‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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You know, I thought long and hard about how exactly I should open up this particular recap of last night’s series 11 premiere of Doctor Who. Should we discuss the Doctor’s storied history and how it works alongside a new Doctor for a new generation? Should we talk about the need for change and how important it is in a series such as this? Or, do we address the looming issue when it comes to this series, the one that has kept the fans talking for some time now; the fact that the Thirteenth Doctor is…gasp…a woman! Because in all honesty, going to that final topic seemed like overkill, at first, simply due to the fact that so much has been said and written about it.
 
Yet, it was the only thing that my mind kept coming back to when my fingers hit the keyboard, and there’s good reason for that, it’s a damn big deal when you make a change that significant in a series that’s featured only men in the title role for fifty-plus years. But, the importance and the gravity of having a woman take over the lead role for a pioneering science fiction show such as this is another topic for another time, one that quite frankly, better writers than I will tackle. Instead, one of the reasons that I felt the need to focus upon this first, is simply due to the fact that I was taken aback by the sheer nastiness that came forth from a chunk of the fanbase when they discovered the Doctor was making a gender change. I saw horribly misogynistic and outright ridiculous comments on social media from ‘fans’, ones that made it seem as though the progressive messages this series exudes fell upon deaf ears and these same people wished failure for Jodie Whittaker or they outright threatened to stop watching the series over this bold and magnificent decision.
 
Which brings me to the other reason I wanted to focus upon this negative hulabaloo…to outright gloat. Because ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’, proved an important point to every single hater and Jodie-basher out there, in that…they were completely and utterly wrong about everything they had to say when it comes to the new Doctor. For the 13th Doctor is an absolute delight to watch on the screen, and it doesn’t take long to see in this episode, that Jodie has already made the character her own and given this ancient Time Lord a unique personality that is quite frankly, fun in every sense of the word since she brings a special brand of glee to her portrayal of The Doctor, and really, Jodie’s electric and magnificent performance is merely the beginning when it comes to the wonder of an episode that quite frankly embodies the best parts of Doctor Who.

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For The Thirteenth Doctor is a true hero through and through and she is all about diving into the mystery and working with a fevered mania to figure out how solve said mystery and save lives in the process and speaking of that, she’s also willing to do whatever it takes to keep people safe, and I loved watching her cut through everyone’s worries about the problem at hand and maintain a positive outlook and really, it’s that positivity that stands out the most in this series thus far. Because The Doctor I’ve come to know through the years, was a touch cantankerous and broody at times as he reflected upon the tough things he’s seen over the course of two-thousand plus years, and that somber and sour feeling is how they sold their worthiness to others, but none of that is evident with Thirteen. She’s all about playing the positive side of ‘What if?’ and that inspires her new friends in ways I’ve never seen on the series before.
 
Because often times, The Doctor’s companion or companions were immediately skeptical of the Time Lord when they first met her previous iterations, questioning the Doc every single step of the way. But here, Thirteen’s confidence is infectious, and it allows for her new companions to believe that if they stick with her and follow the plan, things are going to turn out just fine and well, they do, with a price of course. But it was refreshing to see Ryan, Yaz and Graham, and Grace for that matter, unify and rally behind the Doctor to save an innocent life and I was also quite pleased to see that the Doctor is as tough and as fearless as ever, since she was able to outwit and outmaneuver one of the nastiest and angriest villains that the series has seen in years with ease, and one has to wonder if we will be seeing this unique race of warriors appear again down the line…
 
But what matters most, piggybacks on what I just made mention of, the Doctor’s grit. Because the best part about this premiere, is that Thirteen doesn’t fall into any predictable pitfalls or tropes when it comes to female characters in cinema and television. She’s strong, she’s resourceful and she makes miracles happen without the TARDIS by her side and well, I’m supremely excited to see where this new direction of the series is going to take us, and if the series premiere is any indicator of what’s to come, then we are going to be in for one hell of a treat, wherein once more we see the awe and wonder of the universe through a fresh set of eyes, and a pair that have seen just about everything time and space has to offer, and that’s bad news for those who would do others harm, because the universe and the show are clearly in good hands with the Thirteenth Doctor at the helm of the TARDIS…well, when she and her new friends find it, that is…

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