Press reaction to the new season of Doctor Who is overwhelmingly positive with Jodie Whittaker winning many plaudits for her first full episode as the Thirteenth Doctor

The Independent led the praise for the lead actress's performance. " After all the hype, hyperbole and inevitable internet hate, she acquits herself wonderfully in her full-length debut. Whittaker is a force of breezy nature – rambunctious, quirky but with a reassuringly familiar aura of Gallifreyan uncanniness."

The Guardian loved the interaction between the main characters. "The new Doctor and her team – 19-year-old Ryan, his old schoolmate turned police probationer Yasmin, and Ryan’s step-grandfather Graham (Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh respectively) – have heart and soul, and are set against a comforting background of West Yorkshire women – especially Ryan’s nan – talking common sense as alien life and electrical pulses erupt around them."

Whittaker was also praised by the Telegraph who said the actress shined in a flawed but fun Doctor Who debut. "There has been a depressingly predictable knee-jerk backlash to a time-travelling, body-regenerating extraterrestrial with two hearts having the temerity to be female but this debut adventure barrelled straight past such quibbles. After mere minutes of the Doctor’s arrival – crashing through the roof of a train in Sheffield, having fallen from the Tardis at the climax of the Christmas special – you stopped noticing"

Digital Spy was sure Jodie Whittaker's Doctor is going to be everybody's new hero, and noted how her sex is irrelevant. "For all the buzz, positive and negative, that surrounded Whittaker's casting as the first female Doctor, what her first few scenes make abundantly clear is how unimportant the character's gender really is. It's completely and utterly incidental, a point which 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth' makes not through words – the transition from old to new is discussed no more here than it has been in previous Doctor's debuts – but through actions."

Den of Geek says series 11 premiere finds Doctor Who in rude health. "Whittaker certainly makes an impact in her opening scene - quite literally, as she falls through the roof of the train and meets her new companions. The script cleverly wastes no time in having her do some proper ‘Doctor business’ - fending off an alien, casually dismissing a death in favour of the mystery at hand and persuading police officer Yas not to call for reinforcements. Whittaker shines pretty quickly in these scenes, and has every bit of the quiet intensity of her predecessors."

Variety felt the episode fulfilled a difficult brief. "Striking the right balance has been a tall order for any new Doctor and showrunner to take on, as several pairs have done over the last decade, but the level of difficulty this particular team had to master is arguably the highest yet. That’s why it’s so impressive that “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is, for the most part, an extremely typical episode of “Doctor Who."

NPR loved the characterisation of The Doctor "With her rich Northern accent (the actress was born in Yorkshire), Whittaker's Doctor isn't posh or effete — no bow ties or fezzes for her. Instead, she radiates pragmatism (if pragmatism is a thing that can radiate) and a decidedly middle-class, we're-all-in-this-together enthusiasm."

Finally, the Los Angeles Times says Doctor Who returns in thrilling fashion. "The new Doctor has both authority and energy; she is playful yet mature, a little mad but not manic, funny and agile and perhaps will turn out a shade less judgmental than some of her predecessors. Chibnall has given Whittaker a lighter brief: “I’m the Doctor,” she declares, “sorting out fair play throughout the universe.” And later, in that soft Yorkshire accent, “Sometimes I see things that need fixin’ and do what I can.”

The Doctor Who News review can be found on our reviews site.

Obverse books have released the latest in their series of Black Archive books, looking in detail at the making of the Doctor Who story The Time Warrior

Matthew Kilburn looks at the Third Doctor story, the first of Jon Pertwee's final season and the story that introduced both the character of Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans.

Making extensive use of a rarely seen rehearsal script for The Time Warrior, this Black Archive looks at how the US involvement in Vietnam combined with author Robert Holmes’s experience of the Second World War in Burma and consciousness of Britain’s imperial decline to create Doctor Who’s first Sontaran, Linx.

It also explores how the serial’s medievalism invoked a shared cultural memory of Gothic and Romantic literature and cinema to launch not only one of the series’ most enduring alien races but also one of its best-loved heroines, Sarah Jane Smith.

Black Archive #24: The Time Warrior can be ordered from Obverse books as a paperback or an Electronic book.

The BBC has released a number of new publicity images to promote this week's return of Doctor Who, The Woman Who Fell to Earth This series will debut on BBC One at 6.45pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sunday 7th October	6:45pm BST
United States of America	BBC America	Sunday 7th October	1.45pm EDT
Canada	SPACE	Sunday 7th October	1.45pm EDT
Australia	ABC	Monday 8th October	5.55pm AEST

Full listings here

This week's Radio Times features the Thirteenth Doctor, in the person of Jodie Whittaker, who makes her full debut on screens around the world next Sunday.

It's the second Cover as The Doctor for the actress, who featured on the 21st July edition

Inside Whittaker talks about how nervous she was about playing one of the most intelligent characters on TV, and her hopes that the debate on casting women in traditionally male roles will soon be redundant. Whittaker says the rock band Coldplay helped inspire her costume. Doctor Who returns on Sunday 7th October, showing on BBC One at 6.45pm

Radio Times is now on sale in the United Kingdom.

The BBC have released the first full clip from the upcoming series of Doctor Who

FIRST LOOK: Episode 1 | The Woman Who Fell To Earth

The new series begins on Sunday 7th October.

