After the 2023 Christmas special, I was really looking forward to watching "Doctor Who" season 14 The charismatic and brilliant new Doctor, Nuchi Gatwa, was introduced, and his energy was perfectly matched by Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday

"The Church on Ruby Road" was a vibrant adventure, leaning toward the silly side of the Whoniverse, but also one that serves as a pilot for a new era of the show and will prove vital to the arc of the next season It also set up a pivotal moment in time (and space) that would prove to be essential to the next season's arc

PS If you haven't caught up yet, stop reading and watch the rest of the episodes on Disney Plus before continuing, as you are entering serious spoiler territory here

The season finale, "Empire of Death," brought "Doctor Who" season 14 to a close In my eyes, the episode was solid, if uneven, and boasted some serious buildups ("Rogue") and a few letdowns ("Space Babies") The duo of Gatwa and Gibson was always lively Their bond was one of the season's greatest strengths, and that tearful goodbye was a fitting end to the first season

However, one cannot help but feel that the decision to end the season with eight episodes held the series back Aside from Jodie Whittaker's final outing as the 13th Doctor (which was shortened due to COVID), season 14 was the shortest series since "Doctor Who" was revived in 2005 And I think this has had a huge impact on the storyline, as it has been a very short series, and the Doctor has been a very short series

Arguably the strongest element of Season 14 was the camaraderie between the Doctor and his latest companion, Ruby Sunday Despite only crossing paths in the aforementioned Christmas special, the two had somehow become thieves among thieves And from their tearful goodbye at the end of "Empire of Death," it is clear that their adventures left a lasting impact on the Time Lords

Throughout the season, Gibson and Gatwa proved to have boundless chemistry as platonic partners through time, but I continue to wish we had seen more of how that bond developed They were only together for nine episodes, but the Doctor was mostly absent for two of their Season 14 adventures In other words, they did not spend much time together until they were told that Ruby's story was over

The show at least acknowledged this There was a six-month time slip between the season premiere and the second episode, and the Doctor Light episode was at least partially the result of Gatwa still being needed on Netflix for "Sex Education" Regardless, a couple of additional episodes would have given the two of them some breathing room, and would have further emotionalized their dynamic relationship This, in turn, would have made Ruby's emotional goodbye to her adventure through time and space more meaningful

It wasn't just emotion that suffered I really enjoyed "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" and it was one of my favorite episodes of the season, but as the credits rolled, I was left wondering how on earth the series was going to pull it all together

"Empire of Death" followed a week later, dashing toward the finale at breakneck speed On the one hand, it made the end-of-the-universe storyline feel desperate, but it also felt very uneven It had to pack in Sutek's master plan, his successes and subsequent defeats, a mid-episode moment set in a devastated universe, an explanation of the existence and workings of the Memory TARDIS for viewers, a preview of a new villain for the next season, and a proper resolution of the overarching mystery regarding Ruby Sunday's mother Had to

The reunion between Ruby and her mother was absolutely worth the time, but having to devote time to everything made Stek, arguably one of the most powerful villains the Doctor has ever faced, feel underrated He revealed himself at the cliffhanger ending, unleashed his evil plan, and was kicked and screamed back into the time vortex 40 minutes later And much of that time was spent hiding from him in the memory TARDIS

I'm more than capable of suspending disbelief in "Doctor Who" -- it is, after all, a children's show about time travel -- but the finale seemed to rely too much on ham-handed dialogue and dream logic to patch everything back together! and I'm not sure I'd have liked that One more episode, or a longer season finale, would have brought it all together a bit more concretely

While I wish Disney and showrunner Russell T Davis would read my post and spend more time at TARDI, I doubt these changes will be implemented anytime soon

The schedule for Season 15 would be the same as what we just saw (filming ends in May 2024), and Davis is writing Season 16 and has plans for a spin-off (according to RadioTimescom), but Season 16 has not yet been commissioned

In addition, "Doctor Who" Season 14 has not garnered the ratings the team had hoped (from DoctorWhoTV) If it had been a big hit, one would expect longer seasons and bigger budget adventures, but the new era doesn't seem to be that way yet

If sticking to 8-episode seasons and annual holiday adventures are the norm going forward, I would argue that work needs to be done to further scale down future season arcs to fit more reasonably within that tight schedule That way, the emotional impact would be stronger and the overall storyline would feel less rushed