But just as salad-and-steel Sheffield wasn’t quite familiar old London (or even Cardiff disguised as London), this episode’s setting isn’t quite the sort of space opera that we’re used to. We’re in space, but not in the future. Then we’re on an alien world, but it’s still now. And perhaps most remarkably of all, we’ve got there without the TARDIS, which at the start of the story is still missing in action as a result of the closing moments of “Twice upon a Time”.Despite drawing loose inspiration from Russell T Davies’ successful present/future/past reboot structure, just as his predecessor Steven Moffat did, here Chibnall manages to further the intoxicating feeling of innovation that “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” engendered. Just like RTD, Chibnall is eking out his reveals for the new audience; in fact, he’s going one better and building entire episodes around them. “The Ghost Monument”, for instance, is an unashamed TARDIS hunt, plain and simple. Even its space-race subplot has that extraordinary blue McGuffin on its finish line. The story’s straightforwardness isn’t a problem, though: it’s perfectly pitched for new viewers (and there’s no question that there were many new viewers amongst the millions, some taking the place of former fans, and millions more piling on besides), and beautifully refreshing for long-suffering ones like me.
“Can people and things stop putting stuff inside me without my permission!”
Above all else though, “The Ghost Monument” is an episode designed to see its characters flourish, and for the most part that is exactly what they do. Bradley Walsh is the clear standout once again, continuing to astonish me with his dramatic acting chops in the same way that Billie Piper did more than thirteen years ago. His character’s chipper spirit in the face of the most chaotic adversity, particularly given the devastating loss that he’s just suffered, is exceptionally endearing. He has shades of former companions - sorry, former friends - as sundry as Ian Chesterton, Ace, Donna Noble and Wilfred Mott about him along with something bright and new. His step-grandson, Ryan, enjoys another strong outing too. “The Ghost Monument” teaches Tosin Cole’s character some invaluable lessons about life alongside the Doctor, and does so in ways that range from hilarious to heartrending. When the Doctor condemns the use of weaponry, only for him to ignore her counsel, you have to laugh as his Call of Duty skills backfire and send him guiltily scurrying back to her. Later, when the Doctor tells him that she’s “proper proud” of him in an attempt to get him to quickly climb a ladder despite his dyspraxia, you can’t help but share in that pride - and, if you’re anything like me, feel another atrium full of doubts about Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor pump straight out of your heart.
“Come to Daddy... I mean Mummy.”
The episode’s guest stars were each as scorching as the wastes of Desolation. I wasn’t a fan of last week’s actor-focused trailer for the rest of the season; to me it veered too near to celebrating celebrities. But seeing supporting performers the calibre of these three in action shows that such fanfare was warranted. Shaun Dooley is just as brooding and intense as in just about everything else that I’ve ever seen him in, and Susan Lynch is even better – hard as Hell, but for a reason. Even Art Malik’s character’s non-presence somehow has real presence.If there is one problem with this episode, it’s Yaz’s near-redundancy. Whilst she does enjoy a nice moment reflecting on her love for her family, and to my delight made a comment about Surrey Street’s locally infamous green police box (the nonsense of which used to drive me nuts as a kid!), her character has no real involvement in the plot. This is something that I think is going to be inevitable for at least one regular going forward, given that the writers have four of them to serve each week, but this needn’t harm the show provided that its scripts continue to “check in” once or twice with the short-straw companion as Chibnall’s does with Yaz here. The binge-watching habits of millennials allow the show much more leeway on matters such as this than it had back in 1963 or even 1981 - the only two occasions (on telly) when we’ve had such a crowded TARDIS for a sustained period.
“The Ghost Monument” is also notable for establishing the title sequence and TARDIS for this new era. The former I loved - the haunting yet conventional take on the theme tune, the less intricate and more classic visuals - albeit with the caveat that I’m not a fan of opening an episode with it. I can see why they did so here - there was no teaser in the traditional sense; just a cliffhanger get-out - but in future I think this would be better placed after the customary cliffhanging teaser. The TARDIS, meanwhile, is the most inspiring that it’s looked since the series’ so-called “grunge phase” of 2005-2010. The exterior has finally shed that awful, Cushing-esque sheen, and the interior is something else altogether. I’m especially taken with the complete police box shell being incorporated into the design - it’s exactly how I always pictured that classic-series lacuna between the police box doors and seemingly separate console room entrance in my head.
It’s been an marvellous and welcome surprise to find that something I feared would kill Doctor Who has helped to breathe life back into it. I’m still saddened that I can’t put myself into the Doctor’s shoes anymore, but when watching the programme as something new, as opposed to something weighed down by more than half a century’s convoluted continuity and preconceptions, I’m utterly enthralled by it. And so, tail between my legs (and yes, I’m fully aware of the acute irony of this phrase here), I’ve reinstated the old History of the Doctor website. The Doctor might be a woman now, but the realisation is slowly dawning on me that she’s still the same chap at hearts.
The new series of Doctor Who airs on Sunday nights on BBC One and this episode is available to stream or download on BBC iPlayer in the UK, where the preceding 147 episodes are also currently available. A series pass is available from iTunes for £23.99.
