REVIEW OVERVIEW: "BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS" - RATING THE FIRST APPEARANCES OF RECURRING FOES: THE FIRST DOCTOR

Having laid out some basic ground rules in the last entry (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions.html), we can now get on with our review-overviewing. 

THE FIRST DOCTOR ERA 

Those glorious old days of William Hartnell at the helm of the TARDIS. So much experimentation going on as the show is trying to find its feet. Occasionally, during all that mucking about, a villain would get created that "sticks". They would be brought back again. Sometimes only once . Sometimes, still only once, but fifty or so years later. And sometimes -  just sometimes - they became a vital part of the show's lore. 

The First Doctor Era has a decent number of characters like this. Which makes sense, of course. A period of this nature is bound to be full of recurring foes appearing for the first time. The show is in the process of introducing itself to its audience. Which makes it highly likely that we're going to meet a bunch of very influential bad guys for the first time during this time. 

THE DALEKS 

Recurring Foe: The Daleks (well, duh!)

After just one story, we encounter our first recurring foe. And it's a doozy!     

Writing:          ........................................          9

The Daleks we get in this story are certainly different from the Daleks we  will eventually get down the road. During this particular tale, it does almost seem like there's a certain sense of individualism to them (by Dalek standards, at least). Which is ever-so-slightly off-putting. In future stories, these menaces will seem more homogenous. Unless they have some sort of authority, they lack any real identity of their own. We don't get much of that with this first batch of Daleks, though. The drone-like quality of a Dalek is an important trait. Because of its absence, it loses a point in the rating system.  

Aside from this one difference, however, everything else that we need to have in the Daleks is there right from the very start. The paranoia, the need to dominate, the xenophobia. Everything that continues to persist in the character over the next six decades is firmly on display. Which is exactly what was needed to capture our imaginations and get us to fall in love with what is, essentially, salt shakers with plungers and egg whisks stuck to them! 

Performance:     ........................................      10

A certain style of performance for Daleks gets introduced, here. One that we will only see now and again in future stories. In most Dalek tales, efforts are made to make them glide smoothly and seem almost elegant in their movements. Here, they are more jittery. The eyestalk and limbs that extend from them tend to wave about much more. It makes them seem just a bit neurotic. Which I think really works for the characters. It creates a great visual that belies an interesting concept: Deep down inside of that casing, the Kaled Mutant is genuinely scared.   

Again, there will be a few other stories down the road where this type of movement will be brought back. Death to the Daleks is another tale that gives us Daleks that seem like, maybe, they need to cut down on their caffeine a bit. Even New Who stories like Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks will portray the Skarosian Mutants in a much similar manner. Personally, I love seeing them like this. The smoother-moving ones work great too. But I'm just as happy with this version. 

The Actual Story:      ..............................       8

Those first four episodes are actually quite mind-blowing. This really is amazing stuff that we're seeing. Episodes Five to Seven, however, really do start to peter out. To the point where the final climactic battle in the Control Center feels fairly lack-luster. By choosing to do such a long story, Nation appears to have bitten a bit more than he can chew. Which, to me, almost kills the Daleks' chances for a return. I just don't find myself caring that much about anything as we get to the end. I just want the story to finish! 

But I can't deny how good those first four episodes are. Even as we move into the latter parts, the quality does persist quite a bit before it truly dies out. 

Which is why I'm still scoring it so high. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:     .....  8

This is another situation that we will never see again. In future Dalek tales, the Doctor is always full of bluster when he deals with them. Even in the very next adventure that features the ruthless cyborgs, the Doctor places those hands firmly on his lapels the first time he meets the Daleks in Part Two and tells them exactly where to go. 

In The Daleks, however, he's acting more like the audience. He's genuinely fearful of them. It's especially brutal to see him trying to use the TARDIS as a bargaining chip near the end of the adventure. 

But it all still works very well. Yes, it's a bit strange to see. Which is why I knock a few points off. But this is the Doctor's first time encountering them. So this very unique behavior does make a sort of sense and helps to create menace in what is, essentially, a bunch of salt shakers with plungers and egg whisks sticking out of them (where have I seen this before?!). 

Long-Term Impact:          ..............................     10 

I think it would be impossible to give this anything less than a perfect score. The Daleks does represent a very humble beginning for these monsters. They will go on to do much greater things than what we see here. But, overall, the story does a great job with getting the ball rolling. One cannot deny the impact this adventure will have on the whole future of the series. 

FINAL SCORE: 45 

A hugely-significant story that is fraught with problems. But it still excels and very much deserves the respect it has earned. 

THE TIME MEDDLER 

Recurring Foe: The Monk

Here we see an excellent example of just how much breadth the show likes to have. The second recurring foe that we meet is an anti-thesis of the Daleks. While we were meant to the Daleks very seriously, the Monk is mainly there for laughs. Even though the contrast is vast, I still deeply adore him. 

Writing:          ........................................          9

It's as plain as day that the Monk has been written to be a bumbler. There's a ton of comedic sequences built right into the plot that we watch him stumble through like a fool. To the point where it's almost difficult to perceive him as a legitimate villain (which is the reason why he doesn't get a Perfect Ten). He is still an absolutely delightful character but he, perhaps, needed just a bit more of a darker side to give him a tad more potency. 

Performance:     ...................................          10

Peter Butterworth plays the role to absolute perfection. He sees what the Monk is meant to be on paper and adds some gorgeous nuances to him. Charm is the most important trait that he imbues his character with that wasn't, necessarily, on the page. In the wrong pair of hands, the Monk could have just been an annoying fool. But Butterworth gives him a healthy dose of likeability. This is a crucial element that triggers his return. We're actually quite happy to see the Monk come back a season later because we really do enjoy him. Or, more accurately, we love how the role is played. 

The Actual Story:   ...............................          8

I do hear this fairly common complaint about Time Meddler. Apparently, it moves a bit too slow. To which I regularly respond: "What episode of 60s Doctor Who doesn't?!" Maybe the story drags even more than others but I don't really feel it. Especially since there is a lot of fun little comedy going on. 

There's also a few things that make Time Meddler quite special. It's our first "pseudo-historical" and it expands quite heavily on the show's mythos. The Doctor isn't the only individual out there travelling in a TARDIS. There are others like him. Which is infinitely fascinating...

So, yes, it does drag a bit, in places. But I'd still say it's an above-average yarn.   

How the Doctor Interacts with Them:  ......   9

Now this is more like it. The Doctor cowers in his first tale with the Daleks. But, here, he's much more in keeping with how we usually see him when dealing with an enemy. He's not afraid to get up in the Monk's face and berate him for his plans to pervert history. There's also a fair amount of chest-beating as they compare TARDISes. In Time Meddler, the basic template is set for how rival Time Lords will interact with each other. 

But there are some dynamics that are unique to the way the Doctor and the Monk interact with each other. The Doctor gets far more emotionally-involved in their game of wits than he does with most other renegade Time Lords that he faces. Look how delighted he is as he sabotages the Monk's TARDIS at the end of Part Four. Or sulky and bad-tempered he gets when the Monk locks him up. When these two battle, it's very much like a game rather than a true fight. Which tends to make the Doctor more child-like. It's great fun to watch. 

Long-Term Impact:          ........................      8

Only one other appearance from the Monk?!!  That's it??!! 

In my opinion, we should have seen way more from this guy. Particularly since he is a much lighter character than most recurring foes. While Daleks and Cybermen and the Master create fiendish plots with high stakes and big consequences, the Monk represents a breath of fresh hair. He's a big goof who can actually be dangerous if left unchecked.  He does legitimately represent some degree of threat. But, for the most part, he's just a great laugh. 

Which does limit him in some ways. Because of his triviality, a character like this can only be used so often. Otherwise, he stops being such a treat when he does appear. But only being featured in a measly two stories from the 60s and then never being seen again is a veritable crime. Regenerate the dorky little bumbler and bring him back!    

FINAL SCORE: 44 

Being such a huge contrast to the seriousness of the Daleks makes him a recurring foe that is only one point away from being as appealing as the Great Skarosian Mutants, themselves. 

THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER 

Recurring Foe: The Toymaker (who's not Celestial, anymore)   

One of those villains that we don't see return for several decades. Although plans were made to bring him back after only twenty years instead of over fifty! 

Writing:           .........................................          9

A well-constructed villain who, at the time, would have a very new and interesting vibe. Basically, he really feels like the Master. He has a profound hatred of the Doctor that he doesn't conceal in the slightest. He also seems to relish being evil. And, while he wishes nothing but ill for the Time Lord, he loves the games they play against each other. We would, eventually, see this dynamic over and over again in years to come. But we are witnessing for the first time, here. And it's done gorgeously. 

Performance:     ......................................         10

Like Butterworth with the Monk, we get some top-notch acting from Michael Gough. It's one thing to create a sort of Traditional Melodrama Villain on paper, it's another thing to bring him to life. The performance has to be pitched just right. You need to chew the scenery a bit but not go too far with it. Gough hits all the right notes with his performance. It's an absolute treat to watch. Or, at least it is in the one episode that's still left!  

The Actual Story:    .................................         8

As has just been mentioned, there is only one part of this story that still exists. It is a bit difficult to work off of the various re-constructions, but it is still possible to get a fairly general gist of the story from them. Celestial Toymaker is delightfully surreal with some very dark undertones masked in child-like imagery. It's only significant flaw might be that watching Steven and Dodo have to play through so many goofy games does seem to drag a bit. Still, it's something very cool and unique. We would get other strange stories like this in the future. But seeing it for the first time, here, makes the tale all-the-more special. 

