Getting Acquainted With “Doctor Who” – Five Iconic Thirteenth Doctor Stories

I can’t believe we’re only two days away from the long awaited return of Doctor Who to our screens! Over the last year, I’ve been getting Disney fans acquainted with Doctor Who through a series of articles showcasing the most iconic stories of each of the series 13+ Doctors. The show’s debut on Disney+ will see David Tennant return as the Fourteenth Doctor, so that means we have one final Doctor to cover – the Thirteenth. One of the most important casting decisions in the show’s history saw Jodie Whittaker become the first female Doctor, which sadly brought a lot of unwarranted controversy along with it. Personally, I love Whittaker’s take on the Time Lord, but how did her stories stack up?

In the final article of this series, I will introduce you to what I think are the five stories from the Thirteenth Doctor that best represent her era, and also serve to move the show’s mythos forward. Would audiences accept a female Doctor? Let’s find out…

The Woman Who Fell to Earth

Setting up a new Doctor is always a tricky line to walk, but this was especially true when we’re introduced to our first female Doctor. The Doctor sees her new face for the first time in the final minutes of Peter Capaldi’s final story, but “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is where we get our true introduction to Thirteen. Instead of immediately focusing on her, we’re introduced to “the Fam” – Graham (Bradley Walsh), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Yazmin (Mandip Gill) – who will go on to become the Doctor’s companions. It’s only during a dire attack on a train, that the Doctor comes crashing in, freshly regenerated and still wearing her predecessor's tattered clothes.

Whittaker immediately shines as the Doctor, bursting on to the screen with an effervescent joy not displayed by her predecessor. In crafting her Doctor, I’d like to think that showrunner Chris Chibnall took the Twelfth Doctor’s final words into account – “run fast, be kind.” The Doctor is caring, scatterbrained, and hilarious. We see her coming to terms with her new self here, becoming fully settled into her new body by the end of the story.

While “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is great at introducing characters, its story is nothing to write home about. We’re introduced to a subpar villain called Tzim-Sha, referred to by everyone else as “Tim Shaw.” His design, mainly the use of his victims' teeth in his own body as trophies, is inspired, but the character really does nothing for me. He ends up being defeated here, but returns in the atrociously boring season finale, “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos.” Overall, a solid debut for the Thirteenth Doctor!

Rosa

“Rosa” is a story quite unlike anything attempted before or since by Doctor Who. The titular Rosa in question is Rosa Parks, a hero of the U.S. Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. When Doctor Who first started in the 60s, historical stories would focus on things in the distant past, such as the Romans or the Aztecs. But to an audience in 2018, the 60s are pretty historical. Seeing that this was quite a turbulent time in U.S. history, this is a story that had to carefully hit the story beats it wanted to tell. Showrunner Chris Chibnall brought in Malorie Blackman to co-write this story, becoming the first non-white writer on Doctor Who (an absolutely astonishing fact).

The question of race and segregation is by no means swept under the rugs, with the non-white companions Ryan and Yaz receiving some of the hate of the era first hand. There’s an incredibly tense scene where the Fam are in a segregated hotel room, and Ryan and Yaz have to hide from a visiting cop for fear of being discovered. So often, the Doctor and companions will stroll into an historic period with the story giving no regard for how they might have been treated at the time – so this is an unpleasant, but good change to see.

Rosa Parks is brilliantly portrayed here by Vinette Robinson, and her story is respected and by no means degraded by the science fiction elements brought in for Doctor Who. On that note, I feel as if the main story of a hateful murderer in the future coming back in time to change events may not have been needed. This is one historical story that could have played out without any science fiction elements. Another strange inclusion is the song “Rise Up” by Andra Day playing over the end credits. While it does fit the story well, it’s very strange to hear during Doctor Who.

The story, of course, hits his climax when Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat on that one fateful day. The Doctor and her companions are unable to intervene, which leads to some brilliant character work. I would say that the scene is tastefully and respectfully handled.

Resolution

One of the main conceits behind Jodie Whittaker’s first season was that each story contained new villains, with no returning favorites. So it was an extra joy to see her duke it out with the Doctor’s most formidable foe, the Daleks, in the first New Year’s Day special, “Resolution.” The story features one long-buried Dalek who has been awoken, however it’s just the creature, with no battle casing. The creature manages to take control of archeologist Lin (Charlotte Ritchie) by latching onto her back, adding a wonderful new ability to the Dalek’s arsenal. I really love this new ability, and it's performed perfectly by Ritchie. It really adds an extra level of menace to the Daleks, proving how deadly they can be, even without their casing.

