Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. This Christmas Day, in the festive Doctor Who special, titled The Church on Ruby Road, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) meets the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth.
This year’s Christmas special, despite its very silly nature, works incredibly well and is joyful to watch, marking the start of a brand new and (hopefully) special era for the show, now airing on Disney+ worldwide. It features a wonderful introduction for its two new stars, Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as the new time-travelling duo – but just how good could a plot about baby-stealing Goblins be?
ENTER… THE FIFTEENTH DOCTOR
One of the benefits of having the bi-generation during the 60th Anniversary specials is that Ncuti’s first full outing as The Doctor doesn’t seem to have the post-regeneration emotional dumping or any of that new era exposition we’ve known to expect, especially very clear in 12 and 13’s regenerations seen in Deep Breath and The Woman Who Fell To Earth.
From his first moments in The Giggle, I’ve had a strong feeling about Ncuti’s iteration of The Doctor. That feeling is a good one, which was confirmed with his debut story – Ncuti brings a much-needed younger, fresh vibe to the character not seen since Matt Smith took over the role of The Doctor back in 2010. He is excitable, whilst very mature and it is clear that Ncuti will be having a great amount of fun in this role. I look forward to more in Spring 2024…
From his interactions with Ruby throughout the full special, or his smaller moments meeting Ruby’s mother and grandmother, it is incredibly charming to see him also displaying a number of additional talents in the episode, especially once face to face with the Goblin King!
A NEW COMPANION JOINS THE TARDIS
From the get-go, Ruby Sunday is a breath of fresh air for the TARDIS, with Millie Gibson bringing her Northern charm to the role. Ruby gets a very special scene in this episode where she does decide to go on this amazing adventure with The Doctor and it is just full of so much excitement, like a wonderful representation of her realising who this strange man she’s met is, and all the adventures he gets to go on. We have seen moments like this play out on so many occasions in the 60 years of the show, but there is something so different about this one – it is simply brilliant.
Gibson and Gatwa as a pairing just works so well from the get-go. They have various first meetings, almost like coincidence but it is when they first interact in a nightclub (a lovely touch mirroring how RTD met his husband many years ago in Manchester) that they snap and the chemistry between the two gets cooking.
Despite some of the episode’s more fun, and coincidental antics, I think a lot of the stuff surrounding Ruby and her background is incredibly grounded, providing a more nuanced outlook on the special. One minute you can have a band of Goblins singing about eating kids but then moments later you’re getting some really great character work with Gibson’s clear talents shining through.
GOBLINS?
The story of the special heavily involves space Goblins, obsessed with eating children – the perfect 6 pm viewing for families on Christmas Day. The practical design of the Goblin King is exquisite, and the assistance of CG adds to the design too. It is very reminiscent of the time when RTD was in charge of CBBC’s Wizards vs. Aliens, which involved a huge puppet, voiced by Brian Blessed, which consumed the life energy of numerous wizards, however, this time around it is poor babies falling victim to RTD’s concepts.
The recent campaign to get “The Goblin Song” to No. 1 in the official charts has been a delight to see on social media. One does hope we get an extended edition released at some point down the line, following the special! The song itself is fine, it serves its purpose as silly exposition in the spirit of Christmas, with these specials never taking themselves too seriously. Robotic Santas, spinning Christmas trees, and of course, the silliest of them all – a superhero.
I could honestly listen to Murray Gold’s score for hours, both the Goblin theme and the Fifteenth’s Doctor theme are great, especially when the first fades and becomes the second during an exciting sequence during the end of the special’s first act.
The set decoration is gorgeous, both Ruby’s flat and the Goblin ship both decorated to the brim, with plenty of great details. The Goblin ship is easily the highlight of the episode in terms of presence, all the ropes, hidden doors and ventilation shafts all work together to create the intriguing ambience – really selling the idea it is a huge, ship floating above London in the clouds.
DOCTOR WHO? WHAT?
This special is very much classic RTD at Christmas. I think it’s great and all of the elements come together by the end, resulting in a festive treat. The appearance of Davina McCall. whilst completely ridiculous, brilliantly opening a door to some wonderful background work for new companion Ruby, as well as giving her a chance to portray an emotive companion minutes after meeting her for the first time.
“Mavity” gets another call back after its introduction in Wild Blue Yonder, a very nice touch and something I expect RTD to continue to pursue into Ncuti’s Season 1. Great that he’s already doing it to be honest, I look forward to seeing how long he keeps doing it as a bit.
Fans of a certain Chibnall-era piece of lore will be delighted to hear that the show continues to acknowledge its presence and it is clear as day that RTD is not planning on ignoring it in the slightest! A great touch that both the current companion and The Doctor are considered foundlings, both with no clue who their parents are…
FINAL THOUGHTS
I ended up loving this year’s Christmas Special, thanks to its signature silly moments that fit the mould for a Christmas special, whilst also being a very grounded episode too. Millie Gibson is a delight, bringing some much-needed northern charm to her performance as Ruby Sunday. Seeing her and Ncuti interact was just wonderful, especially in some huge set pieces backed by even more terrific music from Murray Gold. The Goblins are certainly an interesting choice, but end up being a very unique villain with some cool themes.
Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road arrives on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ worldwide on Christmas Day. Check out the trailer below:
