The Church on Ruby Road
- Episode aired Dec 25, 2023
- 55m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
5.4K
YOUR RATING
Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth.Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth.Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth.
Andy Francis
- Goblin 5
- (as Andrew Francis)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is Davina McCall's second appearance in the show, and the first time she appears on-screen. She previously voiced an android version of herself called the Davinadroid in the episode Bad Wolf (2005).
- GoofsAfter the Snowman head falls on the Doctor, the TARDIS changes position down the street. When he points it out to the police officer, it is clearly visible from their position down the street, but when he enters it, it is now positioned behind a corner wall.
- Quotes
Abdul: Mrs Flood, did you see that? Mrs Flood, did you see? The box thing! It just vanished. It was there and then it wasn't. It just disappeared.
Mrs. Flood: Oh, merry Christmas, Abdul. Stop making such a fuss.
Mrs. Flood: [Speaking to the camera] Never seen a Tardis before?
Featured review
Utterly painful
I'd love to know how IMDb calculates its scores, I can see no other episode with an average so far below its adjusted score - the average is far more in line with what I would expect, it should be down there with Fear Her and Love and Monsters.
So firstly the plot... there isn't one. There's a line similar to the Arthur C Clarke quote about sufficiently advanced technology and magic; and that's the best you're getting.
The musical number probably doesn't do anything to allay concerns that the show has been Disneyfied.
The resolution is just sloppy - why or how the gloves gained that ability? Don't ask. It is a Christmas special but I can't feel like this is RTD declaring that he's had enough of all that technobabble and from here on out isn't going to bother with that stuff.
What RTD has always liked is relatable character dialogue - and as usual in his favoured setting of present day Earth he introduces some likeable and memorable characters, in particular Ruby's adopted family. I will never view this as a negative, the classic series dismissed these elements and RTD raised the bar.
Unfortunately this episode was our introduction to the Doctor and companion - they did not fair so well.
A lot of reviews describe Ncuti as captivating and full of charisma - and that may be fair, it's also not the Doctor.
The Doctor is not human, something is always a little quirky about him, he's not James Bond coming in to save someone's drink just as they drop it.
If that was Matt Smith he'd have tried to save it, juggled a few times and eventually dropped it.
The scene with the police officer is similar to the eighth doctor telling someone about what question to answer in a future test - but instead of a confused incredulous reaction he's taken at face value.
Ruby won't be passing this Doctor any social interaction cards.
Everyone seems in awe of the new Doctor without the sense of "who is this eccentric"?
We Brits don't like our heroes too perfect, it's hard not to feel like this isn't a concession for American audiences who really do.
We are now four episodes into RTD2 and still no guest writers. The best part of RTD1 was the guest written episodes. To top it off he seems bored with the sci-fi or even episode resolutions (the giggles game of catch was hardly any better).
With this new reduced episode count and RTD writing as many episodes as ever there's little hope for the successes of the original RTD era.
An extra star for some of the characters, but otherwise the worst introduction to a Doctor since the Twin Dilemma.
So firstly the plot... there isn't one. There's a line similar to the Arthur C Clarke quote about sufficiently advanced technology and magic; and that's the best you're getting.
The musical number probably doesn't do anything to allay concerns that the show has been Disneyfied.
The resolution is just sloppy - why or how the gloves gained that ability? Don't ask. It is a Christmas special but I can't feel like this is RTD declaring that he's had enough of all that technobabble and from here on out isn't going to bother with that stuff.
What RTD has always liked is relatable character dialogue - and as usual in his favoured setting of present day Earth he introduces some likeable and memorable characters, in particular Ruby's adopted family. I will never view this as a negative, the classic series dismissed these elements and RTD raised the bar.
Unfortunately this episode was our introduction to the Doctor and companion - they did not fair so well.
A lot of reviews describe Ncuti as captivating and full of charisma - and that may be fair, it's also not the Doctor.
The Doctor is not human, something is always a little quirky about him, he's not James Bond coming in to save someone's drink just as they drop it.
If that was Matt Smith he'd have tried to save it, juggled a few times and eventually dropped it.
The scene with the police officer is similar to the eighth doctor telling someone about what question to answer in a future test - but instead of a confused incredulous reaction he's taken at face value.
Ruby won't be passing this Doctor any social interaction cards.
Everyone seems in awe of the new Doctor without the sense of "who is this eccentric"?
We Brits don't like our heroes too perfect, it's hard not to feel like this isn't a concession for American audiences who really do.
We are now four episodes into RTD2 and still no guest writers. The best part of RTD1 was the guest written episodes. To top it off he seems bored with the sci-fi or even episode resolutions (the giggles game of catch was hardly any better).
With this new reduced episode count and RTD writing as many episodes as ever there's little hope for the successes of the original RTD era.
An extra star for some of the characters, but otherwise the worst introduction to a Doctor since the Twin Dilemma.
helpful•120
- alexgamesdev
- Jan 20, 2024
Details
- Release date
- Language
- Filming locations
- Bristol, England, UK(Frederick Place, Clifton - exteriors of Ruby's flat)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime55 minutes
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