Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble REVIEW | Review of Death

[@CJFS00s]

( 1:00:38 ) In the Rose Novel, RTD did add a line saying about a future Black Female Doctor, in the scene where Rose is looking at Clive’s notes.

[@Rik77]

Yes Ricky was an allegory for the person who steps out of their bubble and is curious about the world questioning things, which develops his critical thinking beyond what has been spoon fed to them.

[@adamfreddo5703]

One connection I haven't seen people make (might not mean anything but still), susan Twist seems to be splintered through time like Scaroth in City of Death, and the finale is called Empire of Death. Maybe Susan Triad is doing similar time experiments that Scaroth was doing in that episode?

[@dalilam3994]

I haven’t seen that episode yet, but I had the same thought! Some Triad Technology attempt at commercializing or at least discovering time travel (maybe using the Tardis in a way and that’s why she keeps showing up where the Doctor/TARDIS is?), which leads to Susan appearing in all these different times.

[@Bailey-dj6hz]

​@dalilam3994 this is a great idea I love it

[@Bailey-dj6hz]

Great theory, not sure I entirely buy it yet but would be very interesting, Susan twist is playing 'the portrait' in rogue next week so that may well lend you some credibility

[@peterthompson1989]

One theory I saw someone mention fits in with the show within a show idea. She is an actress. Apparently RTD tweeted something like actor or actress shortage so it does make sense. Also Ruby seems to mention seeing her in Wales so I wonder how much of the last episode she remembers

[@dalilam3994]

@@peterthompson1989 ooh nice thought! I kind of forgot about the show within a show theory throughout the last episodes but this is reawakening it for me! Everyone writing off what RTD said as a joke just for it to be actually true seems so reasonable to me. That being said I’m terrible at speculating so most things that sound reasonable to me are usually totally wrong 😬

[@PanelHopper]

Really good episode (both of the show and the podcast) this week! The ending! Oh my god! So chilling on so many different levels: the not so subtle use of the word voodoo, the guy talking about conquering the wilderness, the moment of Ricky’s death and her betrayal. It really hit home.

[@MylesD1]

Yes very season 24 indeed I enjoyed it but I just wish the monsters of the week had more weight like if they talked or had a plan they explained to the Doctor or something like Silurians or even the Tractators that would have made it more classic but I’m happy we got some what decent monsters. The score was good the subtle synth pad swells really made it like Dominic Glynn’s scores more of this please 😁. For me best this season so far 6/10 🙂

[@drwhotvwam]

Great review guys I'm just impressed that Timmy Mallett is still relevant, thousands of years into the future Another good episode Felt like a mix between : Macra Terror Happiness patrol Gridlock I genuinely didn't see that ending coming. I wonder if it's a commentary on a a certain part of the fandom

[@TheFunkyJawa]

Found it a bit annoying initially but soon got in to it. It's quite a rollercoaster. You're scared for Lindy and want her to live, then she kills the unfortunate Ricky and realise how vacuous and actually evil she is. The Doctor doesn't see all we see, so his bewildered reaction at the end does hit harder. We know her better than he does in the end. The icing on the cake should have been a giant man trap coming out of the water engulfing the boat, killing them all.

[@guygrist4436]

“I need to wee” hahahaha what a way to end brilliant.

[@connorheath6997]

I noticed that the ones who have the most followers had blue eyes and blonde hair. Also, I thought the guy who everyone thought was hot was a brilliant actor and kept feeling he could be the Doctor x

[@whatsup4825]

I look forward to hearing your episode reviews than the episodes themselves! Magnificent work, gentlemen. ❤

[@arnothill]

The reason that the Dots did what they did. They learned the humans that they were working for were irredeemably awful. So awful were they that they deserved to die, but because the Ai had developed sentience with a personality including a capacity for cruelty and revenge.- an opportunity to delight in humanity’s end was available. So they arranged or their genetically engineered slugs to end the human’s lives in the most slow and cruel way possible. Yes, the Dots could have killed their humans in a moment, but where is the fun in that?

[@Solidsnakeprime501]

Another thing that ties omega to the triad is he was a member of the gallifreyan triumvirate. He, Rassilon and the Other (timeless child)

[@jamesloganhart]

That's exactly what I thought about the follower count.. however the pay off with the betrayal worked well

[@ainsleyelliott5840]

I loved it. This was the one I had the least interest in, and it ended up being in my top 3 and maybe even higher when I look back when the series is done. The show is on a streak with the last few episodes, I'm really enjoying it.

