"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"

Make no mistake, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" heralds the biggest reformatting of Doctor Who since The Power of the Daleks. Apart from the casting of the first woman Doctor, the production team has been completely overhauled but it is, of course, the casting of Jodie Whittaker that has dominated the interest in this new era.

Whilst I had no issue with a female Doctor and certainly none with Whittaker’s casting, I did have an issue with the head writer. Doctor Who has been very fortunate in being helmed by two of the best writers in the world, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat. It would be a bit unfair and perhaps churlish to point out that Chris Chibnall is not in the same league, as few are, but Chibnall is hardly a standout writer, when it comes to Doctor Who alumni. Even in his great solo success of Broadchurch, his writing is easily the weakest aspect. A lot of his writing, even the borderline-great "The Power of Three", resolves the plot abruptly, be it god-from-the-machine or rabbit-out-of-a-hat style. "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", happily, does not do this, but it’s still clear that we are in the hands of a lesser writer. There are some nicely evocative speeches, but the nuts and bolts dialogue lacks polish and often resorts to cliché – Russell T Davies could make a conversation about takeaway pizza be funny and interesting. It was, perhaps, unfortunate that I had recently watched the first two Predator films, as that made the parallels with the Stenza 'Tim Shaw' even more obvious. This brings me to the most troubling aspect – the corpse-mutilation is, in my opinion, going a tiny bit too far for a family programme. I hope that the tone meetings are no longer a thing of the past.

Characterisation is not as rich as it was in previous eras, but we have some excellent performances Tosin Cole is, practically, the lead character in this episode and he is very charismatic. He is joined my Mandip Gill’s strong, yet adorable Yasmin Khan, Bradley Walsh, surprisingly understated and effective Graham, and it’s a pity that Sharon D. Clarke’s Grace dies, given her sensitive performance. I must also mention Karl, engagingly played by Johnny Dixon. Tim Shaw is, as said, hardly an original foe, but Samuel Oatley attacks the part with relish. However, it is clear who the star of the show is. Like Peter Capaldi and Christopher Eccleston, she is a recognisable ‘name’ actor, so I knew she had the ability. However, as with her predecessors, the unique spin she gives on the role is something truly wonderful. Jodie portrays the Doctor as an ancient soul who still finds delight in the challenges the world throws at her. Perhaps it's just me, but it helps, of course, that, with Capaldi’s costume on, she looks like what William Hartnell would look like, if Hartnell were a beautiful young woman!

Further helping the story is the excellent production. The pace is slower than in previous eras and Jamie Childs does a great job in the director’s chair – the initial manifestations seem genuinely alien and inexplicable. Sheffield comes alive on screen as Cardiff has done previously and the anamorphic lenses give the image more breadth. A major change behind the scenes is the first new composer since the programme’s revival. Segun Akinola’s incidental score is more ambient than Murray Gold’s and, although I am very fond of Gold’s music, Akinola’s arrangement of the theme tune is a vast improvement on the terrible Capaldi version.

I sincerely hope that Chibnall will be up to the formidable task, because the team he has assembled can clearly work wonders.

NEXT: "The Ghost Monument"