The 2005 reboot of Doctor Who has always had a romantic streak.. Assuming we discount the 1996 TV movie with Paul McGann’s iteration of the Doctor, Russel T Davies adjusted the show to have more focus on the Doctor’s interpersonal, often romanticized relationships. David Tennant’s Doctor happened upon crushes often, his double hearts proudly sewn onto his sleeves, all while being infatuated with companion Rose Tyler. Episodic love interests happened to the angsty time-lord often, such as with Madame De Pompadour in The Girl in the Fireplace or with Astrid in Voyage of the Damned.
When Steven Moffat took over, he doubled down on this in his tenure as showrunner, giving the Doctor a wife in the form of River Song. Previous showrunner Chris Chibnall continued this with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, sparking a queer romance at the heart of Jodie Whittaker’s final season with companion Yasmin Khan. The Doctor has been characterized as someone who is sexually inclined, but within Davies’ second tenure as showrunner, he has not yet shown Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor as someone who has sex. Enter the sultry bounty hunter Rogue (Jonathon Groff), and the Doctor is once again smitten.
Episode 6 of this season of Doctor Who, Rogue, cold opens in 1800s Britain, where the villain of the week, a shapeshifting creature called the Chuldur, is taking on the identities of aristocratic toffs. As Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) says, “It’s all very Bridgerton.” There has been a recurring theme this season where intertextual references are made. Davies is a regular for this, with series one episode Bad Wolf featuring the Doctor and companions within various reality TV programs and quiz shows, but this season has found references being made so regularly that a fan theory has begun; Ruby is manifesting these situations somehow. An episode that referenced Strictly Come Dancing ends with a big musical number, while a reference to Star Trek made someone appear on screen donned in classic Trek attire.
This review was first posted on June 13th 2024. Full review linked below.
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