My Thoughts On Season Fourteen of Doctor Who
Disney likes to call this season one, but I refuse to call it that, so season fourteen it is. It seems like it's been a while since I've done one of these seasonal thoughts on Doctor Who. I have to admit this season got off to a rough start for me, which left me very worried about the rest of the season, which would have been disappointing considering RTD is my favorite showrunner for the show. However, the rest of the season was solid with good episodes all around. I love Ruby and the Fifteenth Doctor together. They make a great team and they have great chemistry. The Doctor sure did cry a lot though. Almost every episode there were tears. Just call him the Crying Doctor. It was a bit of a season focused on gods, which is kind of refreshing because it makes for a real challenge for the Doctor. There's also a story arc and plenty of mysteries, which get fan theories spinning in typical Doctor Who fashion. All I can say is RTD is back!
The first episode was “Space Babies” and I'm not going to lie, I actually hated this one. Literally hated it, and that's kind of shocking to me. It's in the running for one of my worst Doctor Who episodes. I was surprised that RTD wrote it, but then I remembered he created the Slitheen and well, yeah, I guess I can see how this episode is possible coming from him. Apart from some of the humor (not the potty humor, which I can't stand), I didn't like this one. So, Ruby and the Doctor find themselves on a space station populated by babies who can talk. The uncanny valley of the animated babies' mouths creeped me out. It didn't look good and was very distracting. The babies had been left behind (I later learned this was a critique on pro-life stances about not caring about children once they were born), but some how matured intellectually, but not physically. I didn't quite understand that one. Their nanny stayed behind to look after them. Then there is the Bogeyman terror below decks and the less the said about that one the better. It made me think of the episode “Sleep No More,” which is another episode I really didn't like either. Anyway, the Doctor fixes things and helps transport the babies to their new home. There was a bit of an info dump for new fans in this episode, which I understand is kind of necessary, and at least it didn't come across as being unnatural.
Next we had “The Devil's Chord,” which I thought was good, but not great. To be honest, I felt the pacing was kind of slow, but I did really like the villain, Maestro whom is played by a famous drag queen. Maestro is summoned by the Devil's Chord and wreaks havoc around the world stealing the music from people's souls. I thought it was a clever idea. The Beatles are also involved in this episode, but they're not a huge part of the plot. However, they do kind of save the day. We do find out that Maestro is the daughter of the Toymaker, which makes me wonder if we'll be seeing more of his “children” in the future. Actually, I thought this was the direction the season was going to go in with the Doctor contending with all these “children,” but that wasn't the case. Doesn't mean it won't happen later though. I'd love to see him face-off with the Toymaker again too even though he's trapped at the moment. That doesn't mean he won't escape. As Maestro is banished, they mention the “One Who Waits,” which is foreshadowing. The Doctor and Ruby celebrated the return of music with a musical number, which was kind of weird, but I guess it made sense.
Next up we had, “Boom.” I remember hearing rumors of Steven Moffat returning to write an episode, but I wasn't sure if those rumors were true, so I was quite surprised when I found out he wrote this one, and it is quite a deep episode. Ruby and the Doctor end up on a planet of war and the Doctor inadvertently steps on a land mine. Everything about this episode was poignant and topical. War is all about profit, soldiers disabled by war are eliminated, and it's all determined by an algorithm. There's a critique on religion again with the whole “thoughts and prayers” thing, and we find out the war was not really real as there were no enemies. Ruby nearly dies, but it's the AI of a dead soldier whom saves the day, ending the war for good. This was a brilliant episode all around.
Then we have “73 Yards.” This episode was just the kind of mind-fuckery I love. It's quite unsettling too. It's a Doctor-lite episode that's mainly focused on Ruby. The travelers arrive in Wales and literally stumble upon a fairy circle, which causes the Doctor to disappear and a mysterious woman to appear. Ruby can't get within 73 yards of her. The woman moves with Ruby and is making some weird gestures. Being unable to communicate with her, Ruby sends an old woman to try to talk to her, but when she gets close, the woman whispers to her and she runs off in terror. The same goes for anyone Ruby tries to get to talk to the woman. They run away and disappear and/or change.
