DOCTOR WHO | S14 Ep.1 "Space Babies" | REACTION

[@SGlitz]

Welcome to Russell's Acid Trip...and he can keep it.

[@jkmac625]

I thought about staying up to watch this one at midnight but in the end I watched it Saturday afternoon, then again on BBC1 in the evening. I don't know if you've seen the BBC Sitcom "My Hero" starring Ardal O'Hanlon (2000-2006) but in that series there was a talking baby, and watching Eric talking in this episode reminds me of that series. If you've not seen it and wondering why there's a talking baby in a sitcom... it's all about a superhero called Thermoman who comes to live on Earth!

[@ridbensdale]

I’m calling it Season 40 😊

[@derekcfoley]

Your blank faces through most of this made me recall my expression watching it. For me it was... erm - Almost a whatever am I going to see next feeling. A "Fart drive". I was impressed by the visuals, but couldn't help but feel unimpressed... this episode was a mad choice as a season opener.... and almost stopped me watching more episodes. But as a fan since the 1970s, I can't give up on it. The next one is better though, just. I never thought I'd say it, but watching the new series had made me miss Jodie's era. lol.

[@anactualanimal]

Which episodes would you say were strong 1st episodes for the doctors?

[@davidwebb4451]

Just want to point out, since you seem to have missed it, that Susan Twist again turned up in this episode as one of the former crew who left the babies.

[@jamesmatthews6477]

Love you and your amazing channel! ❤❤

[@JoanneRachel-u4n]

❤❤❤❤ I’m loving the new series and it’s very different they gone back to basics but in good way hope you are well big thumbs up from me 👍👍

[@ChessMess]

I have one last straw to clutch at. RTD's Doctor Who was always best when he wasn't writing it, so I am hoping that the Steven Moffat episode will actually be good, instead of this dross that you both valiantly tried to stay positive about. But yeah. :(

[@baybarsedturner2]

Problem is that RTD is writing 75% of this season. I hope they can get a more diverse set of writers for the next one.

[@johng5859]

Nice to see Adam again! I was apprehensive about this episode before watching it, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable. RTD clearly intended this to be a jumping on point for new viewers, so the Doctor is given quite a lot of exposition to get the newbies up to speed, but it didn’t get in the way of the story. I enjoyed the monster and the traditional running through corridors, and I thought the talking babies worked quite well, and were not too cute - it was amusing to hear the Doctor use the same nicknames for baby Poppy as I use for my dog, who is also called Poppy! There were some nice, tense moments, and I think Ncuti managed to catch the Doctor’s essential essence as a respecter of all forms of life. I was also glad that, while RTD did include a couple of political messages, it didn’t feel preachy or overpower the drama; like MC, I also noticed the callbacks to The End of the World. One thing I could have done without was the Doctor saying “space babies” every five minutes, and while it is nice to see he has already formed a strong bond with Ruby, I hope the hyperactivity they both show on occasion gets toned down, as it risks becoming annoying. The mystery over Ruby’s origins is nicely stoked, though as far as I could see from the TARDIS scans at the end she appears to be fully human - maybe something is deceiving the TARDIS, though? All in all, a solid if unspectacular start to the season - just a shame the next episode proved to be such a crashing disappointment…

[@russytherutan]

This long term fan from 1967 onwards was throughly entertained with both episodes. Ncuti and Millie shone.

[@alexfletcher5192]

I think I learned most things about this season through X osmosis, but I've stayed away from publicity and interviews where possible. Also, life events have not been specifically too great, so that's driven a wedge into it. But I'm trying to think whether I've seen more or less than I did as a kid. Aside from TV news and the odd spot on 'Wogan' or 'Saturday Superstore' or whatever, it all generally came through DWM or 'The Celestial Toyroom' (Yes, there has never been a chance for members of the Appreciation Society to forget the Toymaker - the newsletter is named in his honour!).

[@Jamienomore]

When Millie saw me for the first time she stared at me for a few seconds, then came over, threw her arms round me and said, 'I Love you'. Well...She would if we ever met.🧸🧸

[@seanryan3020]

This actually wasn't the first time the Doctor faced a mucus monster. The last time he faced one that I remember was the eye booger monster in the Peter Capaldi sleep-deprivation episodes (that was when I actually learned what eye boogers are made of, and my takeaway was, "I guess the term really is accurate"). I think Disney is calling this *Season* 1 (we don't call them "series" in the US). Didn't particularly like this episode, nor "Church on Ruby Road." So far, there have been moments that I liked, but not the stories in whole. Nevertheless, I've been a DW fan for nearly 43 years. I've seen the show go through some real shakeups, some of which I was sure the show wouldn't survive, and it's managed to come back so far. The next one, however, is the first of the season that I do actually like. But I'll save my comments for your review on that one.

[@alexfletcher5192]

It's curious how Ncuti is older than both Matt Smith and Peter Davison were at the beginning of their respective eras, but feels much more youthful. Maybe the show has stopped worrying about presenting the character as young. After a billion years, you may as well stop counting.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

Great reaction and I'm glad you two had a good time enjoying this episode I have to say for the episode itself and that's nothing to do with Ncuti and Millie they have a great chemistry in this and were great but the story itself if you can call it a story was crap I feel this was an episode written for 5 year olds the farting spaceship and the snot monster and talking babies it just felt cheap I just thought "Is this all RTD can come up with?" and so much for saying he was going to do something new I really believe RTD is out of ideas by this point and has nothing new to deliver he's recycling scenes that have been done in old episodes which is why he's telling the younger audience to ignore 61 years of history I'm not being mean or anything that's just my honest opinion of the episode I think it could had been done better it just feels very disney and adding on too much fantasy rather than science fiction which was what made Dr. Who a great show in the first place if it hadn't been for the Daleks there would be no Dr. Who today. I agree Dr. Who was always political and I've got nothing against political correctness but I feel RTD overthinks it at times.

