Share your thoughts, delights, criticisms, and describe your face when
spoiler
the musical number kicked in.
Please honor Bill and Ted’s Law: Be excellent to each other.
So, I rarely like a doctor for the first several episodes, my brain can’t get past the last doctor. Took me forever with Smith. I always end up rewatching them later and loving them, it’s just that I can’t handle the sudden differentness well.
All that said, I really freaking enjoyed this one. I’m not fully in love with Ncuti yet, but I did really enjoy the episode, and LOVED the song. Oddly, the only Doctor I loved first off was Jodi. Ncuti is closer than most, though.
Also. That kilt. Meow.
Also loving the new sonic.
ETA
Forgot to mention, Ruby really reminds me of Clara in the best way.
The only thing about the song was I couldn’t get my head around the logic of it. I know logic is usually pretty far off in RTD’s stories, but it usually at least pretends there a reason for things that happen. Unless I missed it, there wasn’t even a word of dialogue about the singing.
I think the logic was that the goblins were singing, like, as part of their culture. Not like Musical logic, but more like how some cultures pray in song, or some cultures chant. Goblins sing big numbers as a way of worshipping/venerating the goblin king, or perhaps it’s similar to how Christians say grace before a meal. Gotta sing for your dinner. The doctor and Ruby just took advantage of that aspect of their culture and Bugs Bunny’d their way outta there.
But seriously, WTF is Mrs. Flood?
Timelord
Or equivalent cosmic/celestial/whatever being stuck on earth? It seems TARDISes are recognised by other species around the universe as well (like Vinder in “The flux”).
I’m not going to speculate as to her precise identity, but if we take everything the episode showed us at face value:
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She knows what a TARDIS is.
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She did not recognize the Doctor’s police box as a TARDIS until he dematerialized it in front of her, and even then did not seem to know who the Doctor was.
Again, if we are to take all this at face value, I think that narrows the list of candidates significantly, and rules out most, if not all, “familiar” characters.
Could she be a former companion of a pre-Hartnell Doctor? I know the Fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS appeared as a police box to Thirteen, but it’s very possible the chameleon circuit was operational in those days.
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i thought maybe she was ruby’s birth mum somehow but i’m not sureee now. or maybe she’s the equivalent of mrs. figg from harry potter where she watches over ruby from some higherorg. :3
All the discussions of birth mothers makes me wonder if perhaps she’s the Doctor’s mother. They made a point of mentioning he also was a foundling.
Hmm, maybe. She does seem to be aware of multiple dimensions (breaking the fourth wall at the end there).
Or, at the very least, relative dimensions — maybe even in space 🙂
I wouldn’t mind that a ton, honestly, given that Chibnall ripped off the bandaid of the Doctor’s past after Moffat hinted at his being an orphan, and after all RTD also started all the speculation about the Doctor’s mother back in “End of Time”.
(Home instance is having federation issues, so reposting some comments on this one. Apologies for dupes.)
I’m wondering the same thing! 4th wall breaking character? Interesting stuff! I wonder if she was the person that picked up the tooth in the last episode. Either way, I’ve got the feeling this isn’t the last time we’ll see her.
I’m wondering the same thing! Not much discussion on the mid-credit scene and it seems pretty significant. 4th wall breaking character? Interesting stuff!
I enjoyed it quite a lot. Hopeful for the new season.
Has plenty of heart not just for a holiday special, but for Who at large. Ncuti quickly established his flair and gravitas as The Doctor without having to bounce off of 14.
I loved everything about the episode except for it being the Christmas episode. It felt more like a 3rd or 4th episode of the season.
Oh, this was a crowded but lovely romp! I feel like it could’ve been 5-10 minutes longer for some of the dramatic and/or emotional bits to breathe, but any story this side of “Eleventh hour” will be sidelined by introducing a new Doctor and companion.
Hopefully the upcoming season won’t have to squash as much into every episode once it finds its pace?
Ncuti is every bit the Doctor I’d expected, he slipped into the part like … a hand into an intelligent glove? 😉 Ruby’s family is particularly warm and wonderful once you see how they’d fare without her. Obviously her biological parentage is going to be an ongoing concern, and I wonder if the hooded (mother?) figure will tie in with the hand picking up the tooth in “The giggle”, or the fourth wall-breaking Mrs Flood.
The
gremlinsgoblins got the short end of the stick, I think any baddie deserves just a teeny bit of motivation beyond their actions. Fairy tale characters are not exempt, RTD 😆I knew of the main musical number but I loved that the Doctor and Ruby piped in too. This Doctor is up for anything! My face was… howling with delight, I’m not exaggerating.
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Mixed feelings overall.
Fifteen minutes in I was resenting the typical RTD family ‘stuff’ and still waiting for the story to actually start. I was definitely into the ‘I don’t care about these people’ zone - often said to be the 6 words that kill any story.
Then it did get going and was fun as long as you went with the flow. I did feel that we were as close to Gaiman’s Neverwhere and the Marquis de Carabas as we were to the Doctor in this though.
Yes! Major neverwhere vibes!
I thought this episode was great and so fun! The song was a surprise but I really enjoyed it, what a great tune. I’ve found the big dramatic speeches to be too much in the past. For a time with Matt Smith it felt like the Doctor never did anything - he just explained how great he is then the baddies gave up. When he started singing though it was more like he was playing the goblin’s game and buying time to find the master knot which I much preferred.
Ruby seems like a clever and kind person and a quick thinker. Brave enough to chase the baby onto the roof, didn’t miss a beat when she got thrown into the song, worked out what the Doctor is at the end of the episode. Fantastic.
The Doctor looked really great dancing in the skirt at the start and I thought him and Ruby’s band singer were nice touches for enby / gender-non-conforming representation. It felt like he’s learned from Jodie’s doctor to be more relaxed and fun.
There was a bit at the start where my family said “the Doctor’s black” and I just cringed and was glad they didn’t watch the previous episodes with Rose in. I really liked her and was thrilled to see a trans actor employed to play her. Really feels like they’re stepping up and getting all sorts of people in the Dr Who universe.
All fine points, except:
It’s not a skirt, it’s a kilt.
Yeah, definitely could be. It’s got a tartan pattern but there’s no sporran and the camera doesn’t really linger in it. In my head it was just the Doctor choosing optimal clothing to look great while dancing xD
Tough to say, though I imagine a sporran would likely throw off The Doctor’s groove.
Sporrans are optional. It’s just a satchel that many people wear with their kilt to carry personal items, but it’s not essential, unless it’s part of a full uniform.
Those calves. Dang.
Not Who related, but McAvoy’s calves. Holy crap.
It’s called a kilt, and it’s called that because that’s what happened to the first person what called it a skirt. 😏
My headcanon is that it’s one of Jamie’s he left in the wardrobe, and the Doctor just pleated it up a bit for the club.
Aaah, lovely heartwarming nonsense. Absolutely loved it! Very excited to see more of Ncuti!
Definitely enjoyed it!
The song was a bit shocking, but fun. The Doctor singing wasn’t all that crazy, but Ruby doing it was. Hopefully they continue to show her being that quick witted in the future.
I’m not sure on the new sonic though. When I initially saw pics of it, I thought it’d be a bracelet type situation and that’s cool, but that doesn’t seem like it’s the case and it just seems big and bulky. Time will tell.
I’ve been incredibly entertained by this season, and I think that’s the most important thing in a Who series . Excited to see more of the Doctor!
(Not just because he’s an absolute slice 🤤)
Loved the song! ☺
starkid firebringer 🤝 church on ruby road
i must remind you once again please refrain from eating the babies
but for real i loved this so much and i love the fifteenth doctor even more and i’m also jealous of ruby for getting to travel with him ;__;
also ruby’s mum is now the s tier of doctor who mums and ruby’s nan is whatever is better than s tier of doctor who nans. sorry i don’t make the rules.
oh and also now i need two things; a doctor who/dr horrible crossover and a labyrinth/doctor who crossover
i like how rtd was like “hey davina do you want to get killed by a christmas tree?” and she was like “you betcha”
We considered it a good one. We had a lifely.discussion about that neighbor, though. So she knew the blue box was called TARDIS. Which made everyone listen up. My personal theory is that this lady is actually Ruby fifty years older.
I hadn’t considered that. Did she have the scar on her eyebrow?
My thought was that she is Ruby’s mother, and the Doctor had some history with her, which is why he didn’t go after her to find out who she was at the church.
(Home instance is having federation issues, so reposting some comments on this account. Apologies for dupes.)
That was nice! Wasn’t a huge fan of the musical number, but it was fine. Feel like I’m still struggling to get a good feel for 15’s vibe, but it seems good overall. Ruby and her family are great. Mavity is still a thing and I wonder if “Coincidence” is going to be a theme with these two.
Also, that stinger! Some character that breaks the 4th wall? That’s new. Was it her hand at the end of the last episode? I’m going over the scenes with her in my head and just have more questions XD
With a name like Mrs. Flood, I’m half expecting a link to either River Song or Mars. Is her first name Carol? Probably not, considering that’s a Moffat character.
“Waters of Mars” was a Davies joint, but maybe the name is just a coincidence (!), along with the fact that that story took place on Bowie base, named after the man who played a goblin king who steals babies (!).
along with the fact that that story took place on Bowie base, named after the man who played a goblin king who steals babies (!).
Now that is a coincidence. Neat.
I thought the cloak that ruby’s mother was wearing also looked like one River Song wore at some point.
I really really like this fresh start. We’ve had a broken Doctor for over twenty years now. It was interesting for a time but it was getting more than tiresome over the years.
Ncuti’s Doctor is modern, caring and beautiful. The bi-generation was splendidly done and this Christmas episode was astonishingly refreshing. I’m so hyped for the new season :)
