and excitement.
It was so much fun, honey.
Ruby served the role the companion always does- seeing the amazing experiences the Doctor is used through new eyes to enhance the excitement. And doing this while being compassionate, brave, empathetic, resourceful and sometimes reminding the Doctor what the "human thing to do" is, based on our best qualities.
A down side in the world of streaming for us older fans is an ever dwindling episode count. However, this helped the budget. There was at least once a story where my daughter or I (or both, or all three of us) would say:
"OOH look! There's the Disney Money!
I thought I would be against the Doctor's costume changes for each episode, but they worked with his extreme stylishness. It was like a modern version of John Pertwee having a different fancy frilled outfit for each story... and he barely travelled off 1970's Earth. Companions have traditionally been thrilled to "dress up" for the trips, why not let the Doctor enjoy it too?
(Especially when it was clear HOW MUCH the Doctor enjoyed it.)
Based on the short season length, instead of generalities, I'll hit some high points about each episode.
I looked at "The Church on Ruby Road" already.
Space Babies
Russell T Davies understands the core of the Doctor Who audience the way George Lucas understands the Star Wars target, and its the same group. Yes, the length and complexity of the the fictional universe does allow more mature stories to be written for fans who have grown up with the franchise, which is why he gave us Torchwood and his successors gave us Class. However, the core concept is something all ages can enjoy and the primary focus to grow the fandom is children. This episode was kind of dopey, but it worked. There was real danger, a truly scary monster, and some comments about society that would likely fly over the heads of the littler viewers. However, along with that was also enough silly fun to act as a cushion against the scariness and keep the kids having a good time throughout.
Hey! There's a "butterfly switch" on the TARDIS console. That explains so much!
The Devil's Chord
Even Disney money couldn't afford a Beatles song for an episode. Therefore- a story about the loss of music. The Celestial Toymaker's return opened the door for more whimsical and supernatural foes. It also opened the door to address a complaint I've seen about NuWho: that the Doctor is WAY more powerful than he was in the classic series. Well, now he has to fight gods. The use of visuals to represent sounds, and the use of sound itself was excellent. The Maestro was scary, but also a hoot, to achieve that target audience balance again. The call back to a similar moment from "Pyramids of Mars" (proving that even if we think we know the future is safe since they traveled back from it, there may be enough in flux to remove that safe-ness.) became a lot more important later in the season didn't it? The "Twist at the End" song was perfect. Firstly, because it summed up the show in general, and this season in particular. However, it was really amazing because the whole episode was about the importance of, and more specifically the "magic" of, music. Only by doing an actual song could the truly powerful, concentrated emotion that music brings be illustrated.
Boom
This may have been the most Moffaty forty-four minutes in television history. The Disney money was visible, and yet the whole thing took place in a single crater, filled with suspense, emotion, powerful bonds between characters and multiple twists. (Like... the episode was filled with those things, not the crater. The crater was mostly filled with dead characters, because, Moffat.) It proved, yet again, what fantastic peaks can be achieved when Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies work together. In a show where there is always a sciencey explanation of some kind, the love a parent has for their child brought the most powerful "magic" of all to save the day. The people are always more important than the effects in Moffat and Davies penned tales.
Also, capitalism sucks.
73 Yards
OK, that one was freakin' terrifying. However, I feel like the worst parts of it were MORE scary to an adult than a kid, (eventual isolation, authoritarianism, aging) yet again demonstrating an understanding of the fan base. Also, the resolution and what happened most likely don't make a lick of sense, but given what we learn about the perception filter's distance later in the series, I'm fine with the notion of "Somehow, the TARDIS did it." Heck of a tale though. It felt like Russell T said, "I've got this really cool Twilight Zone episode like story in my head I want to tell... since my main character is busy with his other series, let me bend the notion a bit until it almost fits in Doctor Who."
Dot and Bubble
I think Anabelle has watched this one a half dozen times, and rightly so. It is outstandingly well done pile of reveals, with the twist at the end being gut wrenching. Although, watching it a second time and paying attention, the twist is far less twisty than it first seemed. While it is not the usual triumphant time for this, I feel like the Doctor's "Let me save you" speech was his real, defining "I am the Doctor" moment that really showed what the character is about.
Ricky September deserved better.
Rogue
The interactions of the Doctor with Captain Jack Harkness, and his different views on morals (while still being a good person), were fun. We could have gotten much more of that but he was shunted to Torchwood for the most part. I hope The Rogue comes back, Jonathan Groff brought a great deal to the role... plus he didn't get to be around for any singing parts of the season. At least there was dancing. The bird people were truly nuts in an epically entertaining way and the whole story was crazy, but a great deal of fun... as Doctor Who should be. "Chekov's Martial Arts Earrings" was not something I expected to see.
P.S. WHOAH! The Shalka Doctor!!!!
Nice "Everything has happened so don't worry too much about continuity and just enjoy it all," moment there.
Legend of Ruby Sunday
It's always great to hang out with UNIT. There was a cool mix of old and new characters working there. Mel, Rose and Kate returned! Woo! Loved Morris, anytime an audience surrogate gets thrown in is enjoyable for me. (Exceptionally smart, nerdy kid who doesn't fit in with his peers... He's the target demographic!) I want to see a "meeting of the minds" with Morris, Shirley, and Malcom. The other guys were nice too. (Always best to not get too attached to UNIT soldiers.) Assembling all the mysteries that were happening this season was done in an interesting and suspenseful way. The wild reveal included name dropping new and old heavy hitting opponents. (The Trickster AND the Mara!?!?!)
SUTEKH RETURNS!
I was hoping for Sutekh to call all in of his allies, and have them appear one at a time. But when he called the Mara, we'd see an oversized snake head tossed into the room followed by an angry looking Tegan and Nyssa. Oh well, maybe next season.
Empire of Death
THE MEMORY TARDIS was in the episode, cementing all those "Tales of the TARDIS" moments into continuity! Woo! The resolution to saving the entire universe from a cross time death instigated by an ancient and evil god was everything Doctor Who has traditionally been about. The importance of every single individual, and kindness overwhelming despair have always been key to the series.(Symbolizing the latter by a spoon was yet another nifty call back.)
Here's my theory as to why it snowed when Ruby was emotional:
As the Doctor said- they all made that moment important by focusing on it, but there's a twist here too. They made a moment important where the Goblins had already gone back and altered the timeline and the Doctor had to go repair it creating a fixed point in time that had multiple time travelers connected to it. In effect, their mucking about with the events at that moment, and then multiple powerful individuals focusing on it, left open a temporal window. It's likely all that fiddling with time is what finally, fully awoke Sutekh as well. This means Sutekh was obsessed with the power of that moment, which was partially generated by his own regaining full awareness, and being caught up in going, "Hey, who's that?" Sounds like a perfect Doctor Who, Boostrappy, Timey Wimey explanation to me.
The "conclusion" of Ruby's story goes back to another element of Doctor Who almost as old as the show itself-
"Living a day to day normal life is the greatest adventure."
Sure, the Doctor cried again, but you can't tell me was any more or less devastated, yet thrilled for his companion than John Pertwee was when Jo left.
(Huh? Another Third Doctor reference. They were very different but, somehow, there's a similar vibe between Pertwee and Gatwa. Three did sing in the shower in his first episode.)
Bring on the Christmas Special!!!
I have absolutely no guesses about Mrs. Flood...
But can we please stop hinting and wasting time and get work on getting Carole Ann Ford to come back as Susan already!!!!
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