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whovianfeminism · 6 years

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Whovian Feminism Reviews “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”

It feels like I’ve been waiting ages for this. And finally, she’s here. And she was brilliant.

Doctor Who made an exuberant return to our screens with a new showrunner, an almost entirely new creative team, and — for the first time in the show’s historic 55 year run — a woman as the new Doctor. “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” was a busy episode with an impossibly long list of introductions to make, and yet it managed to welcome the Doctor’s new “fam” in a story filled with horror, humor, and plenty of heart.

I won’t lie — I needed this episode to be good. After fighting for a woman to be the Doctor for so hard and for so long, I don’t think I could’ve handled the heartbreak if it had been subpar. It’s not really fair that TV shows and movies with women leads are held to such impossibly high standards, but that’s the unfortunate side-effect of sidelining women for so long and featuring them in the lead role so infrequently. Our hopes and expectations are so high precisely because we have such limited opportunities. Thankfully, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” met and even outperformed our expectations. The very few trolls who are still harassing supportive fans were drowned out by the overwhelmingly positive response to Whittaker and her new friends, and the ratings went through the roof. Whittaker has utterly captured the fandom, and more importantly, she’s brought in an entirely new generation of fans.

Nevertheless, you could practically feel the tension about the Doctor being a woman running through the episode. The Doctor herself was notably unbothered by the change, simply asking “Does it suit me?” (God, yes it does). But her final monologue was squarely aimed at the audience:

Because we’re all capable of the most incredible change. We can evolve while still staying true to who we are. We can honor who we’ve been and choose who we want to be next.

This is a final Hail Mary throw to the fans who were still unconvinced. Each Doctor is new and different from the one who came before, building and changing and evolving the character over the decades. This is just another evolution — grounded in the show’s deep history but looking forward and beginning to embrace the character’s full potential. It’s a deliberate choice to embrace the future, instead of remaining stagnant and trapped in the past.

Jodie Whittaker knew the importance of the role she took on, and she performed it brilliantly. It’s always difficult to judge a new Doctor in their first episode, since they are supposed to be a bit unbalanced and chaotic post-regeneration. But even when the Doctor didn’t quite have a grip on who they are, Whittaker was a force to watch, attacking every new scene with an unquenchable energy that was utterly captivating. She captured the Doctor’s earnest, childlike joy just as easily as she assumed the Doctor’s strident anger.

It’s incredible that Whittaker didn’t extensively watch Doctor Who before assuming the role, because there’s echoes of so many previous Doctors in her own performance, from Patrick Troughton’s physical humor to David Tennant’s hectic energy. Between the out-of-commission TARDIS, the big new family, and the cobbled together bits of Earth and alien tech, I was even getting a Pertwee-ish vibe from this story. But the Thirteenth Doctor is clearly stamping out her own personality. When the Third Doctor would’ve tried to escape Earth, she lingered. Where the Tenth Doctor would have gotten carried away, she focused.

The moment I truly fell in love with her was when, frustrated by her inability to get anything done without her sonic screwdriver, she decided to go ahead and build one herself. It’s been alluded to before that the Doctor has made their own sonic, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen them do it onscreen (the last two Doctors had theirs magically supplied by the TARDIS). That sequence, set to Segun Akionla’s gorgeous score, is going to be iconic. This is a Doctor who is going to do things on her terms and build it her own damn self.

But the Doctor can’t do everything on her own, and her new friends show quite a lot of potential. Yaz was given the least attention this episode, but I have a feeling she’s going to be the one to watch. She’s driven, ambitious, and ready to run into danger — perfect companion material. But Yaz is a cop, and she’s used to being in a position of authority in dangerous situations. We’ve already seen her clash with the Thirteenth Doctor over who will be in charge, and I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the end of that conflict.

Ryan was the true heart of this story. He’s earnest and sweet, even if he has his moments of explosive frustration. He’s also curious and open to believing some of the more incredible things that the Doctor says. Together, Yaz and Ryan balance each other perfectly. Yaz pulls Ryan into trying new and dangerous things, and Ryan encourages Yaz to be more open to accepting that the world is a bit wilder than she could’ve possibly imagined.