How the Doctor Interacts with Them:    .....     10 

Hartnell and Gough are great, here. They spark off each other brilliantly in a vicious game of wits. Again, this feels very similar to what we would get with the Master in a few years' time. This sort of chemistry between the Doctor and a rival is always a splendid experience. Both actors have to be at the top of their game for it to work properly. And we definitely get that, here.

Long-Term Impact:     ....................................    10 

While it took forever to finally see him truly come back, it's obvious this is a foe we've wanted to see more of. We would have actually gotten more of Gough had the original plans for Season Twenty-Three succeeded. But, in some ways, it's a bit good that it all fell through. The implication, now, is that the Toymaker changes his form each time he's defeated. Which means more fantastic actors can take on the role. Lets hope they don't take so long to bring him back for a third battle. He's a great villain.    

FINAL SCORE: 47

Woah! The Toymaker beat the Daleks! He deserved it. He makes an excellent first impression... 

THE TENTH PLANET

Recurring Foe: The Cybermen 

Just before bowing out, the First Doctor gives us one more massive returning enemy. 

Writing:          ........................................          9

In many ways, it felt like much more thought went into the crafting of this monster. Which makes sense. Production could feel that their grip on the Daleks was becoming tenuous and wanted something to replace them. The success of the Daleks had been a happy accident. This time, they were intentionally going for a new and exciting monster that would haunt the Doctor again and again. 

Fortunately, they get things right. Oftentimes, when you do this sort of thing on purpose, it fails miserably. You can't get lightning to strike in the same place twice. But Kit Pedlar manages to do that. And we get another great race of monsters that the Doctor will battle over and over throughout the years.

Performance:      ....................................       9

The artistes in the Cybermen outfits have an absolute party creating their characters. Like the writing, you can see a lot of thought was put into all of this. Particularly the way they made the decision not to properly lip-synch their dialogue. Instead, we get something that comes across as very weird and creepy. 

The potency of their performance is best affirmed by the fact that the show will re-create the Mondasian Cybermen several decades later. They stick pretty close to the original costume design. Which, at best, makes a performer very stiff and clumsy. But the sinister quality of that initial performance shines through and inspires a whole new generation to hide behind the sofa from it. 

The Actual Story   ....................................      8

The plot to Tenth Planet is a bit weak, in places. There's not quite enough of it to fill the four parts. We get something akin to captures-and-escapes to mark time. We would see this time-killing trick in other base-under-siege adventures. Instead of capturing-and-escaping, it's more akin to "the monsters break in for a bit, get kicked out, then break back in some more later." Most of the story is still quite good, though. And the Doctor's regeneration at the end does nothing to overshadow the presence of the Cybermen. They still make a tremendous impact. Really, it's two major developments for the show's lore in just one adventure. Which helps to boost its score a bit. 

How the Doctor Interacts with Them:   ..... 8

"Emotions. Love, pride, hate, fear. Have you no emotions, sir?" The Doctor's confrontations with the Mondasian Menaces are full of rich dialogue like this. How can we not love how he deals with them? Although, it does feel a bit like his first encounter with Daleks. He's not that pissy with them, yet. Tell-offs like the one we got in Dalek Invasion of Earth will come later. It does almost feel like the Doctor's trying to understand this new enemy properly before really laying into them. But much of it is still great stuff to watch. 

Long-Term Impact:          ..........................     10 

This would be another monster that deserves a perfect score in this category. That excellent first appearance creates a tremendous legacy of adventures that will never end. For as long as we have Doctor Who, we'll have Cybermen. And I'm thankful for that. Whether they're the coldly logical versions we get in the 60s and 2000s or the more sadistic models of the 70s and 80s, I adore them all. 

FINAL SCORE: 44 

Another great recurring foe. The First Doctor Era is chocked full of them. It was a great time for villains and monsters that would make return appearances. They were all handled magnificently. 

The Second Doctor Era also has quite a few recurring foes to contend with. That will make for another sizeable entry. So he'll get a post of his own, too.    

 

REVIEW OVERVIEW: BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS - RATING THE FIRST APPEARANCES OF RECURRING FOES

So I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy my more-or-less full collection of Doctor Who videos. Recently, I thought to myself: "Hey! The Doctor's got a ton of recurring foes. Let's just watch the very first adventure of each of them and see what I think."  It's an interesting study. Some villains are fully-fleshed right in their first appearance. Others take some time to grow into the monsters they will become. The whole experience is quite fascinating to watch. 

Initially, this was just a study I was doing for my own sake. But, oftentimes, when I undertake such ventures - it turns into a blog. Or, in this case, a whole series of blogs! 

A REVIEW OVERVIEW entry is a great way of restraining my blowhard opinions. Instead of just looking at something from the show and spewing out unfounded nonsense like: "I like this but I don't like that!", I have to work to a sort of grading system. Adhering to such a construct makes me more analytical or even objective about the material I'm reviewing. 

It's also a method that works well with broader themes that span several years of the show. My very first post of this nature, for instance, looked at all the different stories that have featured Homo-Reptilia. A species we first saw way back in Season Seven that is still making appearances to this very day. Breaking so many stories down into categories that received "marks" made the whole process of comparing them go more smoothly. 

So now I want to look at the first stories of all recurring foes and see how effective they were. Particularly in relation to each other. That's another big topic to cover. Best to come at it with something systematic rather than just say stuff like: "The Daleks is way better than The Tenth Planet. So there!"

As an introduction to this series, I'm just going to take the time to explain the Five-Point Grading System. In subsequent posts, we'll go through various eras of the show and cover them in their own distinct entries. 

So, here we go:    

Writing: This section will look at how well the actual foe was written in their very first story. Did the author do a good job of constructing them or was it subsequent yarns involving them (that were, perhaps, penned by other writers) that built them up properly?     

Performance: Writing is, of course, only half the battle in making a good recurring villain and/or monster. The actor that was hired to portray the miscreant contributes massively to their success. There are times when that initial performance is what captured the audience's imagination and earned the return appearance(s). On other occasions, subsequent iterations of the role outshine the original.     

The Actual Story: Setting aside the foe for just a moment, how well-executed was the plot of the story that featured them? A good narrative can help massively with determining whether or not we see someone come back. Not just in terms of the quality of the script. Production, in general, can have a huge bearing on this sort of thing. 

How They Interact With the Doctor: How the Doctor deals with these foes in their initial confrontation can also be crucial to their success. There are any number of foes that made return appearances because they sparked off of him so well in their first adventure. 

Long-Term Impact:  Something a bit more abstract that still relates to the quality of the initial story. How were the subsequent adventures that featured the foe? What sort of legacy did that initial tale create?   

IMPORTANT NOTE #1: Each category will receive a score between 1 and 10. I will also give a relatively short dissertation on why it received that mark. 

IMPORTANT NOTE #2: We should properly define Recurring Foe: 

This is a character or group of characters that the Doctor openly opposes on all occasions that they meet each other. They may form brief alliances to handle certain problems (ie: the Doctor and the Master fighting entropy together during Logopolis), But, overall, the Doctor is trying to foil whatever sinister plans the foe is brewing. Obviously, they also have to have, at least, two separate encounters in two different stories to qualify as a recurring foe. 

IMPORTANT NOTE #3: It should be noted that the definition I just gave does have grey areas. There will be some characters that don't fit the description perfectly that will still be included in the analysis (ie: the Ice Warriors are, for the most part, nasty to deal with). There may even be certain individuals that don't make the cut that you feel should have (ie: As much as I love Sabalom Glitz, he is very much the Doctor's friend in Dragonfire. So he's disqualified). 

All righty, then. The Rules have been defined. Lets start Review-Overviewing (that's totally a real verb). In the next post, I'll be looking at the First Doctor Era. He meets quite a few returning baddies for the first time so he'll get an entry all his own...   

I review-overview 

You review-overview 

He/She review-overviews

and so on.... 

 

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON ONE (OR SERIES FOURTEEN. OR, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET CRAZY, SEASON FORTY!)

The Essay about Time Loops continues to wait.... 

It seems my decision to watch and review every season of Doctor Who during the 60th anniversary year was a good one. A lot of people responded to it well and it reflected nicely in my readership numbers, too (just so you know, by the way, I have refused to monetize this blog as I did not want to flood it with annoying ads. I do this all out of sheer fan love!). 

As someone who enjoys patterns and structure, my intention with my Season Reviews was to wait until the next ten year anniversary and start doing them again. But I, very quickly, realized what a silly plan that was. Would I be still writing this blog in a decade's time? Would blogs even exist that far into the future?! Would Doctor Who still be on the air for its 70th anniversary? There are a lot uncertainties going on, here. At the same time as I pondered all this, I made an important realization: Folks really love these Season Reviews. Why make them wait so long to get some more?!   

So, from now on, I will do a Review at the end of every season. That seems the best way. 

STORY-BY-STORY 

Just like when I was reviewing those 14-part seasons from the late 80s, this series is short enough to just go through it episode-by-episode. Which is ever-so-slightly alarming, of course. Those 14-parters were the beginning of the end for Classic Who. I can't help but wonder if New Who is on the same course.

