Doctor Who Series Eleven premiere focuses more on character than on spectacle
By James Aggas
The Doctor and her new friends made quite the impact on Sunday. Was this episode worth the wait?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
Yesterday saw the beginning of a brand-new era of Doctor Who. How strong was the story? How are the new companions? And, perhaps most important of all, how is Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor? Read more in our latest review. (Spoilers follow.)
Wow. Where to even begin? This was an episode that fans have been waiting to see since Christmas last year, at the very earliest. Many have been waiting even longer than that, ever since Jodie Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor. So how was her first episode of Doctor Who, The Woman Who Fell to Earth?
In some ways, it’s very different compared to what’s come before. Especially when you look at other New Series episodes, such as Rose, The Christmas Invasion or The Eleventh Hour. This isn’t an episode that begins with a zoom-in on Earth, or features a huge alien invasion.
Instead, The Woman Who Fell to Earth lets you know immediately just how different it’s going to be by focusing on new companion Ryan Sinclair. Beginning with him talking in a YouTube video before featuring a scene between him, his grandmother Grace, and his step-grandfather Graham, Chris Chibnall lets us know exactly what we can expect from this series. Particularly how grounded it will feel, such as focusing on Ryan’s dyspraxia.
This was something that I was immediately impressed with. It’s not often that you see a major character having a disability that you can’t immediately see on television, especially not in Doctor Who.
But then, this isn’t really surprising, as Chibnall had previously included a character with dyslexia in the Eleventh Doctor story The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood. So disability and how people and even families deal with it is something that he clearly enjoys exploring. But it’s definitely refreshing that a companion is established from the start as having a disability, too.
The scene of his grandparents encouraging him to ride a bike was beautifully handled. It let us know two things: one, that both grandparents, particularly Grace, cared about Ryan a lot.
Secondly, they were also flawed. They were people ignoring the obvious: that Ryan had a genuine disability, rather than just being reluctant to learn how to ride a bike. And no matter how many times he rode that bike, Ryan at least knew that it was never going to make a difference. It’s no surprise that he threw the bike away in frustration.
In The Woman Who Fell to Earth, we were introduced to three brand new companions. What are each of them like in this new era of Doctor Who?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: BBC Press.)
Three new companions
Ryan himself is an interesting character. Yes, he has a disability, but it’s clearly not going to be his sole character trait. He’s very open-minded when it comes to aliens, and is probably the least skeptical of the group.
He also clearly loves his grandmother, but is perhaps understandably reluctant to call Graham “granddad” at this point. It’ll be interesting to see if this changes over time. Particularly considering the ending of the episode. Tosin Cole’s performance captures a lot of the innocence but also the frustrations of the character really well.
After Ryan discovers something strange in the woods, we’re then introduced to the last of our new companions, Yasmin Khan. A young police officer who wants to do more, she’s clearly frustrated at only resolving traffic disputes when we first see her. Fortunately, her superior officer has told her to look into something that will change her life forever.
Mandip Gill gives a really genuine performance as Yasmin (or “Yas” to her friends). She goes from a character dealing with small problems to having to face aliens and life-threatening situations. And you do see the progression she has in having to process so much in one night.
Graham’s a really likable character, too. As I mentioned before, he’s certainly flawed, but Bradley Walsh puts in a really great performance across the whole episode. Out of the new companions, he’s the one who doesn’t want to be a companion at all. He’s not a coward, but he’s also far from keen on rushing into danger.
He goes through a lot of drama, especially towards the end of the episode, (which we’ll get to). But he also has plenty of lighter moments, too, whether it’s recommending talking to bus drivers to get information, or having a priceless reaction to meeting Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor.
And this brings me to what all of us had been wondering about, ever since the announcement of her casting: just how is Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor?
Hello, new Doctor!
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: BBC Press.)
Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor
Overall, Jodie Whittaker leaves a very promising impression as the new Doctor. She’s very energetic and a lot of fun to watch, which is exactly what you want.
It’s interesting to note that in her first episode, her Doctor is written to be a lot more confidant and sure of herself than the Twelfth Doctor was in Deep Breath, or indeed his entire first series. That’s definitely the best way to play this, considering just how bold this casting is.
Don’t get me wrong, Whittaker’s Doctor is still recovering from post-regeneration trauma throughout this episode, to the point where she’s unable to remember her own name for most of it. So she’s certainly not invulnerable.
But at the same time, this is mainly done to lead into a big “I am the Doctor!” moment. Matt Smith had it in The Eleventh Hour standing up to the Atraxi. Ten had it facing the leader of the Sycorax. Honestly, Thirteen’s isn’t quite as impactful, but it’s still a good moment.
The resolution to the story was particularly enjoyable. The Doctor focusing on saving just one life from a terrible threat, while of course tricking the dangerous alien threat “Tim Shaw” into potentially killing themselves, is a perfect example of what the Doctor would do.
The fact that she condemns Karl, the very man she had just saved, for throwing Tzim-Sha off the crane is another great character-defining moment. It lets us know exactly how fiercely moral this new Doctor is. She’s not above destroying her enemies, but only when there’s no other possible solution.
