After being introduced to the new Doctor and his new companion, Ruby Sunday, it is time for their first proper adventure together. After some exposition where the Doctor tells Ruby, and new viewers, about himself and the Tardis they set off into the far future and find themselves aboard a space station. They encounter a monster before fleeing to a higher level where they find babies growing in glass jars... not only that there are babies that appear to be running the station after the adults abandoned the facility. Will they be able to discover the nature of the creature and get the babies to safety? What do you think?
I started watching the original Doctor Who series in the seventies; enjoyed the reboot series, even most of the episodes other fans disliked, and after the introduction of the new Doctor and Companion had high hopes for this. First the positives; I thought Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson are great as The Doctor and Ruby and the special effects show that more money is available now Disney are on board. The exposition, necessary to introduce the characters to new viewers was swiftly and effectively dealt with. Unfortunately this wasn't enough to save the episode as the Space Babies, which could have been either cute or creepy, managed to be cringe inducing instead. The nature of the monster is a bit silly but should appeal to younger viewers, who were always a key demographic for Doctor Who. I did enjoy nods to sci-fi classics Alien and 2001 - A Space Odyssey, done in ways that won't affect enjoyment for people who haven't seen those films. Overall a disappointing start to the new series but with enough good points to keep me watching later episodes.
I started watching the original Doctor Who series in the seventies; enjoyed the reboot series, even most of the episodes other fans disliked, and after the introduction of the new Doctor and Companion had high hopes for this. First the positives; I thought Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson are great as The Doctor and Ruby and the special effects show that more money is available now Disney are on board. The exposition, necessary to introduce the characters to new viewers was swiftly and effectively dealt with. Unfortunately this wasn't enough to save the episode as the Space Babies, which could have been either cute or creepy, managed to be cringe inducing instead. The nature of the monster is a bit silly but should appeal to younger viewers, who were always a key demographic for Doctor Who. I did enjoy nods to sci-fi classics Alien and 2001 - A Space Odyssey, done in ways that won't affect enjoyment for people who haven't seen those films. Overall a disappointing start to the new series but with enough good points to keep me watching later episodes.