Anyhow, if you read my Review of the 60th Anniversary Specials, you'll notice I did not include The Church on Ruby Road in it. It didn't really feel like it belonged there. While we do get a fair amount of Ncuti in The Giggle, it's still not his first "proper" story. Church on Ruby Road, on the other hand, definitely feels like the start of something new. Personally, I feel it belongs in his first season rather than part of the 60th Anniversary. Even though the episode actually came out in 2023. 

On the other end of the spectrum, we do have Joy to the World coming up as the 2024 Christmas Special. Something that I suspect will probably fit in better with the Season Two (or Series Fifteen or Season Forty-One) Review. Some major arcs came to a conclusion at the end of Empire of Death. More than likely, this year's Christmas Special will embark upon some new storylines. 

Which means, of course, that this season runs from Church on Ruby Road to Empire of Death (in my opinion, at least). 

Now that we've made that clear, let's get on with picking the eps apart! 

HELLO RUBY SUNDAY (WHO COULD HANG A NAME ON YOU?)

I will just say it: this new era is off to a very shaky start. RTD wanted the Christmas Special to have a one-hour run-time but forgot to bring enough plot along to fill it! 

For a considerable amount of time, absolutely nothing happens in this story. It's just an endless array of spindly arms suddenly popping into a shot and secretly arranging for nasty things to happen (sometimes under impossible conditions - how exactly does a goblin sneak up to Ruby in the middle of an open street and pierce a hole in the bottom of her grocery bag without anyone noticing?!). This sort of thing goes on for about the first twenty minutes of the story. Even on my very first viewing - where I'm still very excited to be watching a new episode - I found myself saying: "Yup. We get it. Goblins are up to some mischief. Can we move on to something else, now, please?!" 

The Goblin Mischief does settle down a bit for us to meet Ruby's family. While a bit heartwarming (how can we not adore the grandma that just wants a damn tea?!), this whole sequence feels like it's dragging too. The episode really would have worked sooo much better within a 46-minute format. We would have gotten to the good stuff faster and not have to go through an endless amount of stalling.

And there is some good stuff in Church on Ruby Road. When they do finally climb aboard the Goblin Ship, things get quite interesting. It's especially fun watching the Doctor trying to figure out a whole new science. And, while the musical sequence had the potential to fall flat on its ass and feel really dumb, it actually works quite well. Especially when the Doctor realizes he can draw things out long enough to come up with a solution by keeping the song going. 

The alternative reality where Ruby got eaten as a baby is the other really good bit in this story. The gigantic tonal shift was very well-executed. Particularly the performance we get from Michelle Greenidge - the actress playing Ruby's Mom. She is such a changed woman in this scene and we truly get swept up in the despair of a life without her adopted daughter. 

That's the good stuff. But there's still a substantial bit of story left after it's over. And quite a lot of it really only goes so well.  The Doctor suddenly producing a gadget we've never seen before that ends up saving the day frequently feels like a weak plot device. His mass-canceling gloves definitely have that effect. They become, pretty much, the fix for everything. And the fact that they can do so much with only 3% power left becomes just a bit too much of a stretch on credulity. I wish my phone worked that well when the charge was that low!

While Church on Ruby Road is largely disappointing, it does have one more saving grace that is worth mentioning: I am already in love with Ncuti's Doctor. Not only does he bring something new and interesting to the role, but RTD even appears to be writing him differently. Gone are the days of the mile-a-minute hyperactive chatterbox fanboy/girl that we've been getting throughout most of New Who's Reign. The Doctor feels truly different in this new incarnation. And I'm so happy to see that! 

CONFESSIONS OF A CURMUDGEONLY OLD FAN  

While it is sad that RTD2 is only going so well up to this point, there is a certain amount of pettiness that is being satisfied in me as his new episodes are rolling out. 

Fandom, as usual, has been frustrating me. For quite some time, folks have been going on endlessly about the greatness of RTD's first run as Headwriter. How amazing the whole era was and how they wish the rest of New Who was as enjoyable as this period. 

"You were Twelve when you were watching it." I want to say back, "Lots of stuff seemed awesome at that age. Brush away the Nostalgia and I think you'll find that RTD's first four seasons were largely uneven." 

My frustrations grow as we hit Chibnall's Time in the Showrunner's Seat. Certain fans become impossible to satisfy. Hypercriticizing every aspect of the show and tearing it down for elements that were actually celebrated when other Headwriters were running things. 

"What we need," these annoying fans are proclaiming, "is for RTD to come back and save the day. He knew how to make spectacular episodes (even though I haven't re-watched any of them since I was Twelve)!" 

And then these fans got what they wanted. And I was annoyed even more as they danced with joy and took their last few potshots at poor Chibbers as he made his way to the door. 

"Phooey on youey!" they spat at him as he exited (they really said that, I swear), "You were so bad and RTD is so awesome! He's going to make Who Great Again. Hey. Isn't that a Trump slogan?! Oh well!!" 

At this point, I've had it with this very vocal segment of Fandom. So much of what they're saying feels so "off" to me. Their vison seems very clouded. Admittedly, I don't consider Chibnall or RTD to be absolutely perfect writers (there's really no such thing - as much as I'd like to believe I am one!). But I found the stuff we got from Chibs to be far more consistent in quality. Whereas much of what Russell gave us was peaks and valleys. Brilliance one week and absolute trash, the next. I can even forgive him a bit for this kind of problem. He was trying to get a show with an extended history to fit into the Twenty-First Century TV landscape. Missteps were inevitable. But I couldn't believe other fans weren't seeing this. There was just so much: Chibnall sucks! RTD is the man! going on. I, for one, was getting sick of it.

As much as I always want my favorite show to succeed, I was experiencing just a glimmer of smug satisfaction as 2023 was wrapping up. The four Specials RTD had produced were only so good. I wasn't the only one who felt this way. A lot of fans were let down by what they had watched and expressed it. Quite a few were even admitting that Power of the Doctor was a far better anniversary celebration than what we ended up getting from Chibnall's successor. 

I couldn't help but feel just a little bit vindicated! 

But I was also concerned. Would these problems persist into the new season that was waiting for us in 2024? I mean, I liked getting a little satisfaction from RTD's failings, but I didn't want this to go on forever. Having been proved ever-so-slightly right, I was now hoping that things would radically improve. 

After a largely-disappointing Anniversary Year, I desperately wanted Doctor Who to get really good again.    

SPACE: THE BABY FRONTIER

Watching Space Babies for the first time was just a bit excruciating for me, in places. But probably not for the reasons you're thinking. 

I was seeing some pretty stark tonal shifts during the 2023 Specials. Which became all-the-more alarming when you consider what was going on behind the scenes. As was widely publicized, Disney was now sinking some serious cash into the show. "It's just a distribution deal!" the BBC was swearing, "We still retain creative control. Don't worry!" 

But none of us were being fooled. A company like Disney doesn't dip into its coffers to help fund something and not be allowed some measure of influence in the story-telling. Some of the input they had given was actually quite useful. The suggestion of bringing the Doctor into the narrative sooner during Church on Ruby Road was exactly what the story needed. The scene with the falling snowman decoration perked up the episode considerably. 

On the other hand, though, we were suddenly seeing a lot more "cutesiness" in various stories. Which is just the sort of thing that Disney goes in for. Not only did we have goblins prancing about in the Christmas Special, but Beep the Meep was quite adorable too. Even after the Meep reveals their dark side, we still want to give them a big cuddle! 

And now we're getting talking babies running a space station. Once some introductory stuff between Fifteen and Ruby is out of the way (that, at the same time, establishes the show's premise to all these new fans RTD is anticipating), this is the plot we start settling into. Admittedly, I'm getting very nervous. Is there going to be no real reason for why there's toddlers with the power of speech running the bridge of a satellite? Is this just the way the show is doing things, now? Making fun Disneyesque adventures that have little or no internal logic to them? 

"This could be it." I shudder, "This could be the moment where Doctor Who actually becomes really stupid!" 

Fortunately, we do get a half-decent explanation for all the preposterous cuteness (one that is to my satisfaction, at least). Space Babies ends up being a fun little ride that doesn't go too far with consciously-Disneyesque tropes. I knew it would bother some people, of course. In many ways, this is the Slitheen all over again. There's some fairly juvenile humor at play in parts of the plot. Particularly when the entire space station seems to be getting propelled by what is, essentially, a giant fart. Such antics are bound to upset the sensibilities of a certain type of fan. But I'm not one of them. In fact, I can even applaud RTD a bit for giving us something else Slitheenesque. I admire his courage. 

What I like the most about this episode, however, are the lengths the Doctor goes to in order to save the Bogeyman. This is the Doctor I love. Risking his life to save an intentionally-nasty creature made up of snot. The strong moral compass that we saw in Thirteen seems to have persisted into this incarnation. Which I'm very happy about. Personally, I was getting very tired of all the cyborg-killing and Solomon- slaughtering and watching-Lady-Cassandra-dry-up-to-death-without-helping-her that we'd been getting prior to Jodie. It had been an interesting "edge" to the character for a little while. But it was starting to feel distinctly undoctorish. Saving the bogeyman, to me, represented a signal from RTD that he wanted to preserve yet another direction Chibnall had taken the show in. I'm very grateful for the gesture. 

All in all, I'm quite happy with Space Babies. Its adorableness is fun rather than unbearable. I do feel the season is off to a half-decent start. Doctor Who has not become stupid!   

THE DEVIL IS IN THE CHORDS (AND THE DETAILS, TOO!)

