Skip to main content

Notes on - Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday

 

The Legend of Ruby Sunday notes

I still don’t love the whole TARDIS swooping in to a slide thing

I guess it does look exciting

Hey, it’s Rose!  She’s gotten so tall!

It’s weird that Ruby and Rose haven’t met before.  The specials felt so close together.

The Doctor:  Ruby, this is Kate. We love Kate. I knew Kate’s dad. He was the best of men.

The Vlinx.  I don’t see what the upgrades are.  I’ll have to go back and check

The Doctor:  Colonel Ibrahim!  Someone has been working out.

They’re coy about not giving Harriet’s last name at this stage but we’re so busy being impressed at this Doctor’s people skills that we don’t notice.

Morris Gibbons and the passing asteroid.

Where’s Shirley Anne Bingham??

I like the implication that Morris Gibbons’ asteroid thing was just one whole separate adventure that The Doctor wasn’t part of

They’ve jumped ahead to being totally aware of Susan Twist now.  They could have paced that better if they’d had more episodes.

I like the undercut that everybody else already knows who Susan Triad is by the Doctor’s description.

I was just patting myself on the back for catching the anagram when they revealed that everybody had seen it right away

The Doctor:  The name is TARDIS Technology

Kate:  Well, obviously.

Colonel Ibrahim: Even I got that.

They’re totally lining up Sue above tech and we don’t notice at all because they’re talking about Susan being the Doctor’s granddaughter.  That’s nicely staged

They must have ahd a whole day of photo shoot just to make all the magazine covers

Except the obvious evil genius with alien technology.  Am I supposed to get that right away?  Can’t be Trump, he’s a fucking moron.  Is this a British reference?

Oh right, Ruby doesn’t know about regeneration.  They’re making a big deal of the moment explaining it to her when they could just handwave it quickly.  I wonder why?

Morris Gibbons:  Name, Anagram, TARDIS.  Probability of a trap 95% and rising.

And another rug pull that it’s just a rehearsal

And hey there’s Mel!

Why did we decide that Bonkers is her main character description.  Going off with Glitz I suppose.

Kate: We’ve got her undercover on the media team, and she’s discovered one surprising thing.  Susan Triad turns out to be really nice.

Call me Sue.  Sue Tech.  Come on, you’re going to kick yourself for missing this later!

I love that Ruby and Rose are bon ding so quickly.  That’s nice

The Christmas episode was filed under goblins

I enjoy Kate fangirling over Davina Macoll.  That’s unexpected and sweet

Morris just asked the question we’ve all been asking regarding Susan being Ruby’s mother

It makes sense by the established rules why The Doctor can’t just go back in time and check

OH, so the recurring snow is the snow from that night bleeding through time to wherever they are because that moment is so messed up.

What were survelience practices like in 2004?  I should be able to remember.  And when did 2004 become a historical period?  Shit.  I’m old.

Would they really have given Ruby’s gran the VHS tape?  Maybe, I guess.

Aw, Rose is going with Ruby to meet Carla and Cherry.  Love that.

So Mel has a cell sample hand buzzer

Her folks were a postman and a dinner lady.

Is that a British brand of shoes?

Carla figures that if Rose’s mother is part of UNIT than she can go be part of it too.

And leaves Mrs. Flood to stay with Cherry.  Ooo, this can’t be good

Mrs. Flood:  I’m always just hiding myself away.

Mrs. Flood is kind of insulting to both Rose and Ruby

I thought Cherry liked The Doctor

Cherry:  I would like a cup of tea.

Mrs. Flood: Would you, sweetheart?  Well, we’d all like a lot of things… that aren’t going to happen.

So is Mrs. Flood evil, or is this a misdirect?  She knows that he who waits is done waiting at least.  I bet she turns out to not be evil

The third Doctor never told Brig that he had a granddaughter

I suppose if you’re a time lord you can have a grandchild before having children.

The Doctor’s never gone back to see Susan because he thinks he only brings disaster

*** For what it’s worth, I think you bring joy.

The Doctor confirms that if he actually met up with Susan Triad he would know if she was Susan

But the possibility that it’s a trap is too high

Aww, a hug from Kate.  Bless.

And for Mel!

We’re 65 minutes out from Susan Triad’s big address

Kate:  A phoenix is just a bird until it burns.

Dig at the current prime minister

Why are they jumping through plot loops to get Carla in the building but separate from Ruby

The Doctor:  Kate, do you have a time window?

Kate: Wh.. You expressly told us in the 1970s, UNIT was absolutely forbidden to experiment with any form of time technology

The Doctor: Do you have a time window?

Kate: Ten floors down.

The Doctor looking all serious before he busts a gut over how primitive it all is to him

Winston Chidozie, sharing an accent with Ruby

Of course the declaration of independence’s quill was white

Adapted from a grainy VHS

That means Carla must own a VHS player

Ruby knows Mel will look after her mum

We never did get an official account of how Mel met the Doctor and lost her family

I remember December 24th, 2004.

And here comes the snow bleeding through again without the machine even being turned on.

He called that Christmas a fixed point

Chronon deteriating

So it’s a time holodeck, basically

Kate:  We’ve got sound and vision!  - a bowie reference

Why is her mother so blacked out and glitchy?

She’s shadowed, apparently

Why can’t Ruby move?  That doesn’t seem to be necessary

Colonel Chidozie.

And here’s the Doctor’s footage from the Christmas special

They’re repeating the time is memory line from Tales of the TARDIS several times

Is she actually crying, or is Carla projecting

OK, that’s why she was still walking away after all that time

Time keeps changing.

