The Noble Failures of Doctor Who Series 11 | Video Essay 

Not because it was a woman. Just because it was bad.

11 walked into a dalek ship and threatened them WITH A BISCUIT

It’s not Jodie, it’s the writer that’s the problem.

i miss the interconnected plot lines, the insane soundtracks, the deep characters and the insane season finales. The idea of a female doctor is awesome for sure, but we NEED something more than this.

It’s funny how Amy is a better police officer than Yaz

It was the weird sensation that the 'character quirk' for this incarnation of the Doctor was 'being female' - and that's as far as they went...

I remember I was all sad because Eccleston left and I was in that denial phase while watching Christmas Invasion (first Tennant episode), until 10 throws the satsuma and the Sycorax fell to his death and said: "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." I was like, okay, holy shit, this man is THE Doctor!! I never had a moment like that with her

*"I love conspiracies!"* ... *"I hate conspiracies!"*

It feels like watching a random DnD party run around the universe, forgetting all about their character bonds and backstories and just grinding out quests.

The loss of Murray Gold was also a big factor in losing the magic that the initial revival had. The music is very generic and there are barely any notable things to say about it. Just like the actual series.

this series just felt like it was made to: -look like other doctors -be a basic netflix show -find a new public it didn't feel like doctor who. It felt like a bad 2019 Sci-Fi serie.

How come nobody is shocked that there's no costume when they travel in the past in their 21st century clothes? It's not about fashion it's about blending in within a medieval witch hunt for example

I was most dissapointed that 13 seems to have selectively forgotten huge parts of her history, 9-12 have all been driven by and haunted by decisions they have made over the centuries, most significantly of course ending the time war, this caused moments when the facade of confidence or righousness fell away completely, even if only for brief moments. 13 is far too naive and self assured for a being thousands of years old.

The scene with Matt Smith where he says "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, run." I still get chills when I think of that scene. Jodie Whitaker never had that grandiose moment that really established her as the next Doctor. Plus, the amazing soundtrack that went with Matt Smith's era helped a lot too.

The problem with this doctor is the fact that we never get an "I AM THE DOCTOR!" moment.

Having three companions seems like a massive mistake I missed the first episode and this is the first time I’m hearing about yaz being a police officer that’s how underdeveloped these characters are 😂

Before I even get into this vid, to me, the biggest failure of this Doctor & her 1st season was that she never had her "I am the Doctor" moment. Anyone jumping on the show from this season would have no clue what all the fuss was about.

The thing that got me was when the Doctor regenerates, he is confused and scatty for the first episode. JW was like this all the way through the series

The series was all "tell" and no "show". And it told a lot of lies.

It's exactly as I've been saying since even before season 11 came out. "My problem is not with Jodie Whittaker or a female doctor, it's with Chris Chibnall." And now that season 11 came and went I still feel exactly the same.

How to improve for series 12 (IMO) 1. Reduce the tardis team 2. Have great new & old monsters 2.5. Have the Daleks in their proper casing (chibnall has at least proved he can write the Daleks as calculating & deadly villains again) 3. Have the plot & character drama link together 4. Challenge the doctor with high stakes stories 5. Stop using the word "fam" 6. Unless it's woven into the story, stop referring to politics in episode (looking at you trump knock off & unit brexit joke) 7. Don't over explain everything & show, don't tell. 8. Make episodes scary 9. Have a direction for where the series is going 10. Don't kill Graham!

the doctor: I love conspiracies. also the doctor: Don't like conspiracies.

My thoughts on series 11 and 12: Ah, you’ve redecorated, I don’t like it.

I thought Jodie was trying too hard to be "likeable" and "quirky" like all the other doctors

two words 'Doctor Donna' the fanbase isn't the problem, the problem is this new direction the producers are going on.

Having a female doctor without both River Song and Jack Harkness back in the same episode with hilarious sexual tension is just a failure. Not that this new Dr Who would ever have fun like that

I really love this video. It's so nice to see something critical of series 11 that doesn't feel disrespectful. Actual constructive criticism tends to get drowned out with a lot of unsavory comments. Here's to hoping series 12 is able to establish an identity of its own, and Whittaker will finally have better writing to work with.

