Hi there!
It seems like not that long ago I was wondering if we would ever see any information about the new Doctor Who Series 11. There was such a tight embargo on any kind of intel on what was going on with Series 11, I sometimes wondered did Chris Chibnall forget to actually make any episodes.
And here we are, halfway through the season, 5 episodes out of 10 have been broadcast.
So what’s the verdict on Doctor Who Series 11 so far?
Let’s start with the Doctor.
And I'm looking forward to this journey.
It seems like not that long ago I was wondering if we would ever see any information about the new Doctor Who Series 11. There was such a tight embargo on any kind of intel on what was going on with Series 11, I sometimes wondered did Chris Chibnall forget to actually make any episodes.
And here we are, halfway through the season, 5 episodes out of 10 have been broadcast.
So what’s the verdict on Doctor Who Series 11 so far?
Let’s start with the Doctor.
Having a new Doctor is always a bit weird, getting use to the voice and rhythms of the new actor who has the temerity to be addressed as “the Doctor”. We’re supposed to accept that the wide-eyed young bloke with the chin and the cranky old white haired dude with the angry eyebrows is the same person? Oh come now!
So here we are. Sunday moves into the back half of the season with our first episode not written or co-written by Chris Chibnall. So we still have new ground to cover.
But we Whovians manage to muddle through and soon the new face becomes eventually the Doctor.
And so it goes for Jodie Whitaker. Yes, I know we’re supposed to be all weirded out that the Doctor is now a female woman of the opposite sex but I’m not. I accept Jodie Whitaker as the Doctor as much as I accepted Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, David Tennant and so on and so on before that.
Like the actors before her, it helps that Jodie peppers a bit of prior Doctors in her performance. As Capaldi would channel Tom Baker or Matt Smith echoed Patrick Troughton, I can see glimpses of David Tennant in her performance as the Doctor.
But borrowing from the past can only carry you so far and Jodie Whitaker is forging her own path. Her Doctor’s willingness to have friends aboard the TARDIS as opposed to keep companions at arm’s length is a vital difference.
I am concerned that the Doctor has to compete with so many distractions, with 3 companions… excuse me, friends and any number of guest stars. It was a detriment to Peter Davison’s time as the 5th Doctor that he rarely had the spotlight in his own show. So far, Jodie’s Doctor has not had the spotlight, sharing time with others. I want to see the Doctor be more prominent.
If there are too many people in the Doctor’s TARDIS, at least the bunch with Jodie’s Doctor is far enjoyable than the intolerable bunch the 5th Doctor had to put up with.
Graham is the breakout companion. The paradigm for the standard issue Doctor Who companion is young, female and cute, Graham by his very existence gives us something new. As I understand it, actor Bradley Walsh is known more for comedy but his take on Graham is wonderfully nuanced. Yes, he can deliver a clever quip but he’s also capable of expressing so much more. The depth of feeling in Graham when he realizes he’s the white man standing on the bus that will force the bus driver to demand Rosa Parks leave her seat, that anguish is palpable. Graham’s quiet grief as he returns home to Sheffield, still not quite accepting his wife is dead, is a powerful moment.
There’s been a lot of complaints that Yasmin Kahn is undeveloped as a character. As I noted in yesterday’s post, I think there is stuff there if you look close enough.
Ryan has a lot going on. His grandmother died. Before that his mother died and his father abandoned him. He has a medical condition. But for all that, in many ways, Ryan is to me even more of a cypher than Yaz. I can feel his hurt and I know why it’s there. But who is Ryan beyond the young man with a medical condition and serious abandonment issues?
I love the sense of family I get from the Doctor’s friends and I admire that Chris Chibnall carves out a little bit of space to spend some time with them. But is that time well spent? Are their stories important enough for this investment of time? At the halfway point, I’m not sure I’m feeling it. But maybe subsequent episodes will deliver emotional pay offs on the foundations laid in the first half of the season.
