Enjoyable as it\u2019s been to mark 60 years of Doctor Who<\/a> with a trilogy of specials that celebrated a purple patch in the show\u2019s history, it\u2019s with the show\u2019s 2023 Christmas special that returning showrunner Russell T Davies has his first real opportunity to showcase his vision for its future.<\/p>\n If the 60th episodes were RTD playing his greatest hits, this is him setting out his stall and establishing the kind of show that he wants his new Doctor Who to be. He\u2019s not come back just to rake over old ground, as this festive hour makes abundantly clear \u2013 far from any sort of rehash, The Church on Ruby Road is a fantastical reinvention.<\/p>\n Many years after being left abandoned in the snow, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is about to experience the adventure of a lifetime, meet a Goblin King, and make a new best friend \u2013 her Doctor Who debut is a romp heavily inspired by 1986 fantasy film <\/span>Labyrinth, with just a dash of a Christmas classic (though to say which would be straying into spoiler territory).<\/span><\/p>\n Davies has flagged that this new era will be \u201ctaking a sly step towards fantasy<\/a>\u201d and that\u2019s immediately apparent \u2013 though we first meet Ruby in a domestic setting populated by lively characters, her world feels a step removed from the everydayness of Rose Tyler\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n Everything feels heightened, even before a race of mischief-making goblins make their presence known. This is an entirely new take on Doctor Who \u2013 more dreamlike, more magical, with Davies describing this episode as being more like a \u201cfable\u201d than anything we\u2019ve seen before.<\/p>\n For the most part, it\u2019s an approach that works extremely well, injecting the show with a fresh energy \u2013 only occasionally do the episode\u2019s wildest moments, and they are wild<\/em>, threaten to take you out of the drama entirely.<\/p>\n Anchoring the madness is the superb double-act of Ncuti Gatwa\u2019s Doctor and Gibson\u2019s new companion, with The Church on Ruby Road being constructed in such a way that both get an opportunity to shine, together and apart.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Gatwa is everything that those familiar with his past work will expect \u2013 effortlessly cool, extraordinarily charismatic. But fear not \u2013 remaining very much in place are the characteristics that make the Doctor who they are: the oddball energy, the offbeat humour, the alienness, but with a melancholy and loneliness beneath the bravado.<\/p>\n Gibson is similarly fantastic, immediately engaging, every bit Gatwa\u2019s equal and more than capable of serving as the show\u2019s sole lead during the early part of the episode that sees the Doctor remaining on the sidelines.<\/p>\n The Doctor and Ruby are kindred spirits, both \u201cfoundlings\u201d who were abandoned by their birth family and then adopted. Far from ignoring the show\u2019s Timeless Child reveal, Davies has placed the Doctor\u2019s newfound status at the heart of his bond with his new best friend.<\/p>\n Sharply directed by Mark Tonderai (who also helmed Rosa<\/a>, one of the best regarded episodes of the show\u2019s previous era), The Church on Ruby Road is a colourful, escapist, often laugh-out-loud funny caper that not only functions as near-perfect Christmas Day entertainment but also sets the template for a new Doctor Who \u2013 like a freshly-regenerated Doctor, it\u2019s different but still somehow the same, with enough familiar DNA and fan-pleasing references to keep the faithful happy.<\/p>\n Plus, it features an impossibly catchy pop banger<\/a> performed by an army of goblins. All said, there\u2019s very little here not to love.<\/p> Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road airs at 5:55pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Previous episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer and <\/strong>on BritBox \u2013 you can sign up for a\u00a07-day free trial here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our Sci-Fi<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson shine in a magical Christmas special. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":41721,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-review-a-fantastical-reinvention.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson shine in a magical Christmas special.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/41720"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ruby](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/457023-cb53ddb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"457023,Doctor")
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