Doctor Who Season One Review

Doctor Who recently released Season One as part of a new reboot, here are my thoughts on it
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film tv doctor who dr who review season one reboot Ncuti gatwa millie gibson TARDIS

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Accidentally called Sutekh Sekhet for the entire video but he’s such a boring villain that it actually doesn’t matter

[@outtamybag]

“boring villain” is crazy

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@outtamybag "I want to destroy everything just because" is such a lazy trope

[@outtamybag]

@@MaxDoesMovies that’s not really it, it’s because sutekh believes everything should be dead, that’s what he finds good

[@outtamybag]

@@triplejazzmusicisall1883 agreed

[@wariowarecomix]

​@@outtamybag and that was explored interestingly in this story where?

[@Latriise]

Great point about the sonic screwdriver being changed to not appear like a gun to children (even though it never did - more a magic wand than anything). But then giving a literal child in the show a literal machine gun.

[@dylanotto949]

Gotta love that it's the first time we've had a black/gay actor irl portray the Doctor and he gets stereotyped by the writers like Jodie Whittiaker. They did Ncuti Gatwa so dirty this season it's gross. Amd the fact that we never got a POC historical OR EVEN A WRITER FOR THAT MATTER but 13th's first season had two (Rosa, Demons of Punjab) makes it feel like the show is going backwards in its progressiveness.

[@0greeny0001]

I think the maestro episode was originally intended to be later on in the series and they moved it because they wanted to show the Beatles quickly. Just a theory.

[@Fuges]

18:13 the doctor wasn’t trying to prove he wasn’t a shapeshifter, Rogue said earlier in the episode that he was specifically looking for a Chuldur. He knows what specific species the shapeshifter is, and him just calling the Doctor a shapeshifter instead of specifically calling him a Chuldur suggests he assumed they were the only species of shapeshifters at the scene (not to mention he didn’t have much of a reason to believe there were *other* species of shapeshifter there) The doctor was telling him “yes, I’m a shapeshifter, but I’m NOT a Chuldur”, it’s fair to assume that if the machine scanned a Chuldur, then it would’ve shown it’s true form, but since all doctors are “true” forms of the doctor, it showed all his faces 22:00 the snow was explained, it wasn’t explained very well but it was explained (something about that moment in time being “open” and the snow only appearing when they were within 73 yards of the tardis so technically it was the tardis making it snow and not ruby… it’s dumb but it’s still an explanation)

[@fadeldennawi7133]

Ncuti doesn't feel like the doctor tbh. He just feels like a smart human with a time machine.

[@abdulalsabbagh6523]

I agree with you for the most part. I hated the villains being gods because I never watched klassic who and they were not reintreduced properly. Also I don't understand why not put the toy maker in this season as well since he is also a supernatural being. And the idea of mistro or sutekh just wanting to destroy the universe because they are evil is so boring. If you compare them to the daleks, the daleks have a good reason for being evil but sutekh or mistro just made me think I am watching yu-gi-oh villains. Alson in the empire of death, we see the world ending before even sutekh arrives. we knew immediatly that no one will die

[@redfieldblair]

Gods in classic Who were still rare, the Toymaker, Fenric and the characters in Enlightenment. The latter and first were more like Q in Star Trek, and Fenric is described as something born with the universe - they weren't the magical troupe from outside our universe.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Same, I don't really like the shift towards more supernatural/fantastical stories. I wouldn't mind them if they were explained in a sci-fi way, like the show used to do, but now it just feels like anything can happen, which makes the show boring because The Doctor can just whip up some fantastical solution to a problem

[@dwfan91-]

Great analysis and review, great job keep up the good videos and it was interesting to hear all of your thoughts in detail

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Thanks man

[@donatist59]

The racism issue is problematic. Gatwa may be Black but the Doctor is not "Black". The Doctor has no legacy of slavery, racism, colonialism, or discrimination.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

But other people in the universe will now view The Doctor as black, as some will treat him differently because of that

[@friendlyotaku9525]

However the Doctor in certain situations will be treated differently BECAUSE he's black.

[@snakebabyfc]

So many good points you make which really solidifies how the attempted season is just a mess from the lazy writing to the uninteresting plot points and characterizations. You just got my a new sub :)

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Thank you!

[@downhill18]

The racism in Dot & Bubble didn't even click for me because I interpreted their behaviour as extreme classism because my brain couldn't imagine that in the far future racism goes back to what it was like in our past, like i thought that humanity would have something figured out in the future.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

You would think so, but some people will always be hateful and ignorant

[@christianvondruska8244]

​@@MaxDoesMoviesand yet when the BLACK Doctor goes to the 1800s there is not even a hint of racism there?

