Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!

Last week, I reviewed the fun and funny Emmy Lake Chronicles, the series of World War II novels by AJ Pearce that began with Dear Mrs. Bird.

The 15 incarnations of the Doctor Fair use, Link

I’ve been a fan of the British science fiction classic Doctor Who since college when it was shown late on Sunday nights on the local PBS station. This was the original series, of course, that ran from 1963 to 1989. I was in college in the early 1980s.

During PBS pledge weeks, the phones that were ordinarily answered by suburban housewives or employees of partner businesses were taken over by geeky types in colorful t-shirts on Sunday nights. In the late 80s, they stayed on to help gain pledges from fans of Red Dwarf, an even goofier British science fiction show.

Since the relaunch of Doctor Who in 2005, the show has migrated around various streaming platforms in the US. I think I’ve seen all the episodes, but a lot of times, I was playing catch-up based on when Doctor Who moved onto or off of a service.

Doctor Who moved again for the latest season to Disney+. I’m an on-again, off-again subscriber, given that I don’t have children but do have a fascination with Disney (Inside Out 2 did not disappoint!). Doctor Who is one of the reasons that I have a subscription, now. I was curious how Doctor Who might be touched by Disney magic.

For branding reasons, I guess, they’re calling this a relaunch, so it’s Season One. It’s the fortieth season overall and the fourteenth since the 2005 relaunch. A more fun way to count is that this is the Fifteenth Doctor. Since he’s a Time Lord, he doesn’t die, but at dire moments, he does become someone different — a story point that is great for longevity since it means the actors can change