Series 14, Episode 1 | 1 part | First broadcast: 11 May 2024 | Writer: Russell T Davies | Director: Julie Anne Robinson
Cast
- Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor
- Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday
- Golda Rosheuvel as Jocelyn Sancerre
- Susan Twist as Comms Officer Gina
Summary
The Doctor and Ruby travel to a future space station that turns out to be a “baby farm” run entirely by talking infants, threatened by a mysterious creature called the Bogeyman, and after discovering the station’s caretaker AI is actually the last surviving crew member, Jocelyn, and that the Bogeyman is a misunderstood being made of bogies, the Doctor reroutes the station to a refugee planet and formally invites Ruby to travel with him properly.
Interesting Facts
- Written deliberately by Russell T Davies as a “soft reboot” and accessible jumping-on point for new viewers following the show’s move to Disney+.
- Twenty real infants were used during filming, supplemented with dolls for legal and labor-law reasons, and the dolls reportedly unsettled the cast.
- Critics drew comparisons between the episode’s themes and the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States.
- Lenny Rush was originally cast to voice a baby in this episode but was later recast as a different character, Morris Gibbons, in the Series 14 finale.
- The episode drew 4.01 million consolidated viewers and a 92% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
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