[@ineophobe]

​@@christianvondruska8244in the doctor who universe racism isn't real (unless it's convenient for the plot)

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

Apologies for a third comment but I had to mention my thorough enjoyment of this review. KZbin seems full of either sociopathic haters of everything (I mean the really nasty lot) or the sycophantic channels (where it's DW so just don't complain because it's all brilliant). Your review was articulate, intelligent, and honest. The points raised were clear and you seemed to have covered every single important issue that this season got wrong. Nevertheless, praise was given where due. If one thing is certain RTD needs to step aside. He has injected too much of his own self and huge ego into the portrayal of the Doctor and the scripts in general. It left me longing for the past. For past incarnations and companions that felt connected to one another and narratives that were properly structured and realised well on screen. Besides the RTD problem we also now have suggestive signs that Disney's association and the big budget (by DW standards anyway) have not led to a better product. In fact, it has often resulted in the demise of ingenuity and originality. Cop out press a big red button endings for some strange reason always seem to attach themselves to larger budgets. It is a strange correlation. My third and you'll be glad final point, is that a script writer is badly needed and one who has genuine sway with the writers and producers. Until these things are rectified, I fail to see a path that could lead DW out of this mess. It is in the end a another tv show albeit one that in its heydays brought me brilliant, imaginative and creative entertainment. So, I fall into that group that would rather it end than continue with this downwards spiral. As my favourite 12 said,' Everything has it's time and everything ends and it's always sad,but there are new beginnings are they are always happy.' Well as moving as those lines were only the first part has rung true. This 2024 season was touted as Season One with the emphasis on a new beginning. Well, it failed, and viewers were not happy. Let's just let it end and move on.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Thank you for the kind words and feedback. I do agree that the show is getting worse and worse over time, but i don’t necessarily think it needs to end, at least not permanently. I do think it was stupid to reboot the show so soon after the previous era ended, a reboot needs a gap of at least 5 years to work. I also agree that the show runner should not be writing 7 of the 9 episodes in a single season (including the Christmas special), they should instead coordinate the overarching narrative and leave other writers to come up with stories for individual episodes

[@caipugh3873]

Facking brilliant work mate! ihonest to god youll hit a k in no time! up from here.

[@jackalnerf6230]

I’m my opinion a lot of the political messages this season were very shallow. To me the messaging doesn’t go much deeper than “hey did you know that war for profiteering exists?” Ok but what do you have to say about that problem? They’re also indecisive. Space Babies both acts as a metaphor for abortion AND a refugee crisis, which serves neither message as well as it would if it focused. Boom flirts with the *amazing* story telling device that could have been a war against nobody, “they’re in the fog”, but never actually explores this, because it is also trying to focus on a war profiteering and a religious message. Yes I know fabricated enemies and profiteering are connected, but it would have been more effective to focus on one or the other. Imagine if the Doctor and Ruby were thrown into an active war front, spending the whole episode doing typical Dr Who shit, think “the doctors daughter”, and they watch some endearing side character die in an emotional way. Then, at the end of the episode, the Doctor discovers that there was no enemy all along, it was all fabricated, and their loss was for nothing. I think these episodes just needed to be more focused, and really say something about the subject beyond acknowledging “bad thing exist that’s bad.” Ncuti is great, but I just miss the righteous anger of previous doctors. His nuance is great but I’m not convinced by his bigger emotions like in the finale. Also, RTD is writing the Dr way too human again. He did it with Tennant but this is even worse. The Doctor actively flirting and then falling in love with this dude in one episode is just way too fast for this character.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Exactly, you can't reduce a complicated series to eight episodes and still try to tackle the same amount of political/real world issues. Relating to The Doctor being too human, I agree that he fell in love way too quickly. I have to admit, I didn't watch all of Chibnall's era, but from the full series I watched and the other things I've heard, The Doctor struggles with her dynamic with Yaz throughout, so why can they just fall in love instantly now?

[@jackalnerf6230]

@@MaxDoesMovies yeah I was hoping RTD would soften some of his quirks but he’s doubled down. Tough as a viewer who prefers Moffatt’s more alien characterization.

[@ChrissieBear]

It's not a metaphor for abortions, it's a metaphor for pro-lifers not actually caring about babies after they're born.

