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From mystery characters to the Doctor's many costumes... there's always a twist at the end.
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00:00Doctor Who Season 1 is finally upon us. Woohoo! It's been a tough wait since Christmas, not gonna lie, but let's all be happy now, let's celebrate!
00:09Doctor Who is back and we've got a very exciting few months ahead of us.
00:12Now of course, we've been doing a lot of theorising to pass the time since the church on Ruby Road.
00:18Everyone and their dog has a wacky theory about Season 1 at this point.
00:21Stuff like, the one who waits is actually Cherry Sunday, waiting for her tea!
00:25Somehow, David Tennant will find a way to appear, not counting holograms.
00:30Now while neither of these will feature here, we would like to discuss some of the juiciest, most interesting theories we have for these next 8 episodes.
00:38I'm Ellie for WhoCulture, and here are 10 insane Doctor Who Season 1 theories.
00:43Number 10. The Doctor's Costumes Have Hidden Significance
00:47Despite only appearing in 2 episodes so far, Shooty Gatwa has quickly established himself as the Fashion Doctor.
00:53He's already worn 5 costumes, with many more to follow in Season 1.
00:58The Doctor's previous incarnations have all, to a certain extent, stuck to one core costume.
01:03Occasionally swapping a shirt or a t-shirt or a coat out for a different one, but always maintaining a certain silhouette.
01:08So this is quite a departure.
01:10However, the most puzzling thing about the 15th Doctor's wardrobe was the choice to announce the checkered ensemble as his main look,
01:17when the leather jacket costume has so far featured much more prominently.
01:20Unless, as some have suggested, there's more to this Doctor's costumes than meets the eye.
01:25Just as the future Doctor in Flesh and Stone was distinguishable from his present day counterpart because he was still wearing his jacket,
01:32could the 15th Doctor's costumes correspond to specific moments in time?
01:36Perhaps all the scenes featuring the checkered outfit take place in the Doctor's future.
01:40After all, there did seem to be something different about the Doctor stood in the bar, observing Ruby from a distance.
01:46Either that, or 15th has just finally decided to delve into the TARDIS wardrobe.
01:51And it's about damn time!
01:53Number 9.
01:54Ruby is a Space Baby
01:55Season 1 will open with an episode titled Space Babies, which unsurprisingly will feature a load of babies in space.
02:04This story will also involve Golda Rushabelle's character Jocelyn, presumably a space nanny friend,
02:09and a big green bogeyman, presumably a baby-eating foe.
02:11Overall, Ruby's first trip off-world looks set to be fairly standard Doctor Who fare,
02:16but could it have implications for the season as a whole?
02:19We know that the mystery of Ruby's heritage is set to be a running thread,
02:23so what if, during the course of this adventure, she discovers that she is herself a space baby?
02:29What if this spaceship is where she was born?
02:31A reveal like this would be the perfect way to nudge the mystery forward without giving too much away.
02:36It would also provide more questions than answers.
02:39Who created Ruby? How did she end up on Earth? And why?
02:42Showrunner Russell T. Davis recently told SFX magazine that, quote,
02:46the story of Ruby's birth continues from episode 1.
02:49Consider, too, that three out of four Russell T. Davis season openers have referenced the companion in the title.
02:55Rose, Smith & Jones, and Partners in Crime.
02:58Could Space Babies actually be referencing Ruby?
03:00And if so, it's not as silly a title as it might have originally seemed.
03:05Number 8.
03:05The Doctor Goes Boom
03:07There's much hype surrounding Boom, not least because it's written by former showrunner Stephen Moffat,
03:13his first contribution to the show in seven years.
03:16Even before that fact was known, there was a buzz about the season's third episode.
03:20God, this is gorgeous, RTD told Doctor Who magazine in February, saying,
03:24the emotion, the depth, the performances, beautiful.
03:27The episode is heavily rumoured to revolve around the Doctor stepping on a landmine, hence the title.
03:32Fans have speculated that it will, as a result, be fairly Doctor-lite.
03:36There's one particular shot that would fit this theory, which has been appearing in trailers since September 2023.
03:42It shows a calm Doctor against a gold background, opening his eyes and looking out into the distance.
03:48Could this be him waking up in some sort of timey-wimey limbo after the landmine goes off?
03:53His outfit here matches the outfit we've seen in other shots from Boom, so there is a good chance it is from this episode.
03:59Moffat never plays by the rules, and for him to actually blow the Doctor up is the exact type of difficult situation he would often write himself into in some of his previous episodes.
04:10Number 7.
04:11Vara de Sethou will appear.
04:12Doctor Who's lead times are currently longer than ever.
04:16In most cases, episodes are being shot well over a year in advance.
04:19Indeed, by the time Season 1 premieres, Season 2 will basically be in the can.
04:23As such, we already know who will be joining Shuti Gatwa in the TARDIS in 2025.
04:28Vara de Sethou, best known for her role in Star Wars spin-off Andor and a bit part in Jurassic World Dominion,
04:34has now officially being confirmed as the show's next companion.
04:37But despite the rumours, this does not mean that Millie Gibson is leaving.
04:41On the contrary, RWBY will feature heavily in Season 2.
04:45It's a strange situation regardless, as TARDIS teams rarely feature new companions alongside established travellers, especially in New Who.
04:52Likewise, outgoing and incoming companions rarely overlap.
04:56One time when this did happen was in 2012 with Asylum of the Daleks, the opening story of Amy and Rory's final run.
05:02It also featured the surprise debut of Jenna Coleman.
05:06Might Vara de Sethou also appear earlier than we expect?
05:09Given how little we currently know about her character, it's perfectly possible.
05:13And if this was a twist the team wanted to pull off, the longer lead times would provide the perfect smokescreen.
05:18Number 6. Jonathan Groff is a recast Captain Jack
05:22Russell T. Davis' first series introduced a dashing hero, ostensibly from the past, but actually from the future,
05:29played by a dazzling actor with American heritage.
05:32Now, 19 years later, he seems to be doing the same thing again with Jonathan Groff, following in the footsteps of John Barrowman.
05:39If his blaster is anything to go by, and no, that's not a euphemism, Groff is also playing an anachronistic rogue, possibly even a time agent.
05:47And like Jack, the Doctor seems dubious of him to begin with.
05:50As the Goblin King would happily admit, this is a bit of a coincidence.
05:54But is that all it is? Perhaps Groff's character isn't just similar to Jack. Perhaps he is Jack.
06:00Admittedly, it's never been established that Jack can regenerate or change form before, but there's no reason why he couldn't.
06:06This is Doctor Who. Just invent some sci-fi babble, and hey presto.
06:10In terms of other evidence, there's the shot of the Doctor being scanned on a ship alongside a hologram of his tenth incarnation,
06:16the one Jack is most familiar with.
06:18There's also the shot of him saluting someone, just as he saluted Jack in Last of the Time Lords.
06:23There's definitely something going on here. Could it really be something as daring as this, though?
06:27Personally, I don't want this character to be a reinvention of Captain Jack, but I am very intrigued by who this rogue person is.
06:36Number 5. The TARDIS Has Turned Evil
06:38The big bad for Season 1 is heavily rumoured to be the mysterious Triad Technology,
06:44a company previously referenced in The Giggle and The Church on Ruby Road.
06:48Eagle-Eyed fans spotted another reference to Triad in the recent Season 1 trailer,
06:52with one of the screens in units displaying a news report titled S-TRIAD Technology Announcement.
06:58S-TRIAD is rumoured to be the company's founder,
07:01and the plot thickens when you consider that S-TRIAD is an anagram of a certain Type 40 time spaceship,
07:07which prompts the question, is the TARDIS somehow connected to Triad?
07:10There are multiple possibilities.
07:12Perhaps the Doctor's ship has been hijacked by Triad.
07:15Perhaps it's turned evil, Mr Smith style.
07:17Or perhaps Triad is manufacturing TARDISes of its own.
07:20It's worth noting that Astrid's name was also an anagram of TARDIS,
07:25and that was just a coincidence.
07:26This could easily just be another sneaky misdirect on Russell T. Davis' part.
07:30Then again, the TARDIS was pretty prominent in the title reveal clip for Empire of Death,
07:35and it didn't exactly look too healthy.
07:37Number 4. Music Is A Major Plot Point
07:40Every episode of Doctor Who features music of some sort or another.
07:44But usually this music is non-diegetic rather than diegetic,
07:49meaning it occurs outside of the story world and is therefore not heard by the characters.
07:53So far though, RTD Era 2 has utilised diegetic music quite heavily.
07:59The Star Beast showed one of Donna's neighbours listening to music on their headphones.
08:03Wild Blue Yonder is literally named after the anthem of the US Air Force.
08:07The Giggle featured arpeggios as a plot point,
08:10plus an incredible Spice Up Your Life dance routine from the Toymaker.
08:13And the church on Ruby Road introduced us to singing goblins,
08:17with the Doctor and Ruby getting in on the act in order to escape their ship.
08:20Episode 2 of Season 1 will continue this trend,
08:23with Jinx Monsoon's Maestro, The Beatles and Abbey Road Studios all featuring.
08:28It even looks set to include a musical number or two.
08:30But could something bigger be going on here?
08:32Perhaps diegetic music will play a part in every episode in some way.
