Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, Sharon D. Clarke, Samuel Oatley, Jonny Dixon, Amit Shah, Asha Kingsley, Janie Mellor, Asif Khan, James Thackeray, Philip Abiodun, Stephen MacKenna, Everal A. Walsh.
It was only a vocal few, the dissenting voice used for whatever reason they deemed logical, and probably in many ways that seemed completely and utterly bonkers to the rest, but when it comes right down to it, and on first moment alien questioning, Jodie Whittaker not only grasps the reason for the love of the Timelord in the fan’s hearts, she owns it with sincerity, with style and with all the possible quirks to come. With The Woman Who Fell To Earth firmly entrenched as a new direction for Doctor Who, perhaps the viewer can get on with being entertained, intrigued, and riveted, and get away from the idea of divisive gender stereotypes that has nonsensically plagued the series before it even started. Jodie Whittaker is The Doctor, and on the evidence of the opening story of the 11th season, she will be glorious.
That is not to say that the opening episode of writer and show front runner Chris Chibnall’s era was all plain sailing, but then what first episode under a new Doctor is? The addition of Bradley Walsh is outstanding, a man who really belongs in drama and away from the evening television slots devoted to game shows and the pointless bookended by advertising revenue, and in his place by The Doctor’s side the less than satisfactory was able to be gleaned passed, a flick of the writer’s wrist which like a magic show had the audience’s attention diverted by the shine and away from the sleight of hand placement that comes with restricted Time and budget.
A hunter is on the loose and on Earth to take a prize, it arguably has the hallmarks of the Predator franchise of films woven through the first episode and with all honesty firmly always at the tip of the viewer’s fingers, not really a villain who will stick in the mind, the enemy of The Doctor’s 13th incarnation is not in the league say of the Vashta Nerada or the initial contact with The Weeping Angels, and whilst the darkness and shadow like corners always brings an element of the mysterious to the show, it was in the Sheffield daylight that the first episode held its own, a turn around to the usual theme and one that didn’t quite capture the imagination.
Time moves on, change is good for the soul, a Sunday evening slot would have worried many, the B.B.C. losing interest in its once flag-ship show, but even in that, it worked, more chance of people actually watching it as it transmits live rather than on a device later in the week; Time is an elusive beast and you must be willing to hold on to its ever changing mood and appearance if you want to survive.
The Woman Who Fell To Earth, manic, just a little bit weird, too crazy for this world, The Doctor is back, and will see you now.
Ian D. Hall