It's crazy how long it feels since the last proper series of Doctor Who. The last time we had more than just Specials was back in 2021, with Flux, which in my opinion was Jodie Whittaker's strongest series. Space Babies gives us the first actual series to use Disney money, although I don't think it shows for most of Space Babies.

Possibly the clearest glimpse at that American investment is in the scene where the Doctor takes Ruby back to the prehistoric era, which is coincidentally also my favourite sequence from the episode. It's such a playful take on the idea that stepping on a butterfly in the past can change the timeline, and the way that Millie Gibson makes the reptilian version of Ruby seem so different really highlights just how incredible of an actor she is.

It also gives us a nice explanation for why the Doctor has never encountered the butterfly effect before, revealing that the TARDIS has a special switch to counter it. Whilst I did enjoy Space Babies, I do think a whole episode set in the prehistoric era and exploring the butterfly effect would have been a more dynamic episode.

The main narrative in Space Babies is decent, albeit unoriginal. It concerns a baby farm on a space station, where the babies themselves are in charge, and being terrorised by the Bogeyman. The Bogeyman itself is extremely well realised, and the way they film the babies to make it appear as though they are reacting to the Doctor, Ruby, and the Bogeyman is quite clever. I also liked the Wallace and Gromit-esque machinery for changing nappies and blowing noses, which fits Doctor Who's quirky nature like a glove.

However, a lot of the scenes are very similar to The End Of The World, to the point where it feels like a straight copy. Russell T Davies even does the exact same scene where the Ninth Doctor Sonics Rose's phone so she can call her Mum. It feels like watching one of those movies like Jurassic World, where they copy the same beats but with new actors, but Jurassic World at least added something new with the park now being fully operational.

There is also a massive exposition dump at the beginning, where the Doctor explains about the TARDIS, and how he was raised on Gallifrey to Ruby. I get that the aim is to bring new viewers onboard, and this scene is to get them up to speed with the basics of Doctor Who, but there must have been a better way to put that information across.

The Bogeyman, on the other hand, is explained very well as being comprised of snot from the babies, gathered by the ship's computer systems. The idea that they based the Bogeyman on the iconic children's story, believing the babies need fiction as much as food and sleep, and took its name literally as a being of snot, is a nice and unexpected reveal, as I was anticipating the Bogeyman's existence to come from the Doctor spreading salt in Wild Blue Yonder. I am also intrigued by the snowflakes that keep appearing around Ruby Sunday. It seems somewhat ominous, and I hope it doesn't mean Ruby will have an unhappy ending.

Overall, I would probably rate Space Babies a 5/10. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but it also copies a lot of what came before.