The Guardian
Rating:
'Conventionally, an episode to open a much-anticipated new season will be tightly honed, but Space Babies bulges loosely, despite going to absurd lengths to accommodate new fans...
'Much better is episode two, The Devil's Chord, which takes the Doctor and Ruby to Abbey Road to witness the Beatles recording their debut album.
'If the narrative's ultimate message is sentimental, amounting as it does to Davies saying, ''I love music, me! It's brilliaaaaant!'', [Jinx] Monsoon's wicked-witch flamboyance gives it a menacing edge.'
The Telegraph
Rating:
'Mostly, there's nothing here to scare anyone who has recently graduated from Bluey and Peppa Pig... The talking babies make for a silly bit of storytelling, but I enjoyed it on my children's behalf.'
'[The Devils Chord] has a good opening scene but then goes on for what feels like forever, with drag queen Jinkx Monsoon chewing the scenery as Maestro.
'The main asset of the new Doctor Who is Gatwa, who carries the series along with the force of his megawatt charisma. When the Doctor tells someone: ''Nobody grows up wrong. You are what you are, and that is magnificent,'' it may be another example of Davies hammering home a point, but in Gatwa's delivery it becomes a joyful message of self-acceptance.'
Variety
'Even with this new energy, some episodes are more riveting than others. Episode 2 leans into the twist-dancing and beehive hair of the '60s.
'But it doesn't quite come together, despite Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon's appearance as the music-stealing Maestro. Yet the profound bond between Ruby and the Doctor keeps the season from ever going off-kilter.'
The Radio Times - Space Babies
Rating:
'Space Babies is a frothy sci-fi romp that serves as a solid jumping-on point for newcomers but should also satisfy traditionalists with its scares, larks and intergalactic derring-do.
'More so than in his two previous appearances, Gatwa gets to run the gamut of the Doctor's emotional complexity here – their joie de vivre, their compassion, their absolute compulsion to keep on moving forward and never look back, but also their shattering loneliness.'
The Radio Times - The Devils Chord
Rating:
'Maestro is a villain that feels like they could jump out of the screen and they're impossible to look away from. It's almost difficult to hate them because it's clear how much Monsoon relished bringing such a camp, theatrical and, in the best way, completely ridiculous villain to mainstream TV.
'Is The Devil's Chord a perfect Doctor Who story? Absolutely not. But it's vivid, silly, gripping, and sees our brand new Doctor battle a larger than life villain across the streets of 1960s London. We could certainly be doing a lot worse.'
The Times
Space Babies
Rating:
'In the opening two episodes of his first full series with his new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and companion, Ruby Sunday, Davies certainly goes to amazing places with an almost child-like glee — all aided by dollops of cash from its co-producer Disney that can really be seen on screen.'
'There are also some pointed ''Russellisms'' here too - we get a homily on refugees, one of the babies is told that no one is made ''wrong'' and the Doctor says that ''monsters … [are] just creatures you haven't met yet''.
The Devil's Chord
Rating:
'The sound of Who is an important part of the show that is overdue a celebration and it's one of many perfectly judged imaginative leaps that Davies is clearly keen to take. His new Who has definitely got its mojo back.'
Collider
Davies adds a richness to the stories of the previous era and stitches Fifteen's journey to that of the past Doctors, with the help of Gatwa's well-researched performance.
'Nothing's been glossed over or ignored, despite not necessarily being required viewing for new audiences to keep up.'
IGN
'The Sex Education breakout is electric in his new role, encapsulating everything that The Doctor is on the surface, utilizing a youthful energy that's tied up in, or even masking, a mind that's lived for thousands of years.'
'There’s a familiar feeling to this new era, but Episodes 1 and 2 still sparkle with ingenuity and embrace the changes at every opportunity. If that isn’t Doctor Who, then I don’t know what is.'
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