The Woman Who Lost her Theme: thoughts on the latest Doctor Who. . .

Right. So, the new Doctor's a woman and all of you are just dying to know: what do I think?

Well, there were no opening credits. No theme song. So how could I confirm that I was actually watching Doctor Who?

Where was it? 

Seriously, without the opening title sequence, I honestly can't accept it. I'm watching some other program about some hyper clever person from space. I can't tell you how much I need that title sequence, how important it is to new Doctors and new eras. We Whovians are constantly beset by change, by emotional farewells and tentative introductions. The theme is the continuity, the stability, the unbroken link. The Doctor needs it to establish his - *aheam, her credibility. How on earth am I supposed to accept her without it?

Chris Chibnall has inexplicably decided to usher in his era of Doctor Who without the most crucial element of Doctor Who.  Oh d'd'd'dear dear. . .

So I spend the first half hour of this episode waiting for the theme, and the next half grumping that it wasn't there. I was in no state to judge Jodie Whittaker fairly. The funny thing is that the new theme, reworked by Segun Akinola, is actually quite wonderful - it sounds like Hartnell's. (It's even brought back the middle eight!). I would have been thrilled to hear it chime in right after Whittaker's first lines, and would have been quite willing to go along with almost anything she did (within reason) after. Taking it out is puzzlingly self-defeating.

New composer Segun Akinola's new theme is beautifully reverent. Why hide it? 

And no, this is not nitpicking, this sort of things determines my enjoyment of the program. Keep in mind as well that the success of an episode depends on much more than just the Doctor - a whole host of decisions made by writers and directors, sound effects people and composers, set designers and costume designers, editors and technicians, other actors. . . these things matter.

But, having said that, the Doctor matters most of all, so of what of her?

In a word, she's fine. Voice is a bit higher than I'd like, but she's fine. She radiates all the benevolence and wisdom we expect - demand - from a Doctor. She radiates a reassuring authority that stems from a boundless curiosity rather than a forceful personality. Her knowledge seems to come from asking the right questions rather than knowing all the answers. The minute she appeared on the train, the Doctor was instantly recognizable.

She seems to be channeling her friendlier predecessors, Smith, Tennant and Davidson, in her breathless delivery of technobable - she seems to have taken Smith's advice to "talk fast". ("I'm good at building things" could also have been spoken by Capaldi). This is fairly typical for new Doctors - I reckon it will take an episode or two to really find her voice, and her own definitive Doctor moment. For the next little while, I will have to remind myself that enjoying the new Doctor in no way implies disloyalty to the last one, but give me time.

She has maintained his disastrous fashion sense, which is really the only responsible decision the producers could have taken; it just wouldn't have done for the first female doctor to be a fashion maven. (Though Mattel have already started marketing Doctor Who barbies. Plus ca change. . )

The gender swap thing was handled perfectly. Upon finding she was a woman, the Doctor reacted the way any of them would have, or exactly how he would have (all one person remember), or she would have, or, oh bother it, exactly the way the Doctor would have: "Really? How interesting!". No sexist comments either way, no ideological proclamations, just sheer curiosity. I might even have preferred some more curiosity on her part - she being a scientist after all. The Doctor has always craved new experiences.

I will have to put my foot down and insist this is a new experience; when she said "I haven't been a woman in a long time", she should have said "I've never been a woman before". Come on, William Hartnell was the first Doctor, let's not tinker with that part of the mythology.

Chris Chibnall

The story itself was rather lackluster: I for one am really tired of alien serial killers. I would far prefer
elaborate plots to conquer the earth to collecting human teeth. Perhaps these will come. Chibnall has written extensively for Doctor Who already, penning the superb ("42"), the ok ("Hungry Earth", ruined by costume design) and the downright naff ("Dinosaurs on Spaceship" - oh please). He was also a member of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, so his connection to the program goes back a long way, and he presumably has an emotional stake in it.

So, to whit: the Doctor shows promise, the executive producer has credibility, the composer is appropriately reverent, and the new companions are not dislikable. I have been assured that the title credits will be in place next time. Surely there's room for cautious optimism, no?