Following the sell-out success of Big Finish Productions limited edition Doctor Who stories on vinyl earlier this year, the audio company has announced another exclusive release.

HMV will release Doctor Who: Cold Vengeance starring David Tennant and Billie Piper on Friday 5th October 2018.

Billie Piper portrayed the Doctor’s much-loved companion Rose Tyler in 2005 and 2006, returning for a number of stories in 2008. She also appeared as The Moment – which had taken Rose’s form – in The Day of the Doctor. This is the second Big Finish vinyl release that Rose has appeared in following her debut in Infamy of the Zaross earlier this year.

Nicholas Briggs, Big Finish executive producer and director of Cold Vengeance, as well as the voice of the Daleks on TV, says: The release will be a numbered limited edition on coloured vinyl, and only available in the UK. 250 copies have been made available on the HMV website for pre-order.

The Tenth Doctor Adventures Volume 2, was released in November 2017 and includes Cold Vengeance and two further Tenth Doctor adventures.

CDs and downloads are available to buy now from the Big Finish website

SPACE Canada have confirmed that they will join BBC America by broadcasting the new series of Doctor Who at the same time it is seen in the UK.

The first episode will transmit at 1.45pm Eastern Time, with a repeat in primetime at 8pm ET.

Following the premiere, all-new episodes of Doctor Who will debut in their regular Sundays at 8pm ET timeslot beginning October 14.

Pat DiVittorio, Vice-President, Programming, CTV and Specialty, said The episode will be part of SPACE Freeview, running until 24 October.

Freeview is available through participating television service providers across the country, including Bell, Bell Aliant, Cogeco, Eastlink, Bell MTS, Rogers, Sasktel, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus, and Videotron, and others. The first episode of the highly anticipated new season of Doctor Who will also be available on demand via set-top-box for all for Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, and Eastlink subscribers from October 8 to November 7.

For a few hours last Monday, the eyes of the Universe turned towards Sheffield, the location for the press launch of the brand new series of Doctor Who.

For a series that has been running for nearly fifty five years, reboots don't come along to often, but this one feels important. Not only do we have a new show-runner in the form of Chris Chibnall, new Writers, new Directors, a new composer, new companions, but we have the most important change of all, the first female Doctor in the form of Jodie Whittaker taking over the keys of the TARDIS.

Change can often be worrying, uncertainty creating apprehension, unfamiliarity causing concern. But change, as the Doctor knows well, can often be renewing and empowering and something to be embraced. And the series was embraced by the people of Sheffield.

The premiere took place at the Moor Centre in the city, a location more used to shopping sales than red carpet events, but the fans turned out in large numbers to welcome the latest incarnation of the time lord. The reception the cast and crew received was heartfelt with Jodie Whittaker working the line and greeting the fans. Shoppers passing by paused to see what all the fuss was about and on hearing Doctor Who was in town stayed to catch a glimpse of the latest timelord.

Sheffield was chosen for the premiere because the first episode was set and filmed around the city. If anyone tells you the city is not photogenic just tell them to watch on 7th October. The city is at the heart of the episode and new showrunner Chris Chibnall explained why he brought the series to South Yorkshire. Yorkshire is where new Doctor Jodie Whittaker was born and brought up. Seeing her first episode on the big screen was an thrilling moment for the actress So how did she work out how she would play her version of the Doctor. Whittaker told the audience at the screening that she was proud at doing most of her own stunts in the series. Whittaker is joined in the series by three regulars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill who also attened the screening. The four obviously have a strong relationship with plenty of teasing going on between the team. For Whittaker one of the highlights comes from Walsh. Walsh explained that the premiere screening was the first episode of Doctor Who he had seen since the series went into colour. And how did he think the new episode had turned out?
The actor paid tribute to Jodie Whittaker as a great leader of the TARDIS team. As for new showrunner Chris Chibnall what was his reaction to viewing the episode on the big screen. Doctor Who fans certainly have nothing to fear from this reboot. This is Doctor Who at its finest. Funny, scary, exciting, and unpredictable. This series has a different feel. It feels somehow more grounded, less fantastical than recent years. But it is a series with real heart.

In Jodie Whittaker we have a charismatic Doctor who has the potential to inspire loyalty in the same way as her predecessors and become a role model for a whole generation. No doubt in years to come there will be generations who look back at 2018 with nostalgia. That was when Jodie Whittaker took over as the Doctor. She was my Doctor.

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will debut in the UK at 6.45pm on Sunday 7th October.

The first episode of the new series, The Woman Who Fell To Earth, will run from 6.45pm-7.45pm on BBC One, bringing the series to the heart of Sunday evening.

Doctor Who will air directly after Countryfile, which is watched by between 4 and 6 million viewers each week. It will be followed by Strictly Come Dancing - The Results where the public voting for the BBC One dance show will be revealed to the public.

ITV will be offering a game show in opposition, 5 Gold Rings presented by Philip Schofield. BBC Two will be showing King Arthur's Britain: The Truth Unearthed a new documentary delving into the murky historical period of the Arthurian legends, while on Channel 4 viewers can enjoy Phil Spencer's Stately Homes, where the property expert returns to look round more of Britain's stately homes, beginning with Longleat House in Wiltshire. Channel 5 is showing the 2013 feature film Jack the Giant Slayer.

BBC America has confirmed the episode will be simulcast with UK showing, making a transmission time of 1.45pm ET