Praxeus by Pete McTighe and Chris Chibnall

Art By Soundsmyth

What's It About: Doctor Who does Orphan 55 Again, but, y'know, better...

Oh, Brilliant: It's strange, how in the Chibnall era, they'll do two episodes on the same issue in one series, with one being vastly better than the other: It was previously done with Demons Of The Punjab and Rosa, with Punjab handling the subject matter far better, (Funny how leaving out pop music does that) and this one does Orphan 55, but as I said, not shit.
I don't care what anyone says, Jodie kills it as the Doctor, and is especially assuring, showing up right in the midst of the action, screaming and running from a bunch of birds, which is the high point of the episode.

Ruth: What? You say, Ruth isn't in this episode! Why do you have a section for her in the review? No, she isn't, but it's incredibly annoying to establish something as crazy cool as Ruth, a brand new Doctor inspired by Capaldi and Hartnell and then give her two appearances in the series, one a cameo, and them be five episodes apart.
This is not a good thing. Inject more Ruth into my veins, Chibnall, and do it soon.

Ryan: The show has at least figured out how to do something with the companions, split them up, and follow the two or more threads of their investigations. This is a good concept. However, the show has completely forgotten how to characterize Ryan, as he's just monotoning it for a stupid amount of time, and compared to his co-stars...doesn't seem like he's trying.

Yaz: Yaz is sort of budget Clara, taking risks, not afraid of anything, built off the pure chemistry of the actress, but she's also more understated than Clara ever was, giving Yaz a huge advantage.
I'm liking her a lot more in Series Twelve, she isn't the most completely idiotic character ever written into Who anymore.

Graham: Graham is likable. When is he not? I don't have much more to add about him, he's just a delightful presence, absolutely fabulous.

The Subject Matter: Praxeus succeeds where Orphan 55 failed by using climate change in a way like any other Doctor Who subject and not berating you abput the end of the world. The fact that we have plastic everywhere, in our foods, in our water, and that's used as the cause of the plot is cool, and I loved the mention of the Autons to make this even clearer. It's not thrown at you- the story is because of it, it's the instigator, not the result, and because of that, it feels natural, and makes sense and you go: "oh, that's what was with the birds." rather than, "Oh shit Doctor Who is telling me about a realistic brutal end to the world when I just wanted to relax and watch telly"
This is good. Praxeus is clearly alien enough for it to work within the context of the show, and I cannot emphasize how important that is. This feels like a Russell T Davies Who episode rather a funeral dirge.

Guest Stars: Pro on Chibnall for not killing the Gays. Made me smile a little, totally didn't expect it.
 Other than that, the guest stars are boring as sin, most of which only have a few character traits.
reverse Harriet Jones shows up, Gabriela. A funny gag that no one knows who she is.

Overall: Come on, this is just a normal episode. What do you want me to say? 7.5/10