Reviewing The New Doctor Who

My wife and I just couldn't let Christmas go by without watching the new Doctor Who premier, "The Church on Ruby Road," featuring the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa (pronounced "Shoo-tay Gatwa"). Already people are piling on with their own views and reviews, and its entertaining to watch the right-wing remnants of the Sad/Rabid Puppies claiming (stupidly and obviously) that the episode's low Neilson ratings have anything to do with anything other than it being a release on Christmas, when everyone has something better to do than watch television.

Yet there is some blowback regarding the episode. Despite a 100% fresh-tomato rating on RottenTomatoes.com, the episode has an abysmal 44% audience review rating. This is about the same audience rating as the other three Christmas specials, so it's not just review-bombing, although there is certainly some of that going on. No, there's a bit more, and I thought I would add my take to explain what I see as the disparity.

First, as my base-point, let me give my own review of Ncuti Gatwa's debut. On the whole, I really liked the episode. Gatwa has a vibrancy, energy and magnetism that none of the other doctors had. Those versions were akin to meeting your favorite college professor at a frat party and discovering he likes taking speed. This version of the doctor is someone you might meet in a European discotheque. Radically different, yet totally likeable.

For the record, I like how he looks. I don't care that he's black. I don't care that he has a slight African accent. Those things make about as much sense as an old, Scottish Doctor, and I was able to easily forgive such nonsense. No, the real problem I have with Gatwa's appearance is that he has a moustache. In the 60 years we have been witnessing Time Lords, the only one we have ever seen with facial hair is the Master, and we all know why. Facial hair usually means bad guy. But this actor mostly gets away with it. There are times you barely notice the patch on his upper lip. But it's there. Mocking me.

The new take on the sonic screwdriver is odd. It looks less like a wand and more like a game controller. The doctor uses it early on to alter the traffic lights in downtown London in order to help save Ruby from a falling snowman decoration, and now that I know that's possible, I want a sonic of my own more than ever!

But the real disappointment of the episode comes with a musical number that was way, way, WAY over the top! It made me shake my head and wonder why that sort of thing ever gets done without somebody in the studio going, "Really, dude? Really?" The Doctor and Ruby thwart the goblins after literally falling into the scene by (you guessed it), joining in the song, which just makes the whole thing even more surreal. Of course, there are other things that make absolutely no sense. Like having the baby on a pointless conveyor belt (because just eating the baby straight away makes too much sense and, more importantly, lacks suspense), or seeing the goblins doing such intense song and dance about how delicious the baby will be, even though the King Goblin is the only one who actually gets to eat it (a perfect metaphor for corporate compensation structure if I ever saw one).

Everything else though, is perfect. I love Gatwa's energy, and I look forward to seeing more of it in the coming years. Hell, we might even get a Doctor who sticks around for more than four seasons for a damned change!

So what's with the negativity?

I think it's mostly alteration shock. It takes time to get used to a new Doctor (fictional or real life) and people are going to have to get acclimated. For example, when Matt Smith was first revealed as the new Doctor, I found him to be a dough-boy dud. I thought for sure the franchise was doomed. But Smith eventually proved me wrong, and I grew to really like the pale, beady-eyed, lump-faced bastard with his fucking fez.

People do, and will, adjust.

Also, the sci-fi contingent is turning up its nose at an episode which was purely fantasy, and really old-styled fantasy at that. The tech was - rope? That makes no sense. Goblins? That's even worse. The goblins don't even come through a trans-dimensional rift? Come on! But in the strange world of Doctor Who, much of the plot is fantasy-adjacent anyway. In fact, there's a school of thought which says all time-travel adventures are ultimately fantasy. But I digress. If you're really willing to accept "psychic paper," then goblins and rope really isn't that big of a stretch, either.

Yes, there are some fans who are part of the structural racism of our era who just won't accept a black Doctor. If so, fuck 'em. No franchise needs such fair-weather fans, anyway.

In short, I already love this Doctor and I think in time, all true fans will grow to love him too. Change can come as a shock. But rolling with the changes is one of the most important things we need to do in life. This is equally true for our beloved franchises as well.

It can't continue if we're too nostalgic for how it used to be.

Other Doctors went bounding over rooftops too, but they would get winded. This Doctor can do so and barely break a sweat.

I'm down for more of it.

Eric

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