Space Babies spoilers ahead!!
(Even though I’m posting this several weeks after it aired, but shush!)
Space Babies is the first episode of ‘Season 1’ of Doctor Who. It stars Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson and his companion, Ruby Sunday.
General Thoughts on Space Babies
Firstly, I like that the informative opening is there. It seems a bit boring and like an exposition dump, but for old fans it’s not dragged out or made a big deal of (considering we’ve watched most of it already). For new fans, it brings them up to speed on a lot of things they kind of need to know without needing to watch a whole backlog just to understand what’s going on.
Another thing I like is how the Doctor is noticeably lighter and more free. He is less weighed down by the baggage the 13th and 14th Doctors were dealing with, which is very refreshing.
This episode reminds me a lot of The End of the World, with the 9th Doctor and Rose. Ruby gazes down at a planet and phoning her mum after the Doctor zaps her phone, and it is a bit too close to that scene for my liking. Whether or not this was intentional, I don’t know. New fans probably won’t notice but for me, it just made me miss the 9th Doctor.
Some of the space babies did not look like they were happy or enjoying whatever was going on. It makes some of the lines not match the babies’ expressions and it sometimes looks odd. But, working with actual babies is difficult and this was probably the best they could have done with it.
I also like that the hints about Ruby’s mysterious past isn’t just a repeated phrase like it has been before. I like that the characters are noticing the snow and point it out as weird. It feels like it could be included in other episodes and expanded upon without ruing the mystery or finale.
Finale
The reveal that the bogeyman is created by a broken software that uses the titular space babies bogies is both hilarious and disgusting. It’s also well set up with the babies all having their noses blown near the beginning. Even though this creature has a technical source (the computer software breaking), it still has the theme of superstition.
I would like to point out how good Ncuti Gatwa’s acting is as the Doctor decides to save the bogeyman. The earlier explanation of it being the only one of it’s kind, like the Doctor said he was at the beginning, and the raw emotion on the Doctor’s face makes it a brilliant scene. It also make me excited for what we’ll see from Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor.
Social Commentary
This episode has some very real associations to the real world. The fact that the baby making machine can’t be turned off immediately brought to mind abortion bans, and babies are only being cared about until they are born but not after. It also brings up the fact that the babies can’t go anywhere since to be a refugee, you have to ‘show up on someone else’s shore’ (paraphrasing). It brings up a lot for people to think about, should they wish to.
Humour and Misc Stuff
Ruby’s excitement to see dinosaurs and the resulting butterfly effect joke are funny and amazing. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to see dinosaurs if they could time travel? As a Star Trek fan, I appreciated yet another mention of it in Doctor Who (and yes, can we please go one day since Supernatural managed it with Scooby Doo).
I like that the mavity joke is continuing in the background. The implications of the salt and reality bending and more supernatural elements being involved (and I know that more are coming) are interesting and exciting. Hopefully, different stories can be told now that there is a reason for more magical and fantastical elements being there without scientific explanation.
I did not enjoy the space station moving looking like the gas was coming out of a bum, but I’m sure kids will find it funny, I guess.
Overall
Overall, Space Babies isn’t my favourite opening to a series. It is similar to the early episodes of the 9th Doctors season, and shares some campiness. Still Space Babies is a good episode with some great acting on Ncuti Gatwa’s part.
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Want to read another of my blog posts about Doctor Who? Check out my Tales of the Tardis Review here.