Christmas is a time of peace, goodwill, and celebration. A time for rest, being with loved ones and eating as much food as humanly possible. But that isn’t the case for the Doctor, his Christmas consisted of goblins, stollen babies, a musical number and a new companion. Let’s get into it!
At long last, 2023 saw the return of the Doctor Who Christmas Special. It has been six years since we saw the Doctor on Christmas Day with Peter Capaldi’s final episode in 2017’s Twice Upon a Time.
But who better to bring back this festive tradition than Russell T. Davies and Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
The Church on Ruby Road marks the first full adventure for Gatwa’s Doctor and new companion Ruby Sunday played by Coronation Street’s Millie Gibson.
And while this episode may not be as explosive as you may think for our new Doctor’s first full outing, it’s a very charming introduction that I’m sure will attract new fans as the show discreetly reboots itself.
The Doctor, Davina, goblins, oh my!
Coming off of Davies’s three specials with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, fans were very impressed and excited by Gatwa’s performance in the thrilling finale, The Giggle (me included).
And in his first full episode, his performance continues to impress and excite amongst many other things.
Gatwa is a special case as he felt like the Doctor the minute he appeared on our screens, as sometimes it can take fans a bit of time to get used to a new interpretation.
But just as you fell in love with him in The Giggle, you will fall in love with him all over again from the minute you see him, where he is on a nightclub dancefloor twirling around in a kilt.
He is a delight watch; mesmerising is an understatement. It’s fascinating and exhilarating to see his Doctor take shape as in the process we get to enjoy his hilarious line delivery, modern swagger and passionate beating heart.
Never has a Doctor felt more like the Doctor, his timing is so accurate, and his emotional beats never feel out of place. I can see him becoming a lot of people’s favourite regeneration (or in this case, bi-generation) very soon.
And talking of favourites, I can already see that Gibson’s Ruby Sunday is shaping to be a brilliant companion and a perfect match with our new Doctor.
Gibson radiates likability and intrigue throughout the episode, making her very easy to warm to. It’s a delight to see her family through her foster mother and grandam played by Michelle Greenidge and Angela Wynter.
We also get a mysterious backstory about Ruby when she was a baby, leading us to questions like who gave her away and why? All of which I’m sure will be answered.
Meet Ruby Sunday, the Doctor’s latest companion.
This Doctor and companion combo bounce off each other so effectively as there is clearly a lot of chemistry on and off screen.
And as it’s Christmas, what villain is more fitting than a bunch of baby-eating goblins?
While the goblins are certainly a very fun idea, who come with their own catchy song, I do think that their involvement here seems quite random and there is no particular explanation of where they’ve come from or why they’re antagonising Ruby. As they don’t just want to steal Ruby’s new baby sister, they’ve been giving her bad luck all Christmas long.
Perhaps there is an explanation behind this, at the end of The Giggle, the Toymaker warns the Doctor that his legions are coming, perhaps the goblins are the beginning of a master plan? Or perhaps we’re not supposed to look into it quite so deeply.
Davina McCall is actually a very welcome extended cameo as she does a surprisingly good job.
And Anita Dobson has a small yet significant role as she breaks the fourth wall in the mid-credits scene, which gave me goosebumps. Davies has said to keep an eye on Mrs. Flood which is very intriguing indeed.
We also have some new gadgets. Intelligent gravity (‘mavity’) gloves which help you hold onto anything and a brand-new sonic screwdriver whose design has been very controversial. It isn’t a conventional looking sonic, it’s more like a control panel, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to buy the toy when it inevitably releases.
So as Ruby steps into the TARDIS at the end of the episode, we’re left on the edge of our seats for what’s to come for our new Doctor and companion, and while this episode is on the less spectacular side, it definitely provides some very solid Christmas entertainment and is a fantastic full introduction to the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday.
And we may have to wait until this coming May for Gatwa and Gibson’s first full season, but the first full teaser promises the very welcome return of Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble and Bonnie Langford’s Mel Bush, along with newcomers like Jonathan Groff and Jinkx Monsoon plus lots more fun adventures that’ll take us through time and space and hopefully answers to questions like who is Mrs. Flood and who gave Ruby away all those years ago?
“Never seen a TARDIS before?”
