WE DIDN'T EVEN BRING IT UP BUT WHAT THE HELL WAS WITH RANDOM SPACE BABY POPPY REAPPEARING?
I've heard rumours that this will somehow tie into the Timeless Child? But also Mrs Flood actor has talked about Space Babies tying into the finale??
So we have Mrs Flood, The Gods, Conrad, Space Babies and getting Belinda home and MAYBE also a regeneration all in the finale? RTD please explain i'm scared and confused

Doctor:  I want to be somewhere where I can fit in because it's a black space

...except Nigeria is still incredibly homophobic and he could "fit in" until he acts overtly gay, in which case he would either face criminal charges or possible physical harm

RTD and the writing team did not think that part through

To be honest? I've felt for the longest time that 15 isn't really written like an incarnation of the Doctor. There are character traits that persist between incarnations that are just...nowhere to be found, with 15. He isn't really "alien" in any definable way, he doesn't seem wise, he never seems like much of a negotiator, either.
Is it the fault of the writing? Is it the fault of Gatwa's acting? Could it be both? I'm not certain, but it's really frustrating nonetheless, especially coming from a showrunner who seemed to actually understand the character in days past.

Does anyone else appreciate the irony of how Doctor Who has gone from Doctor Lite episodes to Audience Lite episodes? 🤔 😆 🤣

A drama set in one location can work on tv. The series 4 episode Midnight, for example. I have a background in theatre, and I've always said that with a good script and good actors, three people trapped in a room can be a good drama.
One of my favourite series, Inside No 9, made that a central part of its concept.
Each story takes place behind different doors with the number 9 on it. A hotel room, a  even a train carriage.
If it's well written and acted, it can work well.
This just wasn't well done.
There was no dramatic tension or character development.
The doctor feeling out of place in modern Britain is also inconsistent.
Look at last year. In Rogue, they showed a version of 19th century England where black people were treated equally even though they weren't in real  history, yet in the present day apparently, he doesn't feel like he fits in in England.
So much for the show being a British institution.

It reminded me a bit of that Watchmen TV show: trying to tell a story but through the lens of an established franchise and just not working. I'm sure if you had it as a stand alone story it'd be great.

I’m so happy you guys made this, I thought I was going insane, this episode was awful but everywhere I looked people were being positive about it

I do look forward to your reviews and have to say I'm in complete agreement over this one; i was so bored throughout the second half of this episode that i just wanted it to end. None of it makes any sense, i don't get why the doctor feels betrayed by Omo, he decided to go there himself, not because Omo did anything to bring him there. Just really poor stuff.

Did anyone notice that Belinda was laughing WITH the Doctor when he explained that he has met other gods? Suggesting that she was aware? Just like the 1st episode and knowing what the TARDIS was. Poor writing? Or doctor-baiting?🤷‍♂️

The idea that Gods like Anansi and Dionysus do/did exist in the Doctor Who version of Earth really doesn't sit well with me, I just can't wrap my head around what that means. It feels like something like that would have bigger implications on the world of the show...are they specifically Earth gods? Are they cosmic beings of some sort?

All I could think of was Garth Merenghi's quote:
"i know writers who use subtext and they're all cowards, every one of them"

Loved the setting, enjoyed the gimmick of turning barbershop banter into a sci-fi premise, but the execution wasn't great.

Even with the exact same story, just some edits to make it more scifi and less literal Gods/fantasy, as well as some Whoisms like giving the man his damn costume already, would have made this a mid filler episode  (which would still be unacceptable given 8 episodes)

Firstly, thanks for posting your honest opinion for this episode......as many reviewers have either given it glowing ratings or avoided the episode altogether because the whole cast is POC any negative opinions is treated as 'this person must be racist'

I think the whole episode is a mess, very confusing, very boring and not alot going on in it, I think the only reason to bring back Jo Martin for 2 minutes was to get the "OMG I DON'T BELIEVE IT' people to raving about the episode online

I just wish new writers would be allowed to come into doctor who to do new sci-fi stories, Chibnall did the same thing in his era by bringing new writers in but they were writers of Childrens books and soap writers such as emmerdale and also produced terrible stories......the problem of a showrunner doing all the heavy lifting is now creating a huge problem as no new writers get put into a pool of people who can be showrunner in the future, their is no new Moffat like writer in the wings

'season 2' is going to end up like 'season 1', all these people are going to rave about these episodes online, telling everyone how brilliant they are and then in a few months people will then be allowed to be critical of the episodes..........in the doctor who groups its currently a mess, you can't even say any honest criticism anymore without been thrown some horrid abuse

First time in my life I’ve wanted Micheal Grade to come back and run the BBC.

It’s just like the Jodie Whittaker era where they hired writers who’ve never written for Sci Fi and it shows, it’s good to get new writers for a fresh take but if they don’t know sci fi then it rarely works

Yes, I had thought Ncuti Gatwa was getting a better hold on embodying the Doctor in the previous few episodes, but this episode feels like a regression to "The Ncuti Who Show."  When he rattled off his experiences with other gods, I didn't buy it.  I know a lot of people don't like the Fugitive Doctor because of the Timeless Child thing, but the actor/character feels more like the Doctor than Jodie and Ncuti combined. Plus, once again they breeze past a much more interesting story; the idea of a goddess resenting the Doctor for leaving her behind had a lot of potential.

Nice shout outby Steven to "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell". It's a really fun book.

I wonder if Steven has read "Piranesi" also by Susanna Clarke. It's even better IMO.

By contrast to the previous episode where you guys were echoing my thoughts, this one to me felt basically fun in the way that the most exciting of Moffat era and most tolerable of Chibnall era were? Fun, shiny, colorful, lots of talking- doesn’t need much substance to carry me through. Like Demons of the Punjab, a cool concept mostly carried through by skillful performances rather than good dialogue, and an unnecessary alien that drags down the rest of the episode. Also, agreed that it was obviously too heavy on talking, but it doesn’t matter much for my viewing experience, it was fun throughout. The biggest weakness was when they went into the corridors, frankly, because the best version of this episode would have been solving their way out of the locked room and removing the big spider. My bigger issue is, as you say- Ncuti isn’t always being written like the Doctor. He clearly has the chops for it, but he just wasn’t clever enough here.

Yet another episode with a lot of interesting ideas and some cool moments that just never comes together before an ending that blows. A lot like this era as a whole, actually.

This season is the South Park episode where people love smelling their own farts. We are here people.

Love that you mentioned tales of ba sing se! You two should review avatar together id love it!