Doctor Who Series 11, Episode 1 Review - The Woman Who Fell to Earth

What did you think of this episode?

• Sonic!
• Good!
• Bumpy-wumpy!
• Exterminate!

I’ll be upfront from the start, it was a dark Doctor Who time for me when series 11 first aired. I was working for a cleaning company and working way too many hours, seven days a week. I was knackered. The show felt like it had become divisive overnight, the second Jodie pulled the hood down in her reveal, and people suddenly loved the show completely or hated it with a passion. It felt like I had to pick a side, it still feels like that to this day. So when I didn't vibe with series 11, I ended up feeling completely disenchanted.

I stuck with it, of course, and I did come to enjoy a lot of Series 12 and really liked Flux, I struggled though, and wasn't rushing to watch it like I had before.

But this rewatch is something I’ve been excited for, because I think I’m in a better place to enjoy Jodie’s era with fresh eyes.

"Why are you calling me madam?"

So, here we are, the era I've been looking forward to rewatching the most. A brand-new Doctor, a brand-new TARDIS team, and a whole new look to the show. The Woman Who Fell to Earth is a whole new Doctor Who.

The first thing that is worth noting, straight from the off, is that it looks fucking good. When Ryan, Graham and Grace are sat on the hills it looks amazing. It just goes to show that you don't need to cosy up to Mickey Mouse to make the show look fresh and cinematic.

Setting it in Sheffield works brilliantly too. Grounded, gritty and a nice change of pace from London.

"No no. I never go anywhere that’s just initials."

As amazing as that first scene looks, I still do have one question. How the fuck did Ryan throw his bike the whole way down the hill and land it in a tree?! Is he Superman?!

Jodie herself makes a strong first impression. She has some really great moments, and I enjoy her quirkiness. But you can already see the main problem that plagued her era - there's a lot going on, and a lot of people to share what is going on with. She doesn't always get to be centre of attention in her own show. If anything, this felt more like Ryan's story about meeting an alien.

@BBC

Tzim-Sha (or is that Tim Shaw?) is a pretty good villain to start the era off with. The whole idea of ripping people’s teeth out as trophies is pretty fucked up and genuinely unsettling. I actually think this highlights something interesting about Jodie’s run, for all the complaints about it being lighter or too safe, there’s actually a lot of dark stuff going on in these stories.

Now, onto the companions. Graham tends to get seen as the fan-favourite of this era, but I’ve never really got it. He doesn’t do it for me. His casual shrugging at alien madness and his weird insistence on Ryan calling him 'grandad' just never quite clicked. Yaz, sadly, doesn’t do much here either, and that’s a problem when there are three people crowding the TARDIS. And that whole bit about them only realising they went to school together because of their names? Not when they literally look at each other’s faces? Just odd.

I obviously have hindsight on my side here, but Yaz and Thirteen would have been more than enough.

"Sonic screwdriver. Well I say screwdriver but it’s a bit more multipurpose than that. Scanner. Diagnostics. Tin opener. More of a… sonic Swiss Army knife. Only without the knife. Only idiots carry knives."

Another person who gets bigged up is Ryan’s nan, Grace. She has often been talked about as being the best of the bunch in this episode but good grief her death is odd. Maybe I missed something, but I thought the Doctor had already saved the day, and then Grace falls a short distance and somehow it’s instantly fatal. When Graham runs to her, she already knows she’s dying. It’s an emotional moment that doesn't really land for me. Maybe I'm heartless.

The episode also has a number of side characters lobbed in for comic relief, and that grated on me a little. Kebab man, Karl the crane operator… they’re played for laughs, but it makes them hard to invest in. In fact, when Tim Shaw threatened Karl, I half-hoped he’d just get rid of him!

@BBC

Despite all that, I actually really enjoyed this rewatch. It’s not up there with The Eleventh Hour as far as opening episodes go, but it is a solid start. And while some of the directions this era chose didn’t always pay off, I’ll always respect that Doctor Who can change so drastically and tries to do new things. That’s what keeps it alive. Chibnall and co. went in a different direction, and I love them for trying.

"Doctor. Can I just say? You really need to get out of those clothes."

That said, some of the new era traditions like the Doctor’s new outfit reveal, the I am the Doctor speech and the post-regeneration oddness, don’t hit quite as well this time around, probably because they’re things we’ve seen before, done better.

Still, I liked it. A fresh start, a strong opener, and enough here to make me want more. Well, except that trailer at the end. What was that about?! Just a list of actors one after the other. I don’t care who’s guest-starring, I want to see action, I want to see who the Doctor is battling, give me excitement not names. It was a weird choice!

Jodie Whittaker Appreciation Blog

The Ghost Monument Review

What did you think of The Woman Who Fell to Earth? Let me know in the comments below.

RATING: Sonic!

BEST LINE: I’m glad you asked that again. Bit of adrenaline, dash of outrage, and a hint of panic knitted my brain back together. I know exactly who I am. I’m The Doctor. Sorting out fair play across the universe. Now please. Get off this planet while you still have a choice.

#DoctorWho #TheWomanWhoFellToEarth #JodieWhittaker #Thirteen #ThirteenthDoctor #TheDoctor #TimeLord #Sonic #TARDIS #Fam #MandipGill #Yaz #YasminKhan #Thasmin #RyanSinclair #TosinCole #GrahamOBrien #BradleyWalsh #SharonDClarke #GraceOBrien #SamuelOatley #TimShaw #TzimSha #Stenza #Sheffield #Karl #JohnnyDixon #ChrisChibnall #Regeneration #OhBrilliant #SimplyWho #SimplyReviews