It’s been too long since I wrote something about Doctor Who so in light of the BBC
releasing the first official image of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor I thought I would
just share a few thoughts about Doctor
Who Series 11.
Series 11 seems like it is going to be a near complete
relaunch for Doctor Who. I think that
this will work similarly to the transition between the David Tennant and Matt
Smith eras of the show. There were some aspects of continuity between the two
of them but for the most part it was a change. More or less everything from the
TARDIS (both inside and out) to the Sonic Screwdriver changed. That’s the level
of change I expect we will be seeing by the time Jodie Whitaker is on our
screens as the Doctor.
Based on the newly released image Jodie Whitaker looks very
much like she is the Doctor. The whole ensemble of her new outfit just looks
very Doctor-ish. I'm glad that they haven't done anything sexist and cringey
like putting the Doctor in something pink or making her wear heels just because
she's a woman (I was slightly worried they might do that). I'm also glad that
once again the Doctor will be wearing a long coat.
In the background of the newly released promotional image of
Jodie Whitaker as the Doctor we got our first look at her new TARDIS. To me the
Police Box now looks a lot like the version that was used back in the 70s by
the 3rd and 4th Doctors. I wonder if that’s a possible
hint as to what the interior is going to look like. Will we finally see a
TARDIS which has “the round things” again?
The Doctor is also going to be travelling with a team of
companions in Series 11. My main thought about this is that it reminds me of
the very first Tardis team with Ian, Barbara and Susan. I wonder if that's
going to be something that's referenced. Perhaps giving her a full team of
companions is a way of legitimising Jodie Whitaker as the first female Doctor
by echoing the early years when multiple companions were the norm. I'm going to
be reserving judgement until we know more because we literally know nothing
about them right now! And remember people dismissed Billie Piper and Catherine
Tate when they were initially cast yet no one (or at least no sensible person)
would dismiss Donna Nobel and Rose Tyler now.
One of the main things that Series 11 is going to have to do
is recapture the family audience. Doctor
Who should never ever get too dark. Dark stories belong in the expanded
universe and in adult spin-offs like Torchwood.
There’s no denying that throughout the Capaldi era Doctor Who has struggled in the ratings and mainstream popularity. A
part of why Doctor Who was such a
massive success back in 2005 was because it aimed at the family audience. Jodie
Whittaker needs to connect with the younger audience in the same way Christopher
Ecclestone, David Tennant and Matt Smith did. Doctor Who needs to re-attract the 9 year old kids that will then
read Doctor Who Adventures magazine
and hunt down the action figures of their favourite characters. If the show if
to survive beyond Series 11 it needs to bring in a new generation of fans.
In conclusion, I am cautiously optimistic about the future
of Doctor Who. I really want Series
11 to be the smash hit success that Doctor
Who deserves. So far I haven’t seen anything to make me nervous about the
future of the series but I hope that my faith will not turn out to be
misplaced.
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