Second off I felt like David Tennant was the Doctor from the moment he said "Did you miss me?" Eccleston's season was strong but I don't think he took to the role quite so quickly or so naturally.
Caroline, you and I had almost exactly opposite reactions to these two episodes. I thought "Space Babies" was terrific fun while "The Devil's Chrord" was a muddled mess. I can understand why the goofiness of "Space Babies" might be off putting to some - it's not the tone I want from Doctor Who all the time - but the babies were cute and the emotional stakes of brave babies looking for a loving home absolutely worked on me. Whereas "The Devil's Chord" felt like a concept instead of a story. God-like conceptual enemies can work when they are used sparingly, but I much prefer obstacles that are grounded in the real world even if they take a lot of sci-fi technobabble to overcome. The Maestro was pretty much just there to be an enemy that the Doctor couldn't defeat but somehow the Beatles could, by playing an unrecognizable series of notes*. I also think it was a big mistake to have two episodes in a row where the Doctor is explicitly afraid and calls out his own fear. Ncuti is a lot more appealing when he's allowed to be confident and brash.
* Seriously? Disney can afford to pay for a couple bars of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"?
I liked Space Babies better overall than The Devil's Chord, too. The latter had some brilliant pieces -- I love the lore of this Trickster's pantheon or whatever that Davies is building -- but it didn't really come together for me in the end. That closing music number especially felt totally unearned in my opinion.
I haven't yet seen "The Devil's Chord" and might even skip it I'm so averse to yet more Beatles related content at this point, but I agree with you about "Space Babies". It was silly, but silly is a big part of Doctor Who. I actually think it was a good introduction to Doctor Who and can see why it was placed first
The second episode started interesting but also lost a bit of steam for me by the end. I did find it pretty cool seeing the re-creation of EMI studios circa 1963 though (with the camera highlighting the sign for Studio Two)!
Just watched this one BBC One visiting my mum at home. She's a big Beatles fan and cried when the Doctor saved the snot monster in the air lock. So these episodes went down remarkably well in my house
“Also, I’m a little confused how long she’s been traveling with him. “Space Babies” ends with the TARDIS landing in Carla’s flat on Christmas Day, but “The Devil’s Chord” mentions that it’s June or July in Ruby’s time.”
There were a few little things that felt Moffat-inflected in these episodes, the sorts of flourishes that were distinct in his era, and I think this might've been one of them. While the first RTD run tended towards being continuous, Moffat always tended to leave room for unseen adventures that could be filled by audios, novels, comics, fan-fic, whatever.
Having such a big time-skip after Ruby's first trip also cleans up some of the narrative short-hand with her being dialed in to the Doctor's whole deal so early. Her refusing to accept the Doctor getting freaked by the Maestro because he's always so in control made a lot more sense after that line revealed this wasn't her second trip, but they'd traveling it for a while. I remember that issue *not* being avoided in Amy's first few episodes, where she kept pointing out aspects of the Doctor's character she hadn't actually seen yet, like how it was unusual for him to let the soldiers with River call him "sir."
(I wonder if "June or July, but it's hard to keep track" indicates that they didn't have a firm plan for when these episodes would air, and were leaning towards more into summer. Speaking of Amy, that's a contrast to that season, which was very tightly locked in to its airdates with the first episode opening on Easter and the wedding taking place on the season finale.)
Gatwa is awesome as The Doctor. Just a great performance. In terms of the previous ones settling into the role, I actually really liked Capaldi's performance, particularly in its first series. The far mores stripped-down, less quirky Doctor was a nice change after the Smith performance (which I also really like too).
Tennant's Doctor (Tenth) is one I've got an up and down relationship with. I like his performance but I didn't particularly like his partnership with Rose, or how much that hangs over the rest of his time on the show.
Tennant is the peoples' Doctor: by far the most popular as evidenced by the fact that he's the only one ever to be brought back. In fact he could've been brought back permanently and most people would love it. My favorite is Smith, but I think the sort of people who comment on Episodic Medium don't realize how dominant Tennant is among normies
Coming in very late to offer a couple of thoughts, as someone who isn't very familiar with Doctor Who. My wife is a fan, and I've dipped into the show here and there—I've seen most of the post-Eccleston specials, but only a handful of regular episodes. I've tried many times over the years to get into Doctor Who, but for one reason or another I've never gotten completely hooked.