From this point onward, we get a slew of amazing Doctor Who stories. Quite honestly, I am madly in love with these next few episodes. 

And it starts with The Devil's Chord. With Neil Patrick Harris' performance still fresh in my memory, I'm astounded to see another larger-than-life actor giving us just as fun of a villain only a short while later. Jinkx Monsoon chews up the scenery in an entirely different way than their terrible father did, but it's equally-fun to watch. This is one of the strongest points of the whole yarn. Its villain is an absolute delight. Every second that they're onscreen is played to perfection. Incredibly OTT, yes. But never too big. Just right.  

However, there's a lot of other great stuff to enjoy, here. The Beatles are wonderful and end up being used brilliantly within the plot. The cinematic quality of the whole episode is also quite breath-taking. It really feels like we're watching a movie rather than a TV show. And then there's just the overall social commentary that's being made about the power of song. When the Doctor shows Ruby what will become of London in 2024 - we believe it. Without music, the world will crumble 

There's also some nice fan nods. The Doctor pointing out that he's, more-or-less, aligned with the events of An Unearthly Child is sweet. Even more obscurely, the story also does the subtlest of imitations of Pyramids of Mars by having the Doctor take Ruby to 2024 and letting her see the havoc the Maestro will wreak. Only as we reach the end of the season do we see that this could actually be construed as a hint of foreshadowing. 

And then, of course, there's the divisive moment: The musical number at the end. I don't hate it as some fans do. But I will admit that I'm not all that impressed by it, either. It does, at least, make a sort of sense. After starving the world of music for a while, a sort of backwash happens. Reality becomes more musical for just a little bit. Which causes the song and dance number to occur. We also see this effect turn a cross-walk into piano keys mere moments after the sequence is done. I can accept the surrealness of it all. I don't feel that throwing a musical number into a Doctor Who story is a bad thing to do. As long as we're provided with a solid enough reason for why the Fourth Wall is being broken a bit. The same sort of thing had just been done a short while ago during the Christmas Special. The goblins sing a merry tune as they offer a sacrifice to their King. An internal logic had also been created to justify that moment. So - in this sense, at least - I didn't mind either of these sequences. 

What bothered me more about There's Always a Twist at the End  was that the whole thing just felt largely superfluous. It doesn't really do anything to enhance or advance the plot. Nor was it all that tremendously entertaining. I'll even be mean enough to say that the lyrics were quite awful. I think that was done slightly intentionally. Almost as if RTD is trying to do a parody of a musical number rather than a proper one. But the whole thing does come across more as a bit of pointless distraction. It just wasn't needed. In fact, the Doctor and Ruby using the cross-walk as a piano would have been a suitably-whimsical way to conclude the episode. But, because of the song and dance that precedes it, the moment becomes less effective. It feels more like one pointless embellishment added on top of another. Because of this, the whole ending is weakened. 

I will admit that I am someone who greatly detests musicals. So you are taking the hugest of chances when you do this sort of thing with my favorite TV show. Still, I don't feel like Twist at the End ruins the whole story. But it does mar it a bit. Ultimately, I do really love this adventure. But I would have enjoyed it more if it had ended on a different note ("ended on a different note"  - see what I did, there?!). 

ANOTHER DOCTOR WHO TITLE USING ONOMATOPEIA  

I was quite happy to hear that Steven Moffat was coming back. I was in love with this man's writing even before he came to Doctor Who. Coupling is one of my all-time fave sitcoms. I still introduce it occasionally to friends who enjoy British comedy but aren't familiar with it. Even though quite a bit of it looks dated now, they're always impressed with it. Moff just really knows how to write. I'd actually go so far as to say that my respect for Moff ranks almost as highly as it does for the Great Robert Holmes, himself. 

Having said all that, I do agree with the sentiment that Moff's scripts do tend go better when someone else is the Headwriter. There was still some absolutely brilliant material that he wrote when he was in charge, but there were some other times when it definitely felt like he was stretching himself a bit too thin (Doctor, Widow and Wardrobe would probably be one of the best examples of this. On the best of days, it's still a difficult one to sit through!). Whereas, when someone else is in charge, he can really just concentrate on the one task in front of him and not worry about the whole shape of the season. Which often causes him to create the  Shining Jewel of the Year. 

Boom just-about achieves this status. It's definitely a Classic - but I wouldn't say it's quite the best episode of the season. Of course, if you're doing the math, you now realize that I will be claiming that there are two Classics this season! 

I love that New Who still has minimalist stories like Boom. It's another way in which it pays homage to its roots. Classic Who would, sometimes, try to restrain itself to just one principal set. More times than not, however, it was for budgetary reasons  ("Let's put it all in a lighthouse! Think of the money we'll save!"). In the New Series, it's a more a case of a writer flexing for us a bit. 

"Look at me!" the author seems to be saying, "I can have my whole plot take place in a weird puzzle-castle with a really tall old lady in a veil! And, even though that's all there is to it, you're still going to love it!" 

Boom produces the usual results that a tale like this creates. We fall absolutely in love with it for its utter simplicity. The very straightforward premise of the Doctor trying to find a way off a landmine becomes absolutely riveting. The layers of complexity that, somehow, manages to build around that singleness of purpose is always amazing to watch. In this sense, the episode is an absolute masterpiece.  

I do still distinctly remember my first watching of it and thinking to myself after a good dozen minutes: "Wow! This could actually become really boring soon!"  The Doctor being stuck on a landmine for, more or less, the entire run-time has the potential to stagnate. I wondered if Moff would actually pull this off. 

But plot complication after plot complication starts to build up. Various narrative threads become entangled and the tension reaches a legitimately overwhelming level. It's hard to believe so much drama could be accomplished without allowing the Doctor to ever move! By the time Ruby is lying on the ground dying, any doubt I had at the beginning of the tale about its ability to engage has been quashed. This is the sort of stuff that makes you proud to be a Who fan. 

I have a few of the most minor of issues. My first would be that the whole denouement does feel a tad too long. I don't expect the Doctor and Ruby to just jump in the TARDIS seconds after he's off the mine, but I do think that they linger on the planet, perhaps, a bit longer than they need to. I also find that Moff is getting a bit weird with the repetition of some of the dialogue. To the point where it cheapens the effectiveness of some of what's being said. Yes, Steven, "Everywhere eventually becomes a beach" (or words to that effect) is a great line - but did we really need to hear it twice?! Its second mention doesn't really suit the situation and feels more like the author is just trying to remind us that he can write really good stuff for his characters to say! 

These objections are nearly not worth mentioning - but they're also there and can't be ignored. Boom is utterly fantastic. I love how much Lore that was specifically created by Moffat influences the story-telling. I love the commentary it makes against those who profit from humanity's need to make war. I love how it shows both the beauty and stupidity of devout faith. 

I love all of it. 

THE CLASSICER CLASSIC 

Convinced Boom would be the best ep of the season, I was completely blown away by what 73 Yards brought us only a week later. Moff may have delivered us another Classic, but this tale still manages to beat it. 

"Another Ghostlight!" I squeal as the closing credits roll, "An excellently-written story that decides not to give us all the answers. Instead, it relies on us to come up with certain solutions on our own. I was certain New Who would never have the guts to do this sort of thing!" 

The ambiguity of it all is, of course, 73 Yards'strongest point. Like Ruby, we don't fully understand what's happening to her. We can only watch and try to draw our own conclusions. Never being given a proper answer to it all actually works, though. We get the distinct impression that the author of the tale has worked it all out in his head - he's just keeping some of it from us because he knows we'll have fun speculating. By no means is this lazy writing. The premise is fully-formed. It's just not completely-explained. Which actually makes it intensely realistic. Rarely in life do we get the full story on anything. We have to fill in the blank spaces, ourselves. 

But there's more to 73 Yards than just a fun guessing game. This is a ridiculously-tight script. Every instant is used in some way to help advance the plot. Even the quieter moments like Ruby looking out her window as she drinks wine and stares at the old woman on the sidewalk below serve a purpose in the Greater Scheme of Things. 

One would think that such an effect would cause the plot to move at a breakneck pace. That's not the case, here. There are plenty of situations where the story is given the chance to breathe. But there's never a sag. We're constantly engaged. Things are always moving at just the right pace. 

One must also give high praise to Millie Gibson, herself. She's carrying this whole thing on her shoulders and she accomplishes that magnificently. She does a great job of bringing us along on the gigantic journey Ruby must take in this episode. If we weren't in love with her character, already - we are now. The fact that this is the first shooting she ever did for the season makes her all-the-more impressive. Ruby had to be a fully-formed character for something like this to work. Normally that's done by giving her some episodes where she's sharing some space with another lead. Which makes things much easier since the focus is split between her and the Doctor. That's not the case, here, though. But she steps up to plate beautifully and shows us that she has some real chops. Particularly since she does feel like she's getting legitimately older in the story even though all she's really given to designate her aging is longer hair and a pair of glasses!    

Like Boom, any complaints I have are pretty minor. Ruby criticizing her bf's performance in bed as she dumps him didn't really work for me. One of the main points of the narrative is for us to be on her side as much as possible so that we're really rooting for her as she faces the various challenges that confront her throughout the episode. To have her end a relationship in a fairly tasteless manner takes away from that. Yes, the moment is a bit funny, too. But it seems more mean-spirited, than anything. 

