A round-up of the week's TV
- Publication: Waitrose Weekend
- Date: 2018-10-11
- Author: Paul Kirkley
- Page: 41
- Language: English
DOCTOR WHO
BBC ONE, SUNDAY
You'd have to have spent the past 15 months on Raxacoricofallapatorius to not know that Jodie Whittaker had been cast as the first female Doctor Who (left). So after all the hype, was it a risk to call her first episode The Woman Who Fell To Earth?
Not a bit. Whittaker may have come crashing through the roof of a train - to confront an alien in the most exciting Sunday night railway carriage stand-off since Bodyguard - but in every other respect she is out of this world. Her Doctor is a fizzing, quicksilver, lightning rod of energy - brain running at a million miles an hour, mouth talking a blue streak - who looks set to earn her place in the front rank of TV Time Lords.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall has also given the franchise a brush up, with 'relatable' very much the new watchword. He's even gone as far as to make Sheffield the somewhat unlikely new centre of the Doctor Who universe, while casting Bradley Walsh as one of the Doctor's companions serves notice that the show is going for the broadest, big tent audience possible, from the kids to your nan.
Sure, the actual invasion-of-the-week plot - some hooey about an alien using the Earth as a tribal hunting ground - was rather flimsy, but that's the standard MO with these relaunch stories. Really, this was all about showcasing Whittaker's funny, goofy, charming new Doctor as she got to know her new friends - and her new self.
We're all capable of the most incredible change: our hero told the big bad monster (whose name, hilariously, she insisted on mishearing as Tim) during their climactic crane-top confrontation. We can evolve while still staying true to who we are. We can honour who we've been, and choose who we want to be next.'
This, of course, is Chibnall's way of saying that reinvention is hardwired into Doctor Who's DNA. It's the reason the show has endured so long, and it's the reason why - even after 55 years - it feels like the adventure is only just beginning. Buckle in.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Kirkley, Paul (2018-10-11). A round-up of the week's TV. Waitrose Weekend p. 41.
- MLA 7th ed.: Kirkley, Paul. "A round-up of the week's TV." Waitrose Weekend [add city] 2018-10-11, 41. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Kirkley, Paul. "A round-up of the week's TV." Waitrose Weekend, edition, sec., 2018-10-11
- Turabian: Kirkley, Paul. "A round-up of the week's TV." Waitrose Weekend, 2018-10-11, section, 41 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=A round-up of the week's TV | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_round-up_of_the_week%27s_TV | work=Waitrose Weekend | pages=41 | date=2018-10-11 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=A round-up of the week's TV | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_round-up_of_the_week%27s_TV | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 May 2025}}</ref>
