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Post by shallacatop on May 11, 2024 22:02:33 GMT
I thought it was bizarre. Some great moments, but some equally poor and there’s nothing holding it all together. As others have said, I’m not really sure who it’s intended for? It’s so heavy handed as an introduction to the show that it’s largely meaningless in places for regular viewers / fans, but it’s exposition without substance for anyone new. I’m not really sure why they didn’t lean into an introduction through Ruby’s eyes rather than the Doctor just explaining for the audience; it’s practically fourth wall at points. It’s a far cry from RTD crafting Rose, or even Smith & Jones and Partners in Crime.
Ncuti & Millie are wonderful, the babies cute (although I agree that the mouths and voices weren’t as well executed as they could be) and I liked the revelation about the Bogeyman. It’s just stuck in weird and frantic trappings.
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Post by shallacatop on May 11, 2024 22:18:32 GMT
The amended title sequence is much better. Everything flows nicer, I like the added detail and the logo looks great, although the green one from the promo posters is even better.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on May 11, 2024 22:25:17 GMT
I thought this was a lot of fun. The lip syncing was a but naff sometimes, but it kinda suited the absurdity of the situation. And I like how they spliced it with the babbies 'acting'. XD It made me feel bad for a sentient bogey, and worked a surpluss of nappies into the resolution.
I was a little torn on the crash course in the show's history. On one hand, it felt a bit over-stuffed. On the other, it does show how emotionally open and honest this incarnation is. Did he even tell them his real name at the end?
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Post by 20fridge on May 11, 2024 23:48:28 GMT
This was a fun one. It wasn't the strongest episode, but still a good start. I can't help but compare the snot monster to the eye booger monster from Sleep No More. I liked this one better. The lip-synching on the babies was not great, but it was an otherwise enjoyable episode.
One thing that really struck me was how RTD balanced the Timeless Child stuff with the themes of the episode (and I suspect the season). I think the idea of the Timeless Child is an interesting one that was let down by Chris Chibnall's execution. This episode shows how to integrate the idea into a story to enhance the story.
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Post by readyproductions on May 12, 2024 2:58:00 GMT
I just had a thought. It is mentioned in the episode that "The Company" runs the Baby Station. What if it turns out to be Triad Technology? The Doctor also points out that the space babies were abandoned just like Ruby was. "You were abandoned, like this lot. If things connect, then you are connecting like crazy". Coincidence? I Think Not!
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Post by mark687 on May 12, 2024 9:25:14 GMT
It reminded of Partners in Crime plenty of time to showcase the Doc/Companion dynamic, thin plot.
Regards
mark687
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Post by fitzoliverj on May 12, 2024 9:44:55 GMT
Well, I don't think that was a particularly good idea, but for the most part it was executed well. Rather childish, though, and a few dodgy lines, but not the worst I've seen. RTD introduced another Time Lord we've not seen before called The Bishop. Presumably The Monk and The Bishop are different individuals. The Monk goes back and forward in time; the Bishop can only move diagonally!
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Post by sherlock on May 12, 2024 10:07:51 GMT
Linear overnight ratings (so not including iplayer) are in. They are brutal:
Eurovision itself got 7.6 million viewers, so clearly putting Who near it didn’t boost as 5 million turned up only for the contest. Curious to see how iPlayer changes things…
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Post by shallacatop on May 12, 2024 10:14:16 GMT
The actual number aside, around 10% of your viewers immediately jumping off not wanting to go into the next episode is my main takeaway. I don’t think we’ll see that level of detail from Disney+, as they usually do it on minutes viewed so it’ll skew higher with a double bill, but would be interested to see a similar per episode breakdown.
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Post by timleschild on May 12, 2024 10:32:29 GMT
Linear overnight ratings (so not including iplayer) are in. They are brutal: Eurovision itself got 7.6 million viewers, so clearly putting Who near it didn’t boost as 5 million turned up only for the contest. Curious to see how iPlayer changes things… Seems to indicate that maybe the move to a midnight iPlayer release has impacted on live broadcast viewers. The Woman Who Fell to Earth got 8.2million overnight & that was on a Sunday which some fans claimed was a bad timeslot. Even taking into account that in the age of streaming overnight viewing figures may not be as important as they once were that is a hell of a drop off especially given that its fan favourite RTD at the helm.
