The Woman Who Fell To Earth Serves As The Perfect Introduction To A New Era

Doctor Who effectively gets a reboot each time person in the title role decides to leave and someone new comes on board.  Sometimes the shift is a bit more dramatic than others but for the most part, the core of the show doesn’t change.  That is part of the charm of the series in that you can tune out for any number of years and still come back to something recognizable.   For those worried that the change from Peter Capaldi to Jodie Whittaker would somehow permanently alter the programs DNA, I can say you can safely put those fears to rest.  Whittaker confidently takes over the role in this episode and leaves no doubt that the TARDIS is in trusted hands.  Her performance recalls traits of previous Doctors while still bringing something new to the screen.  It’s not just the Doctor who needs to be established, however, and for once, the episode doesn’t seem to rush the introductions of the new friends.  Jasmin, Ryan, Graham, and Grace are fleshed out enough so that we care about them and want to know more by the end of the episode.  The only character that seems a bit of a misfire is crane operator Karl, who the Stenza warrior ‘Tim Shaw’ is hunting.  It was easier to care for Karl’s boss because we are given more grounding for him. The coming weeks will tell how people adopt Whittaker in the role, but if the overnight ratings have any meaning, she’s doing fine so far.  Whittaker’s debut scored 8.2 million viewers, the highest ratings since David Tennant’s departure back in 2008.  Surely some of those viewers come simply from curiosity about who the new girl is.  If ‘The Woman Who Fell To Earth’ is any indication though, many will be intrigued enough to return for the following episodes.