Riversong is beloved by many, a very strong female character, and a well done series about her would have been insanely popular. If you can’t figure out why Ghostbusters, Star Trek discovery and recent Dr who who aren’t, we can’t help you.

On the point of budget: Doctor Who has proved before that they can make amazing episodes on tiny budgets; just look at "Midnight"! One of the best episodes ever and it's only really one small location. Just a lack of imagination this series.

“Never Cruel or cowardly” hmmmm trapping the spiders 🕷 in a small room till they die... seems to me to be both the above... 🤨

-It’s not “because of the Doctor is a woman” -It’s not “because of Yaz is a woman and has Pakistani descent” -It’s not “because of Ryan has African descent” -It’s not “because of Graham is older” -It’s not “because of Ruth is a woman and has African descent” NO. It’s never “because of sex, gender and race”. Chibnall’s era is suck because of HIS WRITING. Before Chibnall became the showrunner, his episodes was never good. Whovians are smarter than being sexists or racists. We defend the 50+ years of great team work and great plotlines. It wasn’t perfect, but still respect the main plot. That’s why series 11 & 12 are suck, they don’t have anything to be compared with the First Doctor until the Twelfth Doctor.

The writing of the Doctor being quirky just by being female is ironically for the showrunners the most misogynistic thing about the series.

Bring back the kind of stories from the David Tennant era. They should rehire those writers or hire writers who can write in that style.

I actually forgot Jaz was a policewoman

For me I never knew why I enjoyed the Doctor so much until I realized what was missing from Jodie; Every Doctor has the absolute ability to steal a scene, even if it’s not focused on them. The Doctor is always the most interesting character in any scene, and it’s always so fun to see. Jodie’s acting and/or characterization fell flat for me. In every seen, minus her conversation with King James in witchfinders, I was hardly paying attention to her performance. Every other character, no matter how minor or badly written was more interesting to watch than the Doctor, and that’s a bad thing. The Doctor should steal every, or most scenes they are in with great acting and good characterization, both of which Jodie and her Doctor sincerely lacked. (P.S. spare the spoilers for series 12 please c:)

This is probably the best analysis I've seen for season 11. Almost every other video on YT either praises it to the extent where it feels forced or has a narrator foaming at the mouth and ripping it to shreds for no particular reason.

What I think is really interesting is that despite me often disliking the episodes you liked, my criticisms of series 11 was exactly the same which highlights just how much these problems were systemic in the whole series.

Another thing that was set up but never went anywhere ... Ryan's dyspraxia. In episode 1 he has trouble doing basic coordination. In episode 2, he's running across uneven ground leaping hither and thither, shooting killer robots ... erm ... what? It's almost as his dyspraxia was shoved in there to score progressive brownie points.

The writing was awful and there was never a moment for me of "that's The Doctor" like there was with all the other modern Doctors. Nine was "my Doctor". The one I saw first. He was the Doctor from the get go, he was the first Doctor I saw and I accepted the character straight away (and got into the classic series later). Ten was when he fought the sycorax in his borrowed pyjamas despite my doubts up to that point. Donna was when she was the DoctorDonna and popped up from behind that console spouting technobabble at 1,000 miles per hour while beating the Daleks. Eleven was when he called the Atraxi back and threatened them. Twelve was in his episode when they were in the Dalek and it was grim but yeah. (Capaldi got a lot of crap writing but still managed to pull the role off because it wasn't as awful as this last series' writing.) Thirteen never had one of those moments. Sh never had a character of her own either as you said. Chibnall sucks and I'm out until we get a new showrunner and good writers. If Whittaker is still around maybe she'll be the Doctor then. I was rooting for her I wanted her to be the Doctor but she just wasn't and I think that's definitely the writing's fault because she is a good actress. I don't think any of the others could have been the Doctor either if they'd started with this drivel. can we have RTD back now? Please! It all started going down hill after he left.

There's No classical music now, now imagine the weeping angels without the creepy violins :|

behold the season we don't talk about! How cheap and sad is it that they went through such great lengths to get Gallifrey back in the 50th special just to forget about it? How sad is to bring back John's Master just to ditch it? I never thought i'd say this but........ Bring back.... moffat?

