Dot and Bubble

I mean, there are just so many things poorly explained sci-fi wise... Feels like Russel wasn't really trying to write a convincing sci-fi story. The sci-fi story overall is boring. Seems the only purpose is to quickly go over the sci-fi part then we can watch the sarcasm part, which is the real main course.

But the sarcasm is great. It's really Black Mirror-ish. You get to feel for the main character Lindy, and hate her in the same time. And some of the clues are kinda subtle, you probably need to read some comments and rewatch this episode to get it.

Also Ncuti's performance is exceptional - I love it when he was given some depth and tension, rather than being the always happy and confident doctor.

It just keeps getting better doesn't it? Well, that's also because it started off horribly. But the last 3 episodes have been a blast.

Let me start off with the originality of this episode, the idea of the bubble, and people not being able to live without it is genius. The design of the world they live in is great and the characters are amazing. The idea of having to save someone that doesn't want to be saved, and rather be stuck in her bubble is great. The idea of the Doctor and Ruby operating online is sp creative. And don't get me started on the ending...

And of course it's all just a massive metaphor. People rather looking away then solving the problem. Climate change, war, genocide, everything. We're all too caught up in popculture and celebrity drama. Just genius.

It was like something from an Inside number 9 episode. The way that most whovians would go into this episode thinking it was about "kids are on their phones too much" and believing that this was the premise for pretty much 3/4 of the episode, then the concept is flipped on its head with Ncuti Gatwa stealing the show with just one scene.

RTD said he pitched this concept to Moffat for season 5 but would have been not to the CGI quality to create the world he wanted. This totally works with the new Disney budget coming in and this world seems plausible that something like this could happen. Granted the monsters were a little corny but other than that, RTD absolutely cooked here with the twist.

Here's another RTD penned episode that manages to deliver, and coincidentally, it's also a doctor-lite story. A strange trend in an 8 episode season that's meant to be our introduction to a new Doctor, but both Dot and Bubble and 73 Yards are good enough to make up for Ncuti's lack of presence.

Dot and Bubble is a bit of a swerve. You're led to believe that it's a cheap, overdone metaphor for constant phone usage and social media, when in reality its been dropping subtle hints about its true subject matter the whole time. It's decent enough on the first go, but on rewatch you can go back and see the obvious for yourself. It's all very intentionally about something else, and it's extremely well done. Smart script, strong themes, and a disgusting ending. Easily one of RTD's best pieces of writing.

Going into 'Dot and Bubble', I was a bit weary as it seemed to be a lame Doctor Who knockoff of Black Mirror's 'Nosedive'. However, this episode was not only intriguing, but continuously surprising.

The protagonist of this episode, Lindy I think her name was, was actually fun to watch. Her bratty, tech savvy personality was a good parallel to Millie's much kinder soul. I thought, surely this was a character who would be redeemed...

This episode tricked me. She was certainly not what I thought. I loved the ending of the episode because it completely threw me off. While it wasn't the most amazing thing all round, it was worth the watch and I was definitely invested.