The Series (4/5)

    Doctor Who is a series that lives and dies by change. Most people on a surface level note that this change comes with a replacement of the lead actor as the Doctor, and they would be mostly right. However, some of the biggest changes in the series come with a new show runner, and lead writer. Tom Baker was the Doctor for 7 years between 1974-1981.  During those 7 years it could be said that Baker's Fourth Doctor went through  3 distinct eras, the first being Philip Hinchcliffe's gothic and dark era that is considered by many as Doctor Who at its overall high point. We then see Graham Williams turn at the wheel, which injects more humor into the sci-fi show, and offering an adventurous, but lighter tone, and finally when John Nathan-Turner took over with Christopher Bidmead as a writer, the show became equal parts campy (especially later in the 80's), and more hard-science themes. 

     Why do I preface the review with this?

    Because Doctor Who had been under the direction of 2 people in its first 10 seasons back on TV. We had the campy and dramatic Russell T. Davies verison of the  show for the first 2 Doctors, 4 seasons, and a year of specials. We then have had Steven Moffat take over the show from series 5-10 with his whimsical fairy tale tone for the show, mixed with complex plotting that would last all season.  By the end of the 10th season the show began to feel the need for change, and now we have it. The Doctor Who universe has been shaken to the core, by the addition of showrunner Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch) and co-star Jodie Whittaker.

    Chibnall's tone for the series brings out some of the more campy elements from the Davies' era while also making the series a more standalone affair with each episode being largely self-contained adventures.  The show while it does go dark, also has a much lighter tone than the Moffat run did. Of course, the biggest change in the series is the casting of Whittaker as the Doctor, an absolutely brillaint choice for the role who brings a new and exciting energy to the character and show.

   

    Whittaker IS THE Doctor, and she's damn good in the role. The series begins with the Woman Who Fell to Earth, which sees the newly regenerated Doctor fall out of the TARDIS and right through the roof of a train. This Doctor is given no time to rest after her regeneration, and rather than lying around waiting for her energy to come back, she is thrown right into an adventure involving a murderous alien named "Tim Shaw".  While on this adventure she meets her new TARDIS team (this season features a large TARDIS team akin to the Peter Davison era) of Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. She also finds her new home base as Sheffield.

    The following episode sees the Doctor in a race to a monument on another planet, while searching for her missing TARDIS. The next episodes see the TARDIS team venturing to Earth's past and getting involved with Rosa Parks in a series highlight, and then back to the modern UK to discover giant spiders attacking in a hotel. They are then spacebound on a hospital ship in the quite campy, but entertaining  Tsuranga Conundrum.  The episode then visits Yaz' family's past and finding themselves in an India/Pakistan that is falling apart in Demons of the Punjab, another fine episode.   This is followed by Kerblam, a fun, and entertaining episode that sees the Doctor and TARDIS team venturing into the headquarters of an intergalactic Amazon-like entity. 

      The Witchfinders wears its intentions on its sleeve and in its title with an episode that channels the British Folk Horror of the 60's, with the Doctor and crew finding themselves in 1612 Lancashire. The episode is a decent yarn, that I  loved all the more for the tone which blends the aforementioned folk horror vibe, with a campiness that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Black Adder. The next episode like the prior one channels an aspect of the horror genre in this case modern Scandinavian horror films, with the Doctor and company landing in Norway and becoming involved with a family that is scared by an Orc in a nearby cave that "Takes you away". It also has a dimensionally transcendeant subplot, that brings the sci-fi tone of the show into the horror. The final episode, the Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, finds the show bringing back "Tim Shaw" from the first episode of the season in an episode that in parts reminded me of The Pirate Planet from Tom Baker's Key to Time Season.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    BBC Home Video brings Doctor Who Series 11 to stunning life with a 1080p AVC encoded transfer that brings out all the detail, and colors of the show into sharp HD. The audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that is again solid, and brings the shows dialogue, and score to life. Which is one other thing, I'd like to note. This is the first series since the show began not to be composed by Murray Gold, and brings a highly electronic score more reminiscent of the show's Radiophonic days. I loved it.

Extras (5/5)

    This collection is stacked. It is loaded with episodic featurettes for each episode, further, we get featurettes on Jodie Whittaker, the new direction of the show and more. We also get multiple commentary tracks, not on every episode, but scattered throughout the series. There are also commercials, trailers, and more.

Overall

    Doctor Who Series 11 wasn't perfect, but I loved it, and find Jodie Whittaker to be a new amazing Doctor. I cannot wait to see where she goes from here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.