This season might be the one that finally hooks me. I fell in love with Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor from the first. His exuberance, the way he looks at everything like he's seen it all a million times before and at the same time like he's seeing it for the first time—it's medicine for my soul.
I loved both of these episodes, despite noting a few of the flaws Caroline noted (I'm blissfully unaware of any issues relating to previous Doctors). "Space Babies" actually made me like the concept of babies who talk like adults. The baby casting game was strong! And as over-the-top wholesome as the episode was, it totally worked for me.
"The Devil's Chord" made me turn to my wife and ask her whether it was normal for Doctor Who episodes to be so insane. The dizzying narrative zigs and zags...the incredible performances all around, especially Jinx Monsoon, who I thought was brilliant in conveying Joker-esque whimsy and menace. As someone who has never seen Ncuti before, I was impressed by the range he displays in these two episodes, especially his ability to go to some dark emotional places.
If this season is trying extra hard to bring in new viewers, it's definitely working for me. Looking forward to what the next episodes bring!
I had never seen Doctor Who before and just randomly decided to hit play. I am a big fan of Ncuti Gatwa from Sex Education so I decided it was worth a shot. I started with the Christmas special and then these two episodes. I am not sure what I think. This show is pretty weird! But I enjoy its exuberance and the performances. I will stick with it.
I love this! I'm a big proponent of people jumping into Who whenever, anyway, and since this season is explicitly designed as a jumping on point I'll be fascinated to hear how it plays for a newbie. Please keep us updated as you watch—weird but exuberant is absolutely the vibe of the show!
So... a lot of appearances by Susan Twist, an episode packed with fourth-wall-breaking, and no one wonders if There's Always a Twist at the End has some deeper meaning??
"Space Babies" had a mavity joke and "The Devil's Chord" had a fourth wall breaking alternate version of the theme song which was pretty much all I needed to enjoy these episodes. "Space Babies" was classic RTD, in that it had a strong emotional hook to get me invested, some lovely sentiments from the Doctor about life and the universe, and a plot which really doesn't hang together if you think about it too much and really doesn't need to to achieve what the episode wanted to achieve.
"The Devil's Chord" seemed like it was setting up to be a disappointment, as at first it seemed like "The Giggle" with a slightly different coat of paint - a big, over the top villain with a penchant for musical numbers and a plan that can change the course of the world. Considering that "The Giggle" was only a few episodes ago, that felt distressingly lazy. But then the Doctor actually mentioned the giggle and the Maestro revealed their connection to the Toymaker and to (presumably) the rest of the season at large and things snapped into place perfectly. It wasn't a half-hearted rehash but more the second level of something like a Mega Man video game, a slow build following similar outlines which will lead to something bigger. That's far more well thought out than previous RTD season-long story arcs, which relied on little more than nonsense compound word which was repeated in each episode, and it's got me looking forward to see where he goes with things far more than I anticipated.
All I want to know is did they bring in Kenny Ortega to choreograph The Twist at the End? Because that was giving major High School Musical vibes (the original movie), which I say with deep respect, for it understood joy and fun.
I agree that "Space Babies" was an odd choice for an opener, for all the reasons listed, but also the vfx on the babies' mouths was hugely distracting. Given all the tech advancements, I would have expected something more seamless, but it wasn't even close. Weird choice.
*Loving* Gatwa's joy and all the casual queer references. You really feel that exploring the universe is wondrous and that's a beautiful thing.
I'm just not sold on this Doctor/Companion combo, they're VERY similar and I want two different characters and acting choices made and I'm getting all of the same from both at the moment. 3 episodes in and I'm not there with either of these two yet - Gatwa more than Gibson though purely because he gets more to do and show a bit of range which I don't feel I've seen from her yet.
Having said that, The Devils Chord was incredibly stupid fun but that salt at the end of the universe is looking more and more like it was a very bad idea, 14.
Gatwa to me has a very distinct vibe from any previous Doctor. Gibson just seems like a fairly generic young girl companion so far but I don't know if that's just the writing letting her down
Yes, same thoughts here, despite Gatwa’s laugh being like an immediate dopamine hit for me. They’re both just *a lot*, and ideally one of them would calm down a bit. (In this frame of mind, the shrieking Maestro was not a welcome addition for me lol.)
