Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker’s best episodes
David Farnor | On 25, Nov 2023
In her very first episode, Season 11 opener The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Jodie Whittaker announced her Doctor as someone who was ingenious – inventing her own sonic screwdriver – and cared about her friends. That sense of kindness and acceptance drove Chris “Broadchurch” Chibnall’s time as showrunner, as the series explored real life instances of injustice and social division – Rosa Parks in 1955, the partition of India in 1947 – and, at its boldest and most controversial moments, allowed the Doctor to be helpless and powerless.
If the plotting became often erratic, the recurring theme was of the Doctor’s past catching up with her, even as she sought to just enjoy time-hopping adventures with her new fam – Ryan (Tosin Cole), Graham (Bradley Walsh), Yasmin (Mandip Gill) and, later, Dan (John Bishop). That crescendoed with several major reveals about the origins of the Time Lords, which in the future may or may not prove to have been a good idea. But throughout indecision, uneven chaos and times when she almost became a background figure, Whittaker consistently held the show together through sheer energy, fast-talking charm and an open heart that made her more vulnerable and complex than her childlike exterior might have you believe.
Top four Jodie Whittaker episodes to watch online
Spyfall (Season 12, Episode 1)
Doctor Who made no secret of its intent with the title of this one, with the Doctor teaming up with MI6 for a globe-trotting 007-esque thriller, complete with a plane falling from the sky, some fun gadgets and – best of all – the introduction of Sacha Dhawan as Master. He emerges as a manic, unpredictable force that, opposite Whittaker’s hyperactive but compassionate Doctor, injects a fun new dynamic into the series.
Fugitive of the Judoon (Season 12, Episode 5)
One of Chibnall’s most inspired, and controversial, moves was to introduce Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor, an earlier incarnation of the Time Lord pre-First Doctor – and, in doing so, paved the way for a whole new canon of Doctor Who history that changes everything and nothing in a way that makes for fascinating discussion afterwards. A brilliantly crafted rollercoaster ride.
The Timeless Children (Season 12, Episode 10)
After a more consistent but underwhelming first season, Whittaker’s sophomore run in the TARDIS was wilder and more uneven but hit some brilliant highs. Capping it off was cracking double-bill that again makes a surprising play to alter Doctor Who canon, as Dhawan’s Master unveils the history of the Time Lords on Gallifrey and how they came to possess their technology. The introduction of a half-converted Cyberman is the metallic icing on an interesting cake.
Eve of the Daleks (Christmas 2022 special)
Chibnall made a big push to try and have new villains during Whittaker’s time in the TARDIS, climaxing in the ambitious but uneven Flux (Season 13) storyline, but there was still time for a number of familiar monsters – including Village of the Angels and a Dalek that leaves its shell and controls a human. But it’s Eve of the Daleks that’s the most inventive snapshot of the Thirteenth Doctor’s tenure, as an ingenious time-looping structure turns a New Year’s Eve at a storage facility into a proper romp. Plus you get to witness the starmaking guest appearance of Adjani Salmon, creator of BBC Three’s brilliant Dreaming Whilst Black.
Where to watch on-demand:
Photo: BBC
