Ignoring the Doctor-lite grousing, this episode does look interesting with its Black Mirror vibes.
Any guesses on what kind of cameo Susan Twist will make in this episode? With or without the iPlayer hint (i.e. the name of her character).
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Ignoring the Doctor-lite grousing, this episode does look interesting with its Black Mirror vibes.
Any guesses on what kind of cameo Susan Twist will make in this episode? With or without the iPlayer hint (i.e. the name of her character).
The actress has really captivating look
I'll give RTD this: He's really testing my ability to tolerate bullshit in Doctor Who, but he's doing it in a completely different way then Chibnall did. Hopefully Ncuti is actually in this episode, he's the only thing I can see that could make this "Boomer Writes an Episode about Space TikTok" episode even remotely tolerable (although early reviews comparing this episode's character writing to the "hello fellow kids" meme is not giving me much hope).
Thanks. As 9 out of 10 times my own opinion is the opposite of your premature judgement of unseen content I can look forward to a very entertaining episode now. 
Her features remind me of Caroline John who played Liz Shaw during Jon Pertwee's debut series.
Enjoyable, though the revelation at the ending that these folks are a bunch of bigots was predictable. Granted, that's partly because I was aware the guest cast was all white and there was a plot relevant reason for that. Still, despite being touted as a Doctor Lite, they actually did manage to keep the Doctor active for most of the episode, though I'm sure Gatwa and Gibson probably only did a day or two of filming for this episode. I'll give the season this, despite having to do two Doctor Lite episodes, both were at least fresh innovative and interesting to watch. Indeed, experimenting with different formats is one strength of the Doctor Lites.
I will say the concept of social media becoming so all consuming that people don't know how to walk or even take a piss without being plugged in was both amusing and cautionary tale at the same time.
I will say the concept of social media becoming so all consuming that people don't know how to walk or even take a piss without being plugged in was both amusing and cautionary tale at the same time.
I wonder how
Ricky Coombes/September
This was an improvement over last week's episode for sure. At first, I reacted with "hmm, that's a lot of white folk" at the beginning, but I like that it fed into the twist at the end.
While I sympathize with the Doctor's frustration at the end, that whole planet can burn for all I care. My hat's off to RTD for writing such a thoroughly unlikable and unsympathetic character as the focus for the episode.
I'm pretty sure Ncuti was added to that final scene in Post-Production. Something seemed off about how the scene was blocked and framed.
I'm starting to wonder just how many Doctor-Lite episodes we're going to get this season? I appreciate it's giving the show an opportunity to play with the format and experiment, but we're still getting to know Ncuti's Doctor. A quarter of this season so far has sidelined him because the production couldn't work around his schedule better.
While I sympathize with the Doctor's frustration at the end, that whole planet can burn for all I care. My hat's off to RTD for writing such a thoroughly unlikable and unsympathetic character as the focus for the episode.
I'm pretty sure Ncuti was added to that final scene in Post-Production. Something seemed off about how the scene was blocked and framed.
I'm starting to wonder just how many Doctor-Lite episodes we're going to get this season? I appreciate it's giving the show an opportunity to play with the format and experiment, but we're still getting to know Ncuti's Doctor. A quarter of this season so far has sidelined him because the production couldn't work around his schedule better.
It's funny, if any other Doctor were there (well aside from Jo Martin), the people probably wouldn't have thought twice about getting into the TARDIS and escaping. And unless it was the Tenth Doctor with Martha or Thirteenth with Yaz and Ryan, the Doctor likely wouldn't learn of their attitude. So, the only alternative for this scenario would be the Doctor unknowingly rescuing a bunch of bigots.
Yeah, that stood out given the shows usual diversity.
I was shocked, I mean, full-on mouth agape at what happened to Ricky. Given how awkward the Doctor and Ruby were acting at the end, I wondered if they might've suspected Pepper had done something untoward and were trying to angle her into a trap or confession, but now I'm considering if they had already realized there was still a problem outside the dome. I was wondering how they'd resolve that, whether she'd be found out, or in an even darker turn, get away with it, but it looks like two wrong made a right (or, really, people getting back what they put out into the world).
Interesting that this is the second episode this season where someone reacts with unlikely aplomb to the death of a loved one because of their total confidence in the afterlife. And there was some singing again. And now we've had the Doctor and Ruby in the genuine timeline realize they've seen Susan Twist before. Interesting that this time, she's (apparently) been murdered by her phone, and also that she seemed to be squeezed into the milieu a bit. It's not impossible for a forty-ish woman to have a baby (even moreso when you consider the possibilities of adoption and fostering), but she was a bit old for the mother of a young adult by RTD standards. I wonder if there's an in-universe reason for that related to why she keeps showing up, or if it was just the structure of the episode dictating the only possible place she could appear if the guest cast was all going to be mid-twenties and younger.
Interesting that this is the second episode this season where someone reacts with unlikely aplomb to the death of a loved one because of their total confidence in the afterlife. And there was some singing again. And now we've had the Doctor and Ruby in the genuine timeline realize they've seen Susan Twist before. Interesting that this time, she's (apparently) been murdered by her phone, and also that she seemed to be squeezed into the milieu a bit. It's not impossible for a forty-ish woman to have a baby (even moreso when you consider the possibilities of adoption and fostering), but she was a bit old for the mother of a young adult by RTD standards. I wonder if there's an in-universe reason for that related to why she keeps showing up, or if it was just the structure of the episode dictating the only possible place she could appear if the guest cast was all going to be mid-twenties and younger.
I have to admit that I didn't notice and I actually had to rewind and rewatch the final scene in order to realize what the objection was to being saved by The Doctor.
This week didn't have the Doctor or Ruby stepping on anything like the previous episode have, did it?
Unless you consider the Doctor figuratively stepping in doo-doo relative to the society of that world when he stepped into Ruby's screen to prove they were in the same room together, nope.
Ricky was heroic, but tragically trusting.
Well that was f*****g stupid! Probably the dumbest episode in a very long time... and the second Doctor-lite episode in a row!! WTF! Is it too late to get Chibnill back?
Oh my eyes! That was silly and weird and grotesque and not nearly as profound as it probably thinks it is. I liked the Black Mirror-esque premise with overpowering social media used to make a population docile and easy to consume. I also liked how the creatures (The Doctor called them bugs but they looked more like giant slugs) were genuinely gross and kind of terrifying.
But the overall story didn't really click for me. I get what Davies was going for with the mindlessness, but it's not nearly as clever as he thought it was.
But the overall story didn't really click for me. I get what Davies was going for with the mindlessness, but it's not nearly as clever as he thought it was.
