Doctor Who Found its Humanity Again

I love Doctor Who so much. It's a beautiful reflection on what it means to be human, set against a wonderful time travel background. Each episode (usually) takes us on an adventure that explores our humanity in countless fascinating ways. In some of the more recent series, I think the show lost its way a bit. I still loved it, but it was different - more a disgruntled, convoluted space opera than an earnest exploration of what it means to be good. Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker are doing an excellent job of breathing life back into the show. I'm going to try to be spoiler free for at least the first part of this post, but guys, this new series of Doctor Who is really good.

Look at those goggles. She's so cute!!

I'm probably going to write about this a lot, but my favorite quality in any character is earnestness. It's a uniquely human trait - to express an earnest interest in another person is so wonderfully human. My love for this quality is the reason I love characters like Spider-Man and the Doctor so much - they are both extraordinarily earnest characters, and do their best to be true to themselves and help those around them. Jodie's version of the Doctor is especially earnest. You can tell she's really throwing herself into everything she does and deeply listens to those around her. She gets so excited over little things in an accessible way. Even when she is spouting technobabble, it's interesting and engaging in a way that makes me feel excited too. She's not nearly as pompous or condescending as most of the male doctors were, and the new music this series reflects that (please read this EXCELLENT article diving deep into the history of the music behind the show). So many components of this new series contribute to this overall sense of earnestness that has been missing for a while.

Part of that earnestness is how much each life matters to this Doctor. While almost (I'm looking at you, Capaldi) all Doctors showed an obvious sadness when someone died, Jodie's seems much more preoccupied with it. Every single life is so important, and it's clear that the 13th knows that in her heart. From trying her best to save everyone and looking wholly devastated when she can't, to trusting people in ways that past Doctors didn't, she shows this deeper respect for life in every scene. In most episodes, she gives someone a task without really outlining every little thing they would need to do to accomplish it. Past Doctors couldn't trust other people, it was always about them trusting him. Jodie's Doctor knows that trust is a two-way street, and it's beautiful to see.

That respect for life has found its way into the core of the plot of most episodes. I'm going to start getting into spoiler territory, so skip to the last paragraph now if you want to steer clear of that. From the very beginning, Chibnall decided to reset some of the expectations for a Doctor Who story. The entire first episode is about saving a single person that we barely know. The universe isn't at risk, aliens aren't going to destroy the planet, but someone could die. And that matters. This Doctor can't let that happen. As she tells us, "I'm the Doctor, when people need help, I never refuse." Deaths in this series are used to a significantly greater effect than in series past. There used to be a fairly clear formula for Monster of the Week episodes: the cold open would feature someone dying at the hands of the monster, and then the Doctor would stop the monster at some point. But lives matter more now than they used to, and deaths serve to show specific aspects of the human experience rather than motivate the Doctor or show the villainy of an enemy. Almost every character who has died this series has been named and had their own dreams and backgrounds, a departure from the formula of years past.

Look at them! Ugh, they're so great!

The show also has excellent, earnest new additions in Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. All three of them are incredible characters with amazing chemistry. Every potential pairing works really well, as each character has a specific relationship with the others. Well except maybe Graham and Yaz, who are sort of the Chandler and Phoebe of the group (both lovable but not really together much). Full disclosure: I wrote that last sentence before Sunday's episode 'Demons of the Punjab', which featured an amazing moment between Graham and Yaz, proving how well these characters mesh. The show uses the cast's diversity in a way that lets us really explore their identities. Every episode dives into them as people, investigating topics like Graham mourning the loss of his wife or Yaz's familial obligations or Ryan's relationship to his father.

The writers manage to sprinkle in little moments between these characters that are just so beautiful. One of these moments came in 'The Tsuranga Conundrum', where Ryan and Graham help an alien male deliver his baby. The information we've been given in previous episodes about Ryan's relationship to his own father and to Graham elevates the tension of this moment. The whole scene is touching and wonderful, helping Ryan get closer to Graham and realize his own priorities. The subplot of Ryan's relationship with his father is beautiful and really touched me in particular, and the arc between him and Graham looks to be one of the most satisfying components of this series. Then there's the moment in 'Rosa' where Ryan and Yaz discuss their own struggles with racism while hiding from a racist cop in Alabama. This scene highlights the depth of these characters as people who have really lived their own experiences outside of the Doctor. The show doesn't shy away from dealing with these hard topics. It's an exchange that I think will be fascinating to look back on in a few decades as a snapshot of the current cultural moment we are living in.

