Doctor Who Feeds

Doctor Who has returned with a Christmas Day special for the first time since 2017’s Twice Upon a Time. Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode as our favourite Time Lord delivers a delightful fairy tale brimming with goblins, foundlings, magic, and musical enchantment. Gatwa’s charismatic portrayal breathes new life into the Doctor as Russell T Davies’ script weaves a tightly knit narrative that is a cherished Christmas gift for young and old audiences. Fittingly,  the episode opens with Gatwa’s Doctor reciting the magical words “Once Upon a Time” before moving on to the opening credits with the iconic Doctor Who theme.

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) – BBC Studios 2023, James Pardon

The Church on Ruby Road foreshadows where and how Russell T Davies is changing the Doctor Who. As was clear from the 60th Anniversary specials, there is more diversity and inclusion, but it is naturally placed into the theme and plot of the programme.  Davies started with diversity and inclusion with his reboot in 2005 and continues these ideas as the world has evolved.  

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), in The Church on Ruby Road ,BBC Studios 2023, Lara Cornell

Russell T Davies has changed the universe where the Doctor lives. Gravity is now mavity. The impact of both the Flux and the Toymaker has added elements of magic, mystery, and luck to the world. In other words, the universe has the elements of a fairy tale now woven into the story.  While this has always existed in Doctor Who, it has expanded and provided a broader dimension to the next season.  We expect to see more impact in 2024 as Season 1 airs. 

Gatwa Defines His Doctor

This is Doctor Who, and the success show hangs in the balance between the story and the charismatic talents of the lead actor.   Ncuti Gatwa’s charisma and Russell T Davies’s story craft is another winning combination leading the TARDIS into the next season.  Gatwa takes on the role with panache and flair, weaving in the previous Doctors’ characteristics and his own sparkling charm to create an impressive start.   Interestingly, his Doctor has returned to precognition, similar to Paul McGann’s turn as the eighth Doctor.   He appears at the club where Ruby’s band plays for a reason and predicts the young police officer’s successful engagement. 

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) in The Church on Ruby Road, BBC Studios 2023,James Pardon

Gatwa smiles and swirls around the dance floor with joy and delight to Tocuh by Hybrid Mind.  As with his attire, he is new and appears carefree and open to all that life offers.  But the darkness within the Doctor remains, and the edge that exists in the previous incarnations remains. Nowhere is more evident than when Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) was erased. He is ruthless and decisive as he pulls the Goblin ship and the Goblin King to their deaths upon the spire of the Church on Ruby Road. The darkness is still there. Gatwa nails the role and makes his own by the end of the episode. We agree with him. He is the Doctor. 

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), BBC Studios 2023, Photo by James Pardon Ruby Sunday – A Dynamic New Companion

Ruby Sunday, portrayed by the talented Millie Gibson, is first introduced to the audience with a clever use of Davina McCall and her Long Lost Family programme. We quickly discover that Ruby is a foundling left at the church’s doorstep on Ruby Road.  We find that she was adopted by Clara (Michelle Greenidge), and they both moved from Manchester to London to care for Clara’s mother, Cherry (Angela Wynter). The family is struggling financially. Dare we say she lives in the same section of Cardiff, err, London, as Rose and her family.  

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road – Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) – BBC Studios 2023,James Pardon

There are shades of Rose Tyler everywhere. Ruby, as with Rose, didn’t succeed at her A-levels due to circumstances. She is compassionate, intensely curious and obviously “jeopardy-friendly”? Who else have we seen hang via a rope (in this case, a rope ladder) thousands of feet above London? She asks the right questions and chases the problems.  She chases the Doctor,  working out that he is a time traveller.  

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road – Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), BBC Studios 2023, James Pardon

She first spies the Doctor when he appears at the club where she is a member of a band playing at the club. The band has the same vibe as Mickey’s band from the novelisation Rose, written by Russell T Davies.  

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road – Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) – BBC Studios 2023,James Pardon

Regardless of Davies falling back on the tried and true for his new character of Ruby, it is a pattern that works, and Gibson makes Ruby her own creation. Most importantly, the dynamic between Gatwa’s Doctor and Gibson’s Ruby Sunday clicks immediately. The two actors are a joy to watch on screen, and the charisma between them carries the show.  

Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in The Church on Ruby Road, BBC Studios 2023, James Pardon A New Earth-Based Family for the Doctor

One of the best things about the 2005 reboot was Davies’ decision to include the companions’ families in the stories. It grounded the adventures and the Doctor with a family. Something that was oh-so-important for the 60th-anniversary specials.  

