Is this an unprecedented kind of story? What does the ending say, & what does it avoid saying? How well does the Doctor-lite majority of the episode work? What meanings does the aesthetic & music suggest?
TIMECODES:
00:00:00 General impressions
00:01:59 Premise disguising the real point
00:09:28 Misdirection & hints
00:15:30 Ricky the surrogate Doctor
00:18:50 Who is “the audience”?
00:23:31 End of history setting & antagonist
00:27:51 Tech industry AI paranoia
00:30:35 Nostalgic Fallout-y aesthetics
00:32:47 Disturbing moments & Ricky’s fate
00:37:24 Slug design & backstory
00:40:44 Slugs representing narrative’s breakdown
00:43:27 Doctor-lite episodes
00:46:26 The ending & what it avoids
01:01:20 Ncuti’s performance & characterisation at the end
01:05:54 The Doctor’s decision to leave
01:11:23 Questions about the Homeworld
01:13:53 Music of the episode
SOURCES
1.
00:02:02
Original titles IRL
Davies, Russell T. “Episode Preview: Dot and Bubble.” Doctor Who Magazine, vol. 604, 23 May 2024, p. 15.
2.
00:02:16
RTD DWM, original visible Twitter idea in 2009
Davies, Russell T. “Episode Preview: Dot and Bubble.” Doctor Who Magazine, vol. 604, 23 May 2024, p. 15.
3.
00:03:50
RTD’s sketch of what the bubble heads look like
âDoctor Who Unleashed: Dot and Bubbleâ Doctor Who Unleashed, BBC iPlayer, 1 June 2024, ~21m, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zxwn
4.
00:07:11
RTD/Gatiss don’t know how to write interview
Russell T Davies and Mark Gatiss: How to save TV.â The Sunday Times, 29 Jan. 2023, https://archive.vn/LwSvT
5.
00:14:38
RTD wonders how long it would take white viewers to notice the cast
âDoctor Who Unleashed: Dot and Bubbleâ Doctor Who Unleashed, BBC iPlayer, 1 June 2024, ~3m10s, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zxwn
6.
00:19:00 RTD says bubble shows where we’re heading
âDoctor Who Unleashed: Dot and Bubbleâ Doctor Who Unleashed, BBC iPlayer, 1 June 2024, ~9m40s, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zxwn
7.
01:01:29
End was first thing Ncuti filmed
âDoctor Who Unleashed: Dot and Bubbleâ Doctor Who Unleashed, BBC iPlayer, 1 June 2024, ~1m19s, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zxwn
8.
01:04:10
Moff teases Ncuti going full Capaldi later
Davies, Russell T, Steven Moffat, and Joel Collins. In-vision commentary. Doctor Who, Boom with commentary, 18 May 2024, ~17m, https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001zpmb/doctor-who-video-commentaries-boom-with-commentary
9.
~1h17m4s
Preview clip
âDOT AND BUBBLE Preview | The Official Doctor Who Podcast | Doctor Who.â YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Who, 31 May 2024, https://youtu.be/v6zPkK1SPCQ
10.
~1h19m6s
Blade Runner inspiration
âBehind the Scenes | Dot and Bubble | Doctor Whoâ YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Who, 1 June 2024, ~3m55s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXz0XHdsQI
11.
~1h19m17s
Weather producer idea
âBehind the Scenes | Dot and Bubble | Doctor Whoâ YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Who, 1 June 2024, ~4m8s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXz0XHdsQI
Who Cares? 