Doctor Who: Empire of Death & Full Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – While the ending did not stick the landing as well as it could have for me, it was a wild, Doctor-filled ride to get there.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Australia about to get eaten by sand.

Doctor Who Review

Well, we have reached the end of this first season in the new Disney/Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, and what a ride it has been. But before we look at how the season worked as a whole, we need to unpack the season finale. If there is one thing Russell T Davies knows how to do, it is setting up a smashing part one to a season finale, but he has a mixed track record as to whether he can stick the landing. So where will this one fall? Let’s find out together.

So to set the scene, during The Legend of Ruby Sunday, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and everyone at UNIT were focused on what happened on the day Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) was born through a little time travel shenanigans. Also, trying to learn what Sue Triad (Susan Twist) was up to with her clearly TARDIS-inspired anagram of a name. However, no one was paying attention to the real threat, that friendly blue box that is always there, but this time, it brought a guest to dinner that no one was expecting. An enemy from deep in The Doctor’s past, Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday – TV Review

TL;DR – This did everything it needed to do for a penultimate episode, as well as remind us how short this season was.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The TARDIS flies into UNIT Headquarters.

Doctor Who Review

Well, we are almost at the end of the first season already, and goodness, what a ride it has already been. Since we started in earnest with The Church on Ruby Road, back in Christmas, we have seen Space Babies, gone back in time with The Devil’s Chord, discovered that the Doctor needs to watch where he is walking in Boom & 73 Yards, tried to save naïve racists in Dot and Bubble, and went Rogue in Rogue. But it is time to get that Part 1 energy on and dive back into UNIT.


So to set the scene, we start with the TARDIS smashing through the atmosphere and slamming into the control room of UNIT headquarters in London, UK. As you can see, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) has two problems. The first is everywhere he goes since Wild Blue Yonder, he sees the same lady (Susan Twist). But Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) can conger snow at will, which is a neat trick but also a harbinger of some powerful timey-wimey stuff. Well, it’s a good thing UNIT is monitoring the situation and has cobbled together a time window for just such an occasion. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble – TV Review

TL;DR – When subtlety is like a ‘two by four’ to the side of the head, you get this week’s episode.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Lindy looking into here bubble.

Doctor Who Review

If there is one thing that Doctor Who always does, it is to shine a light on the modern world by using a fantastical setting. This is common throughout science fiction, but Doctor Who loves delving into this world. Add a dash of horror, and you will have today’s episode before it starts to fall apart.  

So, to set the scene, the colony of Finetime is a world where everyone lives in these social media bubbles in constant contact with their friends. It is so all-encompassing that they need directions to guide them through the world. No one lowers their bubble, and why would they? You are always in contact with everyone else. But what happens when you start losing contact with your friends, one person at a time? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Doctor Who: 73 Yards – TV Review

TL;DR – A tense, brooding episode, and that is just the Welsh coastline.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Ruby and the Doctor hop out of the TARDIS on the Welsh Coastline.

Doctor Who Review

One of the strengths of Doctor Who is that you never know what tone you are going to get. Will this be a fun romp with Space Babies or a deep dive into historical racism with Rosa. It can be an entertaining comedy, a profound emotional time or a deep dive into horror. Today’s episode falls firmly into the latter category with a dash of the supernatural.

So, to set the scene, they land on the Welsh coast, which is full of green beauty. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) is in the middle of reminiscing with Ruby (Millie Gibson) about his love for the place when he steps on a woven construction in the grass (my boy needs to start looking where he steps). It seems like some sort of memorial, something that kids make, but when the Doctor disappears, the TARDIS locks itself, and a figure in black signs some kind of warning. Well, things started getting weird, and why do they stay 73 yards away? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Doctor Who: Boom – TV Review

TL;DR – An episode that was both profound and frustrating in almost equal measures

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The face of an ambulance.

Doctor Who Review

Oh, okay, I think today’s review is going to need a little bit of a preface going in. I honestly think the best work the renewed series of Doctor Who has ever done was when Steven Moffat was writing during the first Russell T Davies era. That is not to say I didn’t like Russell T Davies’ work. The recent Space Babies & The Devil’s Chord were a blast, and what Steven Moffat did when he was showrunner wasn’t terrible. Rory and Amy are my favourite companions that had ever been in the show. But the combination of the two was always fire, so I came into this episode with very high expectations and left it with some pause.

So to set the scene, we open on a battlefield as two soldiers are trying to get back to base, concerned about the landmines, understandably, and the ambulances, more concerningly. However, as John Francis Vater (Joe Anderson) is captured by the ambulance, we understand his fear. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) arrives just in time to hear a scream and runs to the call, only to step down and see a landmine under his foot. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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