I've been generally really liking this season so far, after a shaky start. I'm glad RTD is back on his bullshit but he's a better writer now and the production quality of the whole show has improved so much since he was last writing that it covers a lot of his sins.
Space Babies
I was kind of worried with this one being the first episode as it's... kind of shit. Ncuti and Millie are really good but the talking babies just don't work as an idea or in execution. A cheap way to describe it would be to say it's like an bad episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures but honestly The Sarah Jane Adventures would never stoop to such lows.
The Devil's Chord
A lot better and a lot of fun, although the ending is kind of weak. I don't mind the general idea of having a big dance number at the end - music was returning to the world after all - but it says something when the music used for it was worse than the earlier music that was
deliberatry written to be bad. Jinkx Monsoon was great and it's weird how they didn't take the time to mention John Lennon beat his wife!!
Boom
Kind of like a Steven Moffat variety pack, but not really in a bad way. Far from one of it's best it's still extremly solid and I can't hate the fact that it revolves around the transformation of war as a capitalist enterprise. Varada Sethu is really good and I'm glad she's going to be a companion. I really like that The Doctor was straight up crying in certain scenes; Ncuit's Doctor is one that is much more in touch with his emotions and it's a really good way to make him stand out from the prevous ones while also playing to Ncuti's large amounts of charisma.
73 Yards
As I was watching this I was thinking "Is this the best script RTD has written?". Not quite. Millie Gibson steals the whole show, I love the creepy atmosphere of the whole thing, it just doesn't really come together at the end. I don't need everything explained but it being a time loop doesn't really work without at least a
bit of explanation. Millie Gibson though.
Dot and Bubble
Okay
this is the best script RTD has written. The misdirect where it seems like it's just a "technology is bad" Black Mirror-like, but is actually dealing with issues of racism and how fucking terrible rich people are is extremely good. Ncuti's acting in the final scene is heartbreaking, and I don't think it's quite a scene that any of the other Doctor's could have pulled off in the same way. Lindy Pepper-Bean is such a peice of shit.
Rogue
Solid, fun. I'm glad they got a Captain Jack like character without having to pay Barrowman. Shalka Doctor confirmed canon. Fugitive Doctor sighting. Good birds.
The Legend of Ruby Sunday
So I actually liked this one. It's the standard RTD throw everything at the script season finale (Is that Susan? The TARDIS is sick?? Who's Mrs Flood??? IT'S SUTEKH????) but I kind of don't mind it now. I don't know, I think this style just fits Ncuti's energy more than it did Tennant's. I was wondering how the Sutekh reveal would play for people who aren't sad nerds because they don't set him up or give any kind of context... But I am a sad nerd so it hit for me. They are apparently going to do a new episode of "Tales of the TARDIS" on Thursday, which is where they package classic stories with new intros and outros, and this one I guess is going to be Pyramids of Mars (where Sutekh is from) with new intros by The Doctor and Ruby. Pyramids of Mars is really good so it's worth checking out when it comes out.
He was a villain in the Tom Baker era.
Played by the guy who was general Veers.
You're half right! Sutekh was in The Pyramids of Mars where he was voiced by Gabriel Woolf, who has returned to voice him here. Woolf also voiced The Beast in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit so I think they're going to connect up the two characters as the same person.
You're thinking of Scaroth from City of Death, who was played by Julian Glover (General Veers).