Embracing the Unpredictable: A Whirlwind 'Doctor Who: ROGUE' Adventure

That’s what makes some of the best ‘Doctor Who’ feel like it stands the test of time – episodes that do something a bit different, that combine the comedy and the horror with the thrusts and parries of human morality. ROGUE tries on that tradition like a cheeky new outfit, and it fits. It feels like ‘Doctor Who’. It feels like a season of ‘Doctor Who’. In the past, it was considered a bit of a rule that all stories had to have a satisfying ending. I can see why people thought that way. Not all endings satisfy in equal measure: we can either be left feeling bereft, or cold, or simply bored – but it’s possible to leave us wanting a little more. That’s not a bad thing. It’s better than killing us softly with a soporific finale. Because at least that way, we know that the show will be back again.

A ROGUE by Any Other Name: Unleashing Chaos and Captivation

At the centre of ROGUE is a character who is destined to ruin all the Doctor’s careful plans, propelling the series back to its most chaotic and entertaining elements with the introduction of a character who is as wilful, ruthless and yet as romantic as the series has ever seen. Aside from the last-minute shock to the new series’ format, the main revelation here is the return of the lovable rogue.

When ROGUE Meets Doctor: A Collision of Wills

The chemistry between the Doctor and the ROGUE is sizzling. The sentences they throw at one another, barbed fencing flashing back and forth, form a subplot to the episode’s mini-version of the big cat-scatter-the-cars ‘puddle-jumping’ stunt, a manic testosterone episode that keeps you on the edge of your seat despite its many improbabilities. ROGUE is dancing headlong with the Doctor, calling the shots; leading the episode on every subtle whim and bold assertion.

The Kiss That Broke the Internet

In what was a shock to many in the ‘Doctor Who’ fandom, ROGUE kisses the Doctor, seductively and dangerously, at a time of high drama and high emotion. This series desires, said very loudly, to be different, to create new stories and new relationships, and to break free from old constraints that have held it back.

A ROGUE’s Gambit: Taking Control

ROGUE essentially deciding to take the exposition into her own hands – like all the other characters before her, snatching the controls to the Doctor’s trap away from the Doctor – could be seen as an exhilarating statement of purpose for the series going forward: a boldness to let characters drive the story, to make choices that are as surprising as they are exciting.*‘ROGUE’ is unpredictable, daring, and utterly gripping.*

The Genius of 'Doctor Who': Blending Genres with Ease

Another thing that “Doctor Who”, and particularly ‘ROGUE’, does really well is take genres that are usually considered irreconcilable and blend them together. There are times when the show gets so goofy that you’re reduced to peeing your pants (poop and fart jokes, anyone?), while other times it’s unsettlingly horrific. And yes, there are moments of sincere moral reflection, too. That fearless mixing of dissimilar genres is one thing that keeps “Doctor Who” in a class by itself.

A New Classic in the Making

Asking us to call an episode an instant classic is a tall order, but ‘ROGUE’ lives up to the billing: fast-moving, with a mysterious new figure at the core of things, much of it blackly funny, but never forgetting the finer shades of human emotion. It’s a perfect summary of what ‘Doctor Who’ is, and why so many of us have stayed with it through thick and thin.

Understanding ROGUE: Beyond the Chaos

The Essence of a ROGUE

Categorically, a ROGUE acts unpredictably: she defies expectations. As a rule, a ROGUE is not just outside the bounds of normal behaviour, but she often operates outside the normal rules of the game. In Doctor Who she takes the Doctor out of his comfort zone, she dares danger and, as importantly, she breaks the rules. She is not just a shake-up agent; she is a reflection of the Doctor’s own angst. Her presence causes him (and us) to ask: ‘What does it mean to be right?’

ROGUE’s very existence confers upon the series a dimensionality that goes beyond mere slapstick and humour-punching. By adding a foil-as-catalyst, Doctor Who remains ‘as it was’, but new. Viewers are invited to imagine the infinite within the unknow Stock_level. But by adding shades as dark as Gene Hunt’s moustache to the tapestry of ‘Doctor Who’, ‘ROGUE’ and other episodes like it ensured that the show remained current and alive. The series may evolve yet further. Rogues and chaos could well prove to be its elixir of continuous life. Whether laughing, crying or laughing at crying at the unexpected, ‘Doctor Who’ showed that, in the universe, there will always be a place for a rogue.