"Did it suck?" Five seconds later "How do I even begin to climb this mountain of turd?" I guess that saves us 19 minutes of waiting for the answer then!

The Doctor correcting himself whenever he calls them just babies makes no sense since 12 literally said how dumb it is just putting space in front of everything

This is what some of us deserve for slating the Capaldi era.

The Sarah Jane adventures had darker stories

I knew the moment those babies "spoke" that Harry was gonna hate this episode 😂😂😂

Those first two episodes are two of the worst things ever seen by eyes. It's absolutely fucking dreadful. I think I'm finally done with it.

Great review! The only point that made me recoil a little was the mocking of the "I've been to the end of time and back" remark - it seemed clear to me that he simply meant that in all of his travels he's never seen something specifically like a historically-altered memory flashback causing elements from said flashback (such as snow) to manifest in the present time and location. That's it. I really don't think he was making a claim that it's one of the weirder things he's seen, just that it was unique and not something he understood. That said the whole scan thing that follows it feels very "Moffat wanting his female companions to be the most important people in creation (aside from the Doctor) regardless of how creepy the Doctor's attempts to investigate make him seem". Though.. I reckon that's why Ruby got a key so early.

the 6 years of babies’ nappies didn’t stop the ship from being able to fly. it’s a space station, it was never able to fly. the doctor just used it to propel the station (as daft as that is). they literally say this in the text of the episode.

watched this episode while coming down off mushrooms and found the babies talking really funny for some reason so i quite enjoyed it

You can tell how abused the Doctor Who fanbase has been with how much excusing this episode there’s been and just pretending it’s just some light hearted fun when… no. This episode is unmitigated garbage. 😂 The plot makes no sense, the characters are morons, the gimmick is insanely cringe, the lip synching is awful, the twist comes out of nowhere and the messaging is handled with such a blunt lack of subtlety that even Orphan 55 is telling this episode to be less obvious with its messaging. There is absolutely nothing of value here except the snow scene, because it had nothing to do with the actual episode. 2/10

Space Babies was terrible, much better than Chibby stories but, still terrible. It was filled with inconsistencies and plot holes. It's nice to see from the behind the scenes stuff that even Ncuti wasn't 100% sold on the idea of the episode. Also he makes clear that it's not a ship, its a space station which can't move. He uses the methane build-up to give the station a push. No idea how they plan to slow it down though when it gets to the planet.

We didnt even get a jelly babies reference

Hearing this new Doctor talk about Gallifray and the death of his people... with no weight? When Rose got told after Episode 2 and after her seeing Earth get destroyed. Knowing everything would end, but they go back to Earth, and its time for chips - its time to live in the moment, not dread it. Martha holding her ground and wanting to know... after a brief description of a world the Doctor was nostalgic for, talking about with admiration, hearing the Face of Boa's final words - "You Are Not Alone" - everything leading to a conversation we heard before, sure, but the moment doesn't linger; it gives privacy, it looms upwards to a reborn world, as a story we heard is told once more, and we know - we know its being treated with respect... Just wow. Also I did edit this; because I only realized how good the actual moment with Martha was, I'm not a huge fan of Martha, but welldone.

I thought the Monster was made of.... other stuff. The Doctor's reaction made me think it was made of... you know, the stuff babies are made of? To be honest, that's absolutely what Torchwood would have done

I just don’t get what all the ‘mainstream’ critics are watching when they’re giving Dr Who 4&5/5’s across the board 🤷‍♂️

2:36 yeah the the whole anti butterfly switch which was the doctor quickly lying to Ruby. The doctor doesn’t know why time was more sensitive at that moment, hence his confused frown. I think it’s supposed to be apart of the season arc. But for now it’s just one really expensive passing joke

Right. Great video but you didn’t have to drop the fact that the end of the world was 19 years ago that’s actually insane 😭

I enjoyed The Devil’s Chord all the way until the dance number at the end. A simple heartfelt goodbye to The Beatles and Cilla Black, encouraging them to keep making music, would have been way more effective than that corny song.

Thing is, I ENJOYED Space Babies. But only because I was making dinner at the same time and not stopping to think about it. Only because I pushed through Chibnall's era out of dr who loyalty and i'll basically sit through any concept at this point. And only because The Giggle was so frustratingly disappointing to me that I wholeheartedly accepted it was going to be fluff. And even then, once Devils Chord [spoilers redacted] I retroactively went 'no I demand better than this' and as an opening to a 'season 1' for people who have never seen the show ... what were they thinking. Devils Chord also feels like noise for toddlers though, so... yeah i dunno.