I’m still warming up to Graham. He had a few comedic moments, and his relationship with Grace was adorable, but on his own he’s a little bit harder to handle. He was prickly with Ryan in a way that was uncomfortable to watch; I actually cringed when he suggested Ryan would blame his mistake granting access to the Stenza on his disability. He’s also more inclined to leave a dangerous situation, which doesn’t make him a natural candidate to be a companion. I'm curious if his character will grow or change at all while traveling with the Doctor.

Representation was a quiet focus of this story. In addition to the first woman Doctor, we had three POC lead characters, a diverse supporting cast, an interracial relationship, a nontraditional family unit, and a character with a disability. And none of these was a huge deal, it was simply reflective of the world in which we — and these fictional characters — inhabit.

Doctor Who has had a mixed record of handling disability, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well Ryan’s dyspraxia was handled. It wasn’t magically caused by aliens and wasn’t miraculously cured by the end of the episode. It wasn’t the key to solving the issue at hand, but it didn’t limit Ryan from being a hero either. It introduced the disability to thousands of viewers without stigma or shame, and since the episode aired the internet has been filled with thrilled responses from people with dyspraxia.

But there was one major failure in this story — Grace’s death.

Of all the Doctor’s new friends, Grace was the most suited to being the Doctor’s companion. She wasn’t afraid to run towards danger — in fact, she loved every moment of it. She kept her eye on the bigger picture and always asked the right questions. And she kept everyone in check, including the Doctor (and that’s no small task). She would’ve loved every moment of adventure in the TARDIS. Instead, she was summarily killed off just as her adventure was getting started.

I was following the conversation on Twitter during the simulcast premiere. While everyone was sad at Grace’s untimely death, the disappointment was particularly pronounced amongst black women. I highly encourage everyone to read Tai Gooden’s review in Hypable and listen to the TARBIS (Time and Relative Blackness in Space) podcast’s response to hear directly from black women and understand why they were so hurt by Grace’s death.

In my mind, Grace’s death is absolutely an example of fridging —a death created for the sole purpose of causing Ryan and Graham grief and propelling their characters forward. Her final words were to encourage Graham not to be afraid without her. Ryan’s YouTube commentary, where he grieves over her death, anchors the beginning and end of the story. And given that Ryan and Graham never got along well on their own, Grace’s death will almost certainly be a recurring theme between them now that they’re trapped in space together. It was such an unnecessary waste of a fascinating and vibrant character. For a story that was so intensely focused on presenting an inclusive and progressive vision of Doctor Who, fridging a black woman in the very first episode was an egregious betrayal.

The one caveat here is that Grace was described in early press releases as a “returning character,” which seems to imply that she will be in future episodes. I suspect that she’ll be seen in flashbacks, or that the TARDIS team will travel back in time and see her at an earlier point in her life (or it was a deliberate misdirection and Grace won’t be seen again). But it is possible that Grace’s death will somehow be reversed. I would appreciate that. However, bringing Grace back to life won’t erase the damage that’s been done. Her death will still have been used to motivate Ryan and Graham. And it will still have been a disappointing moment in what should have been a fresh start for weary fans.

#Doctor Who #The Woman Who Fell To Earth #Jodie Whittaker #Thirteenth Doctor #Series 11 #Reviews

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startledpixel · 6 years

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The Ghost Monument

- These are easily my favorite modern Who titles. I love how tripping and slightly unsettling it is, and how the liquid effect initially looks kind of mirrored, like Hartnell/Troughton/Pertwee's, even though it isn't. Also, I REALLY WANT THE BBC TO MAKE THE TITLES INTO A VR THING! Can you imagine floating though that? It would be so fucking good.

- Anyone else notice the 1 min+ plus tracking shot in Epzo's ship? It starts from when Yaz wakes up in the medipod. The camera follows the action into the cockpit, gets between Epzo and the control panel, twists around to give us a shot of the back with the medipods, and then ends with Epzo pulling the grate from the floor. So basically the three actors are performing in this tiny enclosed space with the camera person. I am so impressed.