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road, Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), BBC Studios 2023, Photo by James Pardon

Once again, he returns to what has worked by including Clara (Michelle Greenidge), Ruby’s adopted mother, and Cherry (Angela Wynter), her grandmother. Ruby has a loving home, yet she is alone as her mother abandoned her. The Doctor can relate to this as Davies nods to Chibnall’s Timeless Child by referring to this common ground.   

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road, Cherry (Angela Wynter), BBC Studios 2023, Photo by Lara Cornell

Ruby’s family and her past form the main plot for The Church on Ruby Road. The mystery of Ruby Sunday is set to be a recurring thread through Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor.  

The Goblin King and the Goblin Band 

Like most Russell T Davies stories, the plot focuses on the relationships between the characters. The villains, the Goblins, are plot devices to forward the self-discovery of the Doctor and Ruby and establish their relationship. They will appeal to children and those with a child at their heart—just enough fairy tale mixed with a good scare.  The band and the Goblin Song were silly and fun additions. Based on the jukebox and the upcoming Beatles episode, music will be a more critical part of the forthcoming episodes.

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road, A Goblin – BBC Studios 2023, Photo by James Pardon

What the Goblins establish is there is a redefinition of the universe for this upcoming series of Doctor Who. (We are hoping that mavity reverts to the traditional gravity.)  Defining the language of luck and ropes as a new physics, in addition to Davies’s own words in Imagine and Unleashed, indicates that Doctor Who will be veering into fantasy and pseudo-science.  

Mrs Flood and the Toymaker

Russell T Davies, at his best, entwines a running sub-plot through his seasons.  How much of that is planned or how much is developed throughout the series is still being determined. It would be a stretch to think that he planned out the Tenth Doctor’s hand becoming a meta-crisis Doctor and establishing the future of Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). But Davies indeed uses the tie-ins to previous episodes.  We expect he will continue on this path, with callbacks and tie-ins to this Christmas special and the 60th-anniversary programmes.

Doctor Who – The Church on Ruby Road, Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson), BBC Studios 2023, Photo by James Pardon

Mrs. Flood, portrayed by the talented Anita Dobson, will be one such callback.  Is she a known character, a missing Time Lord, say the Rani? Or is she more likely one of the Toymaker’s associates now wandering the universe? Regardless, we expect the Doctor and Ruby to travel back to London regularly.

A Christmas Present for All

Doctor Who had made a  triumphant Christmas Day return, treating us to a charming fairy tale filled with goblins, enchantment, and musical magic. Gatwa’s magnetic performance and chemistry between him and Gibson breathe new life into Doctor Who. At the same time, Russell T Davies’ script weaves a tightly knit narrative that serves as a cherished Christmas gift for viewers this festive season.

Next year will surely be an enjoyable ride into all of Time and Space. 

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road: – The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) – BBC Studios 2023, Photo by James Pardon Doctor Who Returns…

Doctor Who returns with new adventures in May 2024.  Starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion, Ruby Sunday, Doctor Who will air on BBC One in the UK and Ireland and stream on Disney+ in the rest of the world.

 

 

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The Church on Ruby Road’s goblins can now be found on a range of new t-shirts and sweaters from Forbidden Planet

 

Forbidden Planet have added t-shirts featuring Janis Goblin and the Goblin King from The Church on Ruby Road, in a variety of styles and colours, to their Doctor Who collection. Janis is available in blue, black, white, pink, purple, and red and the Goblin King in black or green. And both designs can be gotten on unisex, womens, and child fit tees as well as sweatshirts.

These complement the already released merchandise featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday in their Church on Ruby Road outfits. That list includes more t-shirts and sweaters, as well as mugs, art prints, coasters and more.

Another new arrival is a t-shirt design featuring Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker as seen in The Giggle.

These are likely the last items for Forbidden Planet’s 60th Anniversary range. Comprising hundreds of pieces of merchandise, all year it’s celebrated every Doctor from Hartnell to Gatwa.It’s also included a Monsters range featuring everything from the Daleks and the Cybermen to Sutekh and the Yeti.

While there’s been no official confirmation yet, we can expect this partnership between Forbidden Planet and BBC Studios to continue next year. So get ready for more from the team when Doctor Who returns in May. And Blogtor Who will be sure to keep you up to date when it does.

You can find the full list of Church on Ruby Road related items on the Forbidden Planet website here. There’s also a range of items featuring the current, revamped version of the Doctor Who diamond logo here.

 

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson),BBC STUDIOS 2023,James Pardon Doctor Who returns in May 2024 on BBC One in the UK and Ireland and simultaneously on Disney+ everywhere else

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