In Russell T. Davies’ Doctor Who, the Doctor Is Only One Half of the Story 

Sometimes, it turns out that you actually can go home again after all. Former showrunner Russell T. Davies, who left Doctor Who back in 2009 after successfully relaunching the franchise for the modern era, has come home again, to a show that looks quite a bit different than the last time he held its reins. Now firmly established in a new streaming home on Disney+ and broadcasting simultaneously to much of the world, the show has rarely looked more expensive or well-made. Led by the first queer Black man to play the Doctor in Ncuti Gatwa, it’s obvious that the show—and Davies himself—has clear ideas about where this franchise should go in its sixth decade. But the most welcome aspect of its former showrunners’ return is Doctor Who’s decision to kick off a new era by going back to the basics of what has made the modern version of the show so successful: the characters at its center. 

“The Church on Ruby Road” is the first proper adventure for Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, and he doesn’t disappoint. Boasting a megawatt smile and seriously magnetic charm, he’s mesmerizing from his first moments onscreen. Fresh off of Fourteen’s still-in-progress self-actualization journey in Donna Noble’s backyard, his Doctor is a version of the infamous Time Lord who seems more centered, confident, curious, and fun than any incarnation we’ve seen on our screens in some time. He goes to the club! He’s learning to understand the language of luck! He’s got high-tech arts and crafts projects happening back in the TARDIS! But, and perhaps most significantly, he’s not necessarily the most important part of the story this show is telling. 

Don’t get me wrong, everyone who loves Doctor Who loves the character of the Doctor. A humanoid, two-hearted alien who travels time and space in a blue police box, the character’s omnipresent wonder and unabashed joy in the universe’s ability to change and adapt are deeply infectious, offering a timely and often necessary reminder that hope is a choice, good is an active verb, and amazing things are always possible if we keep (and have) faith in each other. The Doctor has been through more than his (and her) fair share of trauma and loss, but has never allowed it to make him cruel or cowardly, deciding instead to travel hopefully and be kind.  

But at this point in his very long existence, the Doctor is also ancient, a near-immortal creature who has seen and done (almost) everything. This is what makes the role of his various companions so important—not just to provide an audience window into the workings of the show and its various adventures, but to help the Doctor himself see and experience the universe in a new or unexpected way. This may be a show that has aliens, time travel, and frequently nonsensical mystery box plots, but those things have never been the point of the story it’s telling, and Doctor Who has always been at its best and most compelling when its outlandish science fiction twists are grounded in relatable characters and all too human emotional stakes. Davies’ first season in charge of the TARDIS ended with Christopher Eccleston’s Nine facing off with his oldest and most dangerous adversary, but the episode’s true impact came from the growth and strength displayed by companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), in her determination to get back to and fight beside her Doctor. 

The first episode of Davies’ return stint as series showrunner, “The Church on Ruby Road” grounds its story in the introduction of new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), who is sunny, fun, and instantly charming. We can see immediately why the Doctor is drawn to her, and understand why she might want to run off and travel time and space with him. Gibson’s obvious charisma is evident, but the show also puts in the work to make her character (and her life) feel complex and lived-in. In fact, you could probably argue we know more about Ruby after a single episode than we did about several recent companions who spent full seasons alongside the Doctor. 

Part of that is due to Fifteen’s more open, warmer, and less socially anxious personality. But it’s also because Davies clearly sees Ruby’s interiority and personal journey as something important and worthy of focus for its own sake, rather than as part of some larger puzzle or mystery. And though I suspect we’ll come back to the identity of her mother before the next season of the show is finished, it’s the shared emotional experience of not knowing where they come from that ultimately brings the Doctor and Ruby closer together.

One of the best things about Davies’ particular style of storytelling is how interested he is in the companions and those around them as fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters in their own rights. In this episode, we see snippets of Ruby’s everyday life, from domestic bickering over tea and shopping with her family to nights out with her mates. Her relationships with foster mother Carla (Michelle Greenridge) and grandmother Cherry (Angela Wynter) not only feel rich and layered, but as though they exist well beyond the boundaries of the particular story we’re watching play out onscreen, with history and shared experiences and all manner of memories between them. (Carla reminiscing about the 30+ foster children she’s helped raise over the years—and the impact Ruby has had on her life as the one who stayed with her the longest—is particularly sweet and moving.) Though we spend only a brief bit of time with her adoptive family, it’s immediately clear that these bonds have helped fashion Ruby into the warm and caring young woman she is today. But while she clearly loves both Carla and Cherry very much, it’s equally evident that she is still both haunted and motivated by the circumstances of her past, giving her personal journey a specific drive and focus that helps set her apart from many of the recent companions who have come before her. 

And that’s not an accident. Davies’ approach to telling stories has always been as much about people as it is plot—it’s why his episodes, silly and/or nonsensical as they may often be from a larger narrative or even structural franchise perspective (lol bi-regeneration what), ring so true emotionally. His Who understands that the show is—and should be—about something greater than the Doctor’s trauma or even his exceptional, long-lived nature. Rather, his stories focus on how being part of these shared adventures changes both the Doctor and those who travel with him, as well as the lives he and his companions go on to touch. (Hands up if you’re already obsessed not just with Ruby’s immediate family, but also with her strange neighbor Mrs. Flood who absolutely knows more than she should about Time Lord technology.) And, as a result, the show manages to feel like so much more than the individual sum of its parts, in ways that previous showrunners didn’t seem to be terribly interested in exploring. 

We’ll have to wait a few months to see the Doctor and Ruby’s first adventures together, but if “The Church on Ruby Road” is anything to go by, we’re going to be in for a satisfyingly rich and emotional ride. 

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB.

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