Doctor Who: The Ghost Monument

"I can't remember who I borrowed them off now. It was either Audrey Hepburn or Pythagoras."

Ok, so they can't all be that good; it's Chris Chibnall after all. His first alien story as showrunner and we get a decent but fairly pedestrian tale about a rally between planets and the planet of the booby traps. Which is not to slag the story off; I liked it. I just wouldn't use a stronger word than "liked".

Still, aside from the story of the week, and those niggling worries about his talents for adventure storytelling and science fantasy concepts, that doesn't necessary make him a bad showrunner. Again he's showing signs of being good at developing characters, which could bode well- and yes, I will see Broadchurch soon.

Our TARDIS crew (well, not yet...) of four is looking curiously similar to Ian, Barbara and Susan in that we have a sort-of "grandfather"; I already like the sort-of-familial relationship between Graham and Ryan, and this is going to grow. Yasmin is perhaps not so well fleshed out at this stage (will she and Ryan have a will-they-won't-they like Ian and Barbara?) But there's plenty of time. And still, of course, Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor; as Mrs Llamastrangler pointed out, it's satisfying to her her saying "run".

Again her gender matters not. Well, except for a good old cheap laugh, that is: "Come to Daddy- I mean, Mummy". But she is completely and utterly Doctorish throughout, in circumstances that display that Doctorishness magnificently. But... Chibnall seems to have yet another bit of backstory for her, as one of the Shrouds of Doom refer to her as "the timeless child" and "an outcast", something which clearly strikes a nerve and which clearly is intended to be picked up on. This is clearly another arc about the Doctor's past; I hope it fits with all the others.

It's nice to see that this "jumping on point", while being carefully continuity-lite, isn't averse to the odd nod to the past such as the mention of Venusian Aikido (from Venusian nuns, apparently). And it appears that last week's baddies- the Stenza- may end up as this season's Big Bad. But all that pales next to the fact that the TARDIS is finally back, redecorated inside and out, after a nice little character moment where the Doctor is close to giving up hope but her three friends aren't. The new interior is awesome- I love the Heath Robinson style of ho it works, the lighting, and the biscuit. Will the Doctor take them straight home? Just as with Ian and Barbara, we know she won't.

And the new theme is also awesome, and the opening title sequence is rather Pertwee, I feel, as opposed to the closing sequence being very Tom. In fact, a lot about Doctor Who is awesome now; it looks so much more cinematic. I don't think the budget has gone up, but it gives the illusion of having done so. And if the scripts are merely good, so far that's ok.