- I like the concept of being dropped into the middle of a galactic free-for-all, but we wound up with one-dimensional characters. It's fine. It's mostly meant for Jodie being impressively Doctor-y (again) in an alien world, Graham and Ryan trying to figure themselves out, and a bunch of the sense of astonishment we missed from last week without the TARDIS.

- Give Yaz some screentime plz. From the trailer I could see her potentially being very invested in Rosa Parks; perhaps she has a strong sense of justice that led her to join the police that ties in.

- "Your fear, [...] the strongest of all" That gave me major Listen feels. Fear is always the Doctor's superpower.

- Have a Timeless Child...immortalize them with Lifetouch photos today! I had flashbacks to staircase poses and over brightened tree backgrounds.

- Early theory: the Stenza's conquest is the series arc, the Timeless Child is a long-term thing. I think I read somewhere that Chibnall had a five-year plan, so he could potentially take that route.

#doctor who #dw spoilers #dw series 11 #thirteenth doctor #tracking shot

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rochellespen · 5 years

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Watching Doctor Who Season 37 (Series 11), Episode Three

I had heard that there was going to be an actual pure historical this season and was intrigued. Pure historicals were common back in the black-and-white era of Doctor Who, but were pretty much history (see what I did there?) by the end of Troughton’s first season. Which is a shame as I enjoyed seeing the Doctor and companions deal with history and its complications without the crutch of having an alien crash into the scene.

And for the record, I do consider Black Orchid a pure historical because my definition of pure historical is taking place in the past and having no other sci-fi/fantasy elements other than the Doctor, his companions and the TARDIS. I know other fans have the additional criteria that it has to involve an actual event of note in history, but I’ve often thought that that shortchanges the plot potential of the Doctor dealing with problems that can’t be solved with a wave of a sonic screwdriver or by re-wiring something at just the right moment.

Unfortunately, while Rosa is a welcome trip into the past for our latest TARDIS crew, it’s not a pure historical. At least not to me. I guess I’ll have to keep hoping we will get a pure historical someday in a future episode.

So what do we get with this episode?

Spoilers ahoy under the cut.....

Episode Thoughts

From the outset, I felt that this was going to be an episode that makes people uncomfortable. I also felt that this is not a bad thing. History is full of things that are important, but also ugly and painful. And sci-fi has traditionally been an outlet to explore those uncomfortable themes.

Thus, it was hard to watch Ryan and Yasmin get mistreated so horribly by the people of the time period, but it’s also the reality of this era of history. The fact that the Doctor and Graham were not immune from distrust and disdain because of their decision to associate with them is a disturbing reminder of how deep this ugliness went.

While it did get a touch heavy-handed at times, I think where the writers really excelled as far as bringing the messages about racism across was in how the companions reacted to what was going on around them. Sure, they’re all excited to meet important historical figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., but then they get nasty reminders of what kind of world those people existed in. Their enthusiasm to watch history unfold becomes tempered with the unhappiness and frustration of what people struggled against in the first place. It’s a very realistic reaction to learning how traveling through time can be both exhilarating and heartbreaking.

I also enjoyed the ongoing theme of how little events could make such a huge impact on history. A thought that leads to an interesting chess game between the Doctor and her nemesis, Krasko as they each have to find ways to move history in the direction they want without drawing attention to themselves.

My main complaint about the plot it’s that I felt like it didn’t have enough build up to it. I wish that they had either drawn out the mystery of why another time traveler was there or put in more obstacles to the endgame of making sure Rosa Parks fulfills the moment of history she is meant to. As it was, the pacing felt awkward and rushed. Like it had a lot it wanted to say and forgot at times that there needed to be an actual conflict and plot progression to give those important themes something to hold onto.

