Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road REVIEW

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road (2023)

Written by: Russell T Davies
Starring: Anita Dobson, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa

“You remind me of the babe (What babe?), The babe with the power (What power?), The power of voodoo (Who do?), You do (Do what?), Remind me of the babe….“

Its been six years since the family could sit down together to watch a brand new episode of Doctor Who on Christmas Day and a massive 17 years where we have been introduced to a brand new Doctor on his very first adventure.

Back then it was David Tennant making his TARDIS bow, but he was fortunate in spending most of the episode recovering from a regeneration as the world outside escalated into chaos, until a quick cup of tea, an old fashioned swordfight and a chopped off hand, made every fan suddenly fall in love with this dashing new guy which basically swept the long running show into a whole new fanbase.

Having made a much longer surprising debut in The Giggle-next to Tennant himself, who this time somehow “bi-generated into two people (don’t ask if you haven’t caught up yet) Ncuti Gatwa with his huge beaming smile doesn’t need a full 60 minutes to recover in his new body.?Here, seen on the dance floor, dashing, in full kilt mode and doing some moves that even Amy Pond herself would applaud, Gatwa’s Doctor feels as if he is free from all the weight of the last 18 years of Nu-Who as he and the returning Russell T Davies head into a whole new era.

Gatwa, clearly loving the fact that he is now officially the fifteenth Doctor, playing the role with charm and an energy not seen since the days of Matt Smith, – sorry Capaldi and Whitaker, there is also a hint of darkness to his Doctor.?Not yet explored but gently touched upon, the hints are there that his full length first season which airs next May- is going to be a tantalising spectacle, especially with his new companion in tow.

Yes- the comparisons to Rose will be there for some, but the moment Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday is shoulder to shoulder with the Doctor, the magic and spark between them really does fill you with the Christmas spirit and the totally unexpected moment the show explodes into a mini musical as the Doctor and Ruby sing to the Goblin King – well, lets just say, it does cement them both as a duo that could leave a memorable legacy when their travels through time and space come to an end in a few years time.

As for the storyline.?Well it was all very Labyrinth weren’t it??Singing goblins, a stolen baby!?Davina McCall getting murdered by a Christmas Tree – it was all joyful nonsense that left me with a huge beaming smile on my face.

But of course there were threads put in place for the upcoming new season!?Ruby herself, abandoned as a baby by her mysterious hooded Mum on Christmas Eve, who will no doubt will be revealed next year – my guess at the moment is that it would be Ruby herself in some Timey-Wimey plot that I am far unclever to think what and why!

We also have Anita Dobson’s Mrs Flood, a neighbour who knows more about the Tardis and the Doctor than we first realised.?Of course her surname has the sound loosely I add, with the character of River Song (yes that is a stretch) and as always the usual suspects of “Susan” and the “Rani” have reared their heads again.?We just have to wait and see where this particular plot unfolds….

Not all of it worked and still the debut episode of Matt Smith is the template for all the new Doctor’s to beat, but to establish this new era, we couldn’t have wished for more.?When Gibson’s Ruby asks “Who are you?!” and Gatwa looks straight at the camera and utters “I am the Doctor…!”….you generally feel like the Tardis has never been in better hands, but most importantly, makes the “FLUX” seem a distant memory….

And Gatwa – this could be something really, really special!

Roll on May…..

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