‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘The Ghost Monument’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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The more time I’ve had to reflect upon the series 11 premiere of Doctor Who, the more I’ve found myself extremely excited when it comes to the Thirteenth Doctor and her forthcoming adventures with her new group of best friends (a term way cooler than companion). And really, my excitement stems from the fact that ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ was a vastly different type of episode for the show, one that relied on the Doctor’s intelligence and good nature to solve the problem instead of relying upon help from the TARDIS or Time Travel and it was just refreshing to see that on display for a change.
 
Yet, when I settled in to watch last night’s episode of the show, ‘The Ghost Monument’, I found myself in quite the confused place. Because I’ll be perfectly honest, at first, it seemed as though this particular adventure was going to be quite the by-the-numbers affair. After all, the group was stranded on an alien planet, danger surrounded them and there was a mystery to solve and that quite frankly, took me off guard. I expected more, and well, it was there all along, I simply needed to take a moment and look beyond the basics to see that Chris Chibnall put together a script that was filled with some wonderful thematic concepts that are helping to make this show exciting and new once again.
 
For example, the first thing I finally noticed, about the time the group was moving across the water, is that this particular tale takes the time to expand upon something that was briefly explored in the last episode, in that…the show is trying to make the Doctor a beacon of hope once again. It really seemed during the final years of the Moffat era that our favorite Time Lord was a being to be feared, one that had left death and destruction in (at the time) his wake and well, that got old. But thankfully, that was nowhere to be found in this episode, and Thirteen made a grand effort to speak to the wonder of the universe and the value of life and the moment and of course, she was a hero through and through in this story, one that used her wits over violence and that was downright magnificent. 

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Yet, what I was impressed with the most, is the sheer fact that this new chapter in the Doctor’s incredible story, is finding new ways to re-ignite the wonder surrounding this series, and keeping the TARDIS out of the story for a better part of the first two episodes, helped generate that because it was just a delight to see that ancient ship materialize on this ghastly planet and it was equally as magical to step through the doors with the Doctor for the first time and see the awe in Thirteen’s eyes as she realized she was home again and that awe was downright infectious in this tale since her new friends were stunned and excited to learn of what this ship can do and in all honesty, it left me grinning like a fool as well and that sense of wonder didn’t end there.
 
Because for the first time in a long time, the alien world present in this episode, a place known as Desolation, actually felt alien. From its nasty atmosphere to its poisonous water, nothing about this place felt comfortable in the slightest and it’s just rare to see a world where everything is hostile and dangerous on this series and that wonderful surprise was only further enhanced by the fact that it’s now been made evident that a new villain will challenge the Doctor by way of the Stenza and this, has me extremely excited. Because it’s something I was oddly enough discussing with my close friend Shae the other day since we both agree that Doctor Who has been heavily reliant on the usual cadre of baddies to advance the plot and it’s just wonderful to know that a species we have zero knowledge about in every way imaginable is going to step up and square off against the Doctor and well, I do wish them the best of luck.
 
But, when all is said and done, this was another solid episode, in my humble opinion. It was a wonderful way to reintroduce the newly revamped TARDIS, which looks amazing by the way, and everything before that moment worked for me as well. For there was plenty of tension to be found in this one, and it definitely kept my attention and most importantly, it left me hungry for more. Because now that the Doctor has her TARDIS back, time and space are at her fingertips and if our future adventures through the universe are going to be as magnificent as the last two, then we are going to be in for more amazing moments and once again, I find myself counting down the minutes until the next episode of this magnificent and enthralling series. Until next time.

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