[@AmazingWorldoffanboy0278]

This episode was okay dumb fun in my opinion but hey awesome reaction

[@Joey15811]

This one was weird. Out the 2 released i prefer this one. Just a fun idea but this one seems to be getting hate. The lip syncing thing looked off I do want a story about the butterfly effect thing

[@seanryan3020]

Yeah, I was disappointed that more attention wasn't paid to the butterfly idea.

[@davidwebb4451]

​@@seanryan3020The trouble is that such a drastic change undermines how time travel works in Dr Who - where traditionally small changes to the timeline self correct. If that wasn't the case then the Doctor's presence in the past could potentially, like the butterfly flapping its wings affect the weather sometime later. For instance if he travelled back to sometime before 1588 then potentially the storm which dispersed the Spanish Armada (the Protestant Wind) might not have happened.

[@ianbuckley2347]

Nice reaction Marie-Clare. Unfortunately I've decided Doctor Who isn't for me anymore. I watched hoping for just a good story and we got this. You're right Doctor Who has always been political on occasions but I get the feeling that first Chibnall and now RTD are using it as a platform to constantly push their message. Sometimes it'd be nice if he'd just write an entertaining story rather than preaching to the audience. If you like it that's great but there are a lot of long term fans like me that have been pushed away and I think that's sad. It's a shame too because Ncuti and Millie are obviously great together and I'd love to watch them.

[@paulhammond6978]

What exactly are you finding so egregiously preachy about this new series of Who that it's put you off entirely? There are a couple of messages about abortion and refugees in this one, but I don't see how it's any more preachy than RTD making a reference to "missiles that can hit us in 45 seconds" from Aliens of London when stuff about Saddam Hussein having weapons that could hit us in 45 mins was a thing back in 2005.

[@dwvideosandreviewsalsothen9174]

Good, no one cares

[@JackLongbridge]

As much as I like MC, I can't watch this again. I just can't. I've been a Doctor Who fan for over 50 years, and I've never felt so embarrassed by the show and it's main character after watching the first two episodes of "series 1" of Disney Who. I thought Chibnall and Whittaker was bad, but this is another level of cringe.

[@alexfletcher5192]

Already there are complaints about it being too lightweight or whatever. It brings to mind both 'New Earth' and 'Sleep No More' and shamelessly cadges off 'Aliens' too. But that's not really the point. For a brand new audience, only the last of those will be familiar. I was a bit creeped out by the babies and wondered how much this was one of those RTD social commentaries - this time poking at provisions for families with small children. But it's a bit of fun. As we all know, Russell tends to start his seasons like this and the end in earth-shattering dystopia, so I'm not going to judge by this alone.

[@davidwebb4451]

I think this is probably meant as social commentary on abortion in the USA - taking Trump's rants about democrats aborting babies after they are born seriously and pro-lifers often being the same people who support everyone's right to bear arms even though it leads to school shootings. (The company and planet have abandoned these babies to die). There may also be a link to UK asylum policy with the reference to the nearby planet that would take in the babies but only if they get to that planet themselves. The story though is nonsense combined with even worse fart jokes than with the Slitheen.

[@Thoucraggyknob]

Yeah No. This is where I walk away for good. I gave RTD a chance to bring Doctor Who back from the dead, and instead he dubbled down and finished off the show. 45 years a fan, a fan no more.

[@purpleunicornmedia]

Interesting people liked that, it was easiest the worst story I had seen in years IMVHO

[@Joey15811]

Mavity needs to stop now, it’s outstaying.

[@ftumschk]

Don't worry - I think the whole Whoniverse is going to get re-set by the end. I suspect that "mavity" is just part of the alternative reality the 14th and 15th Doctors have found themselves in.

[@davidwebb4451]

​@@ftumschkCan we push the move into the alternative universe back to early in Jodie Whittaker's era so that the reset gets rid of both the Timeless Child arc and "Orphan 55".

[@joshuajoshua2732]

​​​​@@davidwebb4451 It is what it is just accept it and move on they are never getting rid of Jodie Whittaker or the Timeless Child i happen to like "Orphan 55" id rather that than "Space Babies".

[@davidwebb4451]

@@joshuajoshua2732 I wasn't suggesting getting rid of Jodie Whittaker just making most of her and subsequent doctor's episodes take place in an alternative universe, where the history and some scientific rules could be different, so that when we got back to the real universe we could discard the timeless child as canon for the main universe. As for "Orphan 55" my main complaint is that it is scientifically impossible for any large animal to extract energy by breathing CO2. Even plants actually use oxygen to produce energy (breaking down the carbohydrates and sugars they produced using Photosynthesis). Photosynthesis itself is an endothermic process it requires energy from light to split CO2 and the energy you can collect from light isn't enough to allow large creatures to be actively moving around the landscape even on the sunniest day.