“Doctor Who and I are finished!”
Or so I thought in the last two seasons of Steven Moffat’s blighted reign as ill-disciplined writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, a show that came alive in 2005 after being shelved in 1989, after a 26-year run that began in 1963.
He, and to a lesser extent Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor who came across as screechy, angry and way too existentially-distressed, had ruined the sheer fun of the show which had always had serious themes and moments for sure, but which never lost that sense of exuberant wanderlust that made it so appealing.
Season 11 arrives soon with a new female doctor (played by the fabulous Jody Whittaker) – exciting! – a new showrunner in Chris Chibnall, three, not one companions, all new monsters (goodbye, for now at least, Daleks and Cybermen) and, if this new trailer is anything to go by, a bright, fresh, zeitgeisty sensibility complete with a soundtrack provided by Macklemore’s song “Glorious” (feat. Skylar Grey).
It’s all enormously new and exciting, a refreshing reinvigoration of Doctor Who that is likely to win me back from the viewing shadows – oh hell, I was back as soon as I knew Whittaker and Chibnall were on board – and a lot of other people as well.
Doctor Who returns with all-new episodes on Sunday 7 October on BBC; in Australia, Doctor Who will screen at 5:45pm Monday 8 October ABC (6pm Mondays thereafter) / the Whovians chat show on 7:30pm Monday 8 October on ABC Comedy.
Episode One – “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
“We don’t get aliens in Sheffield.” In a South Yorkshire city, Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan and Graham O’Brien are about to have their lives changed forever as a mysterious woman, unable to remember her own name, falls from the night sky. Can they believe a word she says? And can she help solve the strange events taking place across the city?
Guest starring Sharon D. Clarke, Johnny Dixon and Samuel Oatley. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Jamie Childs.
Episode Two – “The Ghost Monument”
Still reeling from their first encounter, can the Doctor and her new friends stay alive long enough in a hostile alien environment to solve the mystery of Desolation? And just who are Angstrom and Epzo?
Guest starring Shaun Dooley, Susan Lynch and Art Malik. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Mark Tonderai.
(source: Decider)