[@nathanthomas5133]

Without the alphabetical killing it’s more difficult for Lindy to betray Ricky - if they were being killed by subscriber count she couldn’t say that he really had lower subscriber numbers than her so should die first as they all know everyone follows him & the AI would also know the subscriber numbers (?). Ricky changing his name & her knowing that as she has followed him for so long is a very clean way for her to set him up.

[@derekbryant3799]

I like your reviews guys. I'm one of the old school Doctor who fans being a fan since way back in the 60s. To be honest though I haven't been as keen on new new who but I am prepared to stick with it. 73yards got me interested and Dot and Bubble even more. I find your views well judged and balanced. Keep the good work guys 👍

[@CTheRobot]

Very Black Mirror. Absolutely loved this episode 🔷

[@timelordvictorious]

I like the idea of Susan triad being death and she chasing the doctor because he escaped death a lot of times .also mabey ruby is her daughter.would explain her powers

[@engineerforthefuture8593]

Did Billy just pretend Zoe Seldana wasn't in Pirates of the Caribbean? And what about Tia Dalma?

[@guygrist4436]

Easily the best episode of the season for me by a mile. It definitely reminded me of Paradise Towers and a bit of the play Red with the extreme hedonists that have been partially represented by technology that they can’t function without it.

[@jeremythomaswebb1485]

Regarding why the Slugs were selective about who they ate, I thought it was an age thing. Like I noticed there weren't any people older than 30 in Finetime so I thought when you reached a certain age limit, the Slugs eat you. Like Logan's Run kind of deal where the people only live to a certain age before being axed off.

[@nighttimevideo]

I remember seeing the Nosferatu when World Of Wonder came to Edinburgh, and the merch had Character Options figures like The War Games Tardis set, some Jodie figures etc. A lovely exhibition.

[@MovieMagic515]

Murray's score at the end was so dour. Loved that variation on Fifteen's theme, very dramatic.

[@booradley8895]

RTD saying how long before people notice an all white cast when he is part of an all white production team was kind of ironic.

[@moondoglovesyou]

I assumed that your first commenter meant that they didn’t twig the racism even after watching the whole episode. It is not overtly stated and other people have said they didn’t get that either which seems bizarre to me as I got it immediately and love the way it was seeded.

[@UnleashTheGhouls]

PACKEEEEEEGE Always love a sneaky OSW reference from Billy

[@BillyGarrattJohn]

Shneaky!

[@nathanthomas5133]

I wonder if Susan Twist has something to do with Tennant’s Tardis as the 2 Tardises are linked (& the second Tardis was created while the last of the Toymakers realm was lingering)- maybe Susan Twist is using Tennant’s Tardis for nefarious times-Wimey purposes & it’s also affecting Ncuti’s with all the weird noises it’s making in recent episodes. Does Villengard make the killer AI here as well as the killer AI in Boom ?

[@christopherbenassi7721]

Is this society the start of what eventually becomes the Thals and the Kaled? The blonde hair, green blood, 'genetic superiority' theme. Any one else pick up on this or am I reaching?

[@mediakira6621]

Since billy can’t bash Moffat I will :) We know if he did this with Matt smith, the doctor would save anyone by transferring their consciousness to the bubble itself and Lindy would just be “flirty flirty”

[@francisgrizzlysmit4715]

loved dot and bubble loved them all so far but dot and bubble is the best

[@jamesa.fitzpatrick1566]

I feel like they made Ricky a bit "doctor-y" to see if the audience would subconsciously have a more positive reaction to him than the actual Doctor. It could have been a meta Russell moment. There's a lot going on in this episode.

[@peterthompson1989]

I didn't get the racism stuff myself but it adds a lot more when you know. I like how the episode works without it, as some political stuff can fall flat if you don't see the message. I kind of wonder if the message at the end should be more evident. I like how even if you don't get it it still works so I prefer it but wonder how many people won't see it and won't read online to see other views so never get the message. It also makes you think about how much other stuff you've missed. I've wondered if I've seen racism before and not realisled it was racist.

[@michaelf7291]

I did not enjoy this episode at all. It all seemed to be a less interesting version of Blink to me in terms of the lead character getting help remotely by the Doctor through messages or in this case on a group chat. Im a bit disappointed in getting a second doctor light episode in a row. It took me a bit to get into this season, it didnt gel for me. It was in Boom when I really started to get into Ncuti's Doctor and now we have had very little of him since. Its an odd choice to have a shortened season and have two doctor light episodes.