Overall, I enjoyed The Devil's Chord until the end. Really didn't like the Twist At The End bit. Acting was great, but the special effects felt cheesy and not in a campy, fun way. I'm not smart enough to know for sure, but was the chord that John and Paul played from the end of A Day in the Life?
Also, when the Doctor mentioned that he was split in half and couldn't take that again, was that a statement that there won't be additional bigenerations for the Doctor? I know some fans have theorized that possibility.
I found Space Babies a little meh. The talking babies effects really took me out of the story-- their mouths move, but the words frequently contradicted the facial expressions, especially when Eric said he felt very happy at the end but looked like he was pooping his diaper. The boogy monster reminded me of the Alien creature and i missed what the plan was for it long term-- does it need to remain locked up the rest of its life? Will it be peaceful now? I also didn't get the Doctor blowing on the butterfly--did his breath magically heal it?
I don't need everything spelled out or answered, and I truly enjoy Gatwa's performance. I just liked the previous episodes more.
I think the idea is that they're now just going to peacefully coexist with the Bogeyman? But I agree it was really poorly explained and a big part of the reason the episode felt so half-baked to me.
My take on the Doctor blowing on the butterfly was him using up residual regeneration energy for healing, as we've seen River and the Doctor both do before. But it definitely wasn't spelled out so explicitly for us, so I could be off there.
I love Gatwa as the doctor but I’m a little thrown by all the fourth wall breaks. I’m assuming it’s all leading somewhere but it’s getting to be too much. And the ending big song felt unearned, like not something for the doctor and companion to do so early in their run. Hmm. I will keep watching though!
the time jump from Christmas to June / July allows for the time honoured tradition of Doctor Who novels that fill in the gaps between episodes! Expect a whole bunch to come out between this season and next.
I've already seen the Big Finish Twitter account celebrating the apparent time jump, haha. Though I do wonder if maybe it's a sign this episode was originally planned for later in the season and got moved up for some reason during production?
Ok, first off it's season 40.
Second off I felt like David Tennant was the Doctor from the moment he said "Did you miss me?" Eccleston's season was strong but I don't think he took to the role quite so quickly or so naturally.
Caroline, you and I had almost exactly opposite reactions to these two episodes. I thought "Space Babies" was terrific fun while "The Devil's Chrord" was a muddled mess. I can understand why the goofiness of "Space Babies" might be off putting to some - it's not the tone I want from Doctor Who all the time - but the babies were cute and the emotional stakes of brave babies looking for a loving home absolutely worked on me. Whereas "The Devil's Chord" felt like a concept instead of a story. God-like conceptual enemies can work when they are used sparingly, but I much prefer obstacles that are grounded in the real world even if they take a lot of sci-fi technobabble to overcome. The Maestro was pretty much just there to be an enemy that the Doctor couldn't defeat but somehow the Beatles could, by playing an unrecognizable series of notes*. I also think it was a big mistake to have two episodes in a row where the Doctor is explicitly afraid and calls out his own fear. Ncuti is a lot more appealing when he's allowed to be confident and brash.
* Seriously? Disney can afford to pay for a couple bars of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"?
I liked Space Babies better overall than The Devil's Chord, too. The latter had some brilliant pieces -- I love the lore of this Trickster's pantheon or whatever that Davies is building -- but it didn't really come together for me in the end. That closing music number especially felt totally unearned in my opinion.
I agree that 9 took a minute, while 10 was it for me from the jump. Also agree that I didn't love the Doctor being so scared two eps in row.
I haven't yet seen "The Devil's Chord" and might even skip it I'm so averse to yet more Beatles related content at this point, but I agree with you about "Space Babies". It was silly, but silly is a big part of Doctor Who. I actually think it was a good introduction to Doctor Who and can see why it was placed first
If it helps, the Beatles are really barely in "The Devil's Chord." It's mostly a Jinkx Monsoon showcase.
The second episode started interesting but also lost a bit of steam for me by the end. I did find it pretty cool seeing the re-creation of EMI studios circa 1963 though (with the camera highlighting the sign for Studio Two)!
Just watched this one BBC One visiting my mum at home. She's a big Beatles fan and cried when the Doctor saved the snot monster in the air lock. So these episodes went down remarkably well in my house
“Also, I’m a little confused how long she’s been traveling with him. “Space Babies” ends with the TARDIS landing in Carla’s flat on Christmas Day, but “The Devil’s Chord” mentions that it’s June or July in Ruby’s time.”
