Image: ABC
Last night we saw the first episode of the new incarnation of Doctor Who.
Though, unlike previous regenerations, this time the Doctor is a woman, played by English actress, Jodie Whittaker.
Having been a fan of the show since I was a kid, I am hoping that it will be around long enough for me to watch it with my children.
Fingers crossed that a new show runner, Doctor, and season will change things, and make up for the disappointment that was the last season.
Though don’t get me started on how bad the decision was to take a whole year off…
Source: ABC
The Doctor Is A Woman
Like the rest of the Doctor Who fans out there, I was semi-surprised to hear that Peter Capaldi’s successor was Jodie.
Though, what was really surprising was the way that the media reacted to it.
Sure there was a bit of political correctness to the decision, though unlike other characters that have been turned into females, it wouldn’t need a rewrite of the “Doctor Who universe”.
Remember, in recent times, it was Matt Smith’s Doctor who told us that Time Lords can regenerate into females. (He was reminiscing about a fellow Time Lord, known as The Corsair, who has a tattoo of a snake in the Episode “The Doctor’s Wife” (Season 6, Episode 4)).
We saw one of the Time Lord President’s Guards regenerate into a woman when shot by Peter Capaldi’s Doctor in “Hell Bent” (Season 9, Episode 12).
And most importantly, we had Michelle Gomez’s portrayal of Missy, a female regeneration of The Master that lasted for three seasons.
Source: ABC
The First Episode (Spoilers)
Going against what everyone else has said, it actually is hard to say whether Jodie “nailed it” in this first episode.
If we cast our minds back to Peter Capaldi’s first episode, which I think was dreadful, it is the season that will tell, not the first episode.
Personally, I was unimpressed with the first episode “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”, I really don’t think that it was “Doctory” enough for me.
I would have also liked to see the Stenza warrior, Tzim-Sha, be given the spiel about the planet being protected, and quote from the relevant part of the Shadow Proclamation.
I was also disappointed to see that this Doctor’s “sonic screwdriver” was made from parts in a workshop, rather than being a gift from the TARDIS like the previous Doctor’s. Though I do think the spoon shape is a novel idea.
The other concern that I had with this episode was that we met all three companions in the first episode. Rather than them being “collected” during the Doctor’s travels.
Only Time Will Tell
I will be interesting to see what sort of Doctor this one will become, and as the saying goes, only time will tell.
While last season was a let down for me, I will keep watching.
At least until the Daleks and Cybermen come along. While they are “bad” characters, how many times can they be defeated before they learn to stay away from the Time Lord?
Plus, we still haven’t see what the new control room will look like. Hopefully, that will happen in the next episode.