I think the other crucial problem with Whittaker's Doctor is that she had no character development at all throughout Series 11. Capaldi's Doctor went through changes in each of his seasons as he encountered old enemies and lost companions, having real development throughout. However, Whittaker hasn't changed at all from the beginning of the series (The Woman Who Fell To Earth) to the end (Resolution), still essentially acting exactly the same each week with no development whatsoever.

The Oncoming Storm asked an alien threat to "please leave." I don't need any another reason to think that this season was bad.

What's worst is that I actually really like Thirteen in the Woman Who Fell. She felt like the perfect continuation for the Doctor's overarching arc of redemption after the Last Time War. Nine was traumatized, Ten was filled with guilt, Eleven was trying to forget, Twelve was taking his responsabilities and now Thirteen was healing, taking a brighter, more optimistic outlook to her own life. I was pumped for that lighter version of the Doctor, but it feels that they didn't trust their own idea and quickly, it seemed that Thirteen was just as somber as the others before her and she never really developed her own unique twist on the character. She was the Doctor, for sure, but she failed to be her own Doctor.

I haven't watched all the episodes yet, but I think the loss of Murray Gold and his awesome music plays a very big role in the decaying of the series. Let's face it: there have always been badly written episodes, inconsistent characters and poorly justified storylines, but the magical atmosphere conveyed mostly through the soundtrack usually brought the spectator not to focus on those flaws and to get transported by the flow of the show. Now I feel the music doesn't help anymore and thus all the flaws are easier to see and harder to forgive, and the emotional link between us and the characters results damaged. Only this is difficult t notice because it mostly affects our subconscious, so at the end of each episode we have the lingering sensation that it was bad but we automatically blame the writing, completely oblivious of the role the soundtrack played in our entertainment.

the main thing for me was just the characters where sooooOOOooooooOOOOoo 2d? Bradley Walsh was the only one who felt real to me. mixture of writing and mainly performing.

I think the biggest departure from previous series was the relationship of the doctor to her friends (companions). The companions have been more independent characters and there was often a good deal of tension between a companion and his/her Doctor Who. This tension allowed the characters personalities to show through. Jodi Whitaker's friends were merely lap dogs. There's more to companionship than loyalty and obedience.

How dare you use Donna nobles sacred name when referring to this slop.

Weirdest episode of the chase ever

She doesn't feel like past doctors, bud. She feels like someone doing impressions. And I think her character was set up to have conflicted feelings about revenge/retribution/killing, but the writers didn't know how to incorporate that so they just shrugged their shoulders and shat on the page. Edit: to back up my point on her character struggle and the series theme- she gets Mad over Shaw getting pushed, she doesn't want to see Kerblam boy get killed despite his misdeeds, time traveling racist doesn't get killed but sent back in time, spiders not killed just imprisoned, etc. She should have grappled with these "deaths" in the last 2 episodes. She's a killer who doesn't kill. She doesn't kill, but let's them die or let's them be tortured. Is she any better for this? They never really capitalize on the theme.

This is probably the only video I've seen on series 11's flaws that didn't default to 'oh they pandered too much' or 'she's just not a good Doctor, bad casting choices' but actually looked at it fairly and even ended on a hopeful note that it could improve. Thanks for that.

"The Doctor isn't tough...". **3rd Doctor intensifies**

I would argue that Clara did a better Doctor than the 13th did.

They've killed it. It was on the way out with Capaldi, this finished it. No lonely god, no repressed rage, no iconic Easter eggs. No one even said "It's bigger on the inside". (For fuxake)

what defines the 13th doctor? her breathing, her constant out of breathness and panting after every sentence

I’d honestly would’ve been happy if Hayley Atwell played the Doctor. She has a sort of charisma to her. But writing-wise, Chibnall definitely needs some help.

I think Chibnall thought that making the doctor female gave her an identity already and so he felt like he didn't need to give her any further distinctive traits (other than her genitalia).

"Heres hoping that Jodie Whittaker will get a series that is worthy of her Doctor" You know... that was a really nice way to end this video. A hopeful statement that the series will dive deeper. Because it has everything it needs to be great, it just needs to push its boundries.

"Pting" sounds like a placeholder name that somehow got into the script.