[@Verumex]

It wasn't a choice. Sex Education overran their filming, and Ncuti was contracted to finish filming that before starting Doctor Who. So 74 yards and this were filmed back to back without Ncuti. The scene at the end of this was the first scene filmed by Gatwa after The Giggle.

[@acanimations1223]

Don’t give character options ideas, if we get a man trap toy, all the series 14 figures will come with slug slime sachets 😂 (but in all seriousness I’d love a man trap figure)

[@jointjunkieslangards]

As soon as they said that alphabetical order stuff, they lost me. Then when they killed Ricky, it killed any hope of suspending my disbelief. If this AI has access to all of the humans that it hates so much 24/7, can see and hear and track them everywhere, AND it can kill them just by zipping right through their brains, why are they bothering with slugs? Why are they going through the population one by one in alphabetical order? Just do them all at once. And there's no way that the AI doesn't know Ricky changed his name. That was just... ugh.

[@Flettwin]

I took it that the slugs were a way of the AI turning the humans into entertainment for them, watching them walk blindly into death. Each AI Dot who’d been ordered around by their human idiot probably wanted to order them into the jaws of death in return via the direction arrows. Maybe they were even betting on how long each human would last, so killing them quickly would ruin the enjoyment?

[@alexhouston2543]

I initially thought it was racist thing but, but I think it was just a class thing.

[@alexhouston2543]

Russel Davies loved diverse interracial couples basically from episode one. I think saying it's whitewashed is inaccurate

[@alexhouston2543]

I keep going back to the perceived racist aspect of this episode. It doesnt really make sense when RTD has been adamant on color blind casting. Why would he then go and bring up the doctors skin color as a topic of issue, when that is never really brought up before. It almost underbalues the actor by bringing it up. Same as they dont talk about his sexual orientation. Chibnal did this and it didn't work

[@adamadamant5061]

From the opening scene, it was as subtle as a sledgehammer.

[@Lightning1998JBD]

I didn’t realise it was meant to be racist until during this video, I assumed when they didn’t want to go with him it was because they weren’t in the bubble and that both The Doctor and Ruby didn’t belong it didn’t occur to me that The Doctor was targeted specifically…. The laugh/scream seemed out of place and not Doctor like but having watched your explanation it feels more fitting for him to react that way I also totally missed that the cast was all white as I don’t see a group of people and notice things like that colour of your skin doesn’t matter to me

[@MuseBySecrecy]

She hangs up on the Doctor in like 4 seconds flat and humours Ruby even though she is as unabashedly annoyed. It was almost obvious to me from the start.

[@jlewis2890]

We’re yet to have an autistic or MND or ADHD person I get representation is important but as an autistic person once you start you need to keep going to include all

[@jlewis2890]

Personally as non socially media savvy or tolerant person I dislike this episode

[@timelordvictorious]

Yea sorry was not keen on it where did the Ai even get the slugs ?. It’s terrible . Also please no one have a go at me in the comments but the doctor failing is depressing.I feel the doctor should have explain things more.

[@caberknight9013]

I thought the ending was hilarious because it was so out of left field. I remember thinking when Lindy blocked the doctor at the start "haha wouldn't it be funny if its cause he's black" because that would be such a silly premise for an episode. Then the rest of the episode was a dull, at times funny but mostly really grating "phone bad book good" story that, while I agree with the message, felt very ham fisted and unatural. The ending didn't feel like a clever twist it felt like an unrelated sidestep where everyone but Ncuti is delivering these cringe worthy performances that undercut what could have been a very interesting ending, if it didn't give the same energy as the 'Why won't you adopt me? BECAUSE YOU'RE BLACK!" meme. I get why people liked it, good for you guys I guess. But idk man as much as I hate hating doctor who, this episode did nothing for me.

[@joutakujoss]

not sure why thats a silly premise

[@caberknight9013]

@@joutakujoss because a sci fi doing "racism: but its exactly the same and the only difference is that its in the future" is just silly to me. I understand the commentary, its not that i don't get it, I just think the commentary is uninspired and not very creative in its execution

[@MuseBySecrecy]

@@caberknight9013It’s not strictly “the future”, if you think Finetime was earth. It’s another planet - and many planets in Doctor Who are not unlike Earth. Many aliens are not unlike humans - the Doctor himself, for example.

[@caberknight9013]

@@MuseBySecrecy ok?