This shows in several dangling plot points. A good example is that racist cop who was following them around at one point. Sure, they had one confrontation with him, but were we supposed to believe that he wouldn’t keep trying to find ways to make their lives hard? Why didn’t he show up again? I thought for sure that Krasko would take full advantage of getting the law involved with his plot to alter history. It would have been easy to pull off and yet, he didn’t for some odd reason...

That said, it was nice to see the Doctor deal with an opponent who was forced to operate under the same “no violence” rules that she chooses to adopt. It’s a welcome change from the all-too-common conflict of a villain who relies on brute force to win versus the Doctor’s (usually) pacifist cunning.

One thing I also thought was particularly effective was the scene on the bus when the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yasmin realize that they were going to have to take part in the events that led up to Parks’ protest in order to keep history running as it should. The discomfort they silently expressed along with the wordless exchange between the Doctor and Parks as she’s led off the bus are beautifully pulled off with the right level of emotional subtext.

I sort of wish that they had ended the episode there instead of having that additional bit on the TARDIS. Then again, I think the emotional release of reflecting on the payoff of Parks’ sacrifices is probably a needed moment at the end of such a charged episode.

Character Thoughts

A lot of the characterization for this episode was tied into the plot, especially in regards to Ryan and Yasmin.

I’d like to add though, that we get some lovely scenes between the two of them which highlight the differences in their personality. Ryan is definitely having a harder time dealing with the much more brazen-than-usual racism of this time period and thus, it’s no surprise that he deals with Krasko by dealing out the harsh punishment of sending him to heaven knows where in time.

Meanwhile, Yasmin tries to remain positive while still acknowledging the frustration she feels. She even manages to find humor over being mistakenly labeled as Mexican over and over again and I applaud the writers for making this both amusing and cringey at the same time.

I also felt for Graham as he was faced with the difficult position of being aware that he has an unfairly privileged status and has to use it to his advantage while also dealing with his deep-seated disgust for it. The fact that he openly asserts that Ryan is his grandson, despite knowing how that will be received, says plenty about his character.

The Doctor clearly conveyed her disgust with the situation, but it’s interesting to note the contrast between her and her immediate predecessor. Twelve was vocal with his disappointment with humans and their prejudices and had actually slugged someone who spouted bigoted thoughts toward his companion. Meanwhile, Thirteen is less direct in her disdain even if she is no less disapproving and seems to have the more prominent mindset that people could do better if they chose to. It’s a softer quality to the Doctor’s character that we don’t always get these days and thus, it was nice to see it here.

Also, kudos to the writers and Whittaker for not letting the Doctor’s joke about possibly being Banksy with Graham become tedious. It was the sort of fun Doctor-companion kidding that I’ve missed at times. As was Graham’s “absurd” idea to invent a smartphone and calling himself Steve Jobs. Touches of humor like that were needed in an episode with so much gravitas.

Being as she was the title character and the central plot point to the episode, I was also happy that Rosa Parks was given some solid characterization. Throughout the episode, she becomes someone you can root for, even if she wasn’t involved with major events within the cause of civil rights.

I think the one main area of characterization that really fell flat for me was Krasko. Yes, I know it’s super naive of me to think that people in the distant future who know all about the basic mechanics of time travel couldn’t be racist bigots, but I still believe that such simplistic ways of thinking would be out of place in such a technologically advanced society. So it seems odd that someone from the distant future would have a mindset that fits in perfectly with the 1950s US south.

This problem is compounded by the fact that racism seems to be Krasko’s only notable character trait. We know nothing about why he has these views or what led him to be such an evil person in the first place. Other than his being a criminal and from the future, we know zilch else about him. He exists solely to be racist trash and that is taking the easy way out rather than demonstrate the uncomfortable truth that racism persists partially because it isn’t always so straightforward and obvious.

I do wonder though, if there will be any consequences from Ryan sending Krasko back further into the past. That might actually be an interesting plot thread to pick back up at some point.

The Last Word

Rosa is a good example of what a historical can do as far as showcasing the Doctor’s and companions’ ingenuity as well as give the audience plenty to think about in regards to how history unfolded and continues to play out. While not perfect, it’s an emotionally satisfying episode with plenty of good moments of characterization from the main cast which makes up for the minor plot problems.

