Certainly enjoyable, if slightly flawed season opener.

Where it shines is the introduction of a new companion - Belinda shone throughout this, and it is testament to a great performance from Varada Sethu, who performed the character really well. Her moments where she comes into tension and conflict with the Doctor are fantastic, and I think Russell T Davies is delivering on his promise well of a companion who is going to test the Doctor well. The final scene of Belinda and the Doctor in the TARDIS, holding him accountable for his actions, is fantastic. I am a huge fan of Ruby, but this dynamic was missing in the last season. Ncuti Gatwa continues to play the Doctor really well, and bounced off really well with Varada Sethu, and I am excited to see how he is going to continue to develop and inhabit the role of the Doctor.

The story is also visually stunning - the planet is incredibly well realised, with the set work just a wonder to behold. Throughout, I was struck with how beautiful and fantastic it looked. Beyond the sets, the robots and the AL Generator was just so well constructed and designed. A huge hats off to the production crew for realising this so well.

Davies script was also mostly a triumph, some fantastic moments of humour, and wonderful world building. The characters felt authentic and real within this world, with a script that provided some great moments.

Where the story falters, is in how rushed it is. A season opener has a lot of work to do, introducing new characters and setting off the season arc, but this just felt so rushed. Where other openers succeeded was a slower pace to focus on the characters, and take more time in these moments. This never quite realised here - this was a whirlwind from start to finish. The story also, while very well constructed, is quite simple, which while good for a season opener, should have allowed for these moments to be still, and the space to breathe, but was missing throughout.

Overall, certainly an enjoyable episode, and one which I will have a lot of fun revisiting. I am excited to see where this season goes!