Review: Doctor Who, “The Church on Ruby Road” | 2023 Christmas Special
Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson sing and dance their way into a new era of Doctor Who
Assistants. Companions. Friends. Family. Doctor Who has long debated what to call the folks who join the Doctor for adventures across time and space. But this year’s Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road,” suggests another term might be even more fitting: “Foundlings.” What is the Doctor if not the ultimate foster parent, taking in lost people when they need a temporary new home and impacting their lives forever—whether they stay in the TARDIS for years of adventures or just one single trip?
But the companions aren’t the only foundlings onboard the TARDIS, as showrunner Russell T Davies savvily points out in the sort of lore reclamation he first started in the show’s 60th anniversary specials. The Doctor himself was once a lost child too, taken in by a complicated mother figure and forced to live a harsh life before his memories of that time were erased and his life “reset.” While it’s a history the Doctor only learned about 13 episodes ago, “The Church on Ruby Road” suggests it’s perhaps been subconsciously influencing him far longer than he realized.
Indeed, for all the talk of how Ncuti Gatwa’s era would be a completely fresh start for Doctor Who, “The Church on Ruby Road” proves that Davies doesn’t intend to throw the show’s long history out the window entirely. He’s just offering a clean jumping on point for new viewers—much as Chris Chibnall did in “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” Steven Moffat did in “The Eleventh Hour,” and Davies himself did back in 2005 with his debut episode “Rose.” Only where Davies’ original run introduced the idea of the Time War to tell a seasons-long story about PTSD, guilt, and healing, “The Church on Ruby Road” suggests his new run of the series is going to be more interested in questions of identity, lineage, and family history, both for the foundling Doctor and his new foundling companion.
Oh, and did I mention there’s a whole goblin song and dance number too?