Although “Doctor Who” couldn’t afford Beatles music throughout its first 60 years on TV, the show’s recent deal with Disney made us wonder if maybe this time things were different. With a mega-corporation backing the show, maybe “Doctor Who” would have proper “f*** you” money for the first time in its run, enough to play a song purely to flex their newfound monetary freedom. 

Alas, this was not the case: The Doctor and Ruby travel back to the band’s first album recording only to discover that Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon), the charmingly devious villain of the week, has stolen the whole world’s love for music. The Beatles are now singing a song written by the show writers themselves, and it’s intentionally terrible. This introduces the main plot of the episode, where the Doctor and Ruby attempt to undo the damage Maestro’s done and bring the lovely, expensive music of the Beatles back into the world. 

It’s another fun example of the show making the best of their budget limitations. Can’t include Beatles’ music? Well, let’s just make a whole episode based around denying the Doctor and Ruby their chance to listen to the Beatles. The result is the show’s first proper musical episode, with songs that were composed in-house. It’s one of the most creative stories the “Doctor Who” has ever given us, and a promising sign of the season to come.

Some Beatles fans might’ve been disappointed by the lack of Beatles music here, but long-term Whovians know that this show was never going to spent a quarter of a million dollars on a single song. “Doctor Who” might have a much bigger budget these days, but the charming penny-pinching mindset of its early years is here to stay.