It’s also amazing just how easy it is to forget her gender, at times. When watching her performance, there are definitely elements of Tennant or Smith, particularly with her high levels of energy and eccentricity.
But she’s also her own Doctor. One that’s reminiscent of others, but still clearly her own. The whole time, I never questioned whether she was the Doctor or not, I just accepted it, which is definitely a good first impression. I look forward to seeing what she does next, especially if she’s given more weighty drama over time.
The Woman Who Fell to Earth not only fleshes out the major characters, but even makes the smaller characters feel very sympathetic, such as Rahul.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
Characters over spectacle
One thing I was particularly pleased to see was how low-key the enemy was in The Woman Who Fell to Earth. While we’re used to stories that focus on big spectacle and incredibly high stakes, Chris Chibnall is at his best when he focuses far more on character. And while the threat wasn’t exactly particularly memorable, the well-written characters definitely were.
I’m not even just talking about the regulars. While they’re fleshed out pretty well, Chibnall is also great at making very brief characters casually killed off feel incredibly real. Rahul, the man who was looking for his sister of course stands out, but the best brief character had to be the security guard, on the phone with his granddaughter. It was a moment that started off as very sweet before it became incredibly nasty.
Because that’s something major that Chibnall has brought back: the impact of death. While I enjoyed much of Moffat’s stuff, he had one major fault: refusing to make characters he killed off stay dead. All of his companions were killed off at least once, and all were brought back from the dead somehow. As a result, death in his era felt cheapened.
Fortunately, Chibnall doesn’t seem to have that problem. With the small, minor characters, it’s more about giving them some very human moments, even briefly. And it gives their deaths weight, which is important. After all, death has been an important part of Doctor Who ever since it first started. The more effective it is, the better it works. So of course, Chibnall included one major death in his first episode as showrunner: Grace.
We only had one episode to get to know Grace, but her death left a lot of impact by the end.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Death of Grace
Killing off Grace was definitely a bold thing to do. Considering that we knew that Graham would become a companion, while we saw nothing of his wife Grace, it wasn’t too surprising to find out that something happened to her. However, her death still had a lot of impact.
What was particularly brilliant about the character was that in many ways, she was far closer to typical companion material than her husband was. Whereas Graham would be reluctant to get involved, Grace would be eager. While the adventuring lifestyle doesn’t seem to suit him at all, Grace was all too happy with it.
So killing her off was quite a bold move, especially as Chibnall clearly wrote her to be a very likable character. But if that moment didn’t have enough impact by itself, then the funeral certainly did.
One line in particular really seemed to sum up what death actually means. When Graham describes Grace as being the kind of person that would ask him why he should complain when they had three great years together, he sums it up perfectly:
"I’m complaining because I wanted more."
It’s a gut-wrenching line, beautifully given by Bradley Walsh. I mentioned earlier that Walsh was given a lot to do in terms of drama in this episode. Which is funny, as he seemed to be focused on less than the other two companions, in some ways. But we’ve been given a great impression of his character so far.
A reluctant companion can be a tricky thing to get right. After all, companions usually represent the eyes of the viewer, and we certainly want to see plenty of alien worlds and different times.
But Graham’s handled well. He’s a man who’s realized exactly how precious life is, something that was made particularly clear when we find out that he’s in remission from cancer. So it’s not surprising that he wants to keep holding onto life.
At the same time, however, he’s not a coward. While he’s not exactly eager to jump into danger, he’s still ready to help his friends if he thinks they genuinely need him. It’s going to be interesting to see just how much Graham develops over the coming series, particularly his relationship with his step-grandson. Not to mention how he and the others react to being accidental companions.
As the first episode ends, we’re left with a lot to look forward to in this new series.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: BBC Press.)
The end (of the beginning)
Which brings me to the last point: the ending. I must admit, I was actually rather surprised that, for the first time since the New Series began in 2005, we have regular companions who don’t choose to be with the Doctor, but are there entirely accidentally. That makes for a very refreshing change.
It’ll be interesting to see if they accept travelling with the Doctor easily, or whether this will be something that develops over time. I’m a big fan of the original TARDIS team with Ian, Barbara and Susan, and what made that team so interesting was how their relationship evolved over time.
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While I’m sure Thirteen will have an easier time with her new friends than One did, I imagine that being far away from home is still something that they’re not going to be too happy about. I can’t wait to see how the relationship between the four develops.
Overall, The Woman Who Fell to Earth was a really decent start to the series. Far more of a low-key opener than what we’ve had before, but it works. Chris Chibnall made the smart decision to focus more on character than on fast-paced plot and incredibly high stakes. Considering that the former is something he’s much stronger with, this was definitely a smart decision. It’s one of his best Doctor Who scripts by far, and believe me, we seriously needed that.
On top of that, we’ve also got a pretty strong regular cast. The companions are diverse and stand out in their own way, we’ve got some interesting relationships established, and most promising of all, we’ve got a great new Doctor. I’m eager to see where we go next with the series.
Next. Did Remembrance of the Daleks lead into the Time War?. dark
Did you enjoy The Woman Who Fell to Earth? What was your favorite moment? Who’s your favorite new character? Let us know in the comments below.