How I learned to stop worrying and love Doctor Who Season 14

Despite the initial excitement around Russell T Davies, Ncuti Gatwa, and Doctor Who Season 14, I must admit I’ve not been wholly impressed by the return of my favorite sci-fi series. 

I thought Space Babies was as stinky as a dirty diaper. The Devil’s Chord, meanwhile, was an improvement, but it was a weak story saved from the wrath of scornful reviews by the charisma of its guest star, Jinkx Monsoon, who played the brilliantly monstrous Maestro (one of the best new Doctor Who villains). 

Boom was a welcome reprieve from my lingering doubts about the season, but even then, I felt an itch at the back of my head, as if some part of me was rallying against Who’s latest run. It’s with some relief then that after watching 73 Yards, I can admit I’ve finally fallen in love with Doctor Who Season 14, and it all comes down to one realization.

Magic exists in Doctor Who now, and I just have to roll with that. 

I, too, used to believe in magic…

BBC/Disney+

Now, of course, anyone who’s a long-time fan of Doctor Who will know that magic has been a part of the series for decades. However, for the most part, the ‘magic’ we saw onscreen was normally advanced alien technology or the psychic abilities of creatures and beings beyond our comprehension.

What I’m saying is that the series had an internal logic. Yet the logic has broken down in Season 14, magic seems to be running wild, and I don’t think it’s (or I hope) sloppy writing from Davies. I believe it’s part of a grander plan, and it all began when the 14th Doctor used an old trick on the Not-Things during the events of Wild Blue Yonder. 

During that episode, The Doctor sprinkled a line of salt to stop the creatures from beyond the universe. The trick only stopped the monsters for a moment. Still, it was quickly forgotten until the end when the Doctor admits invoking a superstition at the edge of one reality and another might have been unwise. 

Indeed, it’s inferred that it’s the salt trick that allowed the Toymaker to pass back into our universe, superstition, and magic bleeding into its fabric like blood soaking into a bandage. 

And for my next trick…

BBC

Which brings us to Season 14. So far, the series has had a far more fantastical bent than other seasons of Who, even more so than Mofatt’s era, which was deliberately written as a dark fairy tale. I’ll be honest: I found the move to science-fantasy frustrating. Yes, I know Doctor Who’s never been hard sci-fi like Star Trek, but the sudden introduction of goblins, snot monsters, and magical zebra crossings irked me. 

It felt childish, and like all old men, I’m inherently terrified of two things: out-of-control nasal hair and being seen as immature. As such, I find the idea of Doctor Who, one of my favorite TV shows, embracing the fantastical as terrifying as running into a Dalek down a dark alley. 

So it was with some reluctance that I sat down to watch 73 Yards, but I’m glad I did because the episode was a brilliant, folk horror-inspired masterpiece. It was scary, compelling, and exciting, everything you want Doctor Who to be. And then the ending happened. 

No spoilers, but the episode ended in a way I found very unsatisfying. It can be boiled down to “magic happens, and the day is saved.” I was annoyed that I’d invested so much emotion in the episode, as if I’d been tricked into liking something. But that’s when it hit me. I did like the episode; I actually more than “liked” it.

Stop worrying

BBC/Disney+

I think it’s possibly one of the best Doctor Who episodes we’ve gotten since The Doctor Falls, which puts it firmly in my ‘Top 10’ best Doctor Who episodes. Was I really going to pretend I didn’t enjoy it because of 73 Yard’s ending? After all, the ending makes sense if you accept that magic exists. 

Now, I could rail against this, or I could just accept the new direction the show’s going in. Basically, what I’m saying is that I stopped worrying about making sense of the chaos of magic and accepted it as part of the fabric of New Who, and I feel far happier doing so. Hell, I even feel more charitable towards The Devil’s Chord now… I still hate Space Babies, though (it’s those weird CGI baby faces, they’re terrifying).

Of course, the real reason I’ve started to enjoy new Who doesn’t have anything to do with magic. It’s because I’ve stopped taking Doctor Who so seriously because, ultimately, it’s a TV show about a madman with a box traveling the universe. It’s meant to be fun and fantastical, not hard-hitting sci-fi like Battlestar Galactica and its ilk. So I’m going to embrace this new era, this new fun-loving Doctor and their new brilliant companion. There’s magic in the show — you just have to look for it. 

If you want to join the Doctor on his adventures, then check out our article breaking down the Doctor Who Season 14 episode schedule, or if you need help wrapping your head around the different Doctors, then we’ve listed them all for your convenience. Finally, if you’re looking for something new to watch, we have a list of the best 2024 TV shows and all the new TV shows on streaming.