Lucky Day (2025) Review and its effective worldbuilding

Will Sanger
May 9
11 min read

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

When Doctor Who companions leave, we very rarely see what happens in the aftermath of their adventures. We saw Martha join UNIT and recently re-appearances from Ace, Tegan and Mel. However, the impact of the Tardis on a companion has only really been shown once in School Reunion with Sarah Jane Smith, which saw the character confront the Doctor with the challenges of adjusting to ordinary life and decades of waiting for the Doctor. The fresh aftermath and overnight change is something which has never been seen. Ruby Sunday feels like the perfect kind of character to tackle this idea. So how did it work out? Let's take a look.

The story of Lucky Day involves Ruby Sunday adjusting to ordinary life without the Doctor. Ruby meets a podcaster called Conrad, who has been obsessed with aliens, and the Doctor, since he was a child when he randomly encountered him. Ruby likes having someone who she can connect with, and who will validate and understand her struggles, so she starts a relationship with Conrad. Conrad turns out to be an extremist conspiracy theorist, spreading lies and misinformation about aliens being a hoax perpetrated by UNIT for a secret agenda. It's all an elaborate stunt and he has exploited Ruby. The state of UNIT and their public perception hangs in the balance.

Pete McTighe is a writer who has had mixed results with Doctor Who. I liked his Tales of the Tardis episodes, and his minisodes for the Blu-ray collection boxsets, but his output on the actual show hasn’t been great and his involvement made me apprehensive.

Lucky Day involves very topical and current issues with podcasting and the threat of conspiracy theorists. What makes the story very clever and ideally targeted is that it consumes its topics within the Doctor Who universe. Pete McTighe takes note of the issues humanity is currently facing with misinformation and lies spreading everywhere. He is aware of hardened and radical right-wing beliefs that are normalised in echo chambers in internet culture. The internet allows room for dangerous information to go unchecked and cause harm. There is no reason things would be any different within the Doctor Who universe, but the way these conspiracies manifest would be different. We’ve seen popular conspiracies with COVID, 9/11, climate change, and many more. When tackling the modern world and telling culturally relevant and relatable stories, it’s a good idea to mask it in some kind of science fiction. Conspiratorial denial about aliens being a hoax feels like a believable thing that would happen if the world was faced with aliens. Conspiracies largely come out of ignorance, denial and fear and it feels very truthful of humanity to react in this way. It’s very related to the world we live in, which makes the story very believable, and it hits the nail on the head in terms of what motivates conspiracy theorists. We live in a world fuelled by algorithms designed to draw people together and reinforce one another’s ignorant views. In the Doctor Who universe you have aliens meshed into this world of supposed conspiracies.

I love the world-building which Lucky Day accomplishes. There has been some contradictions and confusion in how much the everyday person knows about aliens in the show. Since the resetting of the cracks in time during the Matt Smith era, the state of things has been unclear. I like the fact that Lucky Day acknowledges this and clears things up. The average person knows about the existence of aliens and what UNIT does, but it doesn’t change their day-to-day lives. Given that in the last few years they’ve seen the Daleks exterminate the Prime Minister and a Sontaran invasion of Liverpool, this makes the most sense. It offers more story opportunities to do things with humans’ knowledge of alien threats. Its human nature to deny the existence of aliens and Lucky Day cleverly does something with that. It does something with the engrained and continued presence of alien occurrences on earth and how humans react to it. Russell T Davies was always keen on world-building and connective storytelling within Doctor Who. Lucky Day continues this in a very satisfying way showing the impact of alien events from a very human perspective.

The Shreek act as the alien menace of the story, but they aren’t really a menace. They act and pose as the threat only for their threat to be subverted. I really like their design. The red eyes make them threatening, and they have a dangerous, predatory and distinctive feel. They have a lot of unpredictability and a sense of instinct. Hunting their prey through pheromones gives them a sense of simplicity. The way they are woven into things from a previous unseen adventure with the Doctor and Ruby from Season 1 is very clever and I like the interconnectivity and confused timeline of different events. The Shreek only becomes a threat due to the irresponsibility of Conrad and Kate at various points. It’s a creature acting on its nature and instinct and isn’t malevolent which interestingly redirects the sense of threat.

