It’s probably fair to say that the new season of Doctor Who hasn’t had the smoothest of starts, with the BBC show losing almost a million viewers since its recent premiere. While showrunner Chris Chibnall has revealed he doesn’t care about reviews, and avoids social media, it does seem that the series needs a bit of a jumpstart after the opening two-parter and last week’s “Orphan 55.” One thing that fans do appear to be happy about, though, is the scare factor of the monsters introduced in the latter episode.
As evidenced below, Doctor Who viewers found the vicious Dregs in “Orphan 55” to be a terrifying addition to the canon of creatures in the series. Praise on social media included:
Ok so the story felt a little messy in places, but what I can give the episode credit for is the Dregs have got to be one of the scariest monsters we've had in a while#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/WCp1IQEXtD
— TardisMonkey 🦖 🍂 (@tardis_monkey) January 12, 2020
I love these proper brilliant scary monsters nice they were a surprise #doctorwho pic.twitter.com/r0BMSqnNRb
— TARDIS Time (@TARDIStime2) January 12, 2020
I love these proper brilliant scary monsters nice they were a surprise #doctorwho pic.twitter.com/r0BMSqnNRb
— TARDIS Time (@TARDIStime2) January 12, 2020
Well that’s Orphan 55 over !
Once again another great instalment in Series 12 and another solid episode from Ed hime. I really like the change in tone in this episode and I thought the monsters did look scary ❤️
Ryan had such a good sublot too
Thoughts ? #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/Zy1AC6uJd2
— Safe Space Who (@SafeSpaceDrWho) January 12, 2020
Bit of a bumpy episode, but enjoyed it nonetheless. The Dregs looked brilliant – a scary monster at last! The beginning was spot on, while the middle and end were clumsy, as were some characters. The Doctor may as well look straight at the camera with her last remarks. #DoctorWho
— Daniel J. McLaughlin (@PodcastJourno) January 12, 2020
My brain hurts again 😂 that was so action packed madness scary monsters freaky ideas #DoctorWho depressing end 😂 😭
— TARDIS Time (@TARDIStime2) January 12, 2020
Was the episode mindblowing? Nah but it had unexpected twists, genuinely scary monsters and a brilliant message regarding capitalism and global warming and if ur against that final speech than I ain’t got anything to say to you but ok boomer #DoctorWho
— maisie 🌟 (@shes_biochem) January 12, 2020
All that being said, this episode was far from perfect. Writer Ed Hime, who penned the excellent “It Takes You Away” in season 11, arguably struggles to find new things to say in an outing that riffs on classic base-in-peril scenarios, as well as the seemingly idyllic location that turns out to be something else entirely. Throw in some tired humor, and difficulties landing the central theme, and “Orphan 55” will likely go down as one of the least memorable installments of Jodie Whittaker’s era as the Doctor.
Still, the Dregs were well-realized, even with some plotting inconsistencies, and the use of practical effects is a welcome change from CGI. Here’s hoping that this week’s “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” can deliver on its awesome title and get season 12’s rocky start back on track. Of course, there are still plenty more episodes for Chibnall to get the quality levels back up, but the potential for a coherent season-long arc has been damaged by recent hints that we won’t get a full explanation for the “Timeless Child” mystery this year.
Tell us, though, what do you think of the Dregs as a new Doctor Who monster? As always, let us know in the comments down below.
Published: Jan 16, 2020 07:21 pm