Jodie Whittaker's Doctor to Dr Who is like Cursed Child to Harry Potter. It's bad fan fiction and I don't consider it canon

When you change up a character, especially in such a way that can be associated to social and political crap, you HAVE to make sure that character is a crowd pleaser. Unfortunately, the writers decided to coast along the idea of a female Doctor instead of making a *good* female Doctor.

The noble failure was that there was no Donna Noble

When I saw the teaser for "The Tsuranga Conundrum", I really really thought and hoped that the antagonist would be the midnight entity, which would've been awesome

Could have made the 13th doctor scared of having someone with them, frightened of having a companion after the 12th having had both be killed in some way, and his dragging people away for adventure endangered them. It could have been the doctor was awkward because they had to face the part they played in the death of people they cared about, the ponds, Clara, billy. Could have been an interesting take. Maybe they could be distant and harsh to push people away, possibly going out of the way to keep their companions out of danger, possibly fighting with the conflict of "is the adventures and experiences these people have worth their deaths?"

You be got three eras of Doctor Who. The Classic Era, the New Who and... fanfiction. It's just fanfiction.

How about we put the tardis in the actual show

Honestly the show proved it could pull off the gender swap when we were given Missy. I know she has her haters but overall she's an interesting, unpredictable, smart villain that added a lot of tension to the plot. As other people are saying, it's not the female thing, it's the writing. Hope things start looking up soon.

It really pisses me off that people STILL can’t figure out how to write female characters.

Finally, a criticique of season 11 that doesn't involve the words, "Doctor Who is finally over. The idea has failed. There is no coming back from this." as though this season was cancellation worthy rather than just disappointing.

it's like bad fan fiction made canon.

I love with capaldi his doctors internal conflict was not knowing if he was a good or bad man and this Carrie's through until hes forced to realise his answer when he first faces missy.

Yes! Thank you! I'm so tired of people saying it was a woman doctor and political agendas that made this season bad. No, the writing is sooo awful!!

Each Dr needs their own thing. Desperate character - Tennant definitely was the high point. She seemed she was Just copying other Drs especially Matt Smith. I think they focused too much on her being a woman, rather than being an individual DR. They should have just stuck to it, it's not like the show is good of women and Rose, Martha, Donna, even Clara are strong women, not just 'companions. I think they stuffed it, I couldn't even watch all the season and I LOVE the Dr. Sad.

Let’s say you’re on the floor dying no way to save you and there’s a gun and a person standing grabs it and.... Regular Person:They shoot u out of mercy so you don’t die in pain for long moments 13th Doctor: throws gun away and locks door and leaves you there saying this is merciful and good because killing with gun is bad no matter the context according to her.

I couldn't even watch the first episode all the way through and I really wanted to. It's lost its Mojo lol

It was the worst series I’ve ever seen didn’t feel like Doctor Who one bit absolute shocking to think that my childhood is now disappeared

As someone who's always wanted to see a female Doctor, I can say that in my personal opinion, this was nothing more than a pandering mess that cared more about #Feminism than any sort of story telling or internal consistency. Just like every other modern show or movie with a Female lead, the writers/directors/whoever thinks they can just leave it at that and not worry about the story, the characters, et cetera, which is why all of them (The new Ghostbusters movie, the new StarWars movies, Captain Marvel, just to name a few) turn out so badly and long term fans hate them. And then makers shout "SEXIST!" at everyone who doesn't like it while ignoring any and all actual criticism and acting like they invented the concept of a woman in a leading role despite the fact that there are dozens of examples of female protagonists in TV, film, videogames, et cetera, WITH ACTUAL COMPETENT STORY TELLING AND CHARACTERS THAT DON'T FEEL LIKE CARDBOARD CUT-OUTS RANGING DECADES INTO THE PAST. That aside, pretty decent review. Solid 8 out of 10. Would watch again. (Your review, not the show.)

