New Doctor, New Companions, New Sonic Screwdriver, New Monsters, New Writers, New Directors, New Worlds and Locations, New Tardis, New Who….
Brand new Doctor Who started Saturday 7th October. My initial thought after watching this episode was that this episode was amazing and that it has kicked this new era of Doctor Who off to a good start. This episode was titled 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth'; we know at the end of the Christmas Special, the doctor fell out of their Tardis and this episode finally shows us what happened once the Doctor fell out of the Tardis. The Doctor lands in Sheffield and that’s where this story is based.
The big thing about this episode that makes it so important is that not only is this the first episode of series 11 but this is the first episode with a female Doctor. Jodie Whittaker has been cast as the new Doctor and in 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth', she does an incredible job of defining who her Doctor will be and what they will be like. Whittaker has made this character who own by using her own accent yet when you're watching this episode you don’t notice that the Doctor is now female you just notice that the Doctor has different characteristics. Now, this Doctor really wants to help people; there is a line that is said by the Doctor "when people need help, I never refuse". This one line shows a lot about the character of the new Doctor and it shows that this Doctor is going to be caring and friendly. In the past, previous Doctors have been cold/frosty when we first meet them or childish; this time we got friendly. Also, I feel like this Doctor is going to be quirky like the 11th Doctor played by Matt Smith.
When we get a new Doctor that means we get a new sonic screwdriver; this is the device that the Doctor is known to always have in their pocket, quick to hand. There have been many different variations of the sonic screwdriver, all look different, yet they all do the same thing. The main purpose of this device is to help the doctor in the tricky situations they get into. However, the one thing the sonic screwdriver doesn’t do is that it doesn’t work on wood, anything made from wood. It isn't clear yet if this is the case with this new sonic however that was constantly an on running joke in past series that the sonic didn’t work on wood, yet it works on everything else.
Another key element to any episode of Doctor Who is the Doctor's friends, the people he/she travels with. As a result, this episode introduces us to three new companions who will travel with the Doctor. The Doctor's new friends are Graham (played by Bradley Walsh), Ryan (played by Tosin Cole) and Yasmin (played by Mandip Gill). The character Ryan has trouble riding a bike and climbing a ladder as he has a co-ordination disorder called dyspraxia. The reason for having Ryan with this disorder as it is quite common among children, but it shows that heroes can come in all shapes and sizes. Yasmin is another new companion and she is portrayed in this episode as in the police force and Ryan was her friend in school. Finally, Graham is Ryan's step-granddad, we do meet Ryan's grandmother Grace in this episode, but she isn't considered a companion, but you must watch this episode to find out why.
Doctor who wouldn’t be Doctor who without monsters and aliens. For the new start of this series, we were introduced to a new alien. This alien was called Tzim Shaw, however, the Doctor calls him Tim Shaw. What is amusing is that the actor (Samuel Oatley) was credited as Tim Shaw in the end credits. This alien in the episode was on Earth hunting. Unfortualty, he kills people that got into his way. Once he has killed someone he would pull a tooth out of the victim’s mouth. The tooth that this monster takes then puts it into his face as a trophy. Also, his skin is so cold that with one touch he could freeze you. This is a new alien that we haven't encountered before. All aliens in this series will be new, that we haven't met before.
I feel like this episode has a message which shows what Doctor who will be like from now on as said by Jodie Whittaker in the episode "we're all capable of the most incredible change. We can evolve while still staying true to who we are. We can honour who we've been and choose who we want to be next". This shows that the show has evolved as everything is new and changed but at the heart it is still the same show that everyone loves. Doctor Who is still about a time travelling time lord exploring time and space and getting into trouble with aliens but meeting amazing people along the way. Chris Chibnall has taken over as lead writer and executive producer from Steven Moffatt. Chibnall is best known for Broadchurch but is now on Doctor Who. With this first episode, I think Chibnall has done an amazing job on this first episode and gives high hopes for this series to come.
As a result, this episode was worth the wait, it was executed extremely well. All characters were introduced well, and all were relatable, especially the companions which has always done well for Doctor Who in the past. This is due to the fact that if the audience can relate to the companions then they enjoy the show more as they are seeing everything through the companion’s eyes as everything is new to them as well. Thus, we feel more part of the adventures and less disconnected. Jodie Whittaker was great in her first episode as the Doctor and has made this character her own by giving it her own interpretation. This first episode is a great start to this new era but it’s definitely emotional at times, although it is definitely must be watched, can’t wait for the next episode next Sunday!!!!