Without the Doctor, Ruby is forced to find her own way home and many years pass and the woman is always there. Upon the fairy circle was a message about “Mad Jack,” a warmonger prime minister in the future. Using that knowledge, Ruby uses the woman to cause “Mad Jack” to bow out of running for prime minister, preventing a potential nuclear war. Still, no one can talk to this mysterious woman. Not even Kate Stewart with her UNIT team. Ruby grows old and as she lays in a hospital, the woman visits her this time with her back turned. It's quite eerie. Ruby returns to the present and we find out the mysterious woman was the older Ruby trying to warn the younger Ruby and the Doctor from breaking the fairy circle, which he doesn't this time. I loved the way this episode was done. I still don't know why people ran when they tried to talk to the older Ruby though, and RTD says he'll never tell what she whispered to them. My own theory is old Ruby is technically a paradox, so interacting with her would actually disrupt time, hence why she had to “banish” them. Same reason why Ruby can't get close to her future self. Interesting episode nonetheless.
Next was “Dot and Bubble,” an episode I might have a hard time rewatching because it is also... fucked up. So you have a community where rich white kids live (I actually didn't notice they were all white until I saw a comment online. I guess maybe that says something about my own biases). They live in a literal bubble constantly connected to the internet such that their AI dot device has to tell them which direction to walk just to navigate the town. This episode was very Black Mirror. But now there are these slug monsters that are devouring the teens one by one and no one notices because their bubble obstructs the real world. You can read a lot into that. But Ruby and the Doctor are there to save the day, interrupting Lindy's bubble to warn her and try to get her to safety. Another guy named Ricky September who she idolizes helps out too, and everyone learns that the dots have gone rogue and are eliminating the youth in alphabetical order. I sort of felt sorry for Lindy at first that is until she decided to sacrifice Ricky to save herself. Then she and the rest of her community refused to go with the Doctor because they are selfish stuck up biotches and decide to face certain death in the woods instead. The Doctor was very upset he couldn't save them, but come on Doctor, they deserved to die. This episode, yeah. It was a downer, but good.
Then we had “Rogue,” which was a fun episode after that previous bleak episode. It is England in 1813 and all the bird aliens called the Chuldur want to do is have a Bridgerton (I've never watched, but I kind of get it) cosplay, but in order to do it they have to suck the life out of the people they want to roleplay. That just won't do. Meanwhile a bounty hunter arrives who mistakes the Doctor for one of the Chuldur just because he can change his form. Rogue is very much like a Jack Harkness 2.0. It feels very much that way. After the Doctor convinces him of who he is, he develops an instalove for Rogue, but I didn't mind too much. Ruby almost dies again because one the Chuldur takes an interest in her unique life. The Doctor thought she was taken when Rogue and the Doctor trap her with the other Chuldur, but she tells the Doctor it's really her. Now there's a predicament because the Chuldur are about to be sent to prison to an alternate dimension. If he were to save Ruby, the others would escape and he just couldn't choose the universe over her. So, Rogue makes the decision for him and pushes Ruby out and takes her place. I just had this feeling he was going to die or something. There's a chance we might see Rogue again some day. But it always seems to be the fate of the Doctor to lose the people he loves.
Finally, we have the first of the two-parter finale, entitled “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.” Ruby and the Doctor are back in the present at UNIT HQ trying to find out who Ruby's mother truly is, and they found a way try to figure it out by using a Time Window that seems an awful lot like a holodeck. It might as well be. They use it to recreate the past where Ruby was left behind by her mother on Ruby Road in 2004. They still can't see the mother's face nor determine what she's pointing at. Up to that point they assume it's the Doctor. Another mystery is about a woman named Susan Triad who had been popping up here and there in the episodes. This is something RTD likes to do. Bad Wolf, eh? The Doctor assumes she could be his granddaughter Susan (I think not because why wouldn't they just bring Carol Anne Ford back?), but he's very very wrong. Susan Triad is neither a reference to Susan nor is it an anagram for TARDIS, but a reference to Sutekh.