08:36Perhaps music, like rope, is part of the supernatural lexicon now affecting the Doctor's adventures.
08:42Also, consider that triad has a musical meaning, a chord containing three notes.
08:47Keep those ears on high alert, people.
08:49I'm telling you, there's something in this.
08:51Number 3. Susan Twist will appear in every episode.
08:55The first New Who story arcs all revolved around a single word, phrase or idea,
09:00which would keep cropping up out of context.
09:02But none are more iconic than the OG repeated meme, Bad Wolf.
09:06Lots of plot threads have already been established for Season 1,
09:10but the one most akin to Bad Wolf is the rather baffling reappearance of Susan Twist,
09:14as a 21st century hippie on the church on Ruby Road,
09:17following a seemingly one-off turn as Isaac Newton's maid in Wild Blue Yonder.
09:22Speculation suggests that Twist will ultimately be playing a villain in the Season 1 finale,
09:27perhaps even the meddling monk.
09:29But it seems likely that we'll see her again before then.
09:32In fact, could she cameo in every episode?
09:35When recently asked to describe the new episodes,
09:37Millie Gibson did tease that, quote,
09:39there's always a twist.
09:40If so, that would essentially make Susan Twist a living, breathing version of Bad Wolf,
09:45a person that follows the Doctor and Ruby everywhere they go.
09:48In which case, Mrs. Meridue and the woman in the pub are just the beginning,
09:52and Twist's costume count could end up rivaling Shooty Gatwuz.
09:55Are we going to see her as a crew member in Space Babies?
09:58A noblewoman in Rogue?
10:00The Beatles PA in The Devil's Chord?
10:02It's a really fun idea,
10:03and would have fans going crazy with theories in the weeks between episodes.
10:07Number 2.
10:08We've Already Met Ruby's Parents
10:10Russell T. Davis recently teased that the Doctor and Ruby's shared orphan status
10:15is, quote,
10:15going to be the spine of the whole show going forward.
10:19So we can expect plenty of parallels between the pair in Season 1.
10:22We can also expect Ruby's storyline to go places the timeless child couldn't.
10:26For instance, we never found out who the Doctor's birth parents were,
10:30so as to preserve the mystery.
10:31But we can fully expect to learn the identity of Ruby's mother and father.
10:35The question is, are they characters we've already met?
10:38Mrs. Flood, Susan Twist, and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart are obvious contenders for Ruby's mother.
10:44But could she be someone from the show more broadly?
10:46What if Ruby's parents are a previously established Hooniverse couple,
10:50such as the Metacrisis Doctor and Rose, or hell, even the Doctor and River Song?
10:54Look, we did warn you that these theories would be crazy.
10:57Now, it's not unheard of for the Doctor to have familial ties with companions.
11:01And if the Doctor was involved somehow,
11:03it would explain why he didn't bother trying to stop the hooded figure at the church on Ruby Road,
11:08because he already knows the truth.
11:09In any case, it's definitely possible that the Doctor knows more about Ruby's past than he's letting on.
11:15And number one,
11:16The Doctor and Ruby are in a TV show.
11:19The 15th Doctor's era has, so far, featured an unusual number of fourth wall breaks.
11:24In isolation, these could easily be explained away.
11:26The Doctor's wink to the camera in the Devil's Chord could be part of a musical number.
11:30His, and that's just the beginning speech in the latest trailer,
11:33could be a specially shot promotional thing.
11:35And Mrs. Flood could be talking to herself at the end of the church on Ruby Road.
11:39Alternatively, this could all be part of a bigger breakdown between the Doctor's world and ours.
11:45We know that the Hooniverse is becoming more fantastical.
11:47So what if this extends to the very fabric of its reality too?
11:51We could be seeing the beginnings of the Doctor actually realising he's in a TV show.
11:56Or it could even be part of a villainous plot to observe and ultimately defeat the Time Lord.
12:01Basically like an evil version of the MCU's Watcher.
12:04Ruby's first scene in the church on Ruby Road took place on a film set.
12:08And the title reveal clip for The Legend of Ruby Sunday featured broadcast cameras.
12:12It's almost like the Doctor and Ruby are actually in a TV show, like Truman Show style.
12:17In the real world, the Doctor and Ruby's adventures will be watched by millions on BBC iPlayer and Disney+.
12:22But maybe, just maybe, someone else is watching them too.
12:26Dun, dun, dun!
12:28To keep up to date with everything surrounding the upcoming Season 1,
12:32then make sure you check out our Season 1 playlist for all our trailer breakdowns,
12:36the news videos, and anything new that might be coming.
12:39In the meantime, I've been Ellie for WhoCulture,
12:41and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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