The debut of the new series of Doctor Who has divided fans, with some claiming the iconic BBC series is "finished" after Saturday's episode failed to impress.
The latest outing of the sci-fi show saw Ncuti Gatwa reprise his role as The Doctor alongside new companion Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu.
Saturday's episode, The Robot Revolution, introduced the new companion as she was kidnapped by robots and taken to a planet that had been bizarrely named after her - ruled by a sentient AI determined to make her its "queen".
It is soon revealed the AI was actually a jilted former boyfriend of Belinda's - ultimately leading to her saying she was on the "planet of the incels".
The series 15 debut episode has left fans divided
BBC
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Fans were intensely divided over the episode, with some enjoying the return of Gatwa and Sethu's debut but finding the on-the-nose social commentary tiresome.
"#DoctorWho #TheRobotRevolution was a fun ride and Varada Sethu is a great addition to the TARDIS. But parts of it were frustratingly undercooked, especially the eye-rolling 'Planet of the Incels' reveal," one wrote on X.
A second despaired: "Doctor Who used to do social commentary because it had something to say. Now it's doing social commentary because it feels like it has to say something. It’s all so shallow and forced."
"The episode was fine. More funny than I expected. Loving Varada as Belinda. Ncuti is improving with each outing, really enjoyed him here. Murray Gold was cooking with that score. Plot was serviceable, some really bad and tacked on attempts at commentary on incels lol #DoctorWho," a third shared.
Sethu was introduced as the new companion with a personal kidnapping plot
BBC
However, others were not quite so even-handed and stormed social media with their fury at the latest adventure. "Wow, this episode is hateful on a whole new level and, yes, they literally say 'Planet of the Incels,'" one fumed.
Taking aim at writer Russell T Davies, a second raged: "The best you can come up with is a Borg incel? The show's finished, let it die. #DoctorWho"
Not all were disappointed with the new outing, with one fan glowing: “The episode was actually really good for the first time in a long time I enjoyed a doctor who episode.”
Even still, the latest episode has recorded its lowest overnight ratings to date - with the latest debut attracting just two million viewers when it aired on Saturday night.
Gatwa has reportedly been considering leaving the show
BBC
This continues a disappointing trend for the long-running show, which averaged around 3.71 million overnight viewers in its previous series, Gatwa's first.
That number is much lower still than earlier seasons of the legendary show, with David Tennant's last original series averaging eight million views per episode in 2008.
The feat was nearly matched by Jodie Whitaker in her debut season, averaging 7.96 million eyeballs, but trailed to just 4.65 million by the end of her stint.
Doctor Who's ratings woes will come as a further blow to Gatwa, who is thought to be considering leaving the show.
“Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him," an insider told The Sun in February.
"His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work.
"The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there’s a lot of people who’ve been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership.
"People warned some episodes were getting too caught up on an agenda rather than telling a story and those people got shouted down, ignored," the insider added.
