First off, Happy New Year to everyone! After a Holiday Week relaxing, I am back to sharing my reviews and thoughts about stuff I watch. Today’s review is on The Church on Ruby Road, the 2023 Doctor Who Christmas Special. Before jumping into my specific thoughts on the episode, overall I loved it. I am greatly enjoying the new Doctor and Ruby Sunday, the new companion. I find their energy and interactions to be a delight and I am excited for the new series coming later this year.
What worked for me: First and foremost, Ncuti Gatwa was absolutely spectacular as the Doctor. While there are only a few clues as to what the Doctor’s core personality traits might end up being, but I love the joy that this Doctor has while still having moments of seriousness. This is a Doctor that is aware of their past but no longer burdened and weighed down by it. I also loved that the Doctor (as is common with new Doctor’s) of showing glimpses of their previous selves in their behaviors. Second, Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday is a great character and this was a great introduction to her and I am excited to seeing what they do with the character from here. Her family is also delightful and I hope we see more of them. I am so far intrigued by the mystery of who she is. The Goblins are a fun villain, I loved their aesthetic and the song was a ton of fun. There are some great twists and turns in the episode and there is a great balance between the fun of a Christmas episode and turning on the seriousness when it needs to. I am intrigued by the character of Mrs. Flood and I am wondering what they are planning on doing with her in the future. It is also great to see Doctor Who back on Christmas, I liked the New Years specials but there is something just fun and more fitting to have it on Christmas. I also continue to be grateful to have Russell T. Davies back and his skill in delivering character and emotion balanced with fascinating stories and his ability to tease new things is great!
What did not work for me: I don’t love the new Sonic Screwdriver. Seen in vacuum, it is a really cool design, but to me the whole idea is that it is a screwdriver and this new one simply does not look like a Screwdriver. While I am so far intrigued by the mystery of who Ruby Sunday is, or who her mother/parents are, but Doctor Who has done the ‘mystery girl’ thing several times in the past, to varying success, and that kind of thing can get quite tiring very quickly, so I am also a little bit worried about where they are going to go with it. While using Davina McCall to skillfully introduce Ruby’s history and background without some kind of info-dump was clever, I thought the attempted humor of the Goblins picking on Davina, just because, was rather forced and unnecessary. Honestly, that is about it, overall I loved this episode.
Some random thoughts in no particular order:
– Nothing symbolizes this more carefree Doctor than him dancing in the club, and that was great outfit as well.
– The Doctor’s interaction with the police officer after the snowman falls on his head was a delight and I love the confidence that he shows there.
– The Doctor’s reaction to the woman with her shopping in a pram “Really, a pram at midnight!” was 100% the 12th Doctor coming out
– The gravity (or, sorry, mavity) gloves are fantastic!
– The Doctor saying he wishes he was called Lulubelle is 100% a flash of 11.
– The Doctor’s long, drawn out ‘ooohhhhh’ when he makes a realization is totally a 4th/10th Doctor thing.
– I love when they have the Doctor show flashes of their previous selves, if you couldn’t tell.
– While the previews look like The Doctor is more willing than previous incarnations to actually blend in with the time periods he is in, I greatly enjoy his modern day costume.
– That coat is indeed, awesome
– I may have mentioned this already, but I so, so hope we get more of Ruby’s adoptive mom and grandmother.
– The visual effects were well done and again a nice mix of practical and CGI.
– Murray Gold being back definitely shows, there was some good music in the 13th Doctor’s run, but Murray Gold does so well in molding the music to the scene and driving interest.
– I am very eager to see the first full season for 15 and Ruby this Spring.
That is it for me today, I hope you all loved the episode as much as I did, and if you haven’t seen it you should totally check it out! I hope you all have a wonderful 2024, with lots of fun and excitement, and if you need a resolution or goal for the year, I do have two books available on Amazon!
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