The Church on Ruby Road

Who sees a ladder and just hops on? A ladder in the sky and you thought “Yeah, I’ll give that a go babes”.

The Fifteenth Doctor

Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Church on Ruby Road. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, go away, watch it and then come back!

Before getting into this review, I would be greatly remiss not to mention the sad news of the passing of Richard Franklin, who played Captain Mike Yates in the Third Doctor era. A key member of the UNIT Family, Franklin joined the show in Terror of the Autons and marked his last appearance in the show in Planet of the Spiders. He would reprise the role of Mike Yates for Big Finish, most recently in UNIT: The New Series: Assembled. Richard Franklin passed away in the morning of Christmas Day 2023 at the age of 87.

Synopsis

Long ago, on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, goblins, stolen babies and, perhaps, the secret of her birth.

Review

The Church at Ruby Road gives us our first story of the Fifteenth Doctor’s era, whilst also introducing us to new companion Ruby Sunday, as well as being the first Christmas Special broadcast since Twice Upon A Time.

As a result, I almost feel as though Russell T Davies is trying to do a little bit too much here. Perhaps that is understandable given the fact that the following series – whether you want to call that Series 14 or Series 1 – is reduced in length at eight episodes and so that leaves less time to develop the characters and set up plot lines that will be added to in the near future. The show hasn’t previously combined an introduction to a new Doctor, a companion, a Christmas Special and the start of a new era, and I think that some elements of the story do suffer by trying to mismatch all of them and does get a bit creaky at times. One of them that works really well is centring the story on Ruby. Since the revival, the companion has been crucial as an audience identification figure and it works really well by focusing on her life before meeting the Doctor, which is certainly something that cannot be said for the companions in the Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall eras.

If that part works well, there are elements that don’t work as well and I think that the main one of these is the goblins. As the antagonists in this story, they never really feel like a real threat. The Goblin Song, whilst perfectly well written and annoyingly catchy, is just a way of rushing and hiding exposition. Whilst they dog Ruby’s life and cause mischief, the goblins never really feel like anything more than a mild inconvenience. Their abduction of Lullabelle is relatively simply solved, and their attempt to go back in time to abduct her as a baby feels ultimately rapidly resolved. I think that my biggest problem with the story is the intelligent gloves, which are another gadget like the Fourteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver that just feels far too overpowered and resolves the Goblin plot much too easily. The resolution is all a bit too convenient, with the spire of the church destroying the ship and apparently killing the Goblin King, then the ship just disappearing, and then this isn’t actually addressed in any dialogue. I did like the design of the Goblin King’s ship though and the fact that, as it is wooden, the Doctor isn’t able to use his sonic to get through doors and has to use his intellect to find their way through.

These goblins are time riders. They can surf the waves of time. They spotted the chance of coincidence and they went back and wove you in.

The Fifteenth Doctor

The idea of the Goblins using coincidence to ensnare the Doctor and Ruby in their scheme is a simple one, but it is effective. The episode definitely turned a corner for the better in the scenes where Ruby is taken out of time. Perhaps that’s because I am still seeking out the more explicitly science fiction moments than the science fantasy that Russell T Davies has mentioned that the show will be heading towards in this new era and has the Doctor acknowledge that it’s a new type of science for him. It’s not a change that I’m in any way opposed to as there has always been a strong element of fantasy in Doctor Who anyway, but it may take some adjusting to. The changes that we see as an audience in characters like Carla, who goes from a bubbly foster mother who has fostered 33 children to one who is only doing it for the government funding is remarkably effective. It is clear to see how the Carla we are introduced to loves fostering children, so this change does really hit home.

The inclusion of Davina McCall also feels a bit like the show trying hard to tap into the modern zeitgeist and that the story may struggle on rewatching. The story wants to link to Long Lost Family, but will that connection work when someone watches in ten years time. The story goes to such lengths to explain that Ruby does not know who her parents are, and in science fiction setting like Doctor Who, there’s no real surprise when it is revealed that the show cannot find any trace of her birth parents. The story itself seems to forget that it has offed Davina towards the end, ultimately feeling rushed in having the Doctor save her in a perfunctory scene.

