Doctor Who’s Latest Era Is a Burst of Regenerative Energy [Video]

When one Doctor biologically passes the torch to another, they do so in fire: a cascading, revitalizing burst of energy that blinds, dazzles, destroys, changes, and births in equal measure. Although Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor already went through all that—of a sort—late last year for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary and at Christmas, his debut season feels like the show doing exactly that itself: a rebirth that is bursting at the seams with energy.

The first two episodes of what is now “season one” of Doctor Whoonce again (not season 14 by 2005 reckonings, and certainly not season 40, going all the way back to 1963)—“Space Babies” and “The Devil’s Chord,” both written by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies—operate in the a traditional format that Davies utilized throughout his previous time on the show. One trip forward in time, one trip back. It’s a way to not just introduce …