S01.E07 (BBC/D+): The Legend Of Ruby Sunday

[DanaK]

Premiering June 15 at midnight Saturday in the UK streaming on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ internationally (in the U.S. that would be 7pm EDT Friday evening) and then broadcast on BBC One at 18:30pm (6:30pm) UK time

Synopsis: The Doctor and UNIT investigate Ruby's past. But as the Time Window reveals horrifying secrets from Christmas Eve, the mysterious Triad Technology unleash the greatest evil of all.

Writer: Russell T Davies

Director: Jamie Donoughue

Runtime: 44 minutes

Full production listing https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020ccf

 

 

 

[DanaK]

First look images

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/doctorwho-s1e7-firstlook

[Megras]

Well, I think I enjoyed that one the most of this season, hope they stick the landing.

[NeenerNeener]

Yep, this is an awesome villain. 

[QuantumMechanic]

So glad to see in the credits they brought back Gabriel Woolf!

I might have to break out my "The Pyramids of Mars" DVD now.

[WAnglais1]

To me, that's as about a proper DW as you could get at this point. I only wanted to see Sutek's hand of death holding his pillow to keep it from falling off the chair. 

Will there be a resolution next week, or do we have to wait two more years? 

[QuantumMechanic]

FWIW, 66 meters (the distance the camera that took that videotape was from the church) is 72.18 yards...

[DoctorAtomic]

I won't get into too much until more people watch. Normally, this is my Sunday, but I'm traveling through time and space (a whole hour in the past!), and I didn't want to wait until late next week. Nice to see the Doctor and Companion actually interacting together for most of the episode too (and I did like Rogue a lot and credit to Ruby for having her own agency to get into battle mode). But still. 

We got a big confirmation in the opening tease, and a new employee at UNIT!

I did like the Doctor saying that the Brigadier was 'the best of men.' I don't know why the TARDIS had to fly into UNIT. Can't she just go in there like everywhere else? 

I thought in the whole setup of the episode after the opening, the Fifteen was his most Doctorish, if you can get what I mean. 

I really enjoyed Redgrave and Gatwa one on one (I don't want to say what they were talking about yet). She actually looked younger than him. 

Funny that showing the lamppost in winter at the church reminded me of the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. 

1 hour ago, WAnglais1 said:

To me, that's as about a proper DW as you could get at this point.

This was a DOCTOR WHO EPISODE. Full stop. 

Shallow - Kate looked hot. 

[DanaK]

4 hours ago, WAnglais1 said:

Will there be a resolution next week, or do we have to wait two more years? 

This was Part 1 of the 2 part season finale so yes, the resolution will be next week

I really enjoyed this and give it a 9 out of 10. A lot of tension in the last few minutes

[dalek]

I really enjoyed this week's episode.   Three thoughts at the moment:

(1) Shirley Bingham didn't last long as UNIT's scientific advisor. Too bad. She was a fun character.

(2) Was not expecting a "Pyramids of Mars" callback.  Always nice when they reference classic Dr Who.

(3) It's never Susan.

[NeenerNeener]

It looks like Ruby is an extra-special companion like Clara. Was baby Ruby dropped off at that church to help the Doctor defeat Sutekh? Was the person whose face we can't see  actually Ruby herself, or the Doctor, or Rose or Kate?

Edited June 15, 2024 by NeenerNeener

[DanaK]

4 hours ago, dalek said:

(1) Shirley Bingham didn't last long as UNIT's scientific advisor. Too bad. She was a fun character.

The actress was working on another project at the time. Shirley will reportedly be back

[baldryanr]

UNIT HR needs to institute a new hiring policy.  If a person's name, initials, or any combination thereof spells something ominous, then be extra careful with them.

Edited June 15, 2024 by baldryanr

[ABay]

Echoing everyone else's woo hoos! Fantastic. Not that some Rogue wouldn't have improved it but excellent Dr Who episode.

I'd heard the Sutekh theory earlier this week and it seemed so random because "Pyramids of Mars" was the 4th doctor and I think a large part of the current audience has never seen an episode more than 5 years old. And also because Sue+Tech is such a silly way to get to the villain. And yet, it was the correct theory of the 3 or 4 I'd heard.

6 hours ago, dalek said:

It's never Susan.

"It's never Susan" is this series' "It's never lupus."

I want to know when exactly Sutekh attached itself to the Tardis.

Glad to hear Shirley's coming back.

Edited June 15, 2024 by ABay

[QuantumMechanic]

15 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

This was a DOCTOR WHO EPISODE. Full stop. 

Finally felt like one!

[HauntedBathroom]

Wow! The Destroyer! I did not anticipate this character returning! Love it!!

Although the Time window was Whitaker levels of bollocks. Why not just make it magic mercury?

Edited June 15, 2024 by HauntedBathroom

[Eulipian 5k]

So, Mrs Flood was telling us something when she said Ruby's olde Welsh curse in 73yds had nothing to do with her "assignment"?

I do notice that Death, often Ruby's, played a part in all of these episodes.

Edited June 16, 2024 by Eulipian 5k
Added Mo stuff.

[Starchild]

I'm curious who Susan Triad is/was. Some poor innocent corrupted by Sutekh? Or was she ever real?

[DanaK]

1 minute ago, Starchild said:

I'm curious who Susan Triad is/was. Some poor innocent corrupted by Sutekh? Or was she ever real?

Unit indicated their research followed her career through the years so it suggests she was either taken over by Sutekh at some point or he created her somehow, allowed her to live her life and then took her over. Or something similar. Hopefully we’ll learn more in Part 2

[tkc]

1 hour ago, Starchild said:

I'm curious who Susan Triad is/was. Some poor innocent corrupted by Sutekh? Or was she ever real?

