The first reviews for the long-awaited new series of Doctor Who have finally been release, as fans count down to the release of the first two episodes this weekend.
Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord will hit BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ internationally on Saturday, and critics have been sharing their spoiler-three thoughts on the episodes.
Many were full of praise for Ncuti Gatwa’s first full adventures with Millie Gibson, with one noting the show is ‘more fun than it’s been in years,’ with the Sex Educarion star branding an ‘all-singing, all-dancing delight’ as the titular Time Lord.
With its Disney-boosted budget on full display, the first episode sees The Doctor and Ruby Sunday land on a spaceship run by babies, while the second sess them transported back to the 1960s, where they meet The Beatles.
Reviews for the episodes were predominantly positive, though some noted that showrunner Russell T Davies on ‘culture-war posturing’ and ‘spoon-feeding fans’ who are boarding the TARDIS for the first time.
The first reviews for the long-awaited new series of Doctor Who have finally been release, as fans count down to the release of the first two episodes this weekend
Many were full of praise for Ncuti Gatwa’s first full adventures with Millie Gibson , with one noting the show is ‘more fun than it’s been in years’
Awarding the first two episodes three stars, The Guardian’s Jack Seale wrote: ‘Conventionally, an episode to open a much-anticipated new season will be tightly honed, but Space Babies bulges loosely, despite going to absurd lengths to accommodate new fans…
‘Much better is episode two, The Devil’s Chord, which takes the Doctor and Ruby to Abbey Road to witness the Beatles recording their debut album.
‘If the narrative’s ultimate message is sentimental, amounting as it does to Davies saying, ”I love music, me! It’s brilliaaaaant!”, [Jinx] Monsoon’s wicked-witch flamboyance gives it a menacing edge.’
Also awarding the episodes three stars, The Telegraph’s Anita Singh said: ‘Mostly, there’s nothing here to scare anyone who has recently graduated from Bluey and Peppa Pig… The talking babies make for a silly bit of storytelling, but I enjoyed it on my children’s behalf.’
Referring to The Devils Chord, she added: ‘The episode has a good opening scene but then goes on for what feels like forever, with drag queen Jinkx Monsoon chewing the scenery as Maestro.
‘The main asset of the new Doctor Who is Gatwa, who carries the series along with the force of his megawatt charisma. When the Doctor tells someone: ”Nobody grows up wrong. You are what you are, and that is magnificent,” it may be another example of Davies hammering home a point, but in Gatwa’s delivery it becomes a joyful message of self-acceptance.’
Writing in Variety, Aramide Tinubu said: ‘Even with this new energy, some episodes are more riveting than others. Episode 2 leans into the twist-dancing and beehive hair of the ’60s.
‘But it doesn’t quite come together, despite Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon’s appearance as the music-stealing Maestro. Yet the profound bond between Ruby and the Doctor keeps the season from ever going off-kilter.’
With its Disney-boosted budget on full display, the first episode sees The Doctor and Ruby Sunday land on a spaceship run by babies
The Radio Times’ Morgan Jeffery reviewed Space Babies alone, noting: ‘Space Babies is a frothy sci-fi romp that serves as a solid jumping-on point for newcomers but should also satisfy traditionalists with its scares, larks and intergalactic derring-do.
‘More so than in his two previous appearances, Gatwa gets to run the gamut of the Doctor’s emotional complexity here – their joie de vivre, their compassion, their absolute compulsion to keep on moving forward and never look back, but also their shattering loneliness.’
Louise Griffin, who reviewed The Devil’s Chord, said: ‘Maestro is a villain that feels like they could jump out of the screen and they’re impossible to look away from. It’s almost difficult to hate them because it’s clear how much Monsoon relished bringing such a camp, theatrical and, in the best way, completely ridiculous villain to mainstream TV.
‘Is The Devil’s Chord a perfect Doctor Who story? Absolutely not. But it’s vivid, silly, gripping, and sees our brand new Doctor battle a larger than life villain across the streets of 1960s London. We could certainly be doing a lot worse.’
The Times’ Ben Dowell awarded Space Babies three stars, and The Devils Chord four, writing: ‘In the opening two episodes of his first full series with his new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and companion, Ruby Sunday, Davies certainly goes to amazing places with an almost child-like glee — all aided by dollops of cash from its co-producer Disney that can really be seen on screen.’
‘There are also some pointed ”Russellisms” here too – we get a homily on refugees, one of the babies is told that no one is made ”wrong” and the Doctor says that ”monsters … [are] just creatures you haven’t met yet”.
Referring to The Devils Chord, he said: ‘The sound of Who is an important part of the show that is overdue a celebration and it’s one of many perfectly judged imaginative leaps that Davies is clearly keen to take. His new Who has definitely got its mojo back.’
Collider said: ‘Davies adds a richness to the stories of the previous era and stitches Fifteen’s journey to that of the past Doctors, with the help of Gatwa’s well-researched performance.
‘Nothing’s been glossed over or ignored, despite not necessarily being required viewing for new audiences to keep up.’
Showering praise on Ncuti’s performance, IGN wrote: ‘The Sex Education breakout is electric in his new role, encapsulating everything that The Doctor is on the surface, utilizing a youthful energy that’s tied up in, or even masking, a mind that’s lived for thousands of years.’
‘There’s a familiar feeling to this new era, but Episodes 1 and 2 still sparkle with ingenuity and embrace the changes at every opportunity. If that isn’t Doctor Who, then I don’t know what is.’
Ncuti made his debut as the Time Lord on Christmas Day in a special episode of the show last year but his first full series will air next month.
The second sess them transported back to the 1960s, where they meet The Beatles, and come face-to-face with a sinister new threat
The first two episodes from the upcoming series will drop on BBC iPlayer at midnight on May 11 before then airing on BBC One later that evening.
The new season of Doctor Who will see Ncuti return as the Fifteenth Doctor, alongside Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, after they made their debut on Christmas Day last year in The Church on Ruby Road.
Within the upcoming series, audiences will see the Doctor and Ruby travel through time and space on adventures to unknown lands, to the Regency era in England, to outer space worlds and the sixties.
Last week Ncuti admitted he’s ‘terrified’ ahead of the start of the new series after such a long-awaited build up.
When asked how he felt ahead of the release during an appearance on The One Show on Friday, he said: ‘Terrifying, terrifying, but exciting as well as we have poured so much love into it.
‘I’m ready for the world to see it. Heart is racing but ready for it.’
Ncuti is to become the first queer Doctor Who and the first black Time Lord for a full series.
He told Variety: ‘Do you know what? It makes perfect sense to me.
‘I feel like anyone that has a problem with someone who’s not a straight white man playing this character, you’re not really, truly a fan of the show. You’ve not been watching!
‘Because the show is about regeneration, and the Doctor is an alien — why would they only choose to be this sort of person?’
Showrunner Russell T Davies echoed Ncuti’s thoughts: ‘They weren’t exactly the straightest men in the past.
On how the screen star’s Doctor is different, Russell added: ‘You’re talking about someone who does have a lightness and a joy about him that, to me, chimes with queer energy.
‘It’s very rarely driving the story vehemently, but you will see moments exploring it. We’re not delivering a neutered Doctor.’
Doctor Who will be released at midnight in the UK on BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ internationally.