I suppose it would’ve been easy to rely on some Doctor Who greatest hits when it comes to aliens, monsters and villains. But Chris Chihbnall was insistent that all the aliens, monsters and villains in Series 11 would be new and so far, he’s been true to his word with no so much as a Dalek in sight.
Props to Chibnall with looking forward, creating new menaces and not pulling out monsters from the Doctor Who hit parade catalog. But I’m not entirely sure the approach relying solely on all new threats is working.
The Pting was a distinctive threat in the Who universe, short, cute and deadly.
But “Tim Shaw” was just another alien thug with a gun. OK, he had a face full of teeth so there’s that but still.
And the Remnants felt like a Steve Moffat type idea that didn’t quite gell. Oh look, scraps of cloth, what harm could they cause but.. Oh NO! They mess with your head, then kill you.
The thing is that these threats all have their relative strengths and weaknesses but since they have to do all the heavy lifting with no help from a Dalek or the Master or an Ice Warrior. I think the new stuff would work better if we were seeing it in tandem with some established threats. Without threats from the show’s history, these new menaces seem almost random and arbitrary.
I am concerned that the Doctor has to compete with so many distractions, with 3 companions… excuse me, friends and any number of guest stars. It was a detriment to Peter Davison’s time as the 5th Doctor that he rarely had the spotlight in his own show. So far, Jodie’s Doctor has not had the spotlight, sharing time with others. I want to see the Doctor be more prominent.
If there are too many people in the Doctor’s TARDIS, at least the bunch with Jodie’s Doctor is far enjoyable than the intolerable bunch the 5th Doctor had to put up with.
Graham is the breakout companion. The paradigm for the standard issue Doctor Who companion is young, female and cute, Graham by his very existence gives us something new. As I understand it, actor Bradley Walsh is known more for comedy but his take on Graham is wonderfully nuanced. Yes, he can deliver a clever quip but he’s also capable of expressing so much more. The depth of feeling in Graham when he realizes he’s the white man standing on the bus that will force the bus driver to demand Rosa Parks leave her seat, that anguish is palpable. Graham’s quiet grief as he returns home to Sheffield, still not quite accepting his wife is dead, is a powerful moment.
There’s been a lot of complaints that Yasmin Kahn is undeveloped as a character. As I noted in yesterday’s post, I think there is stuff there if you look close enough.
Ryan has a lot going on. His grandmother died. Before that his mother died and his father abandoned him. He has a medical condition. But for all that, in many ways, Ryan is to me even more of a cypher than Yaz. I can feel his hurt and I know why it’s there. But who is Ryan beyond the young man with a medical condition and serious abandonment issues?
I love the sense of family I get from the Doctor’s friends and I admire that Chris Chibnall carves out a little bit of space to spend some time with them. But is that time well spent? Are their stories important enough for this investment of time? At the halfway point, I’m not sure I’m feeling it. But maybe subsequent episodes will deliver emotional pay offs on the foundations laid in the first half of the season.
I suppose it would’ve been easy to rely on some Doctor Who greatest hits when it comes to aliens, monsters and villains. But Chris Chihbnall was insistent that all the aliens, monsters and villains in Series 11 would be new and so far, he’s been true to his word with no so much as a Dalek in sight.
Props to Chibnall with looking forward, creating new menaces and not pulling out monsters from the Doctor Who hit parade catalog. But I’m not entirely sure the approach relying solely on all new threats is working.
The Pting was a distinctive threat in the Who universe, short, cute and deadly.
But “Tim Shaw” was just another alien thug with a gun. OK, he had a face full of teeth so there’s that but still.
And the Remnants felt like a Steve Moffat type idea that didn’t quite gell. Oh look, scraps of cloth, what harm could they cause but.. Oh NO! They mess with your head, then kill you.
The thing is that these threats all have their relative strengths and weaknesses but since they have to do all the heavy lifting with no help from a Dalek or the Master or an Ice Warrior. I think the new stuff would work better if we were seeing it in tandem with some established threats. Without threats from the show’s history, these new menaces seem almost random and arbitrary.