My only other issue might be that Ruby covers those last remaining yards on the green at a ridiculously fast rate for someone walking backwards. Might have been good to have her briefly turn around and sprint for a bit.

Other than that, 73 Yards is sheer perfection. At this point, I'm ridiculously impressed with this season. But there's still quite a bit more to love... 

TWO-IN-ONE 

My word-count is really starting to get up there. Which has made me realize that my original strategy to analyze the season one episode at a time might not be so sound, after all. 

So I'll tackle two episodes quickly in one section. Both stories do hit me in the same way so it makes sense to cover them in such a manner. 

Dot and Bubble and Rogue continue the trend of excellence that we've been seeing since The Devil's Chord. But, as much as I adore both of them, I can't quite call either tale a Classic. There's a lot to love about these stories. But each has a sort of "fatal flaw" that prevents them from being the incredibly amazing works of art that Boom and 73 Yards are.

With Dot and Bubble, I think it's the plain and simple fact that "secret invasion" storylines have been done just a little too much on Doctor Who. There are some great twists that get added to the trope. The biggest one being that the protagonist of the story is a downright horrible person. Even though we don't like her in the slightest, she never gets her just desserts. She still makes it to the end and survives the catastrophe. It's not something we've really seen much of on the show before (the rich guy in Voyage of the Damned is the only thing that's all that comparable). Which makes it a different kind of story. In this sense, I greatly enjoy its morbidity. 

There's lots of other things that make Dot and Bubble great. It's a clever way to do another "Doctor lite" story that still gives him a strong presence in the episode. There's a great homage to Black Mirror. The "they were racists the whole time" Reveal at the end is brilliantly-executed. Particularly as the Doctor actually realizes why the spoilt rich kids won't allow him to rescue them in the TARDIS. This is all very good. But the fact that it's all built on a premise that has become just a little bit tired causes it to fall slightly short of Classic Status. 

The big problem with Rogue is that it does that thing that I really hate New Who for. Doctor Who is always about solving the main conflict first. Stopping the alien baddies or defeating the terrible menace or something of that nature should be the main focus. If the Doctor is also falling in love with someone or if there's some kind of drama going on with a companion or anything else like that, then that is the B Plot. Some writers seem to forget this and make the soap opera storyline the priority. It always drives me up the wall when they do! 

Admittedly, Rogue doesn't do this too bad. The Chuldur come perilously close to getting the attention they deserve in the tale. So it's not bothering me too much. It also helps that the romantic subplot with the Doctor and Rogue is done excellently. Ncuti and Jonathan Groff  have amazing chemistry. This is all quite similar to Girl in the Fireplace, of course. The Doctor is falling in love with someone in just one episode. It even all takes place in relatively the same time period. But I think the relationship between Fifteen and Rogue plays out better than it did with Ten and Pompadour. Overall, I prefer Fireplace. But Rogue is still awesome. And I'm desperately hoping that there will be future adventures where the Doctor is trying to find Rogue

ISN'T IT IRONIC? 

So I just lumped two separate episodes together for the sake of saving a bit of space. Now I'm going to be a bit ironic and give the one two-parter of the season a section for each episode.

I'm being even more ridiculous when you consider that I could've, easily, placed Legend of Ruby Sunday in the same category as Dot and Bubble and Rogue. All three of them, for me, have the same impact. They're very strong episodes - but I wouldn't label them Classics. 

Like the two stories before it, Legend of Ruby Sunday has that one fatal flaw that prevents it from being elevated to Classic status. In this instance, it's the fact that the whole episode is meant to be a build-up to a massive cliffhanger. The plot accomplishes this very well. We really do feel enormous amounts of tension building as we get closer and closer to discovering who  "The One Who Waits" is. The problem, however, is that this is all that's really happening for the whole episode. Beyond feeling ominous, there's really not much else going on in the narrative. 

Back in the Classic Days, you could get away with an episode like this more easily. Part One of Enlightenment, for instance, is mainly a bunch of stalling until we get to the Reveal of Sailboats in Space. We don't mind that, however, since we only had to wait about twenty minutes to get there. It took double that time in Legend of Ruby Sunday for us to finally find out it was Sutehk the whole time. That's a bit much to sit through when very little is genuinely happening in the plot. I'm vaguely reminded of Stolen Earth. Where it's mainly about a bunch of people saying: "Holy crap! That's a lot of Daleks!" and all the real story development happens in the second part. 

Since we're mentioning Sutehk, I should probably put forward my second extremely minor objection. Making the evil Osirian the One Who Waits felt just a little too much like fan-service. I, like many viewers, thought he was a magnificent villain in Pyramids of Mars. But, unlike others, I really felt he was meant to be a one-time-only baddie. I wanted to be fair, though. I wasn't going to pass too harsh of a judgement on the decision to bring him back until I saw the second part. My initial gut-reaction, however, to his Reveal at the cliffhanger was that I didn't want The One Who Waits to be Sutehk. I'd go so far to say that I would have preferred anyone but him. 

Having spent a paragraph or two voicing objections, I still want to clarify that Legend of Ruby Sunday was, for the most part, an awesome episode. The high standard of quality that we've been seeing since The Devil's Chord continues. This really is shaping up to be an incredible season. I'm very happy with everything, thus far. 

THE EMPIRE STRIKING BACK 

Empire of Death seems to have an interesting blanket effect on those who watch it. When making a statement of this nature, I should be clear that there are, technically, two types of responses that I've seen to this story.  As usual, there's a certain percentage of so-called "fans" who are just completely hating on it. But then, they've been saying this about any new episode for quite some time, now. So let's not even really count them, anymore. I've gotten pretty tired of the same drum they keep beating and can no longer care about them!

Fans that I consider better-balanced, however, do seem to be having a specific type of reaction to this story. Overall, we like it (interesting that I use the term "we" - almost as if I consider myself a well-balanced fan!). But there's also some element to the plot that doesn't sit well with us. Basically, we enjoy most of the episode - but an aspect of the tale stops it from being something we can truly consider excellent. It's not always the same thing that makes us respond this way. But it's still how we all seem to feel. 

For me, it has to do with the fact that Sutekh is sparing the Doctor and Ruby's life just because he wants to know who Ruby's Mom is. This near-omnipotent being that is hell-bent on wiping out all life in the universe is not killing two individuals just so he can learn a bit of gossip?! I mean, really, if he's that curious about the whole thing - I'm pretty sure he can just go find out for himself!  But, even if he's feeling a bit lazy and doesn't want to do the research, I'm not sure why he's not eliminating someone who's defeated him once, already. No amount of curiosity is worth allowing such an effective enemy to continue to exist. This whole idea does seem just a bit too far-fetched for me to buy into. 

Now, I know Doctor Who has a history of doing this sort of thing with god-like beings. They put some kind of weird limitation on them that almost seems a bit silly. Sometimes, it still ends up being quite cool (Fenric losing to the Doctor in a game of chess and being sealed in a flask). Other times, it's just odd and clunky (Azal the Daemon self-destructing cause he doesn't understand why Jo wants to sacrifice herself in the Doctor's place). The Destroyer of the Universe halting his ultimate objective just to learn the identity of Ruby's mother, for me, falls into the category of just a bit too damned ridiculous. RTD makes a noble effort in the denouement to explain why this became important to the Osirian, but it still doesn't really fly. It feels just a bit too much like an ill-conceived narrative contrivance that allows the Doctor to, ultimately, score a sort of cheap victory.

In short, he doesn't truly manage to outwit Sutekh. A bad plot-hole does it for him. 

Aside from this, however, there's still much to like, here. The scene with the woman who gives the Doctor a spoon is utterly gorgeous. Especially since it is there more as a bit of filler than anything. But it's beautifully-crafted and we don't care that it barely does anything to genuinely advance the story. 

It's great to see the Memory (or Remembered) TARDIS being given an actual backstory that now allows it to make a degree of sense. I also like all the great stuff that we see in it. Mel clutching to different costume pieces that belonged to Six and Seven was, oddly enough, one of my favorite moments in the whole episode! 

The Doctor dragging Sutekh into the Vortex with some bits and bobs from the Memory TARDIS is another moment of sheer brilliance. This particular Re-Set Button works nicely for me (and, like most fans, I'm not usually too fond of these things!). Killing death to create life has a weird sort of logic to it that I enjoy. Sutekh tearing away at the walls of the Vortex was a great visual. The Doctor admitting to Sutekh that the Osirian is still, ultimately, the victor was an excellent little speech too. Everything about Sutekh's final defeat was awesome. Quite properly, the high point of the season. 

There is a bit of a protracted denouement in Empire of Death. But, by no means, is this another End of Time - Part Two. I don't find it drags at all. It's just tying up some loose ends that can't really be rushed. I'm actually quite glad that RTD took his time with this. 

Making Ruby's biological mother just a normal human being who had a difficult choice to make was, perhaps, the twist that no one was expecting. I quite liked that things ended up going that way. It actually led to a very emotionally-charged scene when Ruby does find her. This creates a huge pivot in her life that causes her desire to stop travelling with the Doctor to make absolute sense. 

As a weird sidenote: I'm so glad that we got a fourth companion in a row that just chooses to leave the TARDIS rather than being forced apart from the Doctor.  A simple goodbye feels so much better than the convoluted "stuck in a parallel universe" or "trapped in a time paradox" storylines that have often been used in New Who when a member of the TARDIS crew has to go. I still remember the Good 'Ole Days when this was how must companions departed.  