I think it’s so amusing that so much of the story and theorizing has been related to the actress’ real name: Susan Twist! From “she’s Susan Foreman” to “there’s always a Twist at the end” to “call me Sue(tekh)”, it’s been a remarkable bit of fourth wall-breaking casting!

[DanaK]

Overnights: 2.02 million viewers, 10th of the day. Match of the Day Live on the BBC, two Live Euro matches on ITV took 1st, 2nd and 7th of the Top 10. Who was the only scripted program in the Top 10

[tennisgurl]

That was a great episode, it really felt like Doctor Who at its best! This was such an exciting episode, it seems like a lot of the seasons threads are being tied together and we have a really cool new villain! Or should I say, an old villain, I always like when they call back to classic Who, even if it always requires me to do some homework. 

Susan being "the" Susan was so obvious that I knew it couldn't be her, Mrs. Flood is still my main suspect for a regenerated Susan. 

We meet our most terrifying villain yet...anagrams! 

[CatWarmer]

I did enjoy the episode and agree it was much more in line with classic Doctor Who plotting  - and great casting and callbacks.  The only thing that bothered me was that the Doctor seemed more reactive than active - spent a lot of time frozen and staring while events happened around him.  I guess I was expecting him to take more control, or at least try?

 

Also it took me a bit in the comments to realize people were talking about The Pyramids of Mars, not The Waters of Mars. Big difference, I gather!  I likely saw the former in my youth but actually remember the latter.

[DoctorAtomic]

It is a two part episode, so I'd expect a more active Doctor next time. 

[tv-talk]

I suspect those who watch Pyramids of Mars for the first time to catchup on the backstory will find Sutek has really upped his threat game. Instantly turning people to 1,000yr old dust is a bit more menacing than being squeezed to death between plodding mummies you could escape walking backwards.

Liked this ep! As said by many above, it felt like Doctor Who and the Doctor was finally seeming like the Doctor. No tears even! Came close but stayed dry. Finally.

So I suppose we should assume Sutekh infested the TARDIS...all the way back in Tom Baker's heyday and has been plotting this whole time? Culminating in using Ruby and Susan in some fashion to lure the TARDIS into the memory window which for whatever timey-wimey reason allowed him to escape. Ok, fair enough. Let's see how they put him back in the bottle. 

[tkc]

Sutekh foreshadowing?

“My dog is alive, he’s not dead.”

Edited June 19, 2024 by tkc

[Starchild]

On 6/18/2024 at 7:22 AM, tv-talk said:

So I suppose we should assume Sutekh infested the TARDIS...all the way back in Tom Baker's heyday and has been plotting this whole time? Culminating in using Ruby and Susan in some fashion to lure the TARDIS into the memory window which for whatever timey-wimey reason allowed him to escape. Ok, fair enough. Let's see how they put him back in the bottle. 

So, does 14's TARDIS also have (some of) Sutekh attached to it after the split?

[Tuggy]

By the way, when the TARDIS is moaning, the Doctor says that "it has made this sound before". Does anybody knows what he was referring to?

[DanaK]

15 minutes ago, Tuggy said:

By the way, when the TARDIS is moaning, the Doctor says that "it has made this sound before". Does anybody knows what he was referring to?

It groaned during one of the 60th specials I think, maybe Wild Blue Yonder?

[Lantern7]

Good episode. Lives up to the hype. I caught it yesterday, and I was spoiled on Sue Tech Sutekh. Damn, RTD loves word games. It got a little too painfully cute, though.

It is funny that they went back to “Pyramids of Mars” because it was the first story I consciously saw when I started looking up old episodes. As far as heavy hitters go, Sutekh is pretty big. I could have used some (overt) foreshadowing, though. Nothing like Missy, which I found blatantly telegraphed.

UNIT employs good people. Too bad they wind up getting killed and/or revealed to be harbingers.

[tv-talk]

23 hours ago, Starchild said:

So, does 14's TARDIS also have (some of) Sutekh attached to it after the split?

If they feel like doing "How Sutekh Stole Christmas" in 2yrs...probably

[John Potts]

Pyramids of Mars! Now that's a deep cut. But if Mrs Flood is evil too (which seemed to be suggested by her interactions with Ruby's Gran) then is she the incarnation of THE (ie. Noah's) Flood? Per the Bible, that should be inflicted to wipe the world clean by Yahweh, but it wouldn't be out of keeping with Who-lore to claim that there was a rational explanation for mythical events.

Do like new UNIT, which actually seems competent (though evidently, also pro-hugging, which I can't see the original Brig ever doing). Kate was clearly shaken by the death of her soldier but still ordered the autopsy immediately.

On 6/16/2024 at 5:22 AM, DanaK said:

it suggests she was either taken over by Sutekh at some point or he created her somehow, allowed her to live her life and then took her over. Or something similar.

It's also possible that Sutekh is simply a good enough hacker to create a complete backstory for somebody that didn't exist given he has been around for a few millennia (even if he was stuck in a time corridor for a good chunk of that).

I find it a little depressing that we now have a companion (and actress playing her) who was born in a different century to me. Though looking it up, I almost share a birthday with Millie, even if I was in my 30s when she was born.

[Eulipian 5k]

That was a LONG last second, you clever girl, now LEAVE CHERRY ALONE!

[DanaK]

7 day figures: 3.495 million viewers, 19th for the week. Beside multiple soap episodes, there were several Euro and other soccer matches and 2 Bridgerton episodes in front of it

Edited June 25, 2024 by DanaK

[DanaK]

28-day figures: 3.832 million viewers; 11th for the week

[DanaK]

On 7/23/2024 at 12:07 PM, DanaK said:

28-day figures: 3.832 million viewers; 11th for the week

Update: 15th for the week