Dot and Bubble

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.

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.

Ahh back to a monster of the week (but who or what is the REAL monster, she spoilers) which I largely thoroughly enjoyed.

This time we get a Doctor AND Ruby light episode, with both of the characters appearing in 'video clips' until the final scenes where they grace us with our presence. I must say that at this point in the series, with the doctor being so absent for so much of it (busy filming sex education by all counts) it's starting very much to feel more like Doctor Who-is that I'm watching here.

Anyway, the stage is clear for our main protagonist to hold the episode (which she does very well) as a social media obsessed spoilt brat with a genuine evil streak leading to a superb final scene from Ncuti.

Let's just hope he's a bit more present as we come to the last few episodes...

I wasn't a big fan of "Dot and Bubble" and I thought this episode was one of the Weaker ones in the siries, I am probably in the minority of that opinion, but for me "Boom" and "73 Yards" were considerably better. And "Devils chord" was so much fun. However, this episode I didn't feel so strongly about. And I'll explain as to why that is.

Three words, Lindy Pepper Bean. God was she insufferable, now I get that was the whole point, but she really dragged this episode down. I felt like throwing a brick at her. I mean right from the off she was impulsive and rude to the Doctor and Ruby even when they were trying to help her. And even let's her friend die just to by her time to escape, she was well written. Because she was such an annoying character, and she was well written by RTD.

The concept and the story though is formatted nicely and paced quite well. The idea behind the slugs doing things in alphabetical order was something new and fresh, and I didn't mind the concept behind it. I think it worked well in this episode as it created a mystery and made the episode a little lighter in tone. And the Slugs breaking through, was also explored here.

It reminds me of a Goosebumps episode with ants In, apologies I did forget what the story was called, but it has something to do with people being self-contained and the Ants are controlling them, it was right at the end and it was a plot-twist. So it is slightly different, as this episode is starts with this right from the off.

Ncuti Gatwa's frustration and disappointment when he told the humans could be saved if they went with him, he puts on a great performance here, he really let's out his anger and is really scared as to what might happen to them. I am glad they ended it like this, because it ends on a possibility and you can imagine what might happen next.

The Verdict for this episode, is "Dot and Bubble" is well executed, but Lindy really annoyed me and was a great written character by RTD. But it did ruin the enjoyment of this episode. I like how Internet is heavily involved, and social themes like race. So not bad, a so-so episode for me-6/10.

As this episode opens Lindy Pepper-Bean, an inhabitant of Finetime, wakes up. She immediately activates her dot and bubble... a miniature computer system and VR projector system which lets her chat to friends all day long. It even directs her where to walk as it obscures the view of the outside world. One of her friends asks about a mutual acquaintance who seems to have disappeared but she isn't interested. While at work she is contacted by The Doctor, who she blocks, then Ruby. She is warned that creatures are literally eating the people of Finetime; she takes some persuading but even when she learns the truth she has difficulty coping in the real world. Can The Doctor and Ruby save her and the rest of Finetime?

I think this may have been the best episode so far of the latest series. The satire on those addicted to the internet to the neglect of real life might not be subtle but it is effective and provides a tense story. Tension is increased by having things centred on Lindy Pepper-Bean, a character we've not seen before and won't expect to see again; this makes it possible to believe that she might not make it even though we know that The Doctor rarely fails. Callie Cooke did an impressive job as Lindy; she is rarely off screen and really carried the episode. Overall a really good episode that managed to go in unexpected directions without it feeling out of place. I certainly hope for more episodes of this quality.

The world of Finetime seems happy and harmonious. But an awful terror is preying on the citizens. Can the Doctor and Ruby make them see the truth before it's too late?