When this Sunday comes along, we’ll be just one week away from the premiere of Doctor Who season 11 – finally! It’ll have been a whopping 15 months since Jodie Whittaker was first unveiled to the world as the Thirteenth Doctor and at last we’re about to see her in action. And now that we’re nearing the air date, the BBC has given us a new promo photo to tease the opening episode, titled “The Woman Who Lived.”
The still features Whittaker in the loose-fitting clothes of her predecessor, Peter Capaldi, who she regenerated from in Christmas 2017’s “Twice Upon A Time.” So presumably, this scene takes place early on in the premiere before she’s chosen her own wardrobe. It looks like trouble is afoot, too, as something appears to have broken through the metal grating that the Doctor’s staring at. An alien nasty, perhaps?
Surrounding the Time Lord are her soon-to-be new best friends. From right to left we have Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) and Yaz Khan (Mandip Gill). Sharon D. Clarke can also be seen as Grace, Graham’s wife. She won’t be joining the foursome on their time-traveling adventures, but will recur throughout the series all the same.
Earlier this week brought the world premiere of the first episode of the Thirteenth Doctor in the UK, which thankfully received glowing reviews. Just a few of the choice words used to describe the premiere include “cinematic,” “bold and brilliant” and “beautiful.” Sounds good to us!
New showrunner Chris Chibnall has already promised that season 11 will be all-inclusive and is aiming to bring in as many fresh fans of all ages as possible. Because of this, classic foes like the Daleks and the Cybermen will be given a miss this year in an effort to deliver a batch of imaginative and original stories. Hopefully that’ll turn out to be the right decision and won’t upset too many longtime fans.
I guess we’ll find out though when Doctor Who returns on Sunday, October 7th.