#Doctor Who #thirteenth doctor #series eleven musings #rosa

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thesmilingfish · 7 years

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I went to my first convention in 1983. I cut school (with permission from my Mom because rebellious I am not) and took the bus to see Tom Baker.

So, because I’m in a reflective mood, here’s a mostly comprehensive list of famous folks I’ve encountered over the years.

DOCTOR WHO

Carole Ann Ford

Anneke Wills

Patrick Troughton

Frazer Hines

Nicholas Courtney

John Levene

Terence Dicks

Jon Pertwee

Richard Franklin

Tom Baker

Ian Marter

John Nahan-Turner

Sarah Sutton

Peter Davison

Mark Strickson

Gary Downie

Nicola Bryant

Colin Baker

Sylvester McCoy

Lisa Bowerman

India Fisher

Maggie Stables

DOCTOR WHO NOVELISTS

Peter Angelides

Stephen Cole

Paul Cornell

David A. McIntee

Justin Richards

Dave Stone

Keith Topping

Mike Tucker

STAR TREK

James Doohan

Nichelle Nichols

Walter Koenig

George Takei

Majel Barrett

Mark Lenard

Angelique Pettyjohn

Wil Wheaton

Jonathan Frakes

Michael Dorn

John DeLancie

BLAKE’S 7

Paul Darrow

Scott Fredericks

Michael Keating

Sally Knyvette

Terry Nation

Jacqueline Pearce

AUTHORS/ARTISTS

Douglas Adams

Danny Biederman (The Incredible World of Sci-Fi)

Ben Bova

Marion Zimmer Bradley

David Brin

Chris Bunch

David Cherry

Alan Cole

John DeChancie

Harlan Ellison

Neil Gaiman

Jon Heitland (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Book)

Robert Jordan

Fritz Leiber

Ian McCaig

Julian May

Larry Niven

Jerry Pournelle

Philip Pullman

Somtow Sucharitkul

AT THE AIRPORT

LL Cool J

Mickey Rooney

AT WORK

Buzz Aldrin

Jim Carrey

George Casey

David Crosby

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jeff Goldblum

John Larroquette

Branford Marsalis

George R.R. Martin

Joe Montana

Graham Nash

Ted Post

Sherwood Smith

Shirley Temple

Mel Torme

Maxine Waters

Tad Williams

VARIOUS CONVENTIONS

Sharon Farrell (actress best known for multiple appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk)

Jonathan Frid (Dark Shadows)

Gerald Fried (composer - Star Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica)

Fred Koenekamp (director of photography - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)

Herb Jefferson Jr. (Battlestar Galactica)

George Lehr (assistant to the producer - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

Bob May (Lost in Space)

Ty Olsson (he’s been in everything)

Mark Ryan (Robin of Sherwood)

Lalo Schifrin (composer - The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, Bullitt)

Robert Short (visual effects)

Richard Simmons

GOT A LETTER/PICTURE/DM FROM

David Baddiel

Peter Buck (R.E.M.)

Johnny Cash

P.N. Elrod

Pauley Perrette

Robert Vaughn

EVERYWHERE ELSE

Trace Beaulieu

Michael Berryman

Bruce Campbell

Frank Conniff

Doug Drexler (visual effects)

Laurence Fishburn

Eleanor Keaton

Gabriel Macht

Craig Miller

Vincent Schiavelli

Marc Singer

French Stewart

Gina Torres

Tree

James Van Over

Bill Warren

Peter Weller

Marv Wolfman

Noel Wolfman

#personal #feel free to ask me questions #i have stories #and i'm feeling like a fandom grandma and want to share before the stories are lost forever #no i'm not that old #but still #pretty fucking old

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webbcrawler · 5 years

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Okay, so here are my thoughts on Doctor Who series 11:

I liked it. I have some complaints and reservations, but I liked it overall.

With a bigger budget squeezed down into only 10 episodes, everything looked spectacular. They built some great sets, did a lot of on-location filming, and the special effects were on point like 90% of the time.

