Three Episodes In- Dr Who- Season 11
I started watching Dr. Who toward the end of Matt Smith’s tenure. I didn’t start with him, rather I started watching David Tennant’s season and then caught up just before the switch over to Peter Capaldi.
The change over to Jodie Whitaker, therefore, is my third new Doctor. I knew going in that the first few episodes would be rough. It took me a while to adjust to Peter Capaldi. I ended up loving his performance.
The first episode was the weakest, as expected. The Doctor not knowing who she is feels overplayed. But that’s not unique to this episode. Capaldi’s bothered me too. I didn’t really notice it with Tennant, because I had no idea about the show, and Smith’s was the first so it made sense at the time.
The story itself functioned well for gathering the companions together. I like them, aside from some concern that there are too many (in the seasons I’ve watched, there have never been more than two for an extended period). My biggest issue is the way Ryan’s grandmother died. It felt forced and like it had to happen because the plot said so.
The second episode was more on track for typical Dr. Who. Going into the third I was skeptical. I had heard some comments that it was good but the subject matter had me leery. It’s very easy to touch on a topic like racism and be preachy. Especially in today’s climate. The fact that a British show was looking at American history also could go really bad. I mean, Americans have a habit of casting British actors as all the bad guys in our movies. And we’re kind of the bad guys of the world right now so…
It actually turned out pretty well. Not perfect. But it approached things well. Not necessarily entirely accurately but this is a fictional TV show about a time-traveling alien. Close enough.
Most importantly, it did its job as a teaching tool. Since there was a new Doctor, I decided the time was right to get my son into the show. And my wife. So we’ve been watching as a family. This episode served as a perfect lead into explaining the ugly bits of racism. Something that I sourly wished was just something to understand about the past, but sadly, is all too relevant today.
Now, was Dr. Who, a British show, the best vehicle for explaining racism to a middle-class white American boy? Whose to say. But it started a conversion so I’m coming down on the side of yes.
That aside, I wouldn’t rule the new season, so far, in the top of the NuWho set. But, again, we’re only a few episodes in. As I noted, I loved Capaldi by the end but it took time to get into. I like Jodie Whitaker’s performance so far. I don’t think they’ve cheapened the Doctor becoming a woman by pandering to it. It barely even matters so far. Which is how it should work. The Doctor is the Doctor.
