# Doctor Who 2024 (Starting May 11 on Disney+ and BBC One) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, disney-hulu\ **Created:** [May 6, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191 "2024-05-06T16:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/1 "2024-05-06T16:58:58Z")
> **[Doctor Who’s sparkling new season feels like a fresh return to form](https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/05/doctor-whos-sparkling-new-season-feels-like-a-fresh-return-to-form/)** > > Russell T. Davies and stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson weigh in on the new adventures. > **[Doctor Who series 14](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_series_14)** > > The fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who is set to premiere on 11 May 2024, and is expected to air through to 22 June. It will be the fifth series led by Russell T Davies as head writer and executive producer and the first since his return to the show, having previously worked on it from 2005 to 2010. This series is set to be the fourteenth to air following the programme's revival in 2005 and will be the fortieth season overall. The fourteenth series... I looked around for a free trial offer for Disney+ but there doesn’t seem to be one. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/2 "2024-05-06T18:57:02Z")
IGN liked the first two episodes. I hope it’s great. It hasn’t been great for quite a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/3 "2024-05-06T20:45:24Z")
It is being partially consumed by Disney. Being called “season one”. Has a “[zippier pace](https://www.avclub.com/doctor-who-season-14-review-tv-disney-plus-ncuti-gatwa-1851454502)”. It does seem to be going for a [soft reboot](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/doctor-who-season-14-review-season-1-disney-bbc) for a new audience. So I think we may be heading for this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/znz3rXKAffQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Inspector Spacetime Luke Perry and Jennie Garth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znz3rXKAffQ) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Sd23slMhWQU/hqdefault.jpg "Teen Gate SG-1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd23slMhWQU) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/4 "2024-05-11T03:21:33Z")
Episodes 2 and 3 were available for me today (May 10, I checked at 7 PM local [CDT] time) (or 1 and 2 if you don’t count the Christmas special) I watched “Space Babies” – it was fine. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/5 "2024-05-11T06:36:13Z")
I hated _Space Babies_. _The Devil’s Chord_ was better but not perfect. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/6 "2024-05-11T14:02:15Z")
Was anyone able to read what was on the TARDIS screen at the end other than Scanning Ruby’s DNA? ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/7 "2024-05-11T14:17:55Z")
It looks like it’s UHD 4K for all episodes this season, not just the specials as it’s been the last couple of years. It looks amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/8 "2024-05-11T14:29:00Z")
So, is it really accessible to people who’ve never watched Doctor Who (but are aware of things like the Tardis, he’s a time traveler, etc)? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/9 "2024-05-11T14:59:07Z")
Space Babies takes pains to spell out things as The Doctor explains to new viewers by way of explaining to Ruby. I have not seen next ep yet. Hopefully it gets better. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/10 "2024-05-11T15:04:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Was anyone able to read what was on the TARDIS screen at the end other than Scanning Ruby’s DNA? Didn’t even try to see what it said until you asked. It started off saying “genetic id scan”, “species scan”, and “age scan”, and then filled in with this: [![](https://i.postimg.cc/NGXdgnrY/Screenshot-20240511-105819.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/NGXdgnrY/Screenshot-20240511-105819.jpg) She’s 10 years old? (Eta: watching the text closely in motion, I suppose that is a blurry 9 for 19, so not a twist at the end.) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/11 "2024-05-11T15:10:17Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > So, is it really accessible to people who’ve never watched Doctor Who (but are aware of things like the Tardis, he’s a time traveler, etc)? I mean, I suppose there are first-time viewers who would see space babies, snot monsters, and fart thrusters and think “This is something I want more of!”, but I wouldn’t be one of them. I saw the first part of that episode in preview, and I wanted a whole episode of unraveling the consequences of the butterfly stomp. That hypothetical episode would have more mavity. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/12 "2024-05-11T16:01:37Z")
In the first episode Ruby asks if something is “a matter transporter like on _Star Trek_”, and The Doctor laughs and says “We’ve gotta visit them someday.”. Is this the first time another SF franchise has been mentioned on _Doctor Who_? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/13 "2024-05-11T16:42:28Z")
The new Doctor? Amazing. The new companion? Yep, pretty good. Space Babies as an episode? Uh, very silly. Did not like. We have a new Doctor who fully feels like the Doctor to me. Let’s make sure we give him some episodes that are actually good. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/14 "2024-05-11T23:28:33Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Is this the first time another SF franchise has been mentioned on _Doctor Who_? ‘The Christmas Invasion’ was the first episode for David Tennant. He made a reference to Arthur Dent and implied he was a real person that he knew. Also Rose said that Captain Jack was a bit more Spock like in ‘The Empty Child’. But she didn’t suggest Star Trek was anything other than a tv show. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/15 "2024-05-12T01:36:33Z")
Maestro referred to the “oldest one”(or something like that), I’m guessing it won’t be Lorien form Babylon 5 😉 > **[List of Babylon 5 characters | Lorien](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Babylon_5_characters#Lorien)** > > Lorien appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. He is played by Wayne Alexander. Alexander was also seen in Babylon 5 as Mr. Sebastian from the second-season episode "Comes the Inquisitor" and as a Drakh from the fifth-season episode "The Fall of Centauri Prime". > Lorien made his first appearance in the episode "The Hour of the Wolf". Lorien makes the statement that he is not a First One but rather the First One, belonging to an immortal race of great wisdom ... The goblin song was cute, and it made some sense to have a song in this episode, but I’m not sure I want much more – musical bits impact are inversely proportional to their frequency IMHO. I did like the Doctor mentioning Susan and other 1st Doctor stuff. Brian ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/16 "2024-05-12T02:23:07Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Is this the first time another SF franchise has been mentioned on _Doctor Who_? _“What did you expect? Some kind of space rocket, with Batman at the controls?”_ -The Third Doctor, INFERNO. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/17 "2024-05-12T04:17:01Z")
This season has something weird going on with 4th wall breaking. In rhe Christmas special Mrs. Flood looks at the camera and mentions that someone has never seen a TARDIS before. The Maestro looks at the camera and starts playing the Doctor Who theme on the piano. Ruby asks the Doctor about music playing: The Doctor mumbles to himself “I thought that was non-diegetic.” Are these supposed to be isolated jokes? Are the supposed to be meaningful to the season arc? We have at least two confirmed reality warpers from anoter dimension/universe–are they going to be straight-up Deadpooling? Also in discussion, there is an actress named Susan Twist who has appeared/will appear in [at least five of the latest season’s episodes](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-susan-twist-theories/) as different characters. And the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan is explicitly mentioned this season. As well as that weird musical number pointing out that there is always a twist in the end. So–(the speculation goes), could there be a _twist_ about _Susan_ at the end? Possibly involving the actress Susan Twist? Is this season going to get so meta that Abed would say “that’s too meta”? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/18 "2024-05-12T08:40:38Z")
Well they have The Doctor explaining to the audience by way of telling Ruby the background facts a new viewer will need to understand the show and specifically this season … so the mention of Susan seems likely to be there for a reason. Ep three a bit better? Not as cringey cute as Ep 2 but still not quite … hitting the right notes? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/19 "2024-05-12T09:58:45Z")
BTW was the boy briefly shown near the end of the Twist dance number the same boy as Harbinger at the start? Also I hope the repeating actor isn’t a Clara thing. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191/20 "2024-05-12T12:20:20Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > BTW was the boy briefly shown near the end of the Twist dance number the same boy as Harbinger at the start? Yes. . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-2024-starting-may-11-on-disney-and-bbc-one/1001191.md?page=2)