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Post by thegreendeath on May 12, 2024 20:29:15 GMT
Really didn’t enjoy that at all. Really hope it lands for the public at large and I love Who doing well in the popular consciousness, though for me I think it’s time to take a break (gave RTD2 4 specials and 1 episode and liked each less than the one before).
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Post by nardolespinoffwhen on May 12, 2024 21:33:48 GMT
Second time around with this one tonight. I found myself enjoying it much more that I did Friday night.
Possibly because I'd got used to the *space* babies.
Still not top tier but if I was ranking the RTD 2 era so far this would be in fourth out of six.
It is interesting that I always tend to find myself enjoying episodes more on the rewatch. I suspect it's because my expectations are then managed and I'm not sitting there thinking "oh Zoe Heriot will appear in a minute!" (just a common thought I have... 😅)
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Post by bethhigdon on May 13, 2024 1:44:01 GMT
Really didn’t enjoy that at all. Really hope it lands for the public at large and I love Who doing well in the popular consciousness, though for me I think it’s time to take a break (gave RTD2 4 specials and 1 episode and liked each less than the one before). Given how it's already available to watch anyways, you might want to check out The Devil's Chord before you make up your mind completely. General consensus is, is that's better than Space Babies and is mostly the reason both episodes were released together.
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Kestrel
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,693
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Post by Kestrel on May 13, 2024 3:04:22 GMT
Regarding the Timeless Child/Chibnall stuff, while I completely understand (and, to an extent, agree with) why some fans would rather we all just quietly pretend that stuff never happened, and while I may think that would be the better writing choice, I do feel the need to (perhaps unnecessarily) point out that there is a broader context here in which it is the *right* choice. First and foremost, it does not alienate fans of the 13th Doctor's era (who, yes, do exist) nor fans of the Timeless Child reveal itself (who maybe exist?); it's also respecting the creative choices Chris Chibnall made -- someone who is, if not a friend, at the very least a past-and-likely-future colleague of RTD. Though I might argue that RTD is treating that creative choice with far more respect and nuance -- and to a far greater extent -- then Chibnall ever did. Linear overnight ratings (so not including iplayer) are in. Dropoff from ep1 to ep2 is smaller than I'd've thought, which I think is a good thing. Certainly, if I was not a Doctor Who fan, or if I was a lapsed Doctor Who fan checking on the series for the first time in a long while, I'm not sure if I'd still feel like moving on to The Devil's Chord after Space Babies.So my takeaway is that 90% of people made it all the way through Space Babies and said to themselves, "Yeah, I'll watch one more." That is a victory, I think.
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Post by martinw8686 on May 13, 2024 8:17:33 GMT
This one is 50/50 for me. Ncuti and Millie are fantastic, as is the production. I get the heavy handed info dump for this soft rebooted era and it wasn't too painful given Ncuti's fine delivery. The Bogeyman was scary and well designed, I enjoyed the journey of monster to misunderstood creation.
My only gripe is the space babies themselves , who are creepy and a little too twee as a concept for my liking. I understand the show needs to include children as a key element of it's family audience but it was just too "babyish" a concept for me, as I imagine it would be for the average 12 years watching the show.
I was hoping I'd misread the title and would instead be tuning into an episode entitled Space Rabies, oh well perhaps in a alternative universe such an episode exists.
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Post by Chakoteya on May 13, 2024 8:23:21 GMT
RTD still running with the 'I was adopted' garbage then. Not finished watching yet because it has been too nice weather to sit in front of a computer screen, but what I've completed so far... very lowest common denominator comedy.
If only it were possibly to slow down the iPlayer playback a tad so I could actually hear everything Ncuti is saying clearly rather than relying on subtitles. He says his lines just that bit too quickly for me to catch it all. Or is that just an age thing?
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Post by timleschild on May 13, 2024 8:30:33 GMT
How on earth anyone can use the word victory when discussing these ratings is incredible. About 50% drop off from the xmas special. The lowest ratings of Nu Who since Legend of the Sea Devils. Even though I didn't like this story I do think the early iPlayer drop has contributed, a bad decision that they cannot go back on now. Certainly nothing to do with the weather as I've heard elsewhere.
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Post by theillusiveman on May 13, 2024 8:50:14 GMT
So The Doctor and Ruby face off against a monster made by snot with a bunch of talking babies in space who use used nappies to get the ship to the destination at the end
As the first episode of a new season of a new continuation/reboot
Just what the hell happened to the show that the curse of fatal death feels more like an authentic serious Who story than this
the only good things was the chemistry between Ncuti and Millie and the John Debney tv movie inspired music at the beginning of the episode
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Post by timleschild on May 13, 2024 11:12:44 GMT
Just what the hell happened to the show that the curse of fatal death feels more like an authentic serious Who story than this Most accurate assessment so far, sadly.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2024 14:58:29 GMT
I didn't want to add my viewpoint to this thread before I'd gauged the reaction from people here. After all, everyone might have really loved this, and there's nothing worse than a relentless whinger sucking the life out of everyone's enjoyment, is there? As the general view is mainly average at best, however, I thought I'd add my opinion. And if you enjoyed the episode, I'd advise you to skip the following pathetic rant. In fact, I've put it in spoilers - there are no spoilers, but I don't want to annoy anyone who enjoyed it - because I didn't, I'm sorry to say.
{Spoiler} I have to be upfront: I haven't seen this to the end (just as I didn't see the Goblin story to the end). After 50 years of not missing an episode, I actually couldn't get though it without yelling at the television. Yes, RTD's Christmas specials are notoriously lightweight, and yes, RTD's series openers are equally undemanding, although these are excuses that just don't wash here; this is astonishingly bad.
Back in 2005, RTD drip-fed information about the Doctor and the Time Lords over a few episodes so as not to overwhelm or bore the casual viewer. Here, 20 years later, the latest Doctor explains who he is to Rose #2 (for the sake of any new viewers who might have been hooked by the generous publicity): "I was adopted. They were a bit posh." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that's the gist. That's how the mysterious traveller in time and space describes himself and the new, controversial Timeless Child idea to his bubbly new travelling companion - funny he's not mentioned it previously over the last 50 years isn't it? Who is this pre-nursery dialogue for?
For a show that has weaved diversity and inclusivity into its stories convincingly and seamlessly since 2005 (or before), to have it all 'messaged' with the subtlety of a sledge-hammer is deeply patronising and clumsy. I do lay all this at RTD's door, because he has been so vociferous about the brilliance of his new vision for Doctor Who, and scathing to those who don't rate it. To misquote the Sixth Doctor, "I'm the showrunner whether you like it or not." And quite honestly, I wonder if he's using this show he claims to love as an audition for being a writer for Disney, or if he has lost the plot. Because this is dire television and a heart-breaking dumbing down of my favourite show.
But don't worry - there's Disney budgets to wow us. We don't need drama, pathos, character, a plot. Just fill the screen with cartoon CGI and RTD can spread the thinnest of pre-nursery plots over the running time with a few scenes first done more effectively years earlier. Throw back those jowls, Russell, and guffaw about Doctor Who fans who 'don't like change.' Don't display any humility at all. These miniscule viewing figures - only the recent Sea Devils story got lower - would be bad news at the arse-end of a series, but to get two-and-a-half million for a saturation-promoted 'all new' series opener, with a bold new Doctor and state-of-the-art effects (propped up by the Eurovision event that scored nearly 8 million)... well, its pretty poor whichever way you look at it. It's almost as if the audience has turned it's back on this charmless new style. Less than 2 million in a couple of weeks, anyone? Hopefully the I-Player and catch-up figures will lend a few crumbs of favour for this new 'fantasy' version of Doctor Who. But, good grief, serve up shit like this and you deserve to go down the plughole.
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