To me, 'Rosa' epitomizes many of the differences between this new era of Who and the Moffat era. Moffat rarely used episodes set in the past to explore historical moments, though a popular one is 'Vincent and the Doctor', where Amy and the 11th Doctor visit Vincent Van Gogh. 'Vincent and the Doctor' was always one of my favorite episode of the show until I saw 'Rosa'. On the surface, these episodes are fairly similar: they're both historical episodes featuring a famous figure and both ostensibly discuss some heavy topics with a really moving ending. I still get teary when I see Van Gogh visit the museum and break down as he hears the guide talk about his work. The problem is that 'Vincent and the Doctor' fails to hold up to many subsequent viewings, as a lot of the charm kind of falls away. It lacks the depth that makes 'Rosa' so powerful. The way that the issues of race are woven through almost every second of 'Rosa' help the episode transcend the typical Monster of the Week format. 'Rosa' doesn't let you forget what the episode is about, even in the moments of levity. Van Gogh's story feels like it's played more for sadness than for an important lesson.

It's incredible to me how in the face of fan backlash over the 'SJW' decision to cast a woman as the Doctor, the showrunners doubled down on the messages they found important. The third episode of the series was about Rosa Parks. That's incredibly risky given how loud the small contingent of fans who were upset over an alien with two hearts becoming a woman managed to be. I'm so glad that Chibnall and the other writers decided to pursue telling stories about people of color and to explore hard topics. It's also really nice that both 'Rosa' and 'Demons of the Punjab' were at least co-written by writers of color. I love how willing Chibnall seems to explore difficult topics the right way.

A good friend of mine pointed out how nice it is that the episodes set in the past still let the characters keep their agency. It would be quite easy for an episode like 'Rosa' to let the Doctor be the hero, robbing Rosa Parks of her own heroism. Instead, the Doctor has to participate in the oppression that Rosa Parks took a stand against. 'Demons of the Punjab' had the same potential for problems as well - a white, British (sounding, at least) woman coming into the Partition of India and being a hero wouldn't have been the best look. Vinay Patel did an excellent job of telling an incredibly compelling story that examines an overlooked aspect of Britain's involvement in the Partition. It's a uniquely Doctor Who idea to have an alien species revoke their assassin ways in the wake of tragedy to take care of those who die alone, one that my friends will tell you had me welling up.

I just love this face she makes. It's so quintessentially her version of the Doctor.

This series is also helped by how incredible Jodie is as the Doctor. She is a fantastic actor, and if you haven't seen her in Broadchurch, you absolutely should. She steals almost every scene she's in, really pulling you into whatever's happening. Through the first four or five episodes, there's this sense of exploration of herself, since they took place over a relatively short period of time following her regeneration (I think the first 3 episodes happen over like 3 days maybe). I feel like while she's still figuring herself out, this era of the show is figuring itself out too. There's a certain formula that a lot of the episodes follow, but it still feels like Chibnall is finding the show's heart as he goes. So far, he's doing a great job, making a lot of excellent decisions, even if there are some stumbles along the way.

As much as I adore this series, it's not without its problems. A lot of the episodes have really strange editing moments, where the shot will just cut away at a weird moment. Some of the shots are weirdly tight, with unwieldy closeups littering almost every episode. At the end of almost every episode, I've wondered whether that really was the end. It often feels like the ending is rushed and then the actual last scene feels a little off, though I think part of it comes from the way that past series were set up, with the end of episodes featuring some sort of setup for future adventures. I also think that while I love all of the companions, having so many makes it hard for them all to feel necessary in every episode. Until 'Demons of the Punjab', Yaz often got the short end of that stick, which sucks because she's incredible. I just hope they figure out a way to balance these three great characters a bit better since they all have an immense depth.

Overall though, I absolutely love this new series. It's so genuine and incredible again, and it's using the format of the show to explore fascinating ideas. Gone are the days of overly convoluted plots that are impossible to explain without sounding insane. So far, the Chibnall era clearly has some growing pains, but it's looking like it will be one of the best in the history of the show. Jodie has quickly solidified herself as one of the best Doctors, at least of the modern era. The writing, acting, and directing are all firing on all cylinders, and as Ryan told a new father, “You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be there.”