Doctor Who
Season 11, Episode 2 “The Ghost Monument”
Directed by Mark Tonderai
Written by Chris Chibnall
Starring Jodie Whittaker, Brady Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, Susan Lynch, Shaun Epzo
BBC America
Air date: October 14, 2018

And now, it continues. The Season 11 premiere of Doctor Who left the Doctor and her new companions floating in empty space. It was both a great visual and a cliffhanger with huge jeopardy. It was so huge in fact, that writers have to resort to some pretty significant gesticulation to hand wave it away. As Douglas Adams wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the chances of being picked up in space by a passing spaceship in the 30 seconds that you can hold a lungful of air are 2^2079460347:1 against. Adams rationalized those odds to some comedic effect using a spaceship with Infinite Improbability Drive. So how does writer Chris Chibnall dig himself out of that hole? We find out in the follow-up episode, 11.2 “The Ghost Monument.”

On the Doctor Who Season 11 premiere… Falling to Earth, and landing in Sheffield, the Doctor Jodie Whittaker discovers her new companions under threat of an alien attack. Still in the midst of her regeneration, she must break down the clues to find out exactly what the threat to the planet actually is. Without her TARDIS and sonic screwdriver, she faces a massive challenge in her early hours as the Doctor…

During TARDISblend 114, we talk about the amazing debut of Whittaker as the new Doctor, some of our favorite moments in this episode, and speculate about what is to come in this new season.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend podcast!

Doctor Who
Season 11, Episode 1 “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
Directed by Jamie Childs
Written by Chris Chibnall
Starring Jodie Whittaker, Brady Walsh, Tonsin Cole, Mandip Gill, Sharon D. Clarke, Samuel Oatley
BBC America
Air date: October 7, 2018

At last, it begins. After many long months of waiting since Peter Capaldi regenerated, the Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall version of Doctor Who has begun with Episode 11.1 “The Woman Who Fell To Earth.” This season will be shorter than the last few (ten episodes instead of twelve, plus Christmas special), but honestly, it’s all worth it if they’re at least as good as this first one. Steven Moffat is a good television writer and a decent producer, but his plotting and pacing can feel terrifically dense. It’s like eating champagne and caviar all the time and you just want a well-made pizza. This show is that simpler but no less satisfying meal and it sketches out a new course for Doctor Who that could be a very pleasurable ride.

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #0
Single Issue | Digital
Writer: Richard Dinnick
Artists: Mariano Laclaustra, Georgia Sposito, Ariana Florean, Claudia Ianniciello, Iolanda Zanfardino, Neil Edwards, Pasquale Qualano, Rachael Stott
Inker: Fer Centurion
Colorists: Color-Ice, Carlos Cabrera, Adele Matera, Dijjo Lima, Enrica Eren Angiolini
Letterers: Comicraft’s Sarah Jacobs, John Roshell
Titan Comics
Release Date: September 26, 2018

Beginnings, they are such tenuous times. Except on Doctor Who, where nearly every beginning is also an ending. In less than two weeks, the Doctor returns to our television screens with a new face: Jodie Whittaker. To celebrate a moment that’s only happened a dozen times in the last 55 years, Titan Comics assembled Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #0 with an intriguing premise.

After the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) has escaped the revenge of the Master (John Simm / Michelle Gomez) and the Cybermen, he finds himself face-to-face with his first incarnation (David Bradley) in a world frozen in time. Together the Doctors must find their way out of the frozen time, from which they both have moments in destiny to fulfill…

During TARDISblend 113, we talk about the long-awaited arrival of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor, we explore the interactions between the First Doctor and the Capaldi Doctor, and comment on presumably Steven Moffat‘s final goodbye from Doctor Who after seven years as showrunner.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!