FINAL VERDICT 

And so, the latest soft reboot has been implemented. While Old Doctor Who is enjoying a blissful retirement, a slightly newer version has been fluttering through the cosmos and getting into all sorts of trouble. 

Was it all worth it, though? Did the show need such a big make-over? Should we have brought RTD back to do it? Maybe it was time for Chibnall to go (I, quite honestly, wanted more of him!), but should his replacement have been a Blast From the Past? 

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this: But I am actually quite happy with what RTD has done with the show. Had he just tried to re-create what he'd given us during Series One to Four, I would have been largely dissatisfied. I might have even stopped watching. But he is definitely going for something new and different with his second run. Which is the way it should be with Doctor Who. It always needs to be exploring new territory.

I'm also very pleased with how different this Doctor is from most New Who incarnations. He's still a bit of an overexcited chatterbox, sometimes. But there are a lot of new sides to the character that are prominently on display. I completely love this. Not just because it's something different from what we've been getting for the last dozen seasons. But it's also just a very interesting interpretation of the role. I'm happy to see more of it. I even like how much the Doctor cries, now! 

There are some problems, though. If we're counting Church on Ruby Road, then the season starts and ends on a bit of a weak note. RTD definitely needs to devote more attention to how he establishes and finishes his season. First and last impressions are pretty important! 

He's also walking a very tricky path with how he constructs a story. It really does feel like he's going for a bit more of a Seasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six vibe, now. Rather than giving us all the answers, he's letting us reach our own conclusions about certain things. This is a very difficult style of story-telling. Cartmel seemed to nail it perfectly. He knew exactly when to let things stay ambiguous and when to sidle us with a big old info-dump. RTD doesn't always match his abilities. There are some things that needed better explanation. I can, for instance, deduce that Ruby creating snow when she thinks too hard about the day of her birth was probably a side effect of the Time Window displaying the actual event. But it might have been a good idea to slip a bit of dialogue in that mentions that. 

Keeping expository dialogue to a bare minimum continues to be a huge trend in modern-day TV writing. Which is not an entirely bad thing. But it's something an author needs to be cautious about.  If they're not careful, they just end up giving us a story that doesn't really make any sense!   

Another Season Review in the can. I went on for a bit longer than I'd planned to. Apparently, I had a lot to say! 

POINT OF DEBATE: WHERE DOES RICHARD E. GRANT FIT WITHIN THE DOCTOR'S TIMELINE?!

Damn you, Season One (and/or Series Fourteen)! You did it to me a second time! I'm never going to get this study on Time Loops done! 

RTD is at it again! Once more, he's getting us to speculate the Hell out of something. This time, it's not as convoluted as the entire plot of 73 Yards. It's just one simple visual reference in Rogue. 

After a well-placed throw of his psychic paper, the Doctor activates a scan that shows Rogue holographic images of his various incarnations (can't believe we didn't see Tennant 24 times!). Nearly all the faces that appear make some sort of sense. The War Doctor and the Fugitive Doctor do, ultimately, fit in with all the others. Although how they fit is a bit more tricky to explain than the rest of the faces, there. 

But then, of course, someone appears within the gallery that makes no sense at all. Within nanoseconds of seeing him, we hardcore fans are foaming at the mouth. "What in the Seven Levels of Hell is going on, here?!" we're demanding at the top of our voices.  Or, more specifically, we're proclaiming: 

"Why is Richard E. Grant's face in this collection of images? "

EXPLANATIONS

It's obvious RTD has no intention of ever offering us an answer about why Grant's face shows up here. The whole thing was created to get all of us speculating and theorizing about how someone who has never played the Doctor (within "proper" canon, of course) is now being considered a previous incarnation. It's a bit like the pic of Mike Yates and Sara Kingdom in Day of the Doctor. We're being told that something that never happened in the show's continuity actually happened. But given no explanation for how it occurred. We have to come up with it, ourselves. 

And so, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to offer some possible explanations as to how Richard E. Grant is now considered a past incarnation of the Doctor. It should be noted that I've made this a POINT OF DEBATE Essay. Which means I'm not going to reach a definite conclusion of any sort. I'm just going to present some possible reasons and, ultimately, let you decide on your own. 

As far as I can see, there are four possible explanations for how Grant ended up in this flashback. I will start with the one that makes the most sense but then venture further and further out into the Land of Outlandishness. But first, let's address one that I just can't get behind at all even though some people are putting it forward as a possibility. 

IMMEDIATE DISMISSAL 

Fans came up with this notion, of course, when we first met the Fugitive Doctor in the middle of Jodie's second season. Some believed that she is some kind of weird interim incarnation that is found somewhere between the Second and Third Doctors. Specifically created by the Time Lords to facilitate all the missions the Celestial Intervention Agency was sending him on.  Even though the show eventually established quite firmly that Jo Martin's Doctor existed prior to William Hartnell, there are those who  still subscribe to this idea. They refuse to believe in the Timeless Child and are convinced that she hails from this period of the Doctor's life, instead.  

It's an interesting idea, of course. Aided by the fact that we don't actually see Troughton transform into Pertwee. So this whole process could have actually happened between The War Games and Spearhead from Space. Especially since The Two and Five Doctors sets up the concept of Season 6b. If a whole series of unseen adventures occurred during this time, why not throw the Fugitive Doctor in there too?! There were even some fan-made films that were shot some years ago that used this very premise. Jo Martin wasn't in them, of course. But an actor who was very Troughtonesque played the role of a secret extra incarnation that existed between Two and Three.  

The whole theory is a quick easy way for fans who don't want to believe the Timeless Child ever existed. They can retcon the Fugitive Doctor and make her part of the post-Hartnell lineage. This way, there's no need to acknowledge that the Doctor had a whole forgotten life before his first incarnation. 

Now they're applying this same concept to Richard E. Grant. That he's an interim Doctor between Two and Three along with the Fugitive Doctor. Or, perhaps they have decided that Martin's Doctor is pre-Hartnell, after all, and it's only Grant that slots into this spot in his timeline. I'm not entirely sure. This theory, in general, doesn't really work for me. Whether it's Grant or Martin. Or both. 

So, while I'm sure that some people want to adhere to this notion, it's never really made a whole lot of sense to me. It was a fun idea to explore in some fan films (it was especially cool that they actually managed to get Pertwee to come along to shoot the regeneration scene), but I really don't want any of it to legitimately exist within canon. 

So I'm going to just throw this one out. If some of you really want to hang on to it, you can. But I prefer to think that it just doesn't really work. I'll give it a mention - but I won't truly entertain it. 

THEORY #1: 

The most obvious and sensible: This is another incarnation of the Timeless Child. If we go with this notion, it becomes super-easy to get Grant's surprise appearance to fit quite easily into canon. 

We've never seen this incarnation until this moment because he's from the Doctor's previous existence. A timeline that has been, more-or-less, wiped from his memory. There's not much evidence of the Timeless Child until the Chibnall/Whitaker Era. But, now that some of that past has been "unlocked", we might get more faces from this hidden period surfacing from time-to-time. 

There is just one problem with the whole concept: the Doctor has willfully chosen not to explore his full memories as the Timeless Child. He knows about his time as Jo Martin, of course. He also seems to have seen himself as Branden. More than likely, he even has vague recollections of the incarnations that appeared during his mind-bending battle with Morbius. But, beyond that, it's a blank slate. And none of the versions of himself that he has witnessed resemble Richard E. Grant in the slightest. So, if he doesn't remember his time as Grant, how would his face be able to appear in that line-up?    

It's possible that some stray memories from that fob watch may have still leaked into the Doctor's mind before she threw it down the chasm in the TARDIS console. Particularly since Azure did still open it for a bit in her presence. She didn't actually enter the house while they tormented her in the strange dreamscape that the watch seemed to create, but it's possible there was still some sort of telepathic connection that was made that showed her a few more memories. Some of which involved her time as Richard E. Grant's incarnation. 

Alternatively, there could be an unseen adventure where the Doctor did ask the TARDIS to briefly give him the fob watch back. Maybe sometime before Fourteen met Donna, he had a little glimpse into the past and saw himself in that particular body. Or maybe Fifteen did it offscreen over the last little while.  

There are, at least, a few explanations that easily work around this problem. Which helps to make the theory of Richard E. Grant's Doctor being another incarnation of the Timeless Child very workable. 

THEORY #2: 

This one seems a little less likely, but it allows us to see Richard E. Grant as being one of the versions of the Doctor that we've watched him play in productions that are not, typically, viewed as "proper canon". 

Grant, of course, briefly portrayed the Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death from the Red Nose Charity Telethon of 1999. He also voiced the character in the Scream of the Shalka animated web series. 

Most fans want to see him as the Scream of the Shalka portrayal. Where he was meant to, essentially, be the Ninth incarnation of the Doctor. That whole continuity, of course, was wiped out when Christopher Eccleston assumed the role and took the title of "Nine" in 2005. The cartoon, at that point, became a pleasant glimpse into "what could have been" had the show never been revived. I will even say that it was almost a bit sad that we only ever got one story in this series. There were a lot of fun ideas at play that would have been great to see develop. Particularly the idea that the Doctor was keeping an android version of the Master trapped within his TARDIS! 

But now it's become possible that the whole timeline does exist. All because of something the Toymaker said in The Giggle: 

"I made a jigsaw out of your history. Did you like it?!"

