Doctor Who (2023) 1-05: Dot and Bubble (Quick Review)

Episode:

880

|

Serial:

309

|

Writer:

Russell T Davies

|

Director:

Dylan Holmes Williams

|

Air Date:

01-Jun-2024

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the second half of Doctor Who's new season 1, with Dot and Bubble. The title isn't really filling me with optimism to be honest, but that's mostly because it reminds me of Short Treks' Tom and Jerry homage Ephraim and Dot. I really hated Ephraim and Dot.

I'm sure this is going to be something very different though, because Doctor Who episodes are always something different. The show keeps switching genre and tone, rarely giving you the same thing twice. Anyway, Dot and Bubble was written by Russell T Davies, same as the last episode, and it was directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, the same as the last episode. I thought 73 Yards looked fantastic, so I'm expecting some pretty visuals at least.

There will be Doctor Who SPOILERS below, but I won't spoil anything that happens later.

Doctor Who (2023) 1-04: 73 Yards (Quick Review)

Episode:

879

|

Serial:

308

|

Writer:

Russell T Davies

|

Director:

Dylan Holmes Williams

|

Air Date:

25-May-2024

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's one of the few episodes of Doctor Who to feature a number in the title. I've no idea what it means though, something to do with sports maybe? It's yards, not metres, so I'm thinking that this is going to be set in the US or the past, but that's all I've got.

I usually try to write all of this intro bit before watching the episode so I can be properly clueless, but I have to jump in from the future to talk about how this is one of the few stories to be missing the opening titles entirely. I can only remember two other regular episodes that do this: Sleep No More and The Woman Who Fell to Earth. So it's a sign that an episode is doing something different... though not a sign that it'll be any good.

Incidentally The Woman Who Fell to Earth was the first episode filmed for the Jodie Whittaker era and this was the first filmed for the Ncuti Gatwa era. It even predates last year's Christmas Special. Gatwa had already made a brief appearance in The Giggle, but this was Millie Gibson's first ever work for Doctor Who.

There will be SPOILERS here for this and earlier episodes. And I mean way earlier, like 1981.