FN'F Reviews: Doctor Who, Space Babies and The Devil's Chord

And So We Begin

Space Babies!

First Thoughts:

It is finally time for some new Doctor Who! I was psyched all day to watch the first episode of this new era. Then I got home and realized it did not launch until 7:00. So, obviously, I disappointedly went to the theater and watched the new Planet of the Apes movie. So, I guess we will have two reviews this week! Anyway, I was ready to dig into Doctor Who once I returned! Boy, I am glad to be back!

Space Babies:

Space Babies is a really fun foray into this new era. It does a great job of setting the tone. Letting us as an audience know that anything is possible. Nothing is too weird or too out there anymore. Russel T. Davies’ second run at Doctor Who is off to a fun start. This plot focuses on a bunch of space babies abandoned on a spaceship. It seems to be loosely based on abortion issues that we are dealing with today. Specifically dealing with IVF and complications with classifying when a baby is a person or not. At least, I bet that is what the first draft looked like. I think they toned this down in rewrites to make it more palatable for a wider audience. Basically, this station’s purpose was to make babies. Test tube babies, but the planet hit a recession and closed down the facility. However, the law made it impossible to shut the baby-making machine down. This caused the crew to abandon the babies and leave the machine running. Basically causing it to keep making babies but not providing them with any resources or nurture. Dooming them all to keep being born and dying. I know that sounds super heavy, but the episode is somehow a really light-hearted jaunt. They skim over this real-world issue with a quick one-liner, and then they are off to the races.

This is exactly the type of episode that I felt Jodie lacked during her tenure. Episodes that are not plot-heavy. It's just a fun adventure to let us get to know the characters and what they stand for. It is simply a fun idea and visual brought to life. A vehicle to let Ncuti stretch his legs as the Doctor. It is not bogged down in all this setup. Sure, there is a pretty big recap initially, but that seems necessary. I am sure it is hard to restart a franchise that has existed for 60 years effectively. Somehow, this does feel like a reset. I am not sure exactly why yet. It has a freshness that the 13th Doctor was never able to achieve. It feels new. I would say it is because of Ncuti’s light-heartedness and very physical acting, but Jodie had that to start, too. It can’t be the effects or sets because Jodie also had some super impressive and expensive sets. I don’t know if it is RTD’s writing either since he was already a showrunner once. Maybe it is the marketing or the Disney effect, but I just can not put my finger on it. Tell me why you think it feels fresh down in the comments and let me know what stands out to you.