I always thought ruby sundae sounded like the name of a gta stripper

Ruby as a character is the vanilla Generic Companion Template without any alterations.

I think what feels off about the intro is the fact there are cuts in it. All the previous ones have had hidden wipes or are just a full one shot at least in New Who. The hard cuts to the TARDIS just makes it feel wrong

I love your reviews so much. When I saw this uploaded I was soooo excited.

Excellent review as usual Harry, I'm vaguely curious to see how the Steven Moffat episode pans out in this era lol - certainly these first two episodes strike me as much more pantomime than i reckon is suitably engaging for a family audience right - dare i hope for a dash of mature characterisation, interesting dialogue, challenging themes that aren't predictable and bland metaphors? We'll see how this develops but I'm setting my expectations to minimum 😂

It’s refreshing to hear someone talk sense about this episode. It rlly feels like about as lazy and careless as writing can be. I feel like a lot doctor who fans will love and defend whatever there shown no matter what. I think in a few years there will be more of a consensus however.

Finally an actual constructive video disliking this. So many toxic channels hating on this for "diversity" makes me hate parts of this fanbase.

Loving this new format of videos

He played the push the button. At least we're on the same page there. I thought of the exact same song lol

my hopes got dashed that the boogeyman was not the classic villain the Krynoid returning

just because he said “i’ve been to the end of time and back and i’ve never seen anything like this before” doesn’t mean he was saying the snow was worse than that, just that he’s never seen it before. he’s just pointing out how much he’s seen, but still never seen anything like that. it’s more about his experience than the threat level.

0:00 for a moment I thought the audio was cut off, then I realised you were disappointed… 😂

I really hope 15 isn't scared every episode but I don't think it's looking great, he's meant to be a hero, cool & collected majority of the time with outbursts being so rare it's unstartling when they do happen. Having him be scared at the monster in space babies, the drag queen in devils & im guessing BOOM he's going to be scared of the landmine.

Totally agree with your review. I LOVE Doctor Who, I’ve been a fan since the 70’s. And yes, I’ve seen some shockers in my time (I’m looking at you, 1980’s) BUT this episode was a complete embarrassment. Two out of 10 feels a touch too generous. So, has “Space Babies” put me off watching more this season? Of course not, I’m a Whovian! Could it deter the casual viewer? Absolutely!

Just saying I preferred just having the narration from you only, what was the decision to insert yourself in video now?

When I heard your first few words, I knew I was in for a treat.

I'm honestly convinced this was thrown together out of an old SJA script Russel has lying around somewhere

5:09 There are two people in this world: The ones that thought of ‘The Sugarbabes’. and The ones that were correct this entire time and thought of ‘The Chemical Brothers’. Hahaa!

My lord. I couldn't do your job. Keep it up bro.

As soon as the babies started talking, it immediately turned into super baby geniuses

Hello darkness my old friend - watching Harry talk about this episode is heart breaking. You can genuinely tell his disappointment about the episode. I'm with you on that as well.

If the lever made it so they weren't affected then Donna wouldn't say Mavity but continue to use Gravity while the rest of the earth says Mavity, no?

This whole episode I was like - Harry's review is gonna be super charged with sarcasm

I have been a fan of this show since the I started watching it in my first year of primary school in the mid seventies. I yearned for it's return during the wilderness years and I loved most of Nuwho but for the sake of sanity, please put this dreck out of it's misery!!! 😮

I can’t wait to see the numbers XD.

Brilliant review. New subscriber. You are amazing at commentary and everything you say is mostly what im thinking but funnier .😊

that opening from you is exactly what I expected, and honestly...how i felt too after the episode ended

Dude. I liked your video without even watching it.

You’re a real one Harry

Russ's Kill the Moon

Can sum up both episodes in one word "Crap"

When one of the babies turned out to be called Eric made me laugh. Cause all i could think of was Eric Saward. Please tell me it wasnt just me

Whilst i didn't hate this episode as much as some, it definitely went off the fucking rails. Second episode was much better imo

It’s interesting the naming of the blocks of episodes. The first series when it returned in 2005 was ‘Series 1’. The 14th series when it went to Disney is called ‘Season 1’, how the Americans refer to a series. Speculation is that this is an American first series, built for the ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ audience. Others think this is a meta-narrative thing where Ruby has created a universe around her… somehow like how people thought Matt Smith’s era was a manifestation of Amy Pond’s imagination mixed with the doctor regenerating. But really, never attribute to imagination what you can corporate meddling hahaa!

