Top 10 Things To Look Forward To In Doctor Who Series 11

If you didn’t already know about this then seriously, where have you been? Taking over from Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker will be the first woman to ever play the Time Lord. Best known for her part in the crime series “Broadchurch”, Whittaker has also starred in TV dramas ranging from “Cranford” to “Black Mirror”. New “Doctor Who” showrunner Chris Chibnall describes her as the “greatest friend you’d ever want to have as your guide around the universe”, whilst co-star Mandip Gill says she has a personality and energy that reminds her of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. High praise, indeed!

Ever since “Doctor Who” debuted in 1963, it has been a fixture of Saturday-night TV. But viewing figures have dwindled over the past few series, and some believe it’s because the programme is out of place among light-entertainment shows like “Strictly Come Dancing”. But Chris Chibnall hopes a Sunday slot will lead to more people watching the programme at the same time, creating what he calls a “communal experience” and thus a bigger buzz. Plus, with travels in the TARDIS on a Sunday, our weekends are sure to end on a high.

Security around the “Doctor Who” set has generally been tight this year. Like, really tight. Meaning few spoilers have leaked into the public domain. Nevertheless, reports about the new series suggest there will be a roughly equal split of plotlines set in the past, present and future. As regards particular storylines, there are rumours that one episode will focus on Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights struggle in America. While another will supposedly deal with witchcraft in seventeenth century England under the rule of King James I. No-one does adventuring quite like the Doctor, eh!

Many famous names have made an appearance on “Doctor Who” over the years, and it seems the eleventh series will be no different. Among the various actors who have confirmed their involvement is “X-Men” star Alan Cumming, who revealed he will play James I (an apparent villain of sorts in the witchcraft storyline). There are also parts for Jodie Whittaker’s former “Broadchurch” co-star Shaun Dooley, Olivier Award winner Sharon Clarke, and even comedian and actor Lee Mack. As for other possible cameos, we’ll just have to wait and see.

The identity of the Doctor isn’t the only thing changing in the new series. The final season of the Peter-Capaldi era consisted of twelve episodes, but series eleven will have just ten. On the plus side though, each instalment will be roughly fifty minutes long rather than the previous forty-five. Even better, the BBC is bringing in the new era with a debut episode – called “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” – that’s set to be over an hour long. So get your popcorn ready. Let’s see how Jodie escapes the mess she was in when we last saw her.

For a decade, “Doctor Who” has been a staple of the festive season. Yet the 2017 Christmas special was apparently almost shelved, because the tenure of former showrunner Steven Moffat ended with series ten, and his successor Chris Chibnall didn’t want to start his reign with a Christmas special. This led some to speculate that Chibnall wanted to banish the festive instalment for good. Fortunately, it has now been confirmed that the 2018 Christmas special IS happening, though details as to its storyline are a closely guarded secret.

After what happened to the TARDIS during its 2017 Christmas outing, it’s no surprise that the time machine is getting a makeover. There are changes to the colour and design of the police box’s exterior, whilst leaked images suggest the interior has also been extensively remodelled. Add to that a new logo, new sonic screwdriver and new version of the soundtrack, and this really does feel like a fresh start for the franchise – albeit the beginning of a new era, rather than a complete and all-encompassing reboot.

Among those on the new series’ writing team, only Chris Chibnall has prior experience with “Doctor Who”, having previously penned episodes including “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” and “The Power of Three”. The new showrunner has written five scripts for series eleven, while the remaining five are from new writers, including from the former Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman. According to reports, Chibnall has occasionally operated a US-style writers’ room, with a group of writers meeting to develop ideas and flesh out storylines. It’s just another example of how the show is changing both on-screen and behind the scenes.

The long, long history of “Doctor Who” is crammed with classic monsters and villains, from the iconic Daleks to the Cybermen to the renegade Time Lord known as the Master. And, in recent years, most season finales have featured at least one of this villainous trio. But it seems Chris Chibnall could break from the past – by giving the Doctor a whole new hoard of enemies to overcome. Whilst not categorically ruling out the return of traditional foes, Chibnall has said that viewers won’t need to know anything about the Doctor’s history in order to enjoy the new series – suggesting new monsters inflicting new forms of evil.

The Doctor is getting a TARDIS team in series eleven, with not just one companion but three. Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, and Bradley Walsh were all unveiled in a 2018 teaser that showed the Doctor playing pranks on her new friends. In the first ever “Doctor Who” series, the Time Lord also had three companions: his granddaughter and two schoolteachers. Apparently, the idea here is that every viewer should have a character that they can relate to, and Chibnall says he didn’t deliberately copy the original format. But it does provide a pretty pleasing link all the same, as well as yet more reason to be really excited!