That name rang a bell for me. Was it a classic Who villain? Yes, yes it is. All the way back to the story “Pyramids of Mars” with the Fourth Doctor. Wow. I really am enjoying the bringing back of the classic villains. But the build-up to the big reveal (I actually thought it was possibly going to be the Master because of the “orange skies” mention, which made me think of Gallifrey) was so intense, I literally had a bit of an anxiety attack afterward. It was... let's just say, very effective. Sutekh is back to destroy the universe and turn everyone into dust. I don't remember “Pyramids of Mars” much, but I sort of want to rewatch it now. All I wrote about it on my blog basically was that it was an OK story, but the villain was cool lol. They brought back the original guy who played him too, which is awesome. He's in his 90s!
The final episode is called “Empire of Death.” The title sounds like one of my fantasy novels. So, Sutekh, reimagined as a jackal, reveals he's been hiding in the TARDIS ever since the Doctor stopped him the first time. Hmm. OK. I don't see how that makes sense, but I'll take it. And he deposited a version of Susan Triad everywhere the Doctor landed. That's also hard to believe. As a result, the entire universe dies out, but the Doctor, Ruby, and Mel escape in a TARDIS that was made up of all the other TARDISes. A Memory TARDIS. That was cool. I really liked that. They try to come up with a plan to stop Sutekh and fix everything. It was horrific to see Kate and UNIT get wiped out, but I couldn't be too sad because I figured it would be undone later. Mel doesn't do a lot besides get possessed by Sutekh. The Doctor visits a woman on one of the dying worlds. It feels like she's supposed to be important, but she isn't other than giving the Doctor a spoon, which actually proves key to saving the universe.
There is one person who eludes Sutekh though, and that is Ruby's mother. Why is that and who is she? Well we finally get to find out, but first the Doctor and Ruby trick Sutekh and drag him through the time vortex with a leash bringing “death to Death,” geddit? This reverses all the damage done and everyone is brought back to life. Horray! So who actually is Ruby's mother? Turns it she's just an ordinary woman who got pregnant in her teens and left her baby at the church on Ruby Road. The reason she was important is because importance was assigned to her. I actually really like that because it's kind of like a spiritual law of attraction or manifestation kind of thing for lack of a better explanation. The thing that her mother was pointing at was the road sign. She just named her daughter after the road. And Ruby does get to meet her biological mother and it's so touching and emotional. She decides to stay behind, leaving the Doctor alone again. I mean, Ruby's story pretty much concluded, however I know she's not off the show yet. Maybe she appears more as a guest star though in the next season? I know the Doctor gets a new companion whom first appeared in “Boom.”
Was this last episode the best finale? No, but it was still good. People are so disappointed though lol. People were clamoring for RTD to come back, so why am I not surprised that they're bashing his new season? I feel the same way about Doctor Who fans the way I do about Star Wars fans these days. That is they'll never be pleased anymore. I truly do not know what either fan base wants nor do I think they know either. There's a little of that too with the Star Trek fandom for the newer shows, but I don't think it's quite as bad. Anyway, I digress. I try not to linger too long on those social media comment sections because it's so negative.
Apart from the rough start, I really enjoyed this season, and RTD's trolling making fans think Susan is coming back and that Ruby's mother was going to be an important figure. But I'd think with all the Susan talk, she'd have to return at some point. I really hope so. If she doesn't after all this, I will of course be honest and say I will be disappointed in RTD along with everyone else. There is still the question of the neighbor Mrs. Flood. She puzzles me because she both speaks of the Doctor fondly and in a sinister manner. It's really disconcerting. I highly doubt the Doctor's story will end in absolute terror though. Give me a break lol. His story is not going to end period, even if he regenerates. So, lots of theories about who Mrs. Flood is though. Like River Song. I doubt it. The way she speaks reminds me of the Master, but that feels too obvious. The latest theory is Clara simply because she said, “clever boy.” I find that laughable. Why would she now be an old woman? The theory I like the most is the Rani, and I think it's the one that makes the most sense considering they're revisiting the old classics. That could be fun. Whoever she is though, I'm looking forward to finding out. Just watch, RTD will make her be no one important or someone entirely new. I think fans should be prepared for that.