This episode reminded me of Baby Geniuses. That's probably not a good thing, lol!

In the beginning I was creeped out, then I laughed HARD!

Great observations, brutally honest and funny. And yes, this episode was all over the place, good grief!

8:40 Look how far we got from Twilight and their demon baby, though. 13:35 To be fair Doctor does have more than one truck in the back this season, so there is much less space. 17:20 Those first episode - not really, she kinda is just there and the Space Baby episode was kinda piece of nothing. However, after first five episodes I do kinda like her? I feel like she at least brings something different. I was scared she would be just Rose 2.0 for proper reboot. But she is more like Bill mixed with Clara a little bit, with a sprinkle of Chibnail's fam? Like I like her family a lot and her relation with them defines her. She is just a normal gal, living with her mom and grandma, who she loves a lot? Not really any major personality, yet. But that gives her like a vibe of normal human being? Especially with the interactions she has with other people - or in this episode, the reaction she had to the snot monster's origin. She is not over-dramatic, just simple. Kinda like Bill who was just a kid serving fries. But she also has that girl-next-door vibe Clara has. And they actually for the first time made me interested with the whole mystery about her (which adds another element to her Clara vibe). I kinda never liked the thing about "impossible girls" and "most important women in the whole world". It's just a simple random flashbacks and snowflakes falling around. Which is so bizarre and out of pocket that it brings some interest. Like she is obviously the main plotline that is slowly being cooked (I hope this actually leads to something satisfying), which has yet to be properly addressed or named. I think - for a first 5 episodes, she is an ok companion, clearly a self-insert option for the viewers. Her introduction is not as strong as Rose or Martha, but it's totally fine. I would already rank her slightly higher than majority of "the fam". 18:00 I think it's more akin to be about the "Father's Day". I kinda feel like, if they didn't really go for a "reboot" - this would be the place where we would have Rose flashback and Doctor's explanation about how much Ruby's meddling with her own past could cause. 18:25 This totally felt like a filler that would be normally put around episode 8 tbh. If I only had to judge upon this, this would not be it. But later episodes did spike my attention. I still feel like a lot of them have issue with properly finishing their plot points, instead being just unsettling knock offs of Black Mirror. But there have been a lot of good elements there that show that there is still some quality behind this show (like just the whole intro with the Welsh people having laugh at Ruby in 73 Yards, was enough for me, to make me want to see the whole season). 18:35 Talking about Doctor - I really need Ncuti to bring something new. This episode specifically was straight up just Matt Smith storyline. There is some twisted element to his character and obviously - he is meant to be the Doctor who worked through his trauma about Galiffrey and being Timeless Child (apparently), so I don't mind for him to be so cheery. But I would like to see some good twist for his character. The portrayal is suprisingly stiff and sometimes smells of Jodie's Doctor. Which quirky and cringe it can be - it feels aged. There is some tint of evilness hidden there, hopeful more logical than when Jodie's Doctor was being morally wishy-washy. 19:20 I mean it did cover all the intro points and the story was at least original and kinda playing on all that stuff with how Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi talked to children. But it is ultimately extremely cringey and straight up boringly generic. The only good part about it is that, I feel like they don't go about basics after this episode, but instead go more into it (which is slightly abrupt for Ruby's character, but at least the viewers dont need to bother as much). I would give it 3/10, just for the set being ok. It kinda reminds me of that Stitch thingy that ate electricity during Jodie's early era. Kinda the same energy - monster of the week on abandoned ship and generic NPCs. But kids weren't off-putting and the set was well made.

I made an edit of the title sequence because I too felt it was 'off'. See what you think.

I didnt think id be using the Fast Forward switch after Chibnall but here we are ..........

17:54 Ruby accidentally killing a butterfly is much smaller than meddling in her own personal timeline

I didn't think it was that bad on the initial watch, the CGI stood out as subpar but I think Murray's score really made it hard to be too critical

I think it would have worked much better if the Bogeyman was developed more as a harmless source of fiction for the babies. The scene where Eric confronts the creature is weirdly cut, and it’s weird how the ship raising these babies is capable of creating a creature willing to kill them. If Eric confronted the Bogeyman and it didn’t hurt him because its only function was to scare him, it would make sense. It would give Eric and the other babies a reason to not want the Bogeyman to get hurt and the doctor more of an incentive to figure out and save it. But no, if the Bogeyman reaches you, it will kill you. Imagine that scene in the airlock room after the doctor saves the Bogeyman. They both stand up and stare at each other, the doctor confronting his own fears and petting the monster. I think it would really set the tone for the rest of the series. Love the videos 👍👍

I call it The Netflix Effect. No ideas are ever fully explored, actors have the emotional depth of a floater, and the writing is absolutely rubbish. I think Ncuti Gatwa has the makings of a good Doctor, but it’s hard to understand that this came from RTD and Murray Gold. How did a program with half the budget in 2005 have far more emotional impact, a better score, and better writing than something with Disney backing? There are a thousands different, better, ways this story could’ve been told. Nothing makes sense. I also wish they would just do away with the mystical companions arc.

