Just making this review as a reminder to skip this episode in future rewatches. I thought I would like it a bit more than on my first watch. In my defence, some episodes of this era have gone up quite a bit in my estimation in this second viewing (Demons of the Punjab has become one of my favourite historicals, and I found it quite boring the first time for some reason).

But no, this is the worst episode this show has ever produced. Yes, even worse than some of the most infamous of the Classic Era (I actually quite like the Twin Dilemma). The dialogue is ass, the characters make no sense in their motivations and their choices (why do they all go looking for Benni only for them to get ambushed and get back to the spa?), the acting is extremely subpar, the pacing is non-existent... But the most egregious sin is that it is so boring. At least with some bad episodes like The Crimson Horror (yeah I can't stand it don't ask me why) you have good characters making do with bad scripts and dialogue, but there is nothing to grasp at here. Even the moral of the story is half-baked, with no real depth, just there to make it look deep and with substance.

Anyway, if you really wanna rewatch this, drink one shot everytime you hear BENNI!!! It will go down easier.

I was really curious about this one after hearing so much negativity about it, and I think it deserves it.. I think everything that could be said has already been commented on a ton.

Kinda wished I skipped this episode,but oh well. Will be advising others to skip this one.

This is generally considered one of the worst episodes in all of Doctor Who, and I'm quite inclined to agree.  With grade-school level politics, lame characters, disappointing acting, terrible editing, boring sets, and a complete waste of our main cast, there's not a lot to like about Orphan 55.  The monsters could have been cool but they aren't filmed very well.  I don't love the twist around this being Earth and the result of wicked humanity - aside from it being a bit against scientific consensus (the Earth will survive us - we just might not survive ourselves) - it's an old twist that is basically the same bit as the original Planet of the Apes.  Consider me unimpressed.

Sorry, I can't provide any sort of contradictory take to the popular sentiments around this one - it's just a bad episode.  Not even entertainingly bad, either.

An abysmal episode of the show, and honestly deserves the reputation it has. I think a lot of the Chibnall era isn’t as bad as they say, but this is like a bottom five episode no problem. The Dregs are the most obvious problem. They look like s**t and are are not compelling whatsoever. Every shot is either a Dreg that looks like it came from a ps2 game, or a basic corridor except the color of the light is going crazy for some reason.

The twist is really basic and brings nothing new to the table. 13 and the fam are not on top form either. There is a little good stuff with Ryan, but it’s only like one scene where he’s trying to flirt with a girl who can’t act. The “Benni” line has been memed to death but again, it’s warranted. It’s very grating on the ears and it never succeeds in making me care about these two because that old woman can’t act. And then she dies for absolutely no reason.

Overall this is completely skippable. It tries to be an homage to JNT Doctor Who, but doesn’t have any fun with itself. It’s a bore and an annoyance.

you are all so dramatic. this is not even close to as bad as some of you like to pretend.