There has also been a recurring theme of people not paying for their crimes.
“Tim Shaw” gets zapped back to his own planet after hurting and killing people. Jack Robertson pays no consequences for his role in the creation of the giant spiders.
“Tim Shaw” gets zapped back to his own planet after hurting and killing people. Jack Robertson pays no consequences for his role in the creation of the giant spiders.
Let me wrap up this post with a ranking of the episodes so far.
#5 - The Tsuranga Conundrum
It's a solid "base under siege" episode that is a staple of Doctor Who with some solid Doctor moments, a little bit of character development for the friends, some strong guest performances and an irascible alien critter equal parts deadly and cute.
But it has the feel of a filler episode, something for the Doctor and the gang to do until the next one. There is nothing inherently wrong with a "filler" episode but when the clock is ticking and there are only 10 episodes, I'm a little less patient with a "filler" episode.
And the problem with the Doctor having so much competition for time seem particularly problematic in this episode.
It's a solid "base under siege" episode that is a staple of Doctor Who with some solid Doctor moments, a little bit of character development for the friends, some strong guest performances and an irascible alien critter equal parts deadly and cute.
But it has the feel of a filler episode, something for the Doctor and the gang to do until the next one. There is nothing inherently wrong with a "filler" episode but when the clock is ticking and there are only 10 episodes, I'm a little less patient with a "filler" episode.
And the problem with the Doctor having so much competition for time seem particularly problematic in this episode.
#4 - The Ghost Monument
The Doctor and her friends are stuck on an alien planet specifically designed to kill people. And the Doctor still doesn't have her TARDIS.
For only their 2nd adventure with the Doctor and their first on an alien world, Graham and the gang are rather non-plussed by the circumstances.
Yaz really gets short shrift here. We learn she lives with her sister who wants her to move out. Mostly, she's a passenger.
Even more of a non-entity is Ilin, the guy in charge of the big galactic race. He can't even bother to show up; he's just a hologram. He's heartless bastard but it's hard to care.
Jodie is solidly in Doctor mode. And the relief the Doctor feels when the TARDIS finally materializes into view is so real and powerful. I'm feeling it too! I have to admit I was really worried as the TARDIS was not appearing in any advance publicity for the show.
The Doctor and her friends are stuck on an alien planet specifically designed to kill people. And the Doctor still doesn't have her TARDIS.
For only their 2nd adventure with the Doctor and their first on an alien world, Graham and the gang are rather non-plussed by the circumstances.
Yaz really gets short shrift here. We learn she lives with her sister who wants her to move out. Mostly, she's a passenger.
Even more of a non-entity is Ilin, the guy in charge of the big galactic race. He can't even bother to show up; he's just a hologram. He's heartless bastard but it's hard to care.
Jodie is solidly in Doctor mode. And the relief the Doctor feels when the TARDIS finally materializes into view is so real and powerful. I'm feeling it too! I have to admit I was really worried as the TARDIS was not appearing in any advance publicity for the show.
#3 - Arachnids in the UK
The Doctor Vs. the Giant Spiders! I like the spin that the spiders are not from Mars or somewhere alieny but just standard Earth spiders mutated to gargantuan sizes.
Chris Noth as the Trumpesque Jack Robertson chews up all sorts of scenery. He is a lot of fun to watch. I hope he makes a return visit. He scampers off with nary a consequence for his role in the creation of the giant spiders. This guy is in serious need of a Doctor takedown.
Jodie is in the zone as the Doctor. I love her confusion on who Jack Robertson is supposed to be. "Are you Ed Sheerin?"
The gang is finally back on the right planet, the right continent, the right city and the right time. But something is not quite right. Graham, Ryan and Yaz find that life with the Doctor is better than what they have in boring old Sheffield.