I really love seeing the doctor shift and change emotionally and personally. Like with the 9th doctor, in the beginning he was kind of just a silly person who wasn't really attached to any human in particular, not even Rose, but did of course still want to save them when possible. But later on in the season he almost kills Rose with the Dalek and you see his attatchment to her drastically shift from someone who just sees her as a fun companion to travel with to someone who feels more for her. And when we see him with the Dalek in the cage we see his rage and hatred emerge. Even 10 turns from a fun loving and silly character to a man with a hard edge and almost a depressed man. The doctor losing one of the most important people to him really changed him almost immediately. It resonated with me and people like me who have lost people and have changed because of that. For the first time in the reboot we see the doctor loose one of his companions, but it wasn't just that, Rose was someone he fell in love with. The 11th doctor was someone I had to learn to love actually. Seeing him go from such a deep and impactful character to a doctor who dipped fish sticks in custard and was just completely silly all around was so hard for me. But over time you see him become more than that. He becomes more serious and when he loses Amy Pond he is beyond disappointed and alone. It was almost as if he didn't care about anybody else just in case he would grow attached again and then have to see them die or leave yet again. The doctor was tired and alone. But then he became silly again, but this time with a new edge to him that really helped define his character after he began traveling with Clara again. And finally the 12th doctor. He has changed the most I would say. He was the most hard doctor, the doctor who was impacted by his actions more than the others, the doctor that remembered what he did in the time war most of all. He did his best to be kind and still was always haunted by his memories. But he realised that love will always win over fear and that trying to be a good person is what really matters. I can't even break down all of the 12th doctor's personality because there is just so much. But that's what made seeing the doctor change from one person to another so fascinating; you get to see a new person each time and how the story impacts their views on the world. The 13th doctor is really just one kind of person, one kind of personality. The thing about being a very old and very complex person like the doctor is you would have more than just one way of viewing the world. I don't mind the doctor being silly at all, in fact I enjoy it, but when that's all they are then I feel like I'm watching a kids show or something. The doctor has been alive thousands of years, long enough to abandon the silliness every once in awhile. Even when she seems to try and be serious or have a hard edge to her, it comes off as unsuccessful. Who knows, maybe she'll change into a more complex character as the series goes on. But so far, frankly I'm just kinda bored.

What sucks most is that this happens during the first female Doctor. Not only is the Doctor a role that can easily transition between genders without any second thought, but Whitaker has also done a very good performance, in my opinion at least. In a time in which we had terrible gender-swap reboots, the 13th Doctor herself has been more than just bearable, but she just did not get anything exciting to show for. I honestly don't know why they decided to just force the first female Doctor to share her screentime with THREE companions, even though the writers should have been aware that Whitaker will be forced to prove herself as worthy of the role.

I've been watching doctor who since I was 5. I've finished every series except series 11

I didnt really leave with a feeling that I don't know who the Doctor is now. I left with the feeling that I dont like who the Doctor is now. Her personality IS as you described, a combination of character traits present in previous doctors. But it also includes qualities I avoid in real life. I avoid rude people who don't know boundaries in real life. And before someone says it, yes I'm aware that previous doctors have also behaved in rude ways, some more than others. But with those doctors I always felt those character traits were meant to make them more interesting and, maybe, appear more alien. The companions were often used to correct that rude behavior, thus presenting an experience where we got to watch the relationship between alien and human as they affect each other and change each other. This doctor apparently already knows how to behave "properly" and very much enjoys teaching other humans how they might be better, if only they would open their minds to her brilliant insights. This is not the reason I watch Doctor Who.

Diaster series. I'm going to just pretend she doesn't exist in this role and that Capaldi was the last doctor.

Waiting for Big Finish to start making 13th doctor stories so they can get jodie some competent writers

Another thing that I missed was the complete lack of two parters. I know the episodes were slightly longer, but they were padded with the "character moments" described in this video, and regardless of this, an extra 15 minutes does not equal a cliffhanger and an extra 45 minutes. Everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow, and any dangling plot threads like the Timeless Child, or the time traveller guy presumably surviving, just got completely forgotten after the end of the episode. The whole series felt very "monster of the week" which has been an outdated format for years. It's especially jarring when Chibnall said that it is now the era of Netflix and Doctor Who needs to keep up. Netflix and Amazon Prime series are some of the main drivers of deep, sprawling, multipart epics. When you consider the current state of the DW universe with the half return of Gallifrey, you could easily imagine a series of the Doctor being toyed with or tested by the Time Lords as part of their attempts to make a full return.

love how thorough this is; you covered everything I had a problem with series 11. I have to add though, 13 doesn't really actively push the plot forward - things just happen to her and her companions and she responds to these threats so the episodes dont feel really engaging at all

What really pisses me off is that all the potential for a brilliant TARDIS team was here, Chibnall just introduced them all too quickly. They should’ve joined the TARDIS one by one (with Graham being the only ‘full-time’ companion) with maybe a full team being established by Resolution, once we’d got to know Ryan, Yaz and Graham one by one. There were even eps where it would’ve been natural as Ryan/Yaz’s first adventure (Rosa and Demons of the Punjab come to mind). Jodie Whittaker is a brilliant actress who’s been given frankly abysmal stuff to work with. A female doctor won’t be tried again for another few reincarnations because of Chibnall’s shitty writing and character building and I don’t think I can ever forgive him for that.

