Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, Susan Lynch, Shaun Dooley, Art Malik, Ian Gelder.

The finest of traditions are upheld when The Doctor does not understand everything that is laid out, throughout the long history of the much-loved programme, the element of doubt is one that leaves a longer lasting smile on the fan’s minds than the neatly, over-explained, often patronising view laid out by various writers. It is a tradition in which the new Doctor is thrust into with great forethought by Chris Chibnall as the worlds of time, space and new companions are brought together in the second of Jodie Whittaker’s appearance as the enigmatic alien, in The Ghost Monument.

With very much her own stamp already in place of how the new Doctor’s mind works, showing less arrogance and more patience and control than any of her predecessor’s versions, with perhaps the exception of Peter Davison’s take on the character, Ms. Whittaker finds herself thrown into the fire of making sure her incarnation is memorable, of having her own quirks fleshed out with some speed; for some will always have knives primed and sharpened wit pronounced should she be seen at any time lacking the fortitude demanded by the role.

Questions don’t always get an answer, neither should they, some deem this as the plot hole, that elephant in the room that somehow gets noticed in today’s more analytical times; not everything is understood, not right away and for those who see The Ghost Monument as a shadow of former glories, the big reveal is that it is exactly the type of series arc that made such moments as the eventual unmasking of River Song, the thought of who the Doctor really was, the ever more enticing.

One thing is for certain, the belief in bringing Bradley Walsh into the show has paid dividends, an older companion always seems to bring out the best in the show, regardless of being on television or across the many forms inhabited on audio. Audiences only have to listen to Colin Baker’s audio adventures to understand the delight in which Evelyn Smythe, portrayed by the talented Maggie Stables, brought to the role of the older shoulder in which to rely, and so it is with Bradley Walsh’s Graham. A character’s worth is not hindered by age but enhanced by the life they have chosen and for that Graham’s concern for his dead wife’s grandson is touching and based upon true belief in compassion.

The Ghost Monument is a pivotal moment in the life of the series, it allows the audience to know that The Doctor is not just a rage of lonely god like attitude or lonely child lost sentiment, that other emotions that we can carry with pride, or push down hard upon till they become squashed and misshaped, can be visible and bring about change. A very good episode in which Chris Chibnall stamps his own authority and urges Jodie Whittaker to do the same.

Ian D. Hall