“Space Babies”
Posted by Sage
Nearly five months after we met Ruby Sunday in “The Church on Ruby Road,” she joins the Doctor for her first official adventure. For them, no time has passed at all – the premiere picks up exactly where the Christmas special left off – but, for the most part, this episode tables the somewhat somber exploration of who she is, why she was left, and who did the leaving in the name of pure, dumb, “look-what-we-can-do” fun. The debut that Russell T. Davies and Disney+ are desperately trying to get us to think of as Series 1, Episode 1 is “Space Babies,” a story that I just described in a review panel for Reality Bomb as “high-concept stupidity.” (Act surprised when you hear it.)
We know that RTD loves taking a companion to the distant future in a first TARDIS trip. It provides scope for them and for the audience and helps the companion orient themselves in the vastness of (usually human) experience. But the premise of “Space Babies” is far sillier and much narrower than that of “The End of the World,” making it a strange choice for a jumping off point. I can only knowledgeably talk about it through the lens of a long-time fan and cannot begin to imagine what a newbie would make of this. Oh well! From where I’m standing, “Space Babies” is a bright and bouncy romp oozing (pun intended) with personality. Just saying/typing the title makes me smile. Space Babies! Babies in Space! How could anyone resist??
This episode played great in a premiere party, but my second solo watch revealed that it’s also well-constructed in addition to being exuberant and funny. The premise is fairly simple: the Doctor and Ruby land on an abandoned space station that houses a birthing machine. The most recent crop of babies have learned to be mostly self-sufficient with the adults gone – relying only on Nan-E, a computer system that’s revealed to actually be Jocelyn Sancerre, the station’s accountant, who couldn’t leave the babies to fend entirely on their own but refuses to bond with them because she’s certain they’re all going to die. The Doctor could easily transport them all to a refugee-friendly planet, if it weren’t for the terrifying, gooey monster living in the bowels of the station and blocking their way. That makes getting to the bottom of what that creature is and how it came to be the singular mission of the episode. Sometimes less is more, people.
And with a nursery full of talking sci-fi babies rolling around in futuristic strollers, who needs a B-plot? I’ve seen the Space Babies described by some as “creepy” to which I say both “How dare you?” and “Obviously you didn’t grow up with the Look Who’s Talking franchise.” The Space Babies are precious and brilliant, and the casting department really outdid themselves in finding the cutest little nuggets in the whole of the United Kingdom.
With The Mandalorian as the most recent example, I’m well aware that some genre fans think of cuteness as being manipulative or easy or appealing to the most common denominator, but frankly, I don’t see what the huge crime is. Sorry for enjoying watching the Doctor cradle a plump and pig-tailed baby in his arms, I guess!
Given how warm and nurturing Ruby and this Doctor are, who can blame these affection-starved kiddos for instantly imprinting on them? He’s known her for about 30 minutes, and little Eric is ready to confront the monster under his bed for Ruby. But that’s where this episode is much more textbook Doctor Who than it initially seems. As unexpected as this particular instance is, what could be more familiar than the Doctor landing somewhere new only to find beings doing all they can to protect each other, whether they had felt prepared to do so or not? In fact, the real villain of the piece isn’t even present. The conflict arises because a good person with noble motivations acts without having all the relevant information. (“That’s what you do, Jocelyn. You save them all.”)
Of course there’s a political message in Jocelyn and the babies’ predicament, and it’s voiced explicitly by Jocelyn and Ruby, two human women who’ve cared for children in need. “Space Babies” is the anti-“Kill the Moon,” and thank god for that.
But because the episode is otherwise so light, the moral goes down easy. In fact, the societal issues of how labor-intensive and dangerous it is to seek asylum and the consequences of forced birth without a social safety net are eclipsed in the narrative by more individualistic and very classically NuWho themes: To exist as an individual is to fulfill your purpose. You are a product of all of your experiences, but that doesn’t trump free will. And the unknown is really only scary until you come to know it.
The Doctor’s speech to Captain Poppy isn’t anything we haven’t heard before, but it’s phrased differently, because this Doctor is different. (“Nobody grows up wrong.”) Fifteen likes himself, and though all the Doctors have their own level of swagger, that in particular feels pretty fresh. It’s also why he’s able to dole out all this affection – he’s not just outwardly confident but truly self-assured and comfortable in his own skin. Given that we seem to be enmeshed in another “Impossible Girl” detective story, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out with the Doctor (presumably) not keeping Ruby at an arm’s length.
Speaking of the Ruby conundrum, I’ll echo all the other fans who have “mystery companion” fatigue. “Space Babies” endeared her to me so much more than “The Church on Ruby Road,” because her first episode is so bogged down in “Ruby as plot device.” Origin mysteries undercut the companion’s story in their present, because we’re set up to investigate and rip apart everything that they do and experience looking for clues. Fortunately, Millie Gibson really comes into her performance in this episode, not only falling into an extremely charming instant-besties dynamic with the Doctor but also showing off Ruby’s fortitude and bravery. (The scene where she grabs a pole and starts hitting the pipes to draw the Bogeyman’s attention made me sit up straight.) It’s encouraging also that she accepts it when the Doctor tells her in no uncertain terms that they can’t go digging in her past (at least not in person). Ruby is curious as to where she came from, but, like the Doctor, she knows exactly who she is and doesn’t let the murkier bits of her past make her question it.
The Bogeyman retreads some well-worn ground as well, being the only one of its kind and all. But mercy will always be a running theme of this program, and after Fifteen took out a floating ship of goblins (impaling their king on a church spire!) in the last story, it was about time to give him the moment where he risks his own life to save something that’s just following its nature. Love it or hate it, a Bogeyman made out of bogeys is so RTD it hurts, but it also calls to mind a good chunk of Eleven’s era. This entire episode exemplifies the influence Steven Moffat has had on his predecessor, actually. Plopping the Doctor in the middle of a children’s bedtime story run rampant and having the children come to love their monster? He must have been smiling the whole hour, because his legacy is strong.
Amid all of the lore dumping and familiar thematic territory, however, we have new blood, and it’s breathing new life into our beloved show. With an episode and a half under his belt, Ncuti Gatwa is 100 percent at home as the Doctor, giving us this flirty, sparkly, mischievous bundle of energy. For me, the joy had been missing for quite some time, as well as the sense of fun. Fifteen’s main focus seems to be screwing around through time and space, a time-honored pastime of a being who inevitably gets weighed down by tragic exits and whiplash-inducing reveals. Call me cruel, but the bits of this episode where I felt the most confident that we’re in good hands were when the Doctor indulged in a little bit of mean humor. Scaring the babies on purpose? I cackled. Laughing at Ruby instead of with her over the snot monster? He’s allowed! It’s that streak of inhumanity that makes the Doctor the Doctor. He is not, in fact, just like us, and I’m so relieved that this incarnation has the edge that Thirteen was denied.
Timey Wimey Observations:
- I have many unprintable words to say about the Doctor’s wardrobe in this episode. Let’s just say that I don’t disagree with the Space Babies that he is Daddy.
- Let’s hear it for the Butterfly Compensation Switch!
- Between the Star Trek exchange in this episode and so many things in “The Devil’s Chord,” I am GIDDY over all the fourth-wall breaking. It suggests that the Doctor knows that he’s in a TV show and that we’re watching it? Delicious.
- “Sometimes a world goes sterile or, I don’t know, goes mad and bans kissing.” DOCTOR, I FEAR WE ARE IN THIS TIMELINE RIGHT NOW.
- Popsicle!
- “I’ve met a million ugly bugs. I am an ugly bug.”
- Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte star Golda Rosheuvel doesn’t have a ton of screentime, but she absolutely bodies the role of Jocelyn. Her presence is quite grounding! Love her.
- I must reiterate that I don’t understand all the negative reviews for an episode featuring babies wielding a flame thrower.
- Hoping to see much more of Carla and Cherry as Ruby’s story plays out. RTD is so great at concurrently telling domestic stories, and those two contain multitudes I am sure.
- I know we always say “it’s never fucking Susan,” but this time, it’s definitely a Susan.
Are you Team Space Babies or do you HATE FUN? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: Disney+
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