Review The Woman Who Fell To Earth (2018)

Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Doctor Who Series 11: the premiere will be a story of survival


falling2-1.png


The Daily Star have quoted Doctor Who Showrunner Chris Chibnall as saying:

“The first story is much more a story of survival for the new Doc.”

“The last we saw of her she was falling through the air above planet Earth so it’s less about gender and more about: ‘How am I going to get out of this?’”

“The gender issue is pretty by-passed.”

“It’s not really a kind of a gender-related story or anything like that.”

The Daily Star also quoted an anonymous source who expressed surprise that a Time Lord falling, or who had possibly fallen, from the sky would not be more concerned with a recent gender switch than her own survival.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
The Woman Who Fell To Earth


At least we have a confirmed title now too....

Wonder if the story itself will riff on this though.....



 
chainsaw_metal1

chainsaw_metal1

Member: Rank 8
I'm late to the party because my son and I went with some friends to see Venom this afternoon (a very enjoyable film, I do recommend it).

Wow. Jodie hit it out of the park. She's great in the role of The Doctor. This was a great introductory episode for the character. The companions are a little hit-or-miss, but I think another episode or two will help flesh them out. The villain was kind of generic, but effective, and provided a legitimate threat. This certainly made me eager to see more of this season.
 
michaellevenson

michaellevenson

Moderator
Staff member
Jodie Whittaker was excellent, the role of The Doctor was not feminized at all which I was concerned about. I did say on a previous post that it should be played gender neutral, and it was. I can see a bit of some of the previous Doctors in her characterization, a bit of Matt Smith and even a wild eyed look of Tom Baker , but mostly of Tennant. I think she'll be a good Doctor.
The story was typical New Who, it was okay but not particularly memorable, like all of New Who I'll watch it, buy the DVD, store it away and forget about it.
Bradley Walsh was good too.
 
Gavin

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
I really enjoyed that episode. Jodie was fantastic (as I predicted) and the story provided a great introduction to the new cast. And I was pleased that they didn't try to explain too much for new viewers in the first episode. No TARDIS and only a very vague explanation of the sonic screwdriver. They've left plenty of room for gradual explanations as the series goes on and I suspect (hope) there's a great deal more to be learned about the companions as time goes by.
 
The Seeker

The Seeker

Member: Rank 6
Jodie was great. Whimsical and very Doctorish. The companions were good, but we didn’t see a lot from Yasmin - then again the episode was so full there wasn’t much room for her character development. We’ll see more from her in the future.

The episode was meh. So was the villian. But I do like the new sonic screwdriver, and the fact that she built it from scratch.
 
Gavin

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
The Seeker said:
The episode was meh.
Click to expand...
That was to be expected really. The story was just a background to introducing the companions and the new Doctor. Their interactions were what made the episode good. And I liked that they developed Grace as a character so that
her eventual (and predictable given we knew that Graham was going to be a companion and not her) death still felt meaningful.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Doctor Omega said:
Okay, I am going to make a prediction...

I was baffled by the ending of the Christmas Special, with the Tardis seemingly rejecting Jodie's Doctor.

Then it occurred to me what Chibnall is up to....

It seems obvious to me now that the Tardis did, in fact, reject the new Doctor. Because the Doctor was now a woman.

I am now willing to put money on it that there will be a scene where Jodie enters the Tardis console room, which is dimly, moodily lit, perhaps still smoking with anger, and the Tardis is sulking because her beloved Doctor is no longer male. (The Tardis seems to only find males appealing. It liked Rory after all.)

The dialogue will go something like this....

DOCTOR: I know you are sulking, but, listen, I am still the Doctor. Give me a chance! It's not fair to judge me, just because I am no longer what you wanted me to be. Blah blah blah....


Thus reassuring both boys - and also the adult people whom the production team consider overgrown schoolboys - in the audience that this Doctor, this female Doctor, is still a hero worth following.

In the same way that they had Matt Smith ringing up Clara to reassure her that this new old bloke was the Doctor. Thus reassuring the audience.

The scene, I predict, will end with the Tardis stopping sulking - the lights will come up and the smoke will disappear - and to show it accepts the new Doctor, a brand new sonic screwdriver will fly out of the console, across the room, for Jodie to catch and she will break into a smile, accompanied by triumphant orchestral music.

Then off she goes back to resume her first adventure after this strange interlude/interruption.

Such an obvious ploy and it now seems clear to me that a scene, something like the above, is likely to happen.

In an attempt to address and deal with any and all naysayers by talking about the issue in the show itself.
Click to expand...


 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top