Lucky Day

"The only monsters out here are UNIT."

Writer: Pete McTighe

Format: TV

Broadcast: 03 May 2025

Series: 15.04

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Belinda, Ruby

Synopsis

Ruby Sunday faces life back on Earth without the Doctor. But when a dangerous new threat emerges, can Ruby and UNIT sace her new boyfriend Conrad from the terrifying Shreek?

Verdict

Lucky Day was another excellent episode to continue along the brand new series of Doctor Who! It’s quite scary to think that we’ve already reached the halfway point and amazingly the end already feels in sight, but this was a terrific story. It very much was a Doctor-lite story and I thought it was good fun to jump around the timeline of the Fifteenth Doctor. We met him at three different points here which was great and despite him not featuring for the majority of the forty-five minutes, we had arguably one of his best moments yet. I must admit that after the brilliance of The Well last week, I audibly sighed at seeing the next time trailer and the return of Ruby Sunday. Out of context that sounds awfully bad of me but it was nothing against Ruby, I just felt like it was a step backwards after such a strong start for Belinda as companion. I am loving her so I wanted to continue with her journey. Thankfully I was so incredibly wrong! Ruby absolutely owned it and by the end of the episode I loved that we caught up with her post-Empire of Death and seeing how she was dealing with everything that happened to her with her mother. I must admit I didn’t think we’d see Louise, Carla and Cherry all together again but then they were interested in Ruby’s date life. The story of Conrad before the massive twist was really intriguing and I loved that the Doctor and Belinda went to 2007 for another vindicator reading. Conrad seeing the TARDIS as a young boy was good and how wouldn’t something like that make an impression? He got a memento from the Doctor and he then saw the TARDIS again in 2024 which set the basis for the episode very nicely! The threat of the Shreek was really strong and I liked the mystery behind the monster. Its reptilian appearance was good and I loved the idea of them existing in a pocket dimension. Them only appearing once a year for their hunt was a strong concept and marking their prey was terrific. Ruby getting marked but the Doctor having the antidote was good and I loved that we were thrown back into the era of Series 14. Something as simple as the outfits for the Doctor and Ruby was marvellous and this being shortly after the events of The Devil’s Chord was great stuff. I liked that we got a timeline placement for that. Ruby being able to call Kate was really nice and Shirley’s comment at the end about collecting mums was a nice touch. She really is quite lucky in that regard, but she has a lot of tough stuff going for her as well. It was clear from the podcast appearance with Conrad that the pair had some chemistry and the host being fascinated by the TARDIS and the world of the Doctor was intriguing. It always felt like there was going to be something more to him, but I didn’t think the twist we had would be it! The idea of him being a part of a modern Think Tank is glorious and the continuity down to Robot and the UNIT involvement works wonderfully. The modern day feel of the episode in exposing tax paying funds and the supposed secrets behind UNIT felt very apt and in line with modern politics which was great fun. Conrad faking the presence of the Shreek and even his relationship with Ruby was impressive and clever, but it was so sad to see her world come crashing down before her very eyes. Think Tank streaming their confrontation with UNIT after Ruby got them into the village was excellent and the coverage they got was really strong. A new and improved Trinity Wells show was a fantastic throwback! Conrad not believing in the alien threats and the reality of the likes of Sycorax, Cybermen or Yetis in the Underground was really well done but I almost felt sorry for him by the end. He just couldn’t accept the truth about UNIT so Kate would show him firsthand when it came to the Shreek. I knew he wouldn’t have taken the antidote Ruby supplied to him and his desire to be the Doctor was something I could get behind. I would have accepted him just thinking he can’t live up to the Doctor, and I can just hear the ‘Doctor Who is too woke’ brigade chirping up about Ruby’s comment that he’d be more interested in Conrad than her. I was a little surprised Ruby would go on a podcast like this and I thought it was very much Redacted in the main show which I appreciated. Conrad infiltrating UNIT with Jordan felt very dark and I knew he was the man on the inside immediately, but this showed a different side of Kate which I adored. Once Conrad besmirched the name of her father, she showed him what he didn’t want to believe. After he begged for Ruby to stop the Shreek, his line about special effects improving was genius. It would take a physical bite for him to believe! Seeing that side of Kate was outstanding and if that and what happened in this episode is a look at what’s to come in The War Between the Land and the Sea, then sign me up! Hinting at Kate and Colonel Ibrahim having a relationship is interesting and I’m happy that Kate can have someone to enjoy a personal life with. The ending for Conrad and the Doctor plucking him into the TARDIS was just sublime. I loved how he stated that you had to be special to get inside but Conrad was that for all of the wrong reasons. The Doctor confronting Conrad was a sensational Fifteenth Doctor moment and showed the range of this incarnation beautifully. He’s usually so bubbly and joyous but his line about noise here was excellent. Conrad telling him to get off his world was bold and I really don’t think anything will make him see reason. Mrs Flood emerging as the Governor to free him from prison was intriguing although I do feel like she has lost an edge a little in playing these different roles. It’s too similar to Susan Triad. Regardless though, a superb episode and I’m sure this isn’t the last of Conrad.

Rating: 9/10