[@jackalnerf6230]

@@ChrissieBear Chrissie, obviously that’s what I mean. I said “abortion” as shorthand for the debate over abortion.

[@MomradG]

It's so interesting that when things get acquired by Disney, the quality of writing and visuals switch up. DW had bad looking graphics before, but had good writing. Now the show is overall very pretty, but is written badly, among other things

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I have weird feelings about the visuals, everything looks a bit too clean and crisp that it comes off uncanny

[@MomradG]

Yeah, that is very fair. Everything gets perfected out. Or maybe it's the opposite. The TARDIS looks nice with the colored lights, but I wish it was a tad more like the console itself. More machine like. The screwdriver is awful, that's for sure. But the sites, like the snails from Dot.and Bubble looked very DW. It was mostly particle

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@MomradG Yeah there was a weird mix of good and bad visuals, I guess I just prefer the grittier visuals of the earlier seasons

[@friendlyotaku9525]

Disney DO NOT own Doctor Who, they have very little creative input.

[@MomradG]

at least thats what they say. But RTD changing his mind that much (sonic being a pistol, Dawros being in a wheelchair, etc) I do think there is something fishy behind the scenes.

[@exilestudios9546]

i think it ultimately comes down to the very very arbitrary 8 episode seasons, whats the point of even giving a shit if the fucking studio making the show wont let you actually make a full season of television. doctor who needs to be taken out of the BBCs hands because its clear they have no idea what they are doing with it and its clear whatever talent davies had in the early 2000s is long gone.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I think it's definitely Disney that made it 8 episodes, all Disney+ Marvel and Star Wars shows are the same length

[@exilestudios9546]

@@MaxDoesMovies but it's not just Disney that's doing that, nearly every streaming platform is limiting shows to 8 episodes for some fucking reason and it's ruining what could be great shows

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@exilestudios9546 I don't know, TV trends are weird and the decisions studios make are even more so

[@exilestudios9546]

@@MaxDoesMovies ain't that the Truth. Here is hoping this 8 episode trend ends soon for the sake of all entertainment.

[@friendlyotaku9525]

@@MaxDoesMovies Nah that would've been a BBC decision.

[@daybread2417]

I have watched all of new who and I really considered not watching anymore after the Christmas special. Going into the next season the only thing I said I would stop watching for is if they do another music number. Then I was hit with a three minute music video at the end of devils cord.

[@redfieldblair]

Thank you! No notes, just glad to see someone with the same views.

[@ghostface_tardis]

Won’t lie in a couple of years it’ll be nice to see the show rested and maybe taken over eventually with a fresh set of hands. Since the initial revival it’s been ran by the same circle of “fans” with RTD, Moffat and Chibs.

[@totallytoffy]

I think a big problem with modern doctor who is they're trying to get big diversity plus points by having the doctor be a woman or a POC instead of an old white man but still having an OLD WHITE MAN WRITE THE SHOW. Like it feels forced when they say "Good news everyone, no more old white men as the doctor!" but don't have a writer who has the life experience to adequately write "The First Female/Black Doctor." Not every diverse character needs to be written by a person with a matching identity but trying to move forward into a new and diverse era without like hiring a diverse writer to actually fucking run the show is bullshit. I really wish we could've had an arc with Jodie where she actually says something about being a woman. I think the idea of some old man suddenly being a young woman is a very interesting way to explore sexism, toxic masculinity, being transgender, gender, privilege. Over time the doctor could learn to treat her partners better as she realizes how it's kind of fucking annoying to be a woman sometimes

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I agree, it's good to try and tackle these issues but you need the people they actually affect in the room when you tackle them

[@craigix]

Loving these S01 summary videos, every one of them brings up even more plot holes and bizarre plot decisions.

[@Furno52470]

another issue I had didn't necessarily have to do with the show itself, but I'd see clips of the official podcast on instagram, and there was a moment where they brought up Susan Twist as a recurring character, and linking her to the "twist at the end," even before the characters in the show acknowledged having seen the character before. It felt extremely forced that an official podcast was basically telling their viewers what to think about, and what questions they should be asking, pretending that they too were just theorizing. I have no idea how much foreknowledge the hosts of the official podcast have, but having an official podcast discuss each episode and bring up potential plot points that the season is building up to really did not sit well with me.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Yeah I think it's stupid to have a podcast about a show ran by the people that make it, it's structured like Doctor Who is a sports league.

[@lozD83]

This review really aligned with my experience of this season. I don't understand how many other reviewers liked "Dot and Bubble" and "Boom"

[@cosmichobo4216]

This season was a massive disappointment and it has mistakes that could very be fixed with longer episodes or more episodes this series to flesh out The Doctor and Ruby. They also need a more consistent arc along with getting us to know the characters like Ruby’s family and UNIT a bit more. The series episodes feel out of order too, like the series would make more of it was shown in this order. 0. The Church on Ruby Road 1. Space Babies 2. Rogue 3. 73 Yards 4. Boom 5. The Devil’s Chord 6. Dot and Bubble 7. The Legend of Ruby Sunday 8. Empire Death Again this order wouldn’t fix the series but it would at least make sense timeline wise for the characters, at least for me.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I agree mostly with your order, but I think 73 Yards should go before Rogue because of the exchange between Ruby and The Doctor at the end

[@wariowarecomix]

While I did not agree with every interpretation you made in this video it was still well made and I do agree this season was pretty shoddy in quality I really, really miss Doctor Who

[@outtamybag]

TCORR: 2/10 Space Babies: 5/10 The Devils Chord: 9/10 Boom: 7.5/10 73 Yards: 9.5/10 Dot & Bubble: 8.5/10 Rogue: 9/10 TLORS: 9/10 Empire of Death: 5/10 i’ll take any arguments

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

the episodes aren't longer btw

[@MaxDoesMovies]

They’ve gone from roughly 40 minutes to 50+

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

@@MaxDoesMovies nah they were always around 45 minutes and they still are

[@wariowarecomix]

​@@MaxDoesMovies I thought the episode length reverted after the Chibnall era, and the runtimes when watching on Disney+ weren't very long

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@wariowarecomix They felt longer to me but I might be wrong I can't really remember at this point

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

Space Babies the new worst episode of DW ever. Colin Baker congratulations as no longer will The Twin Dilemma be voted the worst. As for The Timeless Child - now there is one close call. This season overall was a dud with some good moments but no good stories (except Boom) and terrible overall multiple arc. Those first two stories were dire. We have now had four seasons of terrible writing - not good Mr. RTD.

[@owenhayes2837]

Space babies is bad yes.. Not the worst episode ever tho. Idiot 's latern is worse

[@TinHe4d]

only thing i didnt really like is the companion, just a really bland person not good or bad just boring

[@shady_arty_lady8262]

I agree

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I think she's a very boring character with little-to-no development

[@lucyairapetian407]

I agree with everything except for the Ruby meeting her mom scene. The road line is terrible but the scene itself brought me to tears every time I rewatched it

[@friendlyotaku9525]

I think it was a good season, my biggest issue was the episodes were far too short on average, I think they needed to be at MINIMUM 50 minutes which episodes were during the previous era, why have we gone back to 45 minutes?! with LESS episodes?! it's baffling.

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

That's four seasons of terrible writing in a row now. Let's hope the newcomers for the next season can lift the standard. Couldn't ever be worse than Space Babies. Jodie's era the timeless dull Ncuti's so far - incoherent juvenile mess

[@Furno52470]

as of right now, the main thing im looking forward to in the show is the potential return of the toymaker for at least one more story. the toymaker's return and story felt much larger than sutekh's return, which shouldn't be a good thing given that he is often stated to be the doctor's most powerful opponent, however NPH's toymaker has easily become one of my favorite villains in the one episode he was in.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I agree, I really like the Toymaker as a character, I just didn't think much of the way he was dealt with

[@olived9560]

ooo interesing!

[@Alexitty17]

Series 1 is proof of how RTD is an incredibly polarising writer and show runner, along with gay as folk

[@BenSmith-od8fc]

6/10? Who gave that review? The BBC 😂 1 is too much

[@nunbxtch]

Personally, I think this rating is pretty solid. I understand that you may not enjoy it, but it’s not to say that NO-ONE enjoyed it. Come on. So many good episodes. 73 Yards is up there with the top 10. In my opinion.

[@_smerte42]

I honestly like this season, I think that 15 is a great doctor, and ruby is a great companion and I agree with you that doctor who is at its best when delivering a political message. While, I don't agree with you on "The Devil's Chord" "73 Yards" and "Dot and Bubble". I think the main problem of this season that contribute to the other problems is: this season is too short, doctor who before this typically have 10-13 episodes (for nuWho, at least), this have 8 episodes, it didn't give us time to breathe and, the transitions from one episode to the next just feels unnatural. Also being extremely rushed, and not planned out. Also, BBC should hire a new person for numbering seasons because this is season one, series 14, and season 40 at the same time. I like how you specify how this video is just your opinion and you don't force anyone to instantly change their opinion of the show just because you didn't like it unlike certain other youtubes (*cough* nerdrotic *cough*) and I like that. you get a subscriber

[@_smerte42]

(btw, I'm terrible at writing my thoughs)

[@MrWibbley]

It's Season 14, not 1

[@fadeldennawi7133]

RTD2 has been so badly written I hate it. Doctor who deserves RYD1 and moffat writing back.

