The Big Picture

“The Church on Ruby Road” is Ncuti Gatwa’s first full-length episode as the Doctor and introduces his new companion Ruby Sunday. The episode embraces LGBTQ+ themes and the concept of found family, making it more welcoming for queer viewers. The episode features a new on-screen villain, adds a mythological element to the series, and introduces a mystery surrounding Ruby’s origin.

After his dazzling debut in the final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” Ncuti Gatwa makes his grand debut in “The Church on Ruby Road.” In the tradition of a handful of past Doctor Who Christmas specials like “The Runaway Bride,” or “The Snowmen,” Gatwa’s Doctor is also introduced to his new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in the upcoming episode. Following his historic bi-regeneration with David Tennant’s 14th Doctor, “The Church on Ruby Road” will be Gatwa’s first full-length episode as the Doctor ahead of the debut of Season 1 in 2024.

Doctor Who The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness. Release Date March 17, 2006 Main Genre Sci-Fi Rating TV-PG Seasons 14 Studio BBC America Streaming Service(s) Disney+

Also returning is writer and showrunner Russell T. Davies, who penned the script for this episode as well as all three 60th anniversary specials. Without giving too much away, the Christmas special follows the Doctor and Ruby on a magical adventure in the sky as they take on a horde of monstrous Goblins intent on gobbling up newborn babies. The episode is both hilarious and emotional, while bursting with holiday cheer. After watching it, audiences will no doubt be counting down the days until the Doctor and Ruby return next year.

“The Church on Ruby Road” Is a Soft Reboot for ‘Doctor Who’

Written by Davies, “The Church on Ruby Road” gives us a taste of what we can expect from the next era of Doctor Who. This episode certainly works as a good starting place for new viewers hoping to get into the series for Gatwa. While it doesn’t delve too deeply into the Doctor’s history, seasoned viewers will still find lots of Easter eggs and references to be excited about. Gatwa’s Doctor has shades of both Christopher Eccleston’s Nine and Tennant’s Ten, which makes sense as those are the two Doctors for whom Davies served as showrunner in the early 2000s. While Gatwa absolutely makes the Doctor his own, the care with which he approaches the role is evident, ensuring that you can see elements of each past regeneration in his performance.

Davies already made Doctor Who a more welcoming place for the queer community in his first set of episodes by exploring LGBTQ+ themes and the gender spectrum with characters like the Doctor and Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney). I am delighted to say that that continues in “The Church on Ruby Road.” While we won’t spoil anything, Davies, who is part of the community himself, has made sure that LGBTQ+ viewers can see themselves in the episode. And beyond the mere presence of queer characters, including the Doctor, the episode centers around the concept of found family, which is a popular narrative that queer audiences gravitate towards. Doctor Who by its very nature has long featured this element as each TARDIS team tends to turn into a chosen family over time. However, it’s much more explicitly stated in “The Church on Ruby Road” as the Doctor and Ruby connect over their common backgrounds.

True to form for the series, the episode is a hearty mix of campy fun and strong emotional beats that may or may not bring a tear to your eye. With elements like the Goblin song and Gatwa’s natural charisma and charm keeping things light and fun, audiences can expect to laugh a lot during this episode. Meanwhile, Ruby’s backstory and the Doctor’s refreshing emotional vulnerability ground the fairly fantastical episode in a moving narrative perfect for a Christmas special. Under the direction of Mark Tonderai, the episode mixes realism with whimsy and features a delightful cameo appearance from English television presenter Davina McCall.

‘Doctor Who’ Introduces New Villains and a Mystery in “The Church on Ruby Road”
Image via BBC

Like past Christmas specials, this episode introduces a new on-screen villain for the Doctor with the Goblin King and his ship full of tiny mischievous goblins seeking to unleash chaos on the most unsuspecting targets. With largely practical effects, these little critters are the perfect mix of terrifying and adorable, and their ship is like something straight out of Peter Pan.

From an alarmingly catchy musical number to a villain that seems more magical than alien, Davies is adding a more mythological element to the long-running sci-fi series. Having opened the door for himself to do so by having the Doctor invoke a myth at the edge of the galaxy in “Wild Blue Yonder,” Davies is approaching the series with renewed gusto and an even more creative vision than his initial run with the story.

The episode also introduces a mystery around the origin of the Doctor’s new companion, Ruby Sunday, that will stick with the character into the future. It’s unclear whether Davies will weave a Steven Moffat-style reveal into who her parents are, or if the ultimate lesson of Ruby’s puzzling existence is for her to find out who she is, regardless of where she comes from. Whatever happens, with Gibson being as charming as she is in this role, it will be a delight to watch Ruby find herself among the stars.

Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson Shine as the Doctor and Ruby Sunday

As the Doctor himself, Gatwa has big shoes to fill in “The Church on Ruby Road,” and he does so beautifully, with all the charisma and gravitas needed to play such a legendary character. And don’t worry, he also has a sense of play and the massive heart (or two) to guarantee the Doctor is still a silly little guy who can’t help but care so much. Gatwa is genuinely perfect for this role and is likely to become many viewers’ favorite Doctor very, very quickly. He’s funny, a little bit weird, and incredibly kind, in exactly the way that the Doctor should be.

In addition to Ruby, we also get to meet her adoptive family, Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and Cherry Sunday (Angela Wynter) who are endlessly lovely and a little bit reminiscent of Donna’s (Catherine Tate) family, though they definitely have stronger Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) vibes than Sylvia (Jacqueline King). The Sundays are working-class queens who have so much love for each other and the people around them that it pours out of them in every interaction they have on screen. While Ruby will likely spend a lot of her adventures with the Doctor far away from home, Greenidge and Wynter give her present-day, London-based story a welcome layer of warmth.

Together, Gatwa and Gibson are a joy to watch. With both actors having described the relationship between Ruby and the Doctor as a pair of giggling besties, “The Church on Ruby Road” makes it abundantly clear how easy it is for the two of them to become fast friends. Following in the footsteps of past iconic Doctor/Companion duos like Ten and Donna or Eleven and Amy, Fifteen and Ruby have a quick back-and-forth banter and an instant connection that will have viewers looking forward to seeing them travel the universe together.

Rating: 8/10

“Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road” will be available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S. starting December 25 at 12:55 PM ET. You can watch the rest of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials on the streamer right now.

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