Thirteen is a direct response to Capaldi. The reason I like her so much is because even though doctor is truly kind and good at heart, she really shows it on the outside as well. She's the most optimistic and happy incarnation- she seems so excited to explore, to learn, to make friends. She seems happy just existing. All the other doctors (ESPECIALLY nine and twelve) were sometimes just rude or ignorant or angst ridden. That's not a bad thing- Nine is my second favourite and he's an arse for a lot of s1, and Twelve is an excellent Doctor. However, thirteen doesn't seem to have that. It's like a weight has been lifted, and left behind is a Doctor who is bouncy, magnetic and fizzing with energy. I love her. however it doesn't excuse a lot of the awful choices made by s11 and it was pretty poor overall, especially the companions and the god awful finale

Honestly I think Jodie is delivering to the best of her ability and the writing and direction is the problem, like he says in the video nothing is solid it's all wibbly and wobbly (🤷‍♀️😉) there's no structure. The storyline keeps changing, it's like multiple people are writing the scripts and not meeting about them so they're going off in so many directions you can't keep track, squirrels darting around your backyard fighting over an acron, it keeps getting handed off and ending up in completely different places

Did anyone feel like this series would have been helped by two-parters? I think ‘The Witchfinders’ would’ve benefited from that.

series 11 somehow doesn't contain the thrill which came from series 1 to 10. it's tedious to watch.

The problem is, all the episodes in series 11 were so random. All the other ones had story arcs Series 1 had the Bad Wolf arc Series 2 had Torchwood 3: Harold Saxon 4: The Doctor Donna The series 4 specials: The four knocks 5: Amy’s crack on the wall 6: The doctor’s “death” 7: Clara Oswald the impossible girl ect, ect But series 11 only had one recurring villain called tIm ShAw Series 12 “timeless child” arc got thrown away completely in the final episode. It’s just not good anymore.

Remember how MASSIVE Doctor Who was at San Diego Comi con when Matt Smith was the Doctor?

I think it would be really interesting to see the doctor talk to someone from her past. The show seems like it's in a slightly different universe to all of the other doctors and it doesn't feel like she's the same person, just in someone else's body, it feels like she's a different person all together. Maybe it would seem a bit more connected if you could see the doctor interacting with River Song or someone like that.

What stands out to me about 13's character is that she always makes an effort to be polite and kind in how she speaks to people, and is bluntly honest, yet gentle in a way that previous Doctors wouldn't be. She's always adding "please" and "sorry" and being genuinely friendly with everyone. Even when she resents someone, she'll say something like "I haven't warmed to him" or tell them plainly to their face exactly what they've done to offend her. I see this as her honouring 12's last words, which were directed at her. The angry old man who hated everybody wanted to be kinder. 13's personality is the natural result of that.

Peter Capaldi was the last official doctor for me

21% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Good work, Chibnall, good work.

Too many companions. Three is a crowd, taking too much screen time from the Doc. Needs an Amy - Rory dynamic.

Series 1: BAD WOLF! Series 2: TORCHWOOD! Series 3: HAROLD SAXON! Series 4: DOCTOR-DONNA! Series 5: SILENCE WILL FALL! Series 6: DEATH OF THE DOCTOR! Series 7: IMPOSSIBLE GIRL! Series 8: THE PROMISED LAND! Series 9: THE WOMAN WHO LIVED! Series 10: MONKS! (I suppose) Series 11: Err...some teethy guy wants to kill some humans because he can...

91% critic score | 21% Audience score. Welcome to the culture war.

My main gripe with the season is that there are many episodes in this season where you could not know The Doctor was a Timelord but think she was a Human and nothing would change about the episode.