I never really felt that this story was a Christmas Special. Beyond the fact that Ruby was born on Christmas Eve and we are repeatedly told that the modern day setting is Christmas Eve, there is nothing that really feels like a Christmas special. It’s also painfully obvious that this story wasn’t filmed at Christmas – my wife pointed out that the lighting is not quite right and there are shots, especially of the sky, that make it clear that this is certainly not Christmas Eve. That’s not a problem that is exclusive to this story, with The Runaway Bride being filmed during a warm period, infamously seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate looking unseasonably warm.

The Doctor, perhaps understandably seeing as this story is focused on introducing his new companion, feels a little bit underserved by this story. I think this would be more of an issue if we had had a more traditional regeneration and only had a brief few moments of Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor at the conclusion of The Giggle. As we had the bigeneration and approximately twenty minutes of the Fifteenth Doctor at the end of that story, I didn’t feel as shortchanged as I might have done otherwise. Ncuti Gatwa manages to be mercurial when he is on screen, and he has a truly infectious grin. As a result, Gatwa feels immediately at home and just absolutely right in the role. I really loved the moment outside Ruby’s flat where he contemplates whether or not he should want to take Ruby along with him, debating whether or not he is just going to be more bad luck for his new companion, along with his realisation that she is gone after the goblins disappear.

You look like you’ve lost a pound and found a sixpence. What’s wrong?

Just wondering. Maybe I’m the bad luck.

Mrs. Flood and the Fifteenth Doctor

Millie Gibson is wonderful and has immediately got clear and obvious chemistry with Ncuti Gatwa which bodes really positively for the show’s future. Like any of the show’s best Doctor-companion pairings, they spark off each other delightfully and that bodes well for carrying stories over the ropier moments, which this story does have. I liked Ruby’s home dynamic, which is something outside of the usual. Bill, companion to the Twelfth Doctor, has the most similar homelife to Ruby, but I think Russell T Davies will do more with this than Steven Moffat did with Bill Potts. The Doctor and his new companion have a lot of similarities around them as both of them are foundlings and do not know who their parents are, and the moment in which the Doctor reveals this is also really nicely played.

The story does a good job of establishing the world and neighbourhood she grows up in, including the mysterious Mrs Flood, who appears to know what the TARDIS is, which I presume is going to be answered in the upcoming series.

Verdict: The Church on Ruby Road is a good solid start to the Fifteenth Doctor’s era, but does feel as though it gets bogged down at times with some heavy lifting to set up the new series. It is helped by really strong performances from Gatwa and Gibson. 7/10

Cast: Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor), Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday), Davina McColl (Herself), Bobby Bradley (Denzel), Mary Malone (Trudy), Belinda Owusu (Woman with Pram), Barney Wilkinson (Policeman), Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood), Hemi Yeroham (Abdul), Michelle Greenidge (Carla Sunday), Angela Wynter (Cherry Sunday), Gemma Arrowsmith (Ruth Lyons), Rachelle Beinert (Goblin 1), Jess Judge (Goblin 2), Dilu Miah (Goblin 3), Giuseppe Lentini (Goblin 4), Andrew Francis (Goblin 5) & Lukas DiSparrow (Goblin 6).

Writer: Russell T Davies

Director: Mark Tonderai

Producer: Chris May

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 25th December 2023

Behind the Scenes

• The first Christmas Special since Twice Upon A Time, which was broadcast on 25 December 2017.
• The title for the story was revealed by Disney Plus, as part of their Christmas streaming programme.
• With a gap of just sixteen days, The Church on Ruby Road marks the third shortest gap between a regeneration story and the following story. The Power of the Daleks is the second shortest (seven days), whilst The Twin Dilemma takes the crown (six days).

Cast Notes

• Anita Dobson played Eileen Klint in Blood of the Daleks, which introduced the Eighth Doctor’s companion Lucie Miller.
• Davina McCall previously played herself in a vocal-only performance in Bad Wolf.

Best Moment

I really liked the moment where Ruby disappeared and the Doctor slowly realising that, and the changes that happen as a result.

Best Quote

I am learning the vocabulary of rope!

The Fifteenth Doctor

Previous Televised Story: The Giggle