Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth

"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"
Series Doctor Who Season 11/37, Episode 1
Air date	October 7th, 2018
Writers	Chris Chibnall
Director	Jamie Childs
Producers	Chris Chibnall; Sam Hoyle; Ben Irving; Alex Mercer; Matt Strevens; Nikki Wilson
Starring	Jodie Whittaker; Bradley Walsh; Tosin Cole; Mandip Gill
Episode guide
Previous "Twice Upon a Time"	Next "The Ghost Monument"

"The Woman Who Fell to Earth" is the first episode of season eleven of the relaunch of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which is also season thirty-seven of the entire franchise. It is the 848th episode of the entire series overall. The episode was directed by Jamie Childs with a teleplay written by Chris Chibnall. It first aired in global simulcast on BBC America at a special start time on October 7th, 2018.

Cast

Starring

Actor	Role
Jodie Whittaker	The Doctor
Bradley Walsh	Graham O'Brien
Tosin Cole	Ryan Sinclair
Mandip Gill	Yasmin Khan
Sharon D. Clarke	Grace O'Brien

Guest Starring

Actor	Role
Samuel Oatley	Tim Shaw
Jonny Dixon	Karl
Amit Shah	Rahul Chandra
Asha Kingsley	Sonia
Janine Mellor	Janey
Asif Khan	Ramesh Sunder

Co-Starring

Actor	Role
James Thackeray	Andy
Philip Abiodun	Dean
Stephen MacKenna	Dennis
Everal A. Walsh	Gabriel
Graham Burton	Funeral attendant

Notes & Trivia

• Doctor Who was created by British TV producer Sydney Newman, with additional material developed by Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber. The original series began airing in the United Kingdom in November 1963 and ran for twenty-six seasons until December 1989. The show was relaunched in 2005 and has since been aired on BBC One and BBC America.
• Actor Everal Walsh is credited as Everal A. Walsh in this episode.

• This is the first season premiere of a Doctor Who episode that the TARDIS does not make an appearance.

• This is the first full story featuring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. She regenerated from the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, in "Twice Upon a Time".

• This is the first appearance of Ryan Sinclair. He appears next in "The Ghost Monument". He becomes a companion of The Doctor by the end of this episode.

• This is the first appearance of Yasmin Khan. She appears next in "The Ghost Monument". She becomes a companion of The Doctor by the end of this episode.

• This is the first appearance of Graham O'Brien. He appears next in "The Ghost Monument". He becomes a companion of The Doctor by the end of this episode.

• This is the first and only appearance of Grace O'Brien; dies in this episode.

• This is the first appearance of the Thirteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver. She did not inherit it from the Twelfth Doctor, but instead created her own using some good ole "Sheffield steel".

• This is the first appearance of the Stenza, who are an alien race that hails from the Nine Systems.

• This is the first episode of Doctor Who with Chris Chibnall as lead writer on the series, replacing Steven Moffat, who had departed from the franchise along with actor Peter Capaldi in season ten.

• The Doctor's line, "Don't be scared. All of this is new to you, and new can be scary", could also be construed as a message to the viewer, as this is the first full story featuring a woman cast in the role of the Doctor.

• Ryan Sinclair's opening commentary on his YouTube video makes it appear as if he is talking about the Doctor. The end of the episode however reveals that he is in fact speaking of his grandmother, Grace O'Brien.

• This is the first time that the Thirteenth Doctor displays her dislike of conventional weapons, by indicating that "Only idiots carry knives". In "The Ghost Monument", she will comment about how she never uses guns, even though her predecessor, the Eleventh Doctor, did in fact use a gun on one occasion.

• This is the sixth episode of Doctor Who written by Chris Chibnall. He has not written an episode of the series since season seven's "The Power of Three". His next episode is "The Ghost Monument".

Allusions

• There are several references to the Twelfth Doctor in this episode. The Thirteenth Doctor wears the Twelfth Doctor's wardrobe throughout most of the episode. She also comments about having been a "white-haired Scotsman".

• Ryan Sinclair suffers from Dyspraxia, which is a neurological coordination disorder. As such, things like riding a bicycle or climbing a ladder becomes difficult.

• Rahul Chandra's obsessive investigation into his sister's disappearance mirrors the background of a character named Fox Mulder from the TV series The X-Files. As a child, Fox witnessed his sister, Samantha Mulder, being taken away. This event formed the basis for Fox's later work as a conspiracy theorist and F.B.I. investigator.

Quotes

• Ryan Sinclair: So today I want to talk about the greatest woman I've ever met. Smart, funny, caring, special, proper special... Where do I start? Okay, I've mentioned this on here before, I'm pretty much not an idiot. I'm actually a capable guy considering. But I'm 19, and 'cause of the thing I told you about before, I can't yet ride a bike.

….

• The Doctor: Are you a doctor, Ryan?
• Ryan Sinclair: No.
• The Doctor: Shame, I'm looking for a doctor.

….

• The Doctor: Don't be scared. All of this is new to you, and new can be scary.

….

• The Doctor: Half an hour ago I was a white-haired Scotsman.

….

• Ryan Sinclair: Did you just make that?
• The Doctor: Sonic screwdriver, well I say 'screwdriver', but it's a bit more multi-purpose that that. Scanner, diagnostics, tin opener. More of a sonic Swiss Army knife. Only without the knife. Only idiots carry knives.

See also

Media

Doctor Who Doctor Who home video

Doctor Who seasons Doctor Who episodes

The World of Doctor Who

Doctor Who characters Doctor Who vehicles Doctor Who items

Doctor Who races Doctor Who locations Doctor Who organizations

Doctor Who miscellaneous

Doctor Who galleries Doctor Who appearances Doctor Who image category

Doctor Who companions Doctor Who cast & crew Doctor Who miscellaneous

External Links

• "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" at IMDB
• "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" at the TV IV
• "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" at the Doctor Who Wiki

Keywords

Alien abduction | Alien life forms | Asha Chandra | Bicycle | Conspiracy theorist | Doctor | Electrocution | England | Funeral | Hallamshire | Hallamshire Police | Nine Systems | Outer space | Police officer | Redlands Primary | Sheffield | Sonic screwdriver | Stenza | Teleportation | Train | Van | Yorkshire