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Space Babies
A surprisingly low key start to the new Doctor Who season - and surprisingly silly as well.
I was not that taken with RTD Who the first time around. I didn't particularly have anything against it but my attitude was a bit "meh! it's alright I suppose". I've come to appreciate it more as time has gone on, but I didn't approach this new season with quite the excitement of some parts of fandom.
I was quite surprised by Space Babies. It was very silly. I've seen a lot of chatter online to the effect of "you think this too silly for a show that previously had Space Rhino Police in a hospital on the Moon" and, you know, I honestly, hand on heart, think Space Babies was sillier than that. But actually I enjoyed it a lot more than what, in retrospect, looks like a rather cautious approach from RTD back in 2005. It's human nature to try to see patterns in things, so there is a temptation to try to map the phases of Classic Who onto the phases of new Who. This gives us the triumph of Dalekmania in 2005, skips over the wobbles of the late 1960s to give us the ten year juggernaut that was Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker through the David Tennant and Matt Smith eras - a slight/debatable fade through Peter Davison/Capaldi into an era where the show has lost its way a bit and the Doctor is wearing something more like a costume than clothes (though give me a tendency to tell not show over grim-dark space mercenaries any day). It then emerges more politically upfront and, in many cases, quite out there and silly in the McCoy era. Obviously the analogy isn't perfect but this does feel like RTD is doing exactly what he always wanted to do with the show without any particular fears about what the audience will make of it. He has an agenda, he has things he cares about, and he's going to put them on the screen tied up in a bow that is as outrageous as he can make it.
I liked the McCoy era and I liked this, but I'll be interested to see if it appeals to the audience better than McCoy's fateful era did.
Anyway, it was silly, and quite low key for a story that was still seeking to introduce viewers to the show. I would have expected a cautious Showrunner to give us something a bit more straightforward and with higher stakes - with more emphasis on straightforward action and adventure. I think, in part, I'm pleased that I didn't get what I expected but something altogether stranger and more delightful - albeit not something that repays careful consideration of the underlying logic.
The silliness aside, I liked the Doctor and Ruby in this. I was not particularly convinced by Ruby in the Christmas Special, but she began to emerge here as a character in her own right. Brave and fearless, possibly with that kind of belief in one's own invulnerability that only 18-year olds have, empathetic, good with children, robust, confident and straightforward in her approach. I thought Millie Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa worked well together and I am happy to see more of it.
Nothing about this episode was average, but in the grand sweep of Doctor Who stories I'd probably rate it somewhere in the middle. However, given I was anticipating being a bit `meh!' about RTD2, I'm happy to be thinking "fun, but silly".
I was not that taken with RTD Who the first time around. I didn't particularly have anything against it but my attitude was a bit "meh! it's alright I suppose". I've come to appreciate it more as time has gone on, but I didn't approach this new season with quite the excitement of some parts of fandom.
I was quite surprised by Space Babies. It was very silly. I've seen a lot of chatter online to the effect of "you think this too silly for a show that previously had Space Rhino Police in a hospital on the Moon" and, you know, I honestly, hand on heart, think Space Babies was sillier than that. But actually I enjoyed it a lot more than what, in retrospect, looks like a rather cautious approach from RTD back in 2005. It's human nature to try to see patterns in things, so there is a temptation to try to map the phases of Classic Who onto the phases of new Who. This gives us the triumph of Dalekmania in 2005, skips over the wobbles of the late 1960s to give us the ten year juggernaut that was Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker through the David Tennant and Matt Smith eras - a slight/debatable fade through Peter Davison/Capaldi into an era where the show has lost its way a bit and the Doctor is wearing something more like a costume than clothes (though give me a tendency to tell not show over grim-dark space mercenaries any day). It then emerges more politically upfront and, in many cases, quite out there and silly in the McCoy era. Obviously the analogy isn't perfect but this does feel like RTD is doing exactly what he always wanted to do with the show without any particular fears about what the audience will make of it. He has an agenda, he has things he cares about, and he's going to put them on the screen tied up in a bow that is as outrageous as he can make it.
I liked the McCoy era and I liked this, but I'll be interested to see if it appeals to the audience better than McCoy's fateful era did.
Anyway, it was silly, and quite low key for a story that was still seeking to introduce viewers to the show. I would have expected a cautious Showrunner to give us something a bit more straightforward and with higher stakes - with more emphasis on straightforward action and adventure. I think, in part, I'm pleased that I didn't get what I expected but something altogether stranger and more delightful - albeit not something that repays careful consideration of the underlying logic.
The silliness aside, I liked the Doctor and Ruby in this. I was not particularly convinced by Ruby in the Christmas Special, but she began to emerge here as a character in her own right. Brave and fearless, possibly with that kind of belief in one's own invulnerability that only 18-year olds have, empathetic, good with children, robust, confident and straightforward in her approach. I thought Millie Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa worked well together and I am happy to see more of it.
Nothing about this episode was average, but in the grand sweep of Doctor Who stories I'd probably rate it somewhere in the middle. However, given I was anticipating being a bit `meh!' about RTD2, I'm happy to be thinking "fun, but silly".
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