I think I've done enough yabbering on now though, and it's time to reveal my favorite episode of the season. That would be, “73 Yards.” It's just the kind of twisted story I really enjoy. And if this screenshot isn't creepy, I don't know what is.
The first episode was “Space Babies” and I'm not going to lie, I actually hated this one. Literally hated it, and that's kind of shocking to me. It's in the running for one of my worst Doctor Who episodes. I was surprised that RTD wrote it, but then I remembered he created the Slitheen and well, yeah, I guess I can see how this episode is possible coming from him. Apart from some of the humor (not the potty humor, which I can't stand), I didn't like this one. So, Ruby and the Doctor find themselves on a space station populated by babies who can talk. The uncanny valley of the animated babies' mouths creeped me out. It didn't look good and was very distracting. The babies had been left behind (I later learned this was a critique on pro-life stances about not caring about children once they were born), but some how matured intellectually, but not physically. I didn't quite understand that one. Their nanny stayed behind to look after them. Then there is the Bogeyman terror below decks and the less the said about that one the better. It made me think of the episode “Sleep No More,” which is another episode I really didn't like either. Anyway, the Doctor fixes things and helps transport the babies to their new home. There was a bit of an info dump for new fans in this episode, which I understand is kind of necessary, and at least it didn't come across as being unnatural.
Next we had “The Devil's Chord,” which I thought was good, but not great. To be honest, I felt the pacing was kind of slow, but I did really like the villain, Maestro whom is played by a famous drag queen. Maestro is summoned by the Devil's Chord and wreaks havoc around the world stealing the music from people's souls. I thought it was a clever idea. The Beatles are also involved in this episode, but they're not a huge part of the plot. However, they do kind of save the day. We do find out that Maestro is the daughter of the Toymaker, which makes me wonder if we'll be seeing more of his “children” in the future. Actually, I thought this was the direction the season was going to go in with the Doctor contending with all these “children,” but that wasn't the case. Doesn't mean it won't happen later though. I'd love to see him face-off with the Toymaker again too even though he's trapped at the moment. That doesn't mean he won't escape. As Maestro is banished, they mention the “One Who Waits,” which is foreshadowing. The Doctor and Ruby celebrated the return of music with a musical number, which was kind of weird, but I guess it made sense.
Next up we had, “Boom.” I remember hearing rumors of Steven Moffat returning to write an episode, but I wasn't sure if those rumors were true, so I was quite surprised when I found out he wrote this one, and it is quite a deep episode. Ruby and the Doctor end up on a planet of war and the Doctor inadvertently steps on a land mine. Everything about this episode was poignant and topical. War is all about profit, soldiers disabled by war are eliminated, and it's all determined by an algorithm. There's a critique on religion again with the whole “thoughts and prayers” thing, and we find out the war was not really real as there were no enemies. Ruby nearly dies, but it's the AI of a dead soldier whom saves the day, ending the war for good. This was a brilliant episode all around.
Then we have “73 Yards.” This episode was just the kind of mind-fuckery I love. It's quite unsettling too. It's a Doctor-lite episode that's mainly focused on Ruby. The travelers arrive in Wales and literally stumble upon a fairy circle, which causes the Doctor to disappear and a mysterious woman to appear. Ruby can't get within 73 yards of her. The woman moves with Ruby and is making some weird gestures. Being unable to communicate with her, Ruby sends an old woman to try to talk to her, but when she gets close, the woman whispers to her and she runs off in terror. The same goes for anyone Ruby tries to get to talk to the woman. They run away and disappear and/or change.
