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Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, Review, TV | Tagged: 2000ad, bbc, disney, doctor who, russell t davies, satire
Doctor Who: "Dot and Bubble" Review: Old-School Sci-Fi Satire Returns
In "Dot and Bubble,", Doctor Who lets its "Black Mirror" flag fly with a Sci-Fi satire about technology that's not lacking in political bite.
After the more experimental episodes of the last two, even three episodes of this season, Doctor Who is back on familiar territory with "Dot and Bubble," an old-fashioned Science Fiction satire on the dangers of over-reliance on technology. Oh, and the evil of Capitalism. Again. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Once again, this is a spoiler-free review so feel free to continue reading…
So, what do you know about "Dot and Bubble" so far? It's about social media apps and twenty-somethings being all wrapped up in them. It has monsters eating people. So far, so Doctor Who. This is closest to what everyone's come to expect from Doctor Who: a satirical Science Fiction parable about the evils of technology. The buzz term now is "Black Mirror," but Doctor Who has been Black Mirror for much longer than before Black Mirror came along. This subgenre isn't always anti-technology per se. The more nuanced take is that over-dependence on technology is bad. "Dot and Bubble" certainly falls into that category. Without revealing anymore until after the premiere, this episode is gleefully, darkly funny, and ruthless in its satire. It's all fun and games… until it's not. It's the most like the British SciFi anthology comic 2000AD of the current season since the comic always deals in nasty dark comedy in SciFi clothing with relish, and there are real satirical, political teeth in "Dot and Bubble."
Disney sensibly asks reviews not to spill major spoilers in any reviews that run before Doctor Who premieres, and I agree that is very sensible. The fun of this season of Doctor Who is not knowing what kind of story you're going to get next and what happens in it that's frequently unexpected. Even the trailers can be misleading, or rather, they might make you think the story is going to go one when it takes a swerve into another, like with "73 Yards." Well, "Dot and Bubble" is pretty much what you see in the trailer, but that doesn't mean it's at all predictable or goes where you expect it to, again. Russell T. Davies knows he needs to keep viewers on their toes to keep them watching rather than fall back on expected tropes and plot turns that virtually every network TV and streaming series uses, especially with SciFi and fantasy series. He knows how to go left when you think things will go right, and that's "Dot and Bubble." We'll dive in deeper after it premieres and you've all watched it.
Doctor Who is now streaming globally on Disney+.
Doctor Who
8/10
In "Dot and Bubble", Doctor Who is back on familiar ground: Science Fiction satire about technology and its evils, this time social media. This episode is most like the 2000AD anthology comic in the whole season, full of gleeful barbs and nasty comedy, but it still has teeth and political bite. It's all fun and games... until it isn't.
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