Dot and Bubble is a Doctor Who (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) cameo episode following the Doctor-lite 73 Yards.
Series showrunner and writer Russell T Davies (Years and Years) pens a razor-sharp social media satire following an unlikable self-absorbed influencer, Lindy Pepper-Bean (Callie Cooke), living her best life with online-only friends in an always-on app-enabled world, Finetime.
This Black Mirror homage reminded me of meeting a so-called influencer who took umbrage that I didn’t know who they were at an invite-only event in the noughties. Later, they apologised for their belligerent behaviour, but it was a warning of things to come.
The tech bubble, the affluent all-white youngsters inhabit, is a homogenised and stratified echo chamber. Dot and Bubble is a cautionary tale where Lindy's selfishness and racism are brutally unmasked with tragic consequences, and the Doctor doesn’t win in a story that riffs on classic serials The Macra Terror and The Faceless Ones.
Amidst the psychological and sociological commentary subverting audience expectations, there are plenty of pop culture Easter eggs for sci-fi fans (myself included), from Logan’s Run to Star Wars - I was spoilt. I’ll never look at my Echo Dots, dotted throughout my home, the same way again. "Alexa..." Oh, wait!
New episodes of Doctor Who stream every Friday on Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland and every Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Season one is available for pre-order (affiliate link).
Have you watched Dot and Bubble? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
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