Without the Doctor, Ruby is forced to find her own way home and many years pass and the woman is always there. Upon the fairy circle was a message about “Mad Jack,” a warmonger prime minister in the future. Using that knowledge, Ruby uses the woman to cause “Mad Jack” to bow out of running for prime minister, preventing a potential nuclear war. Still, no one can talk to this mysterious woman. Not even Kate Stewart with her UNIT team. Ruby grows old and as she lays in a hospital, the woman visits her this time with her back turned. It's quite eerie. Ruby returns to the present and we find out the mysterious woman was the older Ruby trying to warn the younger Ruby and the Doctor from breaking the fairy circle, which he doesn't this time. I loved the way this episode was done. I still don't know why people ran when they tried to talk to the older Ruby though, and RTD says he'll never tell what she whispered to them. My own theory is old Ruby is technically a paradox, so interacting with her would actually disrupt time, hence why she had to “banish” them. Same reason why Ruby can't get close to her future self. Interesting episode nonetheless.
Next was “Dot and Bubble,” an episode I might have a hard time rewatching because it is also... fucked up. So you have a community where rich white kids live (I actually didn't notice they were all white until I saw a comment online. I guess maybe that says something about my own biases). They live in a literal bubble constantly connected to the internet such that their AI dot device has to tell them which direction to walk just to navigate the town. This episode was very Black Mirror. But now there are these slug monsters that are devouring the teens one by one and no one notices because their bubble obstructs the real world. You can read a lot into that. But Ruby and the Doctor are there to save the day, interrupting Lindy's bubble to warn her and try to get her to safety. Another guy named Ricky September who she idolizes helps out too, and everyone learns that the dots have gone rogue and are eliminating the youth in alphabetical order. I sort of felt sorry for Lindy at first that is until she decided to sacrifice Ricky to save herself. Then she and the rest of her community refused to go with the Doctor because they are selfish stuck up biotches and decide to face certain death in the woods instead. The Doctor was very upset he couldn't save them, but come on Doctor, they deserved to die. This episode, yeah. It was a downer, but good.
Then we had “Rogue,” which was a fun episode after that previous bleak episode. It is England in 1813 and all the bird aliens called the Chuldur want to do is have a Bridgerton (I've never watched, but I kind of get it) cosplay, but in order to do it they have to suck the life out of the people they want to roleplay. That just won't do. Meanwhile a bounty hunter arrives who mistakes the Doctor for one of the Chuldur just because he can change his form. Rogue is very much like a Jack Harkness 2.0. It feels very much that way. After the Doctor convinces him of who he is, he develops an instalove for Rogue, but I didn't mind too much. Ruby almost dies again because one the Chuldur takes an interest in her unique life. The Doctor thought she was taken when Rogue and the Doctor trap her with the other Chuldur, but she tells the Doctor it's really her. Now there's a predicament because the Chuldur are about to be sent to prison to an alternate dimension. If he were to save Ruby, the others would escape and he just couldn't choose the universe over her. So, Rogue makes the decision for him and pushes Ruby out and takes her place. I just had this feeling he was going to die or something. There's a chance we might see Rogue again some day. But it always seems to be the fate of the Doctor to lose the people he loves.
Finally, we have the first of the two-parter finale, entitled “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.” Ruby and the Doctor are back in the present at UNIT HQ trying to find out who Ruby's mother truly is, and they found a way try to figure it out by using a Time Window that seems an awful lot like a holodeck. It might as well be. They use it to recreate the past where Ruby was left behind by her mother on Ruby Road in 2004. They still can't see the mother's face nor determine what she's pointing at. Up to that point they assume it's the Doctor. Another mystery is about a woman named Susan Triad who had been popping up here and there in the episodes. This is something RTD likes to do. Bad Wolf, eh? The Doctor assumes she could be his granddaughter Susan (I think not because why wouldn't they just bring Carol Anne Ford back?), but he's very very wrong. Susan Triad is neither a reference to Susan nor is it an anagram for TARDIS, but a reference to Sutekh.