The resolution of the giant spider problem is they are lured into a room where they will starve to death, I guess. It's a tad anti-climatic.
The Doctor Vs. the Giant Spiders! I like the spin that the spiders are not from Mars or somewhere alieny but just standard Earth spiders mutated to gargantuan sizes.
Chris Noth as the Trumpesque Jack Robertson chews up all sorts of scenery. He is a lot of fun to watch. I hope he makes a return visit. He scampers off with nary a consequence for his role in the creation of the giant spiders. This guy is in serious need of a Doctor takedown.
Jodie is in the zone as the Doctor. I love her confusion on who Jack Robertson is supposed to be. "Are you Ed Sheerin?"
The gang is finally back on the right planet, the right continent, the right city and the right time. But something is not quite right. Graham, Ryan and Yaz find that life with the Doctor is better than what they have in boring old Sheffield.
The resolution of the giant spider problem is they are lured into a room where they will starve to death, I guess. It's a tad anti-climatic.
#2 - The Woman Who Fell To Earth
I really wanted to put this at #1 because there is so much pressure on this episode to succeed. A new Doctor. A Doctor that is female for the first time. New companions. A new alien menace. Everything is new.
And it all works. Maybe not perfectly but it works. Jodie Whitaker hits the ground running from her first scene. Even if she is having trouble remembering she's called the Doctor (and the word for "tongue"), she is from the first entrance the Doctor, talking fast, thinking faster.
Just for dealing with the sheer weight of history and of ridiculously high expectations, I give this episode props for delivering and setting the stage so wonderfully for what is to follow.
#1 - Rosa
Rosa is on so many levels a masterful episode. The multiple moving parts that lead Rosa Parks with her historic encounter with destiny on a Birmingham AL bus makes for a tricky and entertaining episode of Doctor Who even as it stuns the viewer with an unflinching look at the harsh realities of racism in the 1950s American south.
There is so much to love about this episode in terms of acting and writing. Even the location and sets are very evocative of the time and place.
If I have to ding this episode for anything, it's the lack of development for our antagonist for the week, Krasko, the racist from the future. When Ryan zaps Krasko with one of his own weapons little more than half way through the episode, we don't miss him.
But despite that, this episode comes together the way that only Doctor Who can but in a way that is unique to anything in the show's history.
So far, Doctor Who Series 11 has been good. Other than the emotional power of "Rosa", I have not been "wowed". I think Jodie as the Doctor is great, awesome even. I love her new friends in the TARDIS. I think I like the new TARDIS but so far, we haven't sent a lot of time inside to give me a real sense of the place.
Of the 5 episodes aired so far, I would not label any one of them as a stinker. "The Tsuranga Conundrum" was a bit underwhelming but it wasn't bad. I would say it was good, that's all.
Rosa is on so many levels a masterful episode. The multiple moving parts that lead Rosa Parks with her historic encounter with destiny on a Birmingham AL bus makes for a tricky and entertaining episode of Doctor Who even as it stuns the viewer with an unflinching look at the harsh realities of racism in the 1950s American south.
There is so much to love about this episode in terms of acting and writing. Even the location and sets are very evocative of the time and place.
If I have to ding this episode for anything, it's the lack of development for our antagonist for the week, Krasko, the racist from the future. When Ryan zaps Krasko with one of his own weapons little more than half way through the episode, we don't miss him.
But despite that, this episode comes together the way that only Doctor Who can but in a way that is unique to anything in the show's history.
So far, Doctor Who Series 11 has been good. Other than the emotional power of "Rosa", I have not been "wowed". I think Jodie as the Doctor is great, awesome even. I love her new friends in the TARDIS. I think I like the new TARDIS but so far, we haven't sent a lot of time inside to give me a real sense of the place.
Of the 5 episodes aired so far, I would not label any one of them as a stinker. "The Tsuranga Conundrum" was a bit underwhelming but it wasn't bad. I would say it was good, that's all.
And I'm looking forward to this journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment