Doctor Who: Every Post-Regeneration Episode Ranked Worst To Best
6. The Woman Who Fell To Earth (Thirteenth Doctor)
Of course every Doctor Who showrunner/writer would love to bottle up NuWho's perfect post-regeneration episode combination of sky-high viewing figures, critical and audience acclaim, and then ride its subsequent wave. Jodie Whittaker's opening episode garnered the highest viewing figures for a debut Doctor, with 10.96 million, plus having the added sparkle of the premiere at a swanky Light Cinema in Sheffield, appropriately.
Chris Chibnall said that series 11 "is the perfect stepping on point... it’s a great time to remind people of how amazing Doctor Who is and to have a restart". The more grounded and family feel direction, harking back to the Russell T Davies era, is established immediately with Ryan's emotional tribute to "the greatest woman I ever met", and then showing him getting angry and frustrated when struggling to ride a bike. Something most of us take for granted.
The "the greatest woman I ever met" Ryan refers to is, as we know, his nan, Grace O'Brien. Sharon D. Clarke's nurturing and fearlessly fun-loving character is undoubtably the standout companion here - and it's not just because of her heroically tragic death, but also due to Grace's earnest gravitas, which created a nice balance with Whittaker's high-energy, on the go Doctor.
The show's "restart" seems to have taken a taken a leaf out of the Daniel Craig-era Bond reboot by not showing Segun Akinola's refreshing title sequence; though it would've been stirring to play it fully when the Doctor gets up after crashing through the train's roof.
The sweeping cinematic tone perfectly complements the nighttime setting and the PG Predator. And it's great to see the Doctor using old-school ingenuity when making her new sonic screwdriver with good old Sheffield steel.