C+Q - The Ghost Monument (2018)
I'm a little bit worried about Doctor Who. We're onto our third showrunner - our third distinct creative era of the modern show - and we're still doing the same formula from 2005. Episode 1 is an adventure set in 21st Century Britain where we meet our new companions. Episode 2 or 3 has a futuristic alien aesthetic full of weird sci-fi stuff. Episode 3 or 2 is an adventure in Earth's past that brings up the ethics of changing history. So far in New Who, this describes Series 1 (Rose, The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead), Series 3 (Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock), Series 4 (Partners in Crime, The Fires of Pompeii, Planet of the Ood), Series 5 (The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks), Series 7 Part 2 (The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War), Series 10 (The Pilot, Smile, Thin Ice), and now Series 11 (The Woman Who Fell to Earth, The Ghost Monument, Rosa). Series 1, Series 4, Series 10, and now Series 11 then follow that sequence with an Episode 4 that returns to 21st Century Britain and delves into the companion's home life. What a bold new vision for Doctor Who. This is clearly the fresh coat of paint it needed. What makes it way worse is knowing there are only 10 episodes this series, so each episode suddenly has to pull a lot more weight.
So what do I think about The Ghost Monument? It's alright. I like pushing the reveal of the new TARDIS to Episode 2 as a way to mix up the standard formula a little, and this is a fine adventure to reveal it with, making 'get to the TARDIS' the whole premise of the thing. I like that we're on an alien planet with zero (0) humans outside of the companions, and it's pretty damn immersive. When I think about this story, the main highlight is the whole 'timeless child' thing, because it hints at an ongoing mystery related to some pretty deep lore, which is exactly what I need to get excited about the show again. Unfortunately, while this episode does a good job setting the mystery up, it hasn't been developed or even mentioned again once at time of writing (after having seen Kerblam!).
The reveal of the new TARDIS is another highlight I guess. I like it, it looks fine. It doesn't look better than the last console room, and I'd much rather we were still using that one, but if it did have to be changed I'm glad it changed to this. Hopefully this new TARDIS will stay for at least two Doctors. I like the crystal aesthetic, and I like that the big central crystal doesn't connect to the ceiling and moves up and down like the classic rotor. It's clearly inspired by the RTD console room, with its atmospheric lighting, big flashy buttresses, and more organic design (crystal, like coral, being grown rather than built). Making it so the doorway into the main console room looks like the inside of a regular police box so they can just show the inside of the prop box normally when filming the exterior is very cheeky. I approve. As for the other big new thing, the new opening title sequence, it's fine. For me, there's only one flaw: they had time to include the name of the producer and director in these new titles but not the face of Dr Who?
But the new TARDIS and new title sequence are general Series 11 things rather than anything specific to this episode. The Ghost Monument itself was just kinda fine. It was okay. Not a classic, just a bit more exposition as we meet the new companions and the new companions meet the Doctor. Which makes it kinda weird to me is that most of the exposition isn't even covered. If we must go through this tired formula to start a new Doctor/companion relationship every single time, can't they at least use it to make a dent in the big main points? That she's a Time Lord, that she's from Gallifrey, that she has two hearts (which I think only Ryan knows via Grace). To be clear, I don't want the show to be constantly repeating itself, I want it to hit the ground running with bold and experimental storytelling, but if we aren't going to have that, let's at least have the basics properly. I dunno. It was fine. That was a cool all-in-a-oner shot on the spaceship at the start though, wasn't it?
Next: Rosa