Jodie Whittaker knocked it out of the park as the 13th Doctor. She’s silly, scatterbrained, curious, compassionate, and wise. Her Doctor doesn’t have an obvious mean streak, but that just means she gets to join the ranks of the Nice Doctors with Patrick Troughton, Peter Davison, and Paul McGann. It’s a warm, friendly version of the Doctor (which is a nice contrast after Capaldi played one of the meaner incarnations), and Whittaker does a great job.

Graham is the obvious stand-out companion. He’s funny, emotional, and has the most sympathetic character arc. Bradley Walsh definitely does a good job. If this keeps up, he might go down as one of my all-time favorite companions.

Ryan is good, but he needs work. It’s difficult to catch, but I think he’s supposed to be a more stoic character, and his whole thing is that he slowly learns to open up to people around him. As a result, it’s difficult to gauge Tosin Cole’s acting. He spends the whole season/series learning to accept Graham as his grandfather, but Chibnall will need to find something else to do with him in series 12.

Yaz has a pretty interesting dichotomy going that I don’t think too many viewers have caught on to. She’s simultaneously family-oriented and sick & tired of her family. She’s probably the most relatable companion to me, as I understand that feeling of loving your immediate family whilst trying to get as far away from them as possible.

That said, I do feel like Ryan and Yaz’s voices are less defined than Graham’s. In any given situation, I know what Graham’s reaction would be, but Ryan & Yaz feel a little interchangeable. This problem reminds me of the 5th Doctor era, whose companions’ personalities overlapped. Tegan & Turlough were both complainers, and Nyssa & Adric were both naive alien teenage geniuses. Yaz stands out a little bit more than Ryan mostly because you can tell she’s more attached to the Doctor.

And then there’s the episodes themselves...

One of Chris Chibnall’s weaknesses as a Doctor Who writer is his villains (which is in stark contrast to his predecessor, whose main strength was scary villains). Before taking over the show, Chibnall gave us episodes like “42″ and “The Power of Three,” where the villains were either a bit underwhelming or completely forgettable. But you know what? He changed the show to suit his strengths. For series 11, the Doctor felt less like a monster-fighter and more like a troubleshooter.

“Arachnids in the UK” was the kind of episode you’d expect from Chibnall. It’s got a weak villain and a conclusion that feels unsatisfying. What makes it work is the sheer creep factor of seeing lots of spiders, as well as the character moments like Graham grieving and Yaz’s interactions with her family.

Two of the historical episodes, “Rosa” and “Demons of the Punjab,” were great stories and a great change of pace. As far as I’m concerned, they rank among the best historical episodes of New Who, along with “Father’s Day,” “Human Nature,” and “Vincent and the Doctor.”

“Kerblam!” was a fun futuristic romp with a decent twist and a thinly-veiled jab at Amazon. “It Takes You Away” was an unpredictable joy that got really bizarre in all the right ways. The finale was Chibnall in rare form, bringing his A-game. Even “The Ghost Monument” was fun despite being incredibly simplistic.

“The Tsuranga Conundrum” felt a little too... typical. It was too much like what you’d expect a Doctor Who episode to be. Don’t take this the wrong way if you’re a fan of Russell T. Davies, but it felt like one of the more forgettable episodes that would’ve been slotted into Davies’ era of the show. “The Witchfinders” ended feeling a tad too traditional, which is a shame because it was both creepy and bizarre for most of the episode.

I know a lot of fans were upset about this, but I really didn’t miss the recurring monsters/villains. I think we could all use a break from the Cybermen, and it’s simply not worth using the Daleks if you can’t do something new with them.

We’re walking into a new era of Doctor Who. It’s got a new vibe and new writers behind the scenes. We’ve got a long wait until series 12 starts in 2020, but hopefully Chibnall & crew will emphasize their strengths as writers, improve on their weaknesses, better define two of the companions, and give us more of what we loved.

#doctor who #series 11 #season 11 #13th doctor #thirteenth doctor #chris chibnall

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