Once the Dalek manages to rebuild its casing, it's just as terrifying, effortlessly taking down the army. Jodie gets one of her first real “Doctor” moments here as she stands firm against the Dalek, in both forms. If there was any doubt on her status as the Doctor, then it's all squashed here! We also get some good character moments in this story, with Ryan reuniting with his estranged father, and their turbulent relationship crescending in a life or death moment when his dad is momentarily controlled by the Dalek aboard the TARDIS.

When a story is this good, it’s hard to have too much to say, positive or negative. Not since the Russell T Davies era had the Daleks, more specifically one Dalek, been this well characterized. Simply put, “Resolution” is hands down my favorite Doctor Who story of the Jodie Whittaker era!

Fugitive of the Judoon

Sometimes, series like Doctor Who will have episodes that serve mostly as big reveals – and that’s mostly what “Fugitive of the Judoon” is. The episode starts off as the Judoon, a galactic police service who look suspiciously like rhinos, are searching for a fugitive. We have no idea who this fugitive is, nor do our heroes, but they are desperately trying to aid and halt the Judoon, so they don’t cause any unnecessary harm to the planet.

Turns out the aforementioned fugitive is a lady named Ruth (Jo Martin), a seemingly normal human being, who eventually discovers a fob watch. We as an audience are clued into the fact that she’s a Time Lord, as these fob watches (previously used in the David Tennant era) can rewrite a Time Lord’s DNA into that of a humans. So we know that Ruth is a Time Lord, but it turns out she’s actually THE Doctor. But how could this be? We don’t find out for sure in this story, but the mystery sure is tantalizing? Unfortunately, the season finale didn’t really deliver on the mystery for me, but it is set up excellently here.

Martin immediately stomps into the role, showcasing a different Doctor from a different era. Sadly, her screen time across the Whittaker years was not as much as she deserved, but what she does get the chance to showcase is truly brilliant. Perhaps even too brilliant, as she steals the show from the incumbent Doctor at times. More importantly, the appearance of the first black Doctor paved the way for Ncuti Gatwa to take on the role permanently starting later this year. This episode also features the return of beloved character Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), last seen in series 4, before some problematic things were discovered about the actor.

The Power of the Doctor

Speaking of returning characters, “The Power of the Doctor” is chock-full of them, serving as a celebration of 100 years of the BBC. Serving as the finale to this era of the show, showrunner Chris Chibnall pulled out all of the stops to celebrate the show we all love. We get reintroduced to two classic companions, Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Ace (Sophie Aldred), who end up working with UNIT against a three pronged attack from the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Master.

Speaking of the Master, he puts together one of his craziest schemes in this story. Starting off by impersonating Rasputin, it turns out his ultimate goal is to steal the Doctor’s regenerations and become the Doctor. It’s a bit of a far-flung idea, but essentially the Doctor regenerates into the Master, and he parades around in the Doctor’s body, wearing a mix-match of various Doctor’s clothing items. I feel like Chibnall only made the Master out to be Rasputin so he had an excuse to play Boney M’s “Rasputin,” but the scene is hilarious, so I’ll let it slide.

We get a lot of fun call-backs in this story, as the Doctor ends up in the Edge of Existence, where she meets the Guardians of the Edge. Here she meets apparitions of her past selves, who encourage her to solve her predicament. Later, two of those classic Doctors (the Fifth & Seventh) meet their respective companions via a hologram, providing yet another great moment for fans of classic Who. Eventually, the Master manages to “kill” the Doctor, leading to her regeneration. Following a sweet farewell to Yaz, who over the course of three seasons, developed feelings for the Doctor, the Doctor regenerates. She goes out in a typically positive way, tagging in “Doctor whoever I’m about to be.” Surprisingly to all fans at the time, she regenerates into the familiar face of the Tenth Doctor – a mystery which will be revealed in the coming 60th anniversary specials.

One final scene I want to bring attention to occurs just before the regeneration, where Dan (John Bishop), Yaz, Graham, Tegan and Ace join a slew of former companions at what appears to be a “former companion support group.” Other companions to appear include Mel (Bonnie Langford – who is returning once more in the new season), Jo Jones (Katy Manning) and Ian Chesterton, one of the Doctor’s first companions, played by 96 year old William Russell, reprising his role for the first time in 58 years. It’s a touching scene of friends and strangers brought together by their combined love for the Doctor. A wonderful metaphor for Doctor Who fans and our love of the show.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 are available to stream on BritBox, while the modern series is on Max. Beginning this Saturday, November 25th, all new episodes of Doctor Who will be available on Disney+.