That name rang a bell for me. Was it a classic Who villain? Yes, yes it is. All the way back to the story “Pyramids of Mars” with the Fourth Doctor. Wow. I really am enjoying the bringing back of the classic villains. But the build-up to the big reveal (I actually thought it was possibly going to be the Master because of the “orange skies” mention, which made me think of Gallifrey) was so intense, I literally had a bit of an anxiety attack afterward. It was... let's just say, very effective. Sutekh is back to destroy the universe and turn everyone into dust. I don't remember “Pyramids of Mars” much, but I sort of want to rewatch it now. All I wrote about it on my blog basically was that it was an OK story, but the villain was cool lol. They brought back the original guy who played him too, which is awesome. He's in his 90s!
The final episode is called “Empire of Death.” The title sounds like one of my fantasy novels. So, Sutekh, reimagined as a jackal, reveals he's been hiding in the TARDIS ever since the Doctor stopped him the first time. Hmm. OK. I don't see how that makes sense, but I'll take it. And he deposited a version of Susan Triad everywhere the Doctor landed. That's also hard to believe. As a result, the entire universe dies out, but the Doctor, Ruby, and Mel escape in a TARDIS that was made up of all the other TARDISes. A Memory TARDIS. That was cool. I really liked that. They try to come up with a plan to stop Sutekh and fix everything. It was horrific to see Kate and UNIT get wiped out, but I couldn't be too sad because I figured it would be undone later. Mel doesn't do a lot besides get possessed by Sutekh. The Doctor visits a woman on one of the dying worlds. It feels like she's supposed to be important, but she isn't other than giving the Doctor a spoon, which actually proves key to saving the universe.
There is one person who eludes Sutekh though, and that is Ruby's mother. Why is that and who is she? Well we finally get to find out, but first the Doctor and Ruby trick Sutekh and drag him through the time vortex with a leash bringing “death to Death,” geddit? This reverses all the damage done and everyone is brought back to life. Horray! So who actually is Ruby's mother? Turns it she's just an ordinary woman who got pregnant in her teens and left her baby at the church on Ruby Road. The reason she was important is because importance was assigned to her. I actually really like that because it's kind of like a spiritual law of attraction or manifestation kind of thing for lack of a better explanation. The thing that her mother was pointing at was the road sign. She just named her daughter after the road. And Ruby does get to meet her biological mother and it's so touching and emotional. She decides to stay behind, leaving the Doctor alone again. I mean, Ruby's story pretty much concluded, however I know she's not off the show yet. Maybe she appears more as a guest star though in the next season? I know the Doctor gets a new companion whom first appeared in “Boom.”
Was this last episode the best finale? No, but it was still good. People are so disappointed though lol. People were clamoring for RTD to come back, so why am I not surprised that they're bashing his new season? I feel the same way about Doctor Who fans the way I do about Star Wars fans these days. That is they'll never be pleased anymore. I truly do not know what either fan base wants nor do I think they know either. There's a little of that too with the Star Trek fandom for the newer shows, but I don't think it's quite as bad. Anyway, I digress. I try not to linger too long on those social media comment sections because it's so negative.
Apart from the rough start, I really enjoyed this season, and RTD's trolling making fans think Susan is coming back and that Ruby's mother was going to be an important figure. But I'd think with all the Susan talk, she'd have to return at some point. I really hope so. If she doesn't after all this, I will of course be honest and say I will be disappointed in RTD along with everyone else. There is still the question of the neighbor Mrs. Flood. She puzzles me because she both speaks of the Doctor fondly and in a sinister manner. It's really disconcerting. I highly doubt the Doctor's story will end in absolute terror though. Give me a break lol. His story is not going to end period, even if he regenerates. So, lots of theories about who Mrs. Flood is though. Like River Song. I doubt it. The way she speaks reminds me of the Master, but that feels too obvious. The latest theory is Clara simply because she said, “clever boy.” I find that laughable. Why would she now be an old woman? The theory I like the most is the Rani, and I think it's the one that makes the most sense considering they're revisiting the old classics. That could be fun. Whoever she is though, I'm looking forward to finding out. Just watch, RTD will make her be no one important or someone entirely new. I think fans should be prepared for that.
I think I've done enough yabbering on now though, and it's time to reveal my favorite episode of the season. That would be, “73 Yards.” It's just the kind of twisted story I really enjoy. And if this screenshot isn't creepy, I don't know what is.