There were a few little things that felt Moffat-inflected in these episodes, the sorts of flourishes that were distinct in his era, and I think this might've been one of them. While the first RTD run tended towards being continuous, Moffat always tended to leave room for unseen adventures that could be filled by audios, novels, comics, fan-fic, whatever.
Having such a big time-skip after Ruby's first trip also cleans up some of the narrative short-hand with her being dialed in to the Doctor's whole deal so early. Her refusing to accept the Doctor getting freaked by the Maestro because he's always so in control made a lot more sense after that line revealed this wasn't her second trip, but they'd traveling it for a while. I remember that issue *not* being avoided in Amy's first few episodes, where she kept pointing out aspects of the Doctor's character she hadn't actually seen yet, like how it was unusual for him to let the soldiers with River call him "sir."
(I wonder if "June or July, but it's hard to keep track" indicates that they didn't have a firm plan for when these episodes would air, and were leaning towards more into summer. Speaking of Amy, that's a contrast to that season, which was very tightly locked in to its airdates with the first episode opening on Easter and the wedding taking place on the season finale.)
I enjoyed them overall.
Gatwa is awesome as The Doctor. Just a great performance. In terms of the previous ones settling into the role, I actually really liked Capaldi's performance, particularly in its first series. The far mores stripped-down, less quirky Doctor was a nice change after the Smith performance (which I also really like too).
Tennant's Doctor (Tenth) is one I've got an up and down relationship with. I like his performance but I didn't particularly like his partnership with Rose, or how much that hangs over the rest of his time on the show.
Tennant is the peoples' Doctor: by far the most popular as evidenced by the fact that he's the only one ever to be brought back. In fact he could've been brought back permanently and most people would love it. My favorite is Smith, but I think the sort of people who comment on Episodic Medium don't realize how dominant Tennant is among normies
Coming in very late to offer a couple of thoughts, as someone who isn't very familiar with Doctor Who. My wife is a fan, and I've dipped into the show here and there—I've seen most of the post-Eccleston specials, but only a handful of regular episodes. I've tried many times over the years to get into Doctor Who, but for one reason or another I've never gotten completely hooked.
This season might be the one that finally hooks me. I fell in love with Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor from the first. His exuberance, the way he looks at everything like he's seen it all a million times before and at the same time like he's seeing it for the first time—it's medicine for my soul.
I loved both of these episodes, despite noting a few of the flaws Caroline noted (I'm blissfully unaware of any issues relating to previous Doctors). "Space Babies" actually made me like the concept of babies who talk like adults. The baby casting game was strong! And as over-the-top wholesome as the episode was, it totally worked for me.
"The Devil's Chord" made me turn to my wife and ask her whether it was normal for Doctor Who episodes to be so insane. The dizzying narrative zigs and zags...the incredible performances all around, especially Jinx Monsoon, who I thought was brilliant in conveying Joker-esque whimsy and menace. As someone who has never seen Ncuti before, I was impressed by the range he displays in these two episodes, especially his ability to go to some dark emotional places.
If this season is trying extra hard to bring in new viewers, it's definitely working for me. Looking forward to what the next episodes bring!
I had never seen Doctor Who before and just randomly decided to hit play. I am a big fan of Ncuti Gatwa from Sex Education so I decided it was worth a shot. I started with the Christmas special and then these two episodes. I am not sure what I think. This show is pretty weird! But I enjoy its exuberance and the performances. I will stick with it.
I love this! I'm a big proponent of people jumping into Who whenever, anyway, and since this season is explicitly designed as a jumping on point I'll be fascinated to hear how it plays for a newbie. Please keep us updated as you watch—weird but exuberant is absolutely the vibe of the show!
So... a lot of appearances by Susan Twist, an episode packed with fourth-wall-breaking, and no one wonders if There's Always a Twist at the End has some deeper meaning??
"Space Babies" had a mavity joke and "The Devil's Chord" had a fourth wall breaking alternate version of the theme song which was pretty much all I needed to enjoy these episodes. "Space Babies" was classic RTD, in that it had a strong emotional hook to get me invested, some lovely sentiments from the Doctor about life and the universe, and a plot which really doesn't hang together if you think about it too much and really doesn't need to to achieve what the episode wanted to achieve.