You were generous than me.

Just like you, I went from Torchwood Children of Earth to this and... oof! It sure makes me appreciate Torchwood all the more

“DID IT SUC-“ YES. I had a better experience watching the earlier episodes of the 12th Doctor and currently on the top 10 worst Doctor Who episodes on IMDB. The whole plot with talking babies and a monster made of boogers is what I picture a random joke a Disney cartoon would make fun of on how bad an idea that sounds, not actually being an episode that shares the same continuity with Torchwood.

Omg i thought i was the only one who thinks the doctor and Ruby's relationship is weird and undeserved. Ruby has had no reservations about this man AT ALL, no concerns or quarms about the situations she finds herself in, just bland awe at everything. Russell really shot him self in the foot with episode one, its so derivative and your right in saying that end of the world did this formula so much better, devils chord is so much better than space babies, but overall i though this was a disappointing premiere, childish, derivative, amateur and poorly thought out. The doctor is supposed to be a charismatic, brave man, but new audiences are surely going to think he's a coward as he runs away in fear at every turn in the first 2 episodes even though we are constantly assured verbally that he "never runs away". I think the series has finally made a solid foothold with Boom but even then i still dont think gatwa has truly established himself as the Doctor, he hasnt really had his "doctor moment" yet that solidifies him, which is strange because every other nuwho doctor had one of these in their first episode, so i wasnt too worried about how their doctor would pan out, but because the writing and acting hasnt proved to me why hes such a big deal im still not sure about 15

I remember looking forward to these reviews more than the series 11/12/13 episodes, but most of the 2023 specials put me off watching the new series... should I do it again so that I can watch these reviews? :D

OH we're SO back

Yeah that episode was pretty bad. What happened to Russell T Davis? Who can save the series, I thought he could do that

Won’t lie, this episode was the one that finally snapped the straining Doctor Who fan part of my brain and got me to give up on the show, at least for now. Doctor Who, specifically New Who, is a show I’ve grown up on since Matt Smith took the chair and it’s a cornerstone of my childhood, and as much as I’ve disliked what the show turned into at times, I’ve sat through each series thick and thin. I even sat through Chibnall era, I was that involved in seeing the show wrap back around to being at least decent again. Then the 60th Anniversary specials dropped, and although there was the occasional hiccup with them I was generally excited at the idea that DW might finally get it’s groove back Then this episode happened. This episode is the first and so far only time where I actively decided I had been wasting my time on a show that lost it’s aim long ago and hopped out to watch something else the second it was over. I didn’t even do that for Chibnall era, and that run wasn’t exactly glamorous either. I didn’t even do that for Series 7, absolute miserable slog that I thought it was. I’ll come around to finish the series when I’m in a better mood, I’d hate to judge an entire series off only the first episode, but my god if RTD didn’t put his worst foot forward this time

I'm glad you were confused about the episode too. It was so needlessly convoluted for something so childish.

I feel like the Ncuti isnt emotional enough when he should be like when talking about Gallifrey but is crying at everything else that at a lot of the time isnt even sad really....

Is this better or worse than "Love and Monsters"?

If the babies were the wierd horrible dummy's in the show, that may have worked better imo. The memory altering stuff is a cool set up for the rest of the series though, but this episode doesn't really seem 'right' as an ep1 or potentially some people's first impression of the show Think I said eh a 3 or 4 out of 10 being generous, tbf I really liked the Devils chord but with the links to the 60th that felt somewhat a better fit as season opener with xmas special being ep 1

When tf did you do a face reveal? 😭 I haven’t seen you for months

Space Babies feels like the idea you have when you've run out of ideas.... but it's only episode 1.