I think it's time to talk about Conrad, played by Jonah Hauer-King, who is the central villain of the story. At the start, he appears to be a character similar to Elton from Love and Monsters. He encountered the Doctor when he was very young and has become obsessed in his journey to track him down and find out more about alien life. Conrad plays the role of a very nerdy and shy young man who sympathises with Ruby and understands her struggles, but is, in truth, manipulating her. The early scenes with Conrad and Ruby to start with seemed very forced, cheesy and unbelievable. He came across as very sappy and an overly perfect character. This is better justified when Conrad’s true nature is unveiled. I think Jonah Hauer-King plays his role expertly, and I liked the flip which saw his whole character and persona change.

Conrad is villainous in a relatable way. His irrational, bigoted, unfiltered and unpredictable persona is brilliant. He dials up his energy on camera and you can see his arrogance and selfishness come alive. Jonah Hauer-King has clearly took inspiration from real life dangerous online figures in his performance. He is a character with no empathy and a despicable person. He comes across as manipulative, cruel, and intimidating in the way he treats Ruby and the way he insults her. He is charismatic and dominating and draws attention because of the persona he creates. He is also someone you pity with a strong sense of what has shaped him to make these decisions. Conrad is starving for attention, and you can see the hints of this in his relationship with his mother at the start. He has a strong sense of superiority and entitlement and a petty sense of bitterness against UNIT, which has caused him to turn against them. He is frustrated, immature and radicalised, which makes him dangerous. The performance feels authentic to the kind of person Conrad is meant to represent. Conrad doesn’t truly believe the conspiracies he preaches but has a massive grudge against UNIT, fuelling him to spread lies and misinformation for money, which is very true of current society.

The trouble is, I think parts of the story start to fall apart once you get into the greater logistics. I appreciate the fact that hints on Conrad’s true nature are laid early on. The way he attempts to track Ruby down comes across as slightly insidious and predatory. However, the hints on the return of the Shreek ultimately come to very little. With the flickering of lights in the pub and the flickering of the bus stop sign, the audience is made to feel the threat of the Shreek coming back and causing havoc. When the Shreek turns out to be faked, the indicators come to mean nothing and don’t make sense within the context of the story. I understand why Pete McTighe might have done this, but it does feel misleading. It's stringing the audience along based on false information which isn’t explained, nor does it lead to anything important, and it makes the story feel less real.

The biggest problem is the fact that with Ruby going on Conrad’s podcast and her family looking him up online, they found no indicators that he was this extremist and dangerous conspiracy theorist, probably out to exploit her. It feels unbelievable when put into context. Even if you accept this, I find it mind-boggling that UNIT wouldn’t have some knowledge of Conrad if he had 80,000 subscribers given the lies he was spreading. It makes UNIT feel idiotic and bad at their jobs. These are problems that once you see the episode pieced together, feel alarming and stand out. They’re not unforgiveable flaws, but the holes and lack of thought makes the story feel messy. The second half of the story would have had more of a sense of conviction with this tidied up. It makes the mechanical parts of the story feel contrived and forced together rather than naturally coming together.

What was interesting was seeing the media's reaction and aftermath to Conrad’s publicity stunt. It has a feeling of severity and stakes with UNIT’s purpose and funding put under threat. It gives the episode a sense of vulnerability. This was a tactic used regularly, during the Eccleston and Tennant years, to get a sense of the scope of public mood during crisis. This is expertly used in the same way, with Conrad appearing on the One Show and social media reacting to the stunt. You feel the danger of more people being drawn in by the misinformation and manipulative tactics of Conrad.

I do feel some of the optics of the story have unfortunate results. This seems to be a common trend with Pete McTighe. Kerblam started out very well but descended badly with the unintentional pro-capitalist message and the way the Amazon like figures of the story were not condemned. Lucky Day involves a social media stunt which challenges the trust and faith of the public in UNIT as an organisation which feels resolved and put to bed in the end. It reinforces an idea that large institutions shouldn’t be challenged and are to be trusted. Considering the context, threat of the story and the questionable actions of Kate Stewart, I do think Pete McTighe found a much more reasonable way to pull this off. However, it comes across as lacking awareness.

Let's move onto the return of Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. This story in many ways is doing something very new and refreshing by returning to Ruby and exploring what has become of her life. The aftermath of a companion's adventures with the Doctor is very interesting to delve into and that development and emotional impact has very rarely been mined. You can see the emotional aftermath, confusion and struggle of Ruby with all the recent developments of what has happened in her life. She found her birth mother at the end of Season 1 and is still struggling with the emotion of adjusting to a different, mad and very confusing family dynamic. Ruby has clearly taken a lot away from her experiences with the Doctor. She immediately takes charge when she spots the Shreek outside the pub. I like Ruby’s sense of action and energy, but she still feels vulnerable when facing the creature alone.