"The Devil's Chord" seemed like it was setting up to be a disappointment, as at first it seemed like "The Giggle" with a slightly different coat of paint - a big, over the top villain with a penchant for musical numbers and a plan that can change the course of the world. Considering that "The Giggle" was only a few episodes ago, that felt distressingly lazy. But then the Doctor actually mentioned the giggle and the Maestro revealed their connection to the Toymaker and to (presumably) the rest of the season at large and things snapped into place perfectly. It wasn't a half-hearted rehash but more the second level of something like a Mega Man video game, a slow build following similar outlines which will lead to something bigger. That's far more well thought out than previous RTD season-long story arcs, which relied on little more than nonsense compound word which was repeated in each episode, and it's got me looking forward to see where he goes with things far more than I anticipated.
All I want to know is did they bring in Kenny Ortega to choreograph The Twist at the End? Because that was giving major High School Musical vibes (the original movie), which I say with deep respect, for it understood joy and fun.
I agree that "Space Babies" was an odd choice for an opener, for all the reasons listed, but also the vfx on the babies' mouths was hugely distracting. Given all the tech advancements, I would have expected something more seamless, but it wasn't even close. Weird choice.
*Loving* Gatwa's joy and all the casual queer references. You really feel that exploring the universe is wondrous and that's a beautiful thing.
I'm just not sold on this Doctor/Companion combo, they're VERY similar and I want two different characters and acting choices made and I'm getting all of the same from both at the moment. 3 episodes in and I'm not there with either of these two yet - Gatwa more than Gibson though purely because he gets more to do and show a bit of range which I don't feel I've seen from her yet.
Having said that, The Devils Chord was incredibly stupid fun but that salt at the end of the universe is looking more and more like it was a very bad idea, 14.
Gatwa to me has a very distinct vibe from any previous Doctor. Gibson just seems like a fairly generic young girl companion so far but I don't know if that's just the writing letting her down
Yes, same thoughts here, despite Gatwa’s laugh being like an immediate dopamine hit for me. They’re both just *a lot*, and ideally one of them would calm down a bit. (In this frame of mind, the shrieking Maestro was not a welcome addition for me lol.)
Overall, I enjoyed The Devil's Chord until the end. Really didn't like the Twist At The End bit. Acting was great, but the special effects felt cheesy and not in a campy, fun way. I'm not smart enough to know for sure, but was the chord that John and Paul played from the end of A Day in the Life?
Also, when the Doctor mentioned that he was split in half and couldn't take that again, was that a statement that there won't be additional bigenerations for the Doctor? I know some fans have theorized that possibility.
I found Space Babies a little meh. The talking babies effects really took me out of the story-- their mouths move, but the words frequently contradicted the facial expressions, especially when Eric said he felt very happy at the end but looked like he was pooping his diaper. The boogy monster reminded me of the Alien creature and i missed what the plan was for it long term-- does it need to remain locked up the rest of its life? Will it be peaceful now? I also didn't get the Doctor blowing on the butterfly--did his breath magically heal it?
I don't need everything spelled out or answered, and I truly enjoy Gatwa's performance. I just liked the previous episodes more.
I think the idea is that they're now just going to peacefully coexist with the Bogeyman? But I agree it was really poorly explained and a big part of the reason the episode felt so half-baked to me.
My take on the Doctor blowing on the butterfly was him using up residual regeneration energy for healing, as we've seen River and the Doctor both do before. But it definitely wasn't spelled out so explicitly for us, so I could be off there.
My son agrees with you.
I love Gatwa as the doctor but I’m a little thrown by all the fourth wall breaks. I’m assuming it’s all leading somewhere but it’s getting to be too much. And the ending big song felt unearned, like not something for the doctor and companion to do so early in their run. Hmm. I will keep watching though!
Re the mention of Susan, I get we're all about moving past trauma, but the big grin accompanying his mention of genocide seems a bit much!
the time jump from Christmas to June / July allows for the time honoured tradition of Doctor Who novels that fill in the gaps between episodes! Expect a whole bunch to come out between this season and next.
I've already seen the Big Finish Twitter account celebrating the apparent time jump, haha. Though I do wonder if maybe it's a sign this episode was originally planned for later in the season and got moved up for some reason during production?
The non-diegetic line had me laughing for a very long time. That’s meta-clever on a 30 Rock scale.