Doctor Who New Series 11: The Facts

The BBC has made official the start date and time for the new series of Doctor Who. So let’s do a quick run-down of what we know at this point, and what we don’t know.

What We Know

• Series 11 will begin on Sunday, October 7th
• Episode 1 will be broadcast on BBC 1 at 6:45 pm
• Episode 1 will be broadcast simultaneously on BBC America at 1:45 pm Eastern Time (notice I didn’t say “at the same time” because, you know, time difference and all that)
• Episode 1 is called “The Woman Who Fell to Earth”
• There is a new Doctor, the Thirteenth
• The new Doctor is played by Jodie Whittaker
• Jodie Whittaker is female
• The Thirteenth Doctor is the first female Doctor (just making sure you’re tracking with me)
• She will have a new sonic screwdriver
• She will have new companions: three of them
• Her new companions are Graham O’Brien (played by Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (played by Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (played by Mandip Gill)
• Episode 2 is called “The Ghost Monument”
• There will be ten episodes and a Christmas special
• Chris Chibnall is the new show runner
• Segun Akinola is the new composer for the show (expect a new version of the theme)
• There’s a new logo and there will be a new title sequence

What We Don’t Know

• Whether it’s brilliant or it’s the end of Doctor Who
• Whether Jodie’s a great Doctor or Jodie hasn’t a clue what she’s doing
• Whether a female Doctor works or a female Doctor doesn’t work
• Whether it will be at the same time next week (BBC program scheduling has a mind of its own)
• Whether it will be simulcast in the US for the entire series (my guess is yes, but we’ll see)

I’m sure there are lots of other things about the new series I haven’t mentioned, but those are the highlights. Of course I will be reviewing the episodes right here.

Questions? Thoughts? Your respectful comments are welcome…