The line is fairly vague, of course. But it alludes to the idea that the Toymaker has actually been messing with the Doctor's past. Scrambling it up in some sort of odd way. With the Toymaker's ability to influence the shape of atoms through sheer will, it's entirely possible that the Scream of Shalka alternative timeline has now become an aspect of the Doctor's actual personal history. Whilst, at the same time, making everything in his Christopher Eccleston existence also a part of him. The Toymaker can, basically, do anything. So making the whole Doctor's life a patchwork of different realities is more-than-feasible. And it would be something he would find amusing. What better way to frustrate a Time Lord than to corrupt his timeline in such a manner?   

So the Doctor now has this weird past where his Ninth incarnation is both Richard E. Grant and Christopher Eccleston. And, perhaps, even Rowan Atkinson! He just didn't show up in the holograms.   

SPECIAL NOTE: The idea that the Toymaker has messed with the Doctor's past is further supported by the way in which the Doctor tells Donna during The Giggle that he's "lived for billions of years". Only a short while ago, however, Thirteen was saying she'd only lived for thousands of years.  

This could be construed as Fourteen just exaggerating. Or it just might be possible that the Toymaker really did meddle with his personal history and has added many more years to his existence. Extra versions of his Ninth Self might be only a small part of the past he now has. 

THEORY #3: 

And now, things start to become a bit far-fetched. To the point where you might even say: "You reject the idea of an interim Doctor between Two and Three but you'll believe this?!" 

At some point during New Who (more than likely, after the events of Name of the Doctor - otherwise, the Doctor would have said something to the nature of "Oi! I used to be you!" when dealing with the Dr. Simeon version of the Great Intelligence), an unseen adventure took place where the Doctor slipped into a parallel reality. In this Alternate Universe, the Ninth Doctor from Scream of the Shalka is the Real Deal. The two different versions of the Time Lord meet up and get into some trouble. Perhaps our Doctor is even stranded there for a bit and they journey together extensively. 

As the Doctor from our Universe struggles to return home, this messes a bit with both continuums. It's possible, for instance, that he builds some sort of special device that is meant to bridge the two realities so he can get back home. But the contraption also, somehow, manages to get our Doctor to "absorb" this alternative Ninth Doctor into him. The Richard E. Grant Doctor still remains in his parallel Universe but also exists within the Doctor from our Plain of Reality at the same time. So, now, he's an aspect of the Doctor's past and will show up in the holograms. 

The Doctor inventing something that causes this strange merger to occur is just one of several possible explanations. Somehow, however, it happens. While adventuring in this parallel universe, the Richard E. Grant Doctor becomes a part of him. And we can see him, from time-to-time, in flashback sequences. 

THEORY #4: 

The one that acknowledges the Elephant in the Room: The fact that Richard E. Grant has already played a major character in New Who!    

He begins as Dr Simeon, of course, but eventually becomes a corporeal housing for the Great Intelligence. He appears in a total of three episodes and has quite the presence in Series Seven, in general. Because of this, it's hard to ignore the fact that Richard E. Grant has already been on the show. Thus making it all-the-more difficult to reconcile with the idea that he was also an incarnation of the Doctor (yes, yes, both Colin Baker and Peter Capaldi played other characters before they played the Doctor - but it's still a fairly tricky matter!).  

Okay, how about this: The Great Intelligence finally "dies" at the end of Name of the Doctor by stepping into a time rift formed by the Doctor's passing. As he does so, he is absorbed into the Doctor's timeline. Whereupon he then tries to undo all of the Doctor's greatest victories. Clara dives in after him and undoes what the Great Intelligence undid. Thus restoring the Doctor's timeline to what it was before. 

The Doctor then dives into the rift to pull Clara back out of it. However, he leaves the Great Intelligence there. He has, essentially, absorbed his foe into himself. Which is why we see Richard E. Grant in the flashback. He is, now, part of the Doctor's timeline. Part of his past. 

So that image that we see is not a previous incarnation. It's the Great Intelligence. He is, in a strange convoluted way, an aspect of the Doctor. And will, therefore, show up on scans of this nature from time-to-time. 

There you go: The four theories that I think are the most logical explanation for why we saw Richard E. Grant's face last week. Admittedly, it would be great fun if a multi-doctor story gets made some day and he shows up in it! 

We can always hope.... 

Alternate Reality 

Great Intelligence 

UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION: WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED IN 73 YARDS?

So I was toiling away on a fascinating ANALYTICAL post that was coming together quite nicely. It was a deep dive into the nature of time loops. How friggin' interesting is that?! 

I was having a great time re-watching stories like Claws of Axos and Meglos and Eve of the Daleks to glean whatever information I could on this strange form of time manipulation. And then packaging all that knowledge in a fun colorful manner that I hoped my readership would enjoy. 

But then, 73 Yards came along....

SUPRISE ENTRY 

If you followed the Season Reviews I wrote throughout the 60th Anniversary Year (well, the 60th Anniversary Year and Then Some!), you'll see that I'm not always the biggest fan of RTD's writing. Series One was brilliant, but everything else has given me some pretty mixed reactions. The Anniversary Specials, themselves, even felt largely disappointing. Suffice it to say, I was not the most enthused of individuals when the first "real" season of RTD2 fell upon us. 

But in the last few weeks, my opinion has changed greatly. These have been some really enjoyable stories (I even liked Space Babies!). RTD made a great choice by causing the Whoniverse to become more supernatural. The plot contrivance allows a whole new sort of story to be told within the show's lore. The Devil's Chord, for instance, proved to be great fun by allowing its villainess to, essentially, be a powerful magical being that the Doctor needed to defeat with music. I completely loved this idea and looked forward to more adventures of this nature. 

The next tale after Devil's Chord that had a supernatural theme to it, however, really astounded me. 73 Yards took me all the way back to the incredibly brilliant Ghost Light of Season Twenty-Six. Both adventures were written with an extreme level of sophistication and ambiguity. We're just expected to be intelligent as we watch them. Rather than have everything spelt out for us, we are required to make certain conclusions on our own. 

When Ghost Light came out, fans started coming up with their own theories as to what exactly occurred in the plot. Which is, of course, the biggest appeal to a story of this nature. The same thing is now happening with 73 Yards. People are actually putting forward all sorts of notions on what the lesser-explained aspects of the tale are meant to be about. I'm no exception to that rule. I have my own ideas about how 73 Yards is meant to work. 

Since I have this little blog to express myself in, I decided I should share them here! 

MAD JACK

There are certain key aspects of 73 Yards that need to be delved into quite deeply before we can really break down the actual plot and give it a proper explanation. Mad Jack is, without a doubt, the most important of all these elements.  

It all goes back to Wild Blue Yonder, of course. The Doctor employing superstition and pouring salt at the very edge of the Universe has allowed various mystical beings to enter our reality. Characters like the Celestial Toymaker and his daughter, the Maestro. Or the Goblin King. Most of these infiltrators, as you can see, seem to be quite malevolent. 

Mad Jack is another one of these creatures. He just might be the most mean-spirited of them all. 

Mad Jack revels in mindless destruction. He wants to see every civilization ruined in the worst way possible. But he has a curious way of manifesting Armageddon. He enters each society he wishes to ruin and creates the proper conditions it needs to unravel. He does this by either possessing a denizen of that world or, perhaps, he can actually assume the form of one of them. We're not entirely sure. 

Whichever the method, Mad Jack is incredibly charismatic as he walks amongst the mortals he's seeking to destroy. This allows him to assume a role of power in their social structure. Which, in turn, gives him access to the suitable weapons he will need to effect their ending. 

This is, essentially, his "M.O.". But there are ways to stop him. 

THE FAIRY CIRCLE 

This is our second super-important aspect to the story that merits a section of its own.

It's not entirely certain who actually constructed the Fairy Circle. It might have been a more benevolent being that the Doctor has let in from outside of our universe that rivals Mad Jack. Or it might actually be someone from Earth who performed "witchcraft". Perhaps some human amongst us has, somehow, learnt certain spells that can negate a few of these evil beings that are now infiltrating our dimension. Kate Stewart spoke to Ruby of the increased amount of supernatural incidents that UNIT has been investigating, of late. So all sorts of magic could now be going on. Some of it could stem from humans who now have strong psychic abilities. 

Regardless of its origins, the Fairy Circle is a ward spell that is preventing Mad Jack from being able to manifest himself on Earth. Many of these Evil Beings from Beyond have been showing a strong interest in us. Perhaps it's because they know that the Doctor has a fondness for our planet and they want to kick him where it hurts most. 

While the Fairy Circle keeps Mad Jack out, he is still very powerful and has made his presence felt. Particularly by those near the Circle, itself. Legends of his evil have spread amongst the villagers in the area. To the point where it seems he may have been able to partially enter our world once or twice and wreaked some degree of havoc. Alternatively, the Fairy Circle may have been constructed because Mad Jack has legitimately walked the Earth during its earlier days when civilization wasn't quite advanced enough for him to completely wipe it out. Whatever the case, he's gained a reputation in the area. 

As the Doctor stands close to the Fairy Circle, he's picking up on the potential alternative timeline that is about to be released. This prompts him, unknowingly, to tell Ruby about Roger ap Gwilliam. It's my belief, however, that if they hadn't come to the Fairy Circle, then the Roger ap Gwilliam Timeline would never have manifested itself in such a manner. The man may have still been born and lived a normal life. Or he may have never existed at all (as I've said, I'm not sure if Mad Jack would possess a human or just assume their form). But Mad Jack senses the Fairy Circle is about to break so his presence is already starting to be felt. 

