Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell To Earth reviews: what do the critics think of Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord?
The first reviews are in for The Woman Who Fell To Earth, the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who, starring Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.
Our own Ben Lawrence has a few reservations. Whittaker, he writes in his review, is "a breath of fresh air" and "well served by the supporting cast" of Mandip Gill, Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh. That said, this opener felt a little dour: "There was some humour in the dialogue, but the overall tone was too sober for a family show."
Elsewhere, the critics are generally more positive - in fact, between Whittaker and the show's slick visuals, a couple of them are bowled over. Here's what they have to say:
The Times ★★★★☆
"The best compliment I can pay Whittaker after the first episode is that her casting doesn’t feel remotely 'radical'. It’s true that her first few lines feel hesitant, as if she is feeling her way in to the role... but it really isn’t long before she makes it her own." Read the full review
The Guardian
"At just over an hour, it wraps together peril, sadness, laughter and some ingenious solutions from the Doctor. Towards the end of the episode [Whittaker] delivers a speech which could have been written for any of her predecessors... about embracing change while respecting the past, and always trying to do the right thing." Read the full review
The Sun
"[Whittaker] is a huge improvement on Peter Capaldi and brings back some of the spirit of David Tennant and Matt Smith — even if she doesn’t nail the character quite as well as they did." Read the full review
Radio Times
"Simply put, Doctor Who has never looked better, from some visually-arresting locations – the most scenic areas of Sheffield get a good showing – to the special effects from new VFX team Double Negative. The series premiere is a feast for the eyes, and a credit to director Jamie Hill." Read the full (spoiler-free) review
Empire
"[Sheffield] looks beautiful in the show’s new widescreen format. Indeed, everything Jodie Whittaker and new showrunner Chris Chibnall have been promising us about the ramped-up, cinematic style of the new season turns out to be true." Read the full (spoiler-free) review
DigitalSpy
"The Woman Who Fell to Earth is not perfect. It is, however, a promising start to a new era of Doctor Who that, if this first episode is anything to go on, is going to feel fresh and modern without losing the key components that have made the 55-year-old sci-fi show such an enduring success." Read the full (spoiler-free) review
Doctor Who starts on BBC One on Sunday October 7 at 6.45pm