[@michellecgb]

I don’t like the show anymore. I hoped that Ncuti would suck me back in, I was expecting this to be good, but no. I’m rewatching seasons 1 to 10 cause I miss the show, but I won’t be watching the new seasons anymore.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I'll give season two a go just out of curiosity but I'm also currently rewatching the previous era, I'm on season 6 atm

[@michellecgb]

@@MaxDoesMovies I’m on season 4. Donna ❤️❤️❤️

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@michellecgb 11, Amy and Rory are my favourite combo, but I love Donna too

[@michellecgb]

@@MaxDoesMovies they’re the best. I can’t wait to get to them. They have some of my favorite episodes ever

[@MaxDoesMovies]

@@michellecgb What's your favourite episode?

[@unseennarrator]

Gatwa is not a great actor.

[@MaxDoesMovies]

Yes he is, I’ve never seen him give a bad performance

[@alexisdelapeyriere5300]

That's my problem with your criticism in bubbles about racism treatment : saying obvious things out loud has no impact on racist, and is just a way for people acting against racism to tell themself "we are on the good side". But people aren't racist for the sake of it. Sometime it's education, other it's life experiences. But rarely pure evil. And i think insulting them is different than telling them they're horrible person. So subtility (aka showing them the consequences instead of telling them it's bad) is far better in my opinion. And it delivers a positive message instead of a negative one. People don't really want to force themself to become a less terrible personn. But they do want to follow a path to become a better one.

[@ChrissieBear]

I HATE 73 Yards.

[@TylerRaphael-sy1rq]

Why

[@AlexKennedy1999]

​@@TylerRaphael-sy1rqThe ending was hella' disatisfying is the most common reason (it ruins literally everything, to be fair). And in my opinion the episode kinda fell off after the Kate part.

[@MizziProductions]

I didn’t hate it but Ruby’s not a strong enough character/Millie’s not a strong enough actor to carry an entire episode.

[@piranha64]

i agree with most of your points, still better than chibnall tho

[@MaxDoesMovies]

I think that’s debatable, but fair enough

[@rob-890]

It's such rubbish

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

i loved the show and i'm glad its a soft reboot, because the previous era of doctor who peaked in 2012

[@redfieldblair]

For you maybe, if you look at say DoctorWhoTV's user rankings its: 9, 10, 4, 5, 8, 1, 3, 60th specials, 6, 7, 2, 11, 12, 13 which would mean it peaked 2015-17 Personally there's no way I'd put 4 over 5, but otherwise the rankings seem fair. They did a new complete set of votes this year, hopefully they'll be out including the latest series soon - but I would be shocked if this series was over series 9 or 10.

[@wariowarecomix]

I dunno, Capaldi had some of the strongest material the show has ever had

[@redfieldblair]

@@wariowarecomix Damn straight! And They did the votes - series 14 (or season 1 if you so desire) actually ranked BELOW Chibnall's three years. Space Babies did a number on it.

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

@@wariowarecomix for me at least, good acting, okay writing, bad direction

[@wariowarecomix]

@@user-pq9kb3fi3h for me great acting, some of the best writing, and incredible direction especially when rachel talalay got an episode

[@juliandarch9278]

Fruity is not an actor let alone a good one. He plays his own character regardless of the series he's in!

[@resent29]

Tom baker also played himself as the doctor

[@LoneGh0ste]

I think Russel upsold the fandom hard on Ncuti. Yeah he’s cool but he’s doesn’t even crack my top ten of actors who’ve played the Doctor, yet there was so much hype around him and Russel constantly promising we’d be blown away. Then the season comes and he’s…fine? He basically has two modes. Funny whimsical Doctor and OH GOD THE WORLD IS ENDING! And he cries like every episode, he’s like a parody of what people criticized Russel and Moffat for with the big teary speeches of previous Doctors. I think he’s good in the role but he’s never given any interesting nuances or subtlety to his Doctor and a lot of his dialogue is TARDIS wiki runoff. He felt extremely two dimensional to me.