BREAKING THE CIRCLE 

Within minutes of the episode starting, the Doctor accidentally steps on the Fairy Circle and breaks it. This, quite naturally, is when all the trouble starts. 

With the Circle damaged, the ward spell holding back Mad Jack no longer works. He can enter our world and begin his plans. Technically, that should be it for being able to thwart the evil entity. The ward spell should lose all its effectiveness. Especially since Ruby also does things to damage it. 

But the ward spell, hell-bent on doing everything it can to hold back Mad Jack, recognizes an enormous resource nearby: the TARDIS. If it can, somehow, access some of its abilities to manipulate time, it might be able to still prevent Jack from succeeding. 

This is why the Doctor suddenly disappears. The Fairy Circle absorbed him and is using his symbiotic link with the TARDIS to harness its powers. The Doctor, always willing to fight for a good cause, is happy to help. This also explains why it's suddenly become impossible to open the TARDIS door. The time vessel is now fully engaged in working with the Fairy Circle. It cannot be distracted by passengers. 

THE OLD LADY FROM A DISTANCE 

With the powers of the TARDIS at its disposal, the ward spell can make an attempt to re-set the timelines and cast Mad Jack back out. It goes for something quite simple. Get a future version or Ruby to travel back in time and prevent the Doctor from stepping on the Circle.  

There is a problem: With the Fairy Circle broken, the ward spell is very weak. Even with the TARDIS backing it up, it can only do so much. The plan is only so effective. 

A future version of Ruby can be sent back, but only if she is plucked from the very weakest point in her timeline. Basically, it can only be Ruby at the point of her death. A version of her that exists just as she has drawn her last breath. She's not quite dead. But not alive either. I remember one fan mentioning that she's a bit like the Doctor's Watcher in Logopolis. The image works for me. 

This future version of Ruby appears as a strange otherworldly-looking old woman who is completely unrecognizable to her. Particularly since she can only see her from a distance. Which is the other problem the ward spell is experiencing. Getting the same person from different periods of their life to meet each other is quite dangerous. The TARDIS actually has a failsafe in place that the ward spell doesn't have the strength to by-pass. The two versions of Ruby can never get any closer than 73 yards from each other. Future Ruby, however, will make continuous efforts to close the distance. No matter where Young Ruby goes, Ruby on the Verge of Death will follow her. Always trying to make contact. If Ruby can know the full plan of the ward spell, that will make all of this easier for her. So she's constantly trying to tell her. She just can't get close enough to be heard. 

Here's the thing about Future Ruby being in the state she's in: it disturbs the Hell out of any living human being that has direct contact with her. Most of the time, the TARDIS can protect nearby people by placing a perception filter around her. They will see her but intentionally avoid her. Unless, of course, they make a conscious effort to engage her. That will break the cloaking device and the full effect of her intensely off-putting aura will hit them. 

Fans keep speculating about what the Old Woman says to people that gets them to run away. I don't think she says much of anything. She just causes anyone who speaks to her directly to come face-to-face with their own mortality. Unable to deal with such a thing, they run off in total fear. And, because Old Ruby is connected to Young Ruby, it causes them to reject her too. They want nothing to do with either of them. Because they now both represent Death. 

ROGER AP GWILLIAM 

As all this is going on in Ruby's life, Roger ap Gwilliam rises to power. He does seem to have been born right around when the Fairy Circle was broken. Which implies that he came into existence when Mad Jack could enter our world. 

Here's where my theory gets at its wildest: I'm not entirely sure that Ruby needed to actually do anything to stop Gwilliam (or is it ap Gwilliam? Excuse my cultural ignorance!). The real plan was to just re-write time a bit by sending Future Ruby back to distract herself. Young Ruby deciding to use her own curse to her advantage was just a nice extra bonus. 

Yes, the Mad Prime Minister was planning to blow up the world. But the ward spell just needed to take Ruby at the point of death and send her back in time. If she had died in a nuclear blast rather than a bed in a hospital, it would not have made a difference.  

Or perhaps it would. Perhaps a violent death would have been too difficult to wrest a future version of Ruby from. So Ruby ruining Mad Jack's plans was an important part of the whole operation. As I've said several times already: Who can say for sure?!! 

COMPLETING THE LOOP 

And so, Ruby reaches the end of her life. The Old Woman From a Distance can approach her ever-so-briefly so that they can merge and she can then be projected into the past. 

The saddest thing, of course, is that Ruby had to live through the entire alternative timeline at least once for the actual sequence of events to occur. Otherwise, Future Ruby would not be able to appear and stop them. Only when Ruby's full life is completed can the Old Woman From a Distance properly appear in the past and provide a distraction at just the right time. Thus causing the Doctor to not step on the Circle. Which, in turn, stops Ruby's whole miserable existence without the Doctor from ever occurring. 

It's a fairly mind-boggling paradox. But it just manages to work. 

This is one of those rare occasions where a huge hiccup in time isn't actually noticed by the Doctor. Which makes sense. The ward spell's plan prevents a whole series of events from ever happening. He just doesn't break the Fairy Circle, now. So how could he know about any of this? 

But Ruby does appear to remember it all and just isn't going to say anything to him about it. I purposely waited until Dot and Bubble came out before posting this. I wanted to see if Ruby would mention the events of 73 Yards in it. Sure enough, she did. Although she does seem pretty hazy about the whole experience. So maybe she only vaguely recalls it. 

Future episodes might clarify these issues a bit better but I didn't want to wait too long to post this. The more new episodes come out, the more attention they will get. Speculating about 73 Yards will lose popularity. As is, people might already be saying to themselves: "Who cares anymore, Rob?!" when this actual entry does go up!    

A FEW MINOR NIGGLES:

So, just a few more quick questions that need answering: 

How can Mad Jack exist if he's just a joke that was made up by the patrons in the pub to tease Ruby? 

It's my belief that he wasn't completely made up. That there are some old legends about him that the locals in the pub chose to exploit. The fact that there are stories about him made it all-the-easier to get in on the joke. The first person to mention him knew that no one else in the room would be like: "Mad Jack?! Who's that meant to be ?!" Instead, they would be like: "Yeah! Let's scare her with some tales about Mad Jack!" 

The same goes, of course, for Ruby damaging the Fairy Circle. There would be superstitions about what doing such a thing causes. The locals could use this to their advantage. They would know about the "rules" that apply to fairy circles but would not, necessarily, believe in them. Nonetheless, it would still be fun to tease Ruby for breaking them. 

While the patrons of the pub are taking the piss out of Ruby, they are still drawing upon old Lore about the area as they do so. It just so happens that everything that they are citing is actually accurate! 

Why Can't Ruby hear what her Future Self is telling her when her Mom holds up the phone to her?

Hearing herself over the phone still constitutes someone from two different points in their timeline having contact. Which causes the TARDIS failsafe I mentioned earlier to kick in. A condition that the ward spell is too weak to break. During many other instances, this isn't actually a problem and a person is able to meet themselves (ie: the Brigadier in Mawdryn Undead) but this might be due to the fact that the TARDIS is old and unreliable. The failsafe breaks down from time-to-time but will also get repaired now and again. Meaning, of course, that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't (Mind you, the TARDIS may have shut the protocol down, herself, during Mawdryn Undead knowing it would save the Doctor). So when Young Ruby tries to hear Old Ruby through her cell, the whole process triggers a sort of temporal backwash that causes the reception between the two phones to become staticky. Thus preventing proper contact. 

Will Roger ap Gwilliam still become Prime Minister? 

Probably not. He may not even exist anymore. Or, if he is born, he doesn't become Prime Minister. Or, if he does have a successful political career that makes him the leader of Britain, he won't want to blow up the world. 

The Fairy Circle managed to create a continuum where the Doctor and Ruby never damaged it. So Mad Jack never enters our world. He won't be able to create the circumstances that Ruby had to live through when the Fairy Circle broke. 

Basically, it's all an aborted timeline, now. But one that was created more through magic than technology. Which kinda makes it special! 

If it's an aborted timeline, why does the Doctor still mention him?! 

Because he is still standing close to the Fairy Circle. So the potential reality is still speaking to him. As he gets further and further away from it, he will forget all about Roger ap Gwilliam. Or, at the very least, he will remember him differently. 

It's also entirely possible that he still had to bring up the topic in order to get the whole paradox to work. Ruby needed to know about Mad Jack so that she would know to stop him in the future while she was still stuck in the aborted timeline. Particularly if my "Ruby Needed to Die a Peaceful Death" theory is accurate. She would need the "tease" the Doctor gave her to get her to foil his plans. Which, in turn, would ensure she dies under favorable circumstances. 

So the Fairy Circle allowed that little bit of information to leak in order to get all the events of the aborted timeline to flow the way they needed to. So that, in turn, the whole thing would never happen. 

Yup, definitely a complex paradox! 

The Fairy Circle is sitting outside, won't it just get broken in a nasty storm?!   

The ward spell is powerful enough to resist the effects of the elements. But an actual mortal interfering with it is too strong of a force for it to contend with. Even if the mortal damages it unintentionally. 

And ... there you go: my "two cents" on what I think happened in 73 Yards. It was such a compelling story that I had to discuss it as soon as possible in here. 

Now I'll get back to analyzing time loops....