Thoughts on Series 11: Positives

Usually, whenever I finish a new season of Who, I circle back in my Sunday Who Review write-ups to revisit the finale, or in some cases the last few episodes, from a more spoilery perspective.  With series 11, though, the season doesn’t exactly culminate in the finale.  As I said in my episode review, there are a few arc-ish threads that tie up there, but for the most part, it does just feel like another episode, so there’s no particular need for me to go into it again.  Instead, I’m going to spend the next few weeks looking at the season as a whole.  Today, I’m looking at my favorite bits (spoilers ahead.)

The Thirteenth Doctor

Expect many more in-depth thoughts about Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteen in the coming weeks/months/years, but regardless of what issues series 11 may have, I’m just ecstatic about the Doctor.  I went into series 11 hopeful but worried, and along with Whittaker’s splendid, wholehearted performance, the writing for her character put my fears to rest.  I said all along that, in order for Thirteen to work, the show’s first job has to be to just let her be the Doctor, and for my money, it accomplished that in spades.

More Social Awareness

I know some online are complaining about the “SJW Doctor Who” (what did they think the show was before?), but I appreciate the care this season took particularly with its episodes set in the past, exploring racism and xenophobia through historical lenses, as well as Ryan and Yaz’s own experiences.  The specificity of experience here makes the show feel more welcoming to all.  Additionally, I like that “The Demons of the Punjab” takes us to a part of the world the show has never really explored before, setting our heroes at the brink of a historical event that doesn’t get a lot of attention in the western world.

That Spark

I know that Who gets heavy sometimes, and that’s fine, but I think the show is often at its best when it’s full of joy and wonder, and this season offers up a good deal of that.  Delightful humor, boundless enthusiasm, and beautiful hope – that’s my Who, and sometimes, when other genre stories sink into darkness and angst, I appreciate finding some brightness here.

Villains with Motivations

I’ll go more into the season’s baddies another day, but one thing I definitely appreciate about this season is that, for the most part, we learn why the villains are doing what they’re doing, and it’s usually a reason beyond “must feed!” or “eeeeeevil!”  I’ve said before that I think the Moffat era wound up leaning a little too hard on general-purpose monsters, and it’s nice to return to the question, “What do the bad guys want?”

The Cast

Time and time again, the Who casting department impresses me, and that streak continues here.  In addition to the utterly-winning Whittaker, we get fine acting from Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, and Bradley Walsh as the companions, and the season has added to the show’s collection of terrific guest stars, not least of which is of course Alan fricking Cumming as King James I.