WARNING - MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
It’s safe to say, that I was extremely excited for the return of Doctor Who. And as I sit here in my TARDIS dressing gown gobbling down porridge at 7am on Monday morning, getting ready for my first re-watch of ‘The Woman Who Fell To Earth’, I am just as excited to experience that episode all over again. My laptop is plugged in, my porridge is left to go cold and the BBC logo on my TV fades to black.
Despite having thoroughly enjoyed the episode last night, the first thing that strikes me as Ryan’s voice emanates from the darkness is the strangeness of the way they’ve chosen to start the episode. There are infinite ways we could have been introduced to Ryan, so why through a Youtube video? It’s not mentioned during the story (with the exception of the second part of the video near the end), and it doesn’t add anything to the plot. I understand that you’re supposed to think that the woman he’s referring to is the Doctor, but really, that would just have been too obvious. Are we supposed to look back after Grace’s death and think ‘Oh well, of course, it was about his Nan? Because I was under the impression that Grace was a recurring character so that really didn’t work for me. Overall it certainly wasn’t a bad opening to the episode, but I just felt that it didn’t really fit with the feel of rest of the episode.
So now we’re slowly introduced to the rest of the characters. There’s Grace, Ryan’s Nan; supporting, caring, full of life. And ever cautious, but equally as supporting Graham, her husband, who just wants Ryan to see him as his Grandad. Last to be introduced is Police trainee Yaz: inquisitive, determined, and just a little bit fed up.
Now that’s out of the way we finally get to the aliens. A mysterious pod in the woods. An ominous sparky creature moving down the strangely out of date train (well that’s Northern Rail for you!). And just before disaster strikes, The Doctor crashes onto our screens. Now I know everyone has said it, but it really is true, from the second she crashes through the roof of the train, Jodie Whittaker IS The Doctor. She’s brilliant, compassionate, child-like, curious and hilarious. Beautifully over the top and wonderfully down to earth. And she is The Doctor.
“No such thing as aliens”, says Bradley Walsh’s Graham, after the clearly alien creature zaps them all and leaves. “Where has he been for the last 10 years”, asks my partner. “Big Ben, spaceship over London on Christmas day, the Titanic”! Of course, as many a fan has complained, that’s all London. Up North is like an entirely different planet! And as Carl points out, even if aliens do exist, “We don’t get aliens in Sheffield”.
Oh and the music! It’s so distinctly different from anything we heard during Murray Gold’s tenure: more synthesised; more otherworldly. And yet, it’s so obviously a continuation of what Gold started to achieve, and it doesn’t sound out of place in the slightest. There are still orchestral elements woven into the overarching synthesised atmospheric noise; a soprano voice here, some strings there. It’s as if Segun Akinola has taken everything Gold was trying to build towards, combining orchestral and synthesised sounds, and just pushed it that little bit further, and it sounds amazing.
That’s the theme of the entire episode really. Taking everything we’ve been given so far, every Doctor, every season, and paying homage to it all. Using all previous seasons as a jumping off point, whilst assuming no prior knowledge. If you’re a long time fan, there are nods to the past everywhere, but if you’ve never seen the show before, this is for you too. It’s what Moffat attempted back when he took over, but Chibnall has actually managed it.
Another thing I loved about the Doctor was her brilliance. Or more accurately, how her brilliance is portrayed. Not once are we told how amazing she is, how clever. We’re simply shown it instead. Yes, she gets it wrong, she makes mistakes, but she learns and develops and works things out as she goes along, and not once does she stop to say “Look at me, look at how clever I’m being”. Because she’s the Doctor, of course she’s brilliant, what matters isn’t that she is clever, it’s how she’s clever.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode. It wasn’t perfect, and I have so many questions (that’s not necessarily a bad thing), but at the end of the episode it left me wanting more, and I am very excited to see what next week’s adventure brings.
Highlights
Jodie’s facial expressions.
Alien gets salad thrown at it by drunk Northerner.
Doctor hilariously mispronounces alien’s name (sorry to all Tim Shaw’s out there).
Carl the cutie.
Entry no. 176956, in companions not listening when the Doctor tells them to do, or in this case not to do, something.
The implications behind “It’s been a long time since I bought women’s clothes”.
That closing theme tune
New Life Motto
It’s a work in progress, but so’s life.
Questions
I thought Grace was a recurring character?
Where was the Doctor staying between defeating Tim Shaw and Grace’s funeral, and why did no-one offer her a change of clothes sooner!
Why is that mechanics/ warehouse still empty
What happened to Carl?
Where is the TARDIS?
What were your favourite parts of the episode? What burning questions do you have? Let me know!
- E.S
I agree with all your points, I really loved the episode and am super excited to see more!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how The Doctor survived the fall though. I know it was probably because of regeneration energy, but that was never explained or shown, she just fell over 50 feet without any injuries whatsoever.
That's all I wanted to add, I loved the episode as a whole! :)