The most interesting part of her character is the PTSD and psychological toll. There is a struggling pain and adjustment which Ruby isn’t fully conscious of. Her experiences also leave Ruby very vulnerable and open to the exploitation of Conrad. Ruby struggles with her experiences, and not having anybody to open up to, and therefore she isn’t able to see his manipulative tactics and is left very hurt and betrayed by the end of the story. Millie Gibson portrays this with a very believable emotional agony. Ruby is very aware of the constant threat and danger around her with the lifestyle she was consumed by. It's relatable that she would have difficulty changing to an ordinary routine. It's clear she is in need of the Companion Support Group from the end of the Power of the Doctor.

Kate Stewart played by Jemma Redgrave plays a vital role in this story and I think it's her best performance as the character. I have noticed a shift in her, but Jemma Redgrave really came alive in this story. She plays the dominance, assurance and authority of the character very naturally. I like the motherly relationship which she has with Ruby. She seems to have a genuine care, affection and protectiveness towards her. What I really love is the darkness which we see in Kate Stewart. We see a brutal ruthlessness in her character, reflective of the Brigadier, and are shown what she is capable of when challenged. The lack of sympathy and remorse Kate feels challenges her accountability in this situation and who is there to keep her in check. Kate Stewart is very much protective of her father’s legacy, which she is fiercely loyal to and won’t let be brought down by an idiot. However, with the lengths she pushes Conrad to and the danger she inflicts on him, she ultimately betrays her duty and the purpose of UNIT in protecting ordinary people from alien threats. I think it is more interesting when UNIT is more morally grey and their tactics conflict with the Doctor. This sets the stage for a hopefully interesting fallout and situation in the War Between the Land and the Sea.

You also have a very likeable set of UNIT side characters. Shirley Anne Bingham, played by Ruth Madeley, returns with the right merge between bluntness and intellect, but I do think she was under-used and wish there was more of her across the story. Colonel Ibrahim, played by Alexander Devrient, is a very fierce figure of authority, but I am very nervous about the romantic relationship that seems to be developing between him and Kate Stewart, which feels forced and unnecessary. The Vlinx is always a fun addition who I hope gets more usage in the spinoff at the end of the year.

Ruby’s family is always a comforting and believable dynamic and it's lovely to see them back. Carla and Cherry Sunday played by Michelle Greenidge and Angela Wynter are humorous and believable as always. Her birth mother Louise Miller, played by Faye McKeever, appears briefly but adds very little to the dynamic.

The Doctor appears in the story very little with it being a Doctor-Lite adventure, but he makes a significant enough contribution that is worth commenting on. The Fifteenth Doctor mainly appears at the end where he confronts Conrad. We truly saw Ncuti Gatwa come alive and at his best. The story exposes the darker side of the Doctor and remorselessness and petty vindictiveness which the character is capable of when pushed to the limit. The Doctor is obviously very hurt with how Conrad has treated and betrayed Ruby, and has little time for him, and takes time out of his day to tear him apart. It's not a nice side to the Doctor, but it's appropriate sometimes to show a flawed part of the character. The Doctor is a dangerous force which you don’t want to cross.

Lucky Day is directed by Peter Hoar who previously directed A Good Man Goes to War and the Robot Revolution. The story is directed in a way to frame things through Conrad’s eyes through the first half of the story. The way the narration of Conrad flows between events from his experience with the Doctor as a child, the podcast with Ruby and his encounter with the Shreek in 2024 is well done. It very naturally flows and engages the viewer. I love the way Conrad’s experience with the Shreek is filmed and framed. There is a gentle movement in him discovering the Tardis. I think the scene of Ruby describing what the Shreek does is the visual highlight, expertly directed and full of atmosphere and horror. The one problem is the way the scene where the Shreek attacks Conrad is handled. Its failing is in the stillness of the characters. Given the frantic circumstances, I feel there should have been more movement and panic felt throughout.

So, overall, how did I feel about Lucky Day? It's easily Pete McTighe’s best script for Doctor Who. Millie Gibson does a terrific job, and it's very interesting to explore the aftermath of her adventures on the Tardis. The story tackles conspiracy theorists smartly and uses the universe of Doctor Who to its advantage. Jonah Hauer-King is fantastic as Conrad and Kate Stewart is at her best. The failing is in the plot holes and contrivances. When the plot is pieced together with context, it leaves a lot of questions making the plot feel contrived. It would have been stronger if the script had been tidied up. Overall, I think it’s a strong story which challenges Ruby Sunday and UNIT with a topical and relevant villain.