Why is she pointing at The Doctor.  Is she just confirming that he;s right and Time is changing

Chidozie just backed behind the TARDIS.  That’s him gone then

Morris has to interrupt the tender moment to point out the rapidly appearing demon cloud where the TARDIS just was

Is the dust cloud what’s left of Chidozie?

Kate:   Doctor, when is that thing?  Is it now, or 2004?

Something has seen into Chidozie’s soul and now he’s in hell

Impressive explosion.  I like the way the snow pitted the glass

Chidozie is made of sand.  That’s a clue

It looks like Kate is blaming The Doctor for Chidozie’s death

Kate is pissed.

And it’s the loss of an innocent soldier that makes the Doctor decide to risk meeting Susan Triad, even if it is almost certainly a trap.

There’s a lot of setup for next week in this one.

Mel:  Finished?  Now stop grizzling and fix it.

The cloud has burned itself into the VHS recording

Harriet is doing a good job looking surprised

And just like that the theory of her being Susan is shot down

Susan:  Well, top marks for enigmatic

Susan hasn’t been sleeping because she dreams so much.  All of her other appearances have been dreams of hers.

And it’s great that there are other examples shown that we didn’t get to see in episodes

It’s Harriet that suggests running the tape backwards.  Clever.

The TARDIS is there on Ruby Road for a second time with the evil death cloud wrapped around it.  Is it the second appearance of the TARDIS that allowed the thing to enter

The trap wasn’t in Ruby Road, it was around the TARDIS that’s right there with them

Susan’s dorky little dance to the B-52s

Again, they’re making sure Carla is there, but separated.  What plot function is that going to serve?

There’s a life form around the TARDIS.  Has it been there all season??  Did it retroactively get put there by the past changing?  That makes more sense

Why does the Doctor want Ruby in the Time Window?

What’s happening to Susan?

The thing is woven into the fabric of the TARDIS itself

And now Harriet is revealed for what she is.  What’s this vessel that the thing was seducing?

Harriet Arbinger.  Devil’s Chord callback

I would not feel safe if I was that UNIT soldier

List of Gods

Toymaker

Trickster

Mastro

Reprobate (God of spite.  Have we met them?)

The Mara (God of beasts?  That doesn’t really track)

The threefold deity of malice, mischief and Misery

Incensor?  With her children doubt and dread

Was the intention ever that Sutekh was the god of all gods?  He was just a really powerful alien with a shitty attitude

Sue over tech in the logo.  That’s a clever reveal.

The graphics of the name reveal were neat

Not super thrilled with the Sutekh CGI

Sutekh’s gift of death.

I’m pretty sure that’s Gabriel Woolf again

He’s talking a lot more like the beast from impossible planet/Satan Pit though

He deliberately tricked the Doctor into thinking she might be Susan

Great cliffhanger.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on - Doom Patrol: Ezekiel Patrol

Ezekiel Patrol notes OMH, Alan Tudyks recap via Doctor Seuss to polka music was the best thing ever.   Finally they came together.   Hah! Mr. Nobody:   Cue the recap! ***This is the best timeline EVER! I still don’t get why Jane doesn’t age SO the chief caused their accidents as an experiment in immortality So Mr. Nobody didn’t have any plan for the patrol at all, he was just amusing himself with the bonus of hurting the chief I would watch a season of the Bachelor with Mr. Nobody Mr. Nobody:   I’m going to conduct a parade.   I’m gonna guest host The View.   I’m going to become the next Bachelor! He wanted Niles to feel like nobody Alan puts just the right amount of actual menace underneath the whimsy 1961 The Ant Farm Niles did go back to work for them!   He coordinated the whole test flight for Larry, and didn’t care that he had a wife and kids (and John) Rita was already a test subject for them.   I wonder why she didn’t get put i

Notes on - Doom Patrol: Amends Patrol

  Amends Patrol Notes We start in the wreckage of the bus crash.   Surprisingly sweet music.   Nice contrast.   This whole season has used music well. Is the larva OK?? Larry’s got the larva The larva is injured and trying to connecto to save itself. ***   We’ve been here before.   Battered, bruised.   But we lick our wounds and rise from the ashes, Stronger than ever before. Larry:   Are you seriously trying to give us a rally speech right now? Rita is desperately trying to pretend they’re all just like normal, but she’s destroyed her ralationships with all of them Is Kay alive behind the wall?   She must be I suppose Jane is bneing surprisingly honest that she’s just not in any shape to help anyone at the moment. Larry finally admits that they aren’t a super team.   Which paradoxically is the last step to their becoming one. And here’s Shelly’s fog. Rita finally admits that it’s Laura not getting hurt that she’s mad about. Hey there, look at Shelly giving th

Notes on - Doom Patrol: Tomb Patrol

  Tomb Patrol notes We open with Butt Hunter running He looks pretty beat up So the Bureau used to want to capture them alive but now wants him to shoot to kill *** I always get my butt. Where/when are we now?   I’m guessing that wasn’t actually the last butt According to close captioning, the Butt that’s talking is named ‘Teddy’.   SO, there’s that. Is that the dystopian butt future, or is that happening right now? Vic’s back at the old STAR labs set.   And Silas just happens to be there? Oh, no, Vic invited him How does Silas know about the musical world? Silas is happy Vic is hanging with Deric again.   He should be, Deric’s good people. How easiy is it, realistically, to be re-cyborged What’s the rest of the DP up to while Vic is out in the middle of the night?   Sleeping, I suppose. So Vic still wants to help people.   That’s nice. LOVE Madame Rouge’s response to seeing Isabel Madame Rouge:   So, if it is revenge that you want, you are going t