So... I haven't missed too much since Matt Smith left. Saved me a lot of time :)

I said the same exact thing when it howled like a wolf like wtf

As soon as the babies started talking with voices of British children and cgi mouths I wanted the bogeyman to get them and it killed me when the doctor kept scaring them with it, that was hilarious

God, finally. Finally, someone who is saying that this episode is just bad. I feel like people have been saying this episode is better than what it is due to the chinbal crap that has been shoveled down our throats

The only plus side So far is that this series has made the Whitaker era watchable, just.

I'm not sure why they opened with this one specifically, boom was great and 73 yards looks amazing. I think Boom had all the elements of a perfect first story, just swap the story arcs about and it could be done. This story and maybe to a lesser extent The devils chord could put so many new viewers off.

That's two more than I would have given it. Dreadful rubbish.

Apparently the next episode is just as good as Boom. So the series has started off with two OK episodes and then two great episodes.

Watched halfway through and turned the tv off it was so stupid lmao😂

This new incarnation of the Doctor is so insensitive. I don't remember him ever being this bad, but it's been a while so maybe I just forgot lol. But the worst part of this ep for me was the sound. I've been feeling this way for most of the eps, but the sound is too loud and distracting. I'm having trouble getting sucked in because it keeps kicking me out. I sure how this gets fixed before the season is over. It's really ruining the eps for me.

I genuinely missed that detail about the switch in the tardis, thanks for mentioning it lol, at least it has some canonical weight to it now :)

Who does this episode appeal to? The audience they planned to replace us with, the only audience that might still watch, the audience they've been banking on when they tell us to go touch grass.. Toddlers. Disney and DW had a meeting about their dwindling audience and decided to veer into "family friendly" to hook a brand new consumer without any of the baggage

The way they edited the initial chase with the monster reminded me A LOT of orphan 55 and that worries me

0:10 Should have said "Welcome to the only good thing to come from modern Hu: My suffering."

Based on "the devils chord" i feel like the episodes about the Toymakers Legion have most of the budget. Cause the cinematography and effects are night and day difference between these two episodes.

I didn't much like Chibnall era's topical episodes, but I would have been interested to see how 6 year old brains in infant bodies would handle the horror of their safe harbor telling them they would be redirected to Space Rwanda.

The problem with Ruby compared to previous companions was that they completely forgot to set up who she actually is as a person. Rose worked in a shop and was bored of her mundane life, Martha is training to be a doctor, Donna was a temp, Amy was the girl who waited, Clara is the Impossible Girl, Bill was a student interested in The Doctor, even Yaz had a strong foundation of a low level police officer who wanted to do more. In the first scene with Ruby all we're learning about is the "mystery" side to her character with her wanting to know who her birth family is. The scene does a good job explaining her backstory but we don't actually know about her as a person. She's meant to be 19 but her only job is her band? She doesn't have a 9-5? We learn she's musical but is that what she wants her career to be? Does she want to go to college? What about her relationships? Partners? We briefly see her friends but we don't actually learn anything about them. Most of the companions wanted to escape or run away from something, but Ruby doesn't really seem to have a reason to leave. Karla just got a new foster baby and Ruby's just going to run away without a second thought?

Nice to have these reviews back! Yeah, Space Babies was a bit of a miss. Nctui and Millie carried it just like any good Doctor and Companion should, but the premise was just a bit too silly for its own good. Thankfully, I thought the next episode was genuinely good, if not great.

At least it was laughable

The doctor's pronunciation of Conquistador is correct in the UK, whereas your pronunciation is from the US.

Yes, yes it did.

Honestly want to know how this got a 2/10, compared to this love and monster is a masterpiece.

rambling for a bit: It was a bit of a fever dream and seemed targeted toward children, and somehow really hard to follow at the same time? I laughed a lot but it was more of a “wtf is happening” laugh then from good writing 😭 I didn’t have very high hopes but I was still somehow disappointed💔 which I hate to say. 😬 my favorite moments were SOME of the ones between ruby and the doctor, the few moments that seemed to have more realistic dialogue. I like their best friend kind of vibe and I hope they add more of that dynamic. One thing I think they missed with the doctors characteristics is his social awkwardness, sure he’s charming at times but I enjoy when he acts a bit more alien and out there without it coming across as totally absurd. Ruby seems to just go with whatever he does as if they’ve known each other a long time, but really they’ve only just met. They kind of seemed to skip them getting to know each other. The side characters have all been very boring and lacking depth or nuance. I’d like to see more fleshed out characters that have a character ARC rather than just being static. I don’t mind if a show is cheesy or campy, IF the characters make up for it by being likable. At no point in this episode did I care to think about what would happen next, because it seemed totally unpredictable. think they just failed to make an interesting story 🤷‍♀️