This was a series of big changes for "Doctor Who." We have a new Doctor, new companions, new showrunner, and mostly a new crew. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start, but that's normal for any new era of the show. I don't feel that we really ever settle into a comfortable groove with a new Doctor until after about a series and a half. This time was different, though. While I found a lot of the show's elements needed some polish, the Doctor herself was immediately endearing. Jodie Whittaker has quickly become one of my favorite actors to take on the role of The Doctor.
With showrunner Chris Chibnall at the helm, "Doctor Who" feels less kitschy than in previous seasons. It's still very funny at times and full of ridiculous genre elements, but the tone is more serious and the characters feel more like real, ordinary people. The new companions include a retired Caucasian bus driver, Graham (Bradley Walsh), his step-grandson Ryan (Tosin Cole), who is black, and Ryan's friend Yasmin (Mandip Gill), a police officer whose family is Pakistani. The Doctor/Companion dynamics are very different, and so far the bulk of the character building has gone to the companions. While there are a few references here and there to earlier series of "Doctor Who," almost all of the mythology has been ignored. There have been no Daleks or Cybermen, no Master, no UNIT, and not more than a mention of Gallifrey.
Frankly, that's a nice change for now. Some of the one-off adventures are considerably better than others, but they all benefit from being almost entirely self-contained. There's continuity, but no true multi-parters. The show has also been more ambitious about telling different kinds of stories, many a bit more mature and self-serious. So far, two of the standout episodes have been historical ones, a visit to Rosa Parks' famous arrest and another to a family spat during the Partition of India. Monsters and aliens are involved in both cases, but the show is also able to tackle racial and political issues a little more in depth. The fact that the Doctor is a woman is treated matter-of-factly, but it is occasionally an issue in certain situations that has to be worked around.
Sometimes episodes come out too somber or restrained, and the supporting characters are very much a work in progress. Only Bradley Walsh's Graham is an entirely successful personality at the moment, as he's the only one who's had any kind of emotional arc. However, Whittaker makes up for any deficiencies. Her performance is such a joy to watch, full of energy and enthusiasm and curiosity. She's obviously taking some cues from David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, but without the egomania or the dark side - at least not yet. I'd love to see the Thirteenth Doctor interact with a few more pieces of the past, and have to deal with some of the history, but I like that the creators are letting her be the Doctor on her own terms first.
That said, there are some improvements that need to be made. I hate what they've done with the TARDIS. Ryan and Yasmin need better material. There haven't been any particularly memorable antagonists. The music is very meh. And even though I'm fine with the Doctor not relying on the old "Doctor Who" mythology, we could certainly use some new "Doctor Who" mythology to replace it with. More with the grannies, maybe. My favorite episode in this series has been a comedic one, "Kerblam!" where the Doctor and friends infiltrate a giant, alien parody of an Amazon warehouse, because it was quick-paced and silly. However, it was a pretty generic story that could have featured any version of the Doctor.
I find myself wishing impatiently for that episode of Thirteen's adventures that defines Thirteen, the way that "Heaven Sent" showcases Twelve and "The Doctor's Wife" finally endeared me to Eleven. I'm fully onboard with Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, but the series hasn't quite lived up to her yet. However, I am absolutely willing to wait. it's early going yet, and I'm sure that matters will improve as we move into future series.
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