Tonight was the long-awaited premiere of Doctor Who on Disney Plus, and fans got not one, but two episodes.

In “Space Babies,” the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) end up at an abandoned Baby Farm on a space station. The twist is that the government closed the station but outlawed stopping the birthing machine, so instead they abandoned the babies as well. Before the Doctor and Ruby can rescue them, they discover a literal bogeyman.

In “The Devil’s Chord,” the Doctor and Ruby go to the past to meet the Beetles but don’t find what they expect when they discover the Maestro is stealing all the music of the world and changing history.

I was super excited going into the premiere tonight especially with it being Russell T. Davies now, and I really wanted to like it, but honestly, I was a bit let down. Don’t get me wrong, there were parts about the episode that were brilliant and I loved, but other parts fell a bit short. It was kind of a mixed bag.

Where the episodes shined: Gatwa is absolutely fabulous. He is a fantastic Fifteenth Doctor and makes it his own as the others have done before him. He generally has a more positive outlook than previous Doctors at times and is a bit more lighthearted, and it does make sense after he was split from the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant), quite literally leaving that part of him behind. The only slight negative I would say is that usually for awhile you can feel the previous incarnation in the new Doctor and I don’t really feel Fourteen a lot in him, but again, because of the split regeneration, it made sense and didn’t bother me, I just usually look for that. The other thing, and I wouldn’t necessarily call it a negative, is the fact that this Doctor is afraid of everything in a way that surprised me. It was explained as part of the episode in the premiere that he ran from the monster because it was made to be feared, and it was part of the plot, so I can accept that, but I was a bit surprised in “The Devil’s Chord” that he did the same sort of thing. Usually the Doctor tends to use his cleverness to try to talk the villain down or perhaps save them from whatever their eventual fate will be (even though that generally doesn’t work), but again in the episode he ran. I do think it might be partially because of the reveal of the fact the Maestro was related to the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris). Only time will tell if that shifts in the next episode. At this point it’s not a huge issue, just something that stood out to me. 

I also appreciated that since this is sort of another reboot that they shoved a lot of Doctor Who lore into the premiere and quickly explained things as they went along. Obviously this is something that generally happens anyway with the introduction of a new Doctor or companion, but they went out of their way to do it here. If it helps bring in new viewers, than it’s great, and it wasn’t really done in a way that was obtrusive to fans. I also really was glad that they picked up part of the storyline from “The Giggle” and mentioned “the one who waits,” and of course the Maestro was connected to the storyline as well.

Ncuti Gatwa had excellent chemistry with Millie Gibson, which was evident in “The Church on Ruby Road” from the get-go. They are in that phase still that she’s figuring out what it’s all about and they seem like they will be fast friends. Gibson herself also did a good job and held her own. I look forward to seeing Ruby once she gets more into the swing of things and learns the ropes. I liked that she reminded me of Clara (Jenna Coleman) in the premiere when she refused to rush off at one point and stayed to help the Doctor. 

The guest stars of the two episodes were also enjoyable (specifically Golda Rosheuvel as Jocelyn and Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro) and the stories well-written. I liked the twist of the monster in the first episode, finding out that it started as one of the babies (and also that it was meant to be almost entertainment for them!), even if I did guess something similar. In the second, the storyline of stealing music and the fact that people lost all hope without it was interesting as well, and the nuclear winter was a cool effect. 

Speaking of effects, most of the effects were terrific as they have been since the move to Disney (minus the babies, which was just odd). The set of the space station was massive as well.

Next I need to mention the levity. There were funny moments in both episodes. Ruby getting covered in slime and finding out it was snot was great, but the fact that the Doctor was laughing when he found out was priceless. The “butterfly effect” bit where Ruby changed was also cute (although I wish they had explained for new viewers that he could bring the butterfly back (at least I’m assuming) because he was still putting off some regeneration energy). The filter on everything Jocelyn said to the babies was also funny, as was the fact that the Doctor multiple times made sure to refer to them as space babies and not just babies. It made me chuckle, even though I’m not sure why he did it. The stuff with the Beatles and Abbey Road in the second episode was also a lot of fun. I enjoyed the campiness and lightheartedness in both episodes, but there was also more serious stuff as well so it was broken up in a way that worked. 

This also, however, brings me to the negative. I felt the first episode at times was a bit too silly with the talking babies. I did more get into it as the episode went on, and it is a good story (if a bit weird, but it is Doctor Who after all), but it was still quasi-fake looking animated baby faces, and it was just a bit much. The second episode also had a bit more camp than maybe it should have. I enjoyed that part of it up until they broke out in song and dance at the end which didn’t even fit the story, in my opinion. I really l when they did it in “The Giggle” with Neil Patrick Harris, but here, it just didn’t work as well. To be fair though, it was an episode about music, so I can’t complain too much about it.

Overall, I did like the episodes, but they weren’t phenomenal. After such a great set of specials with Tennant, I was expecting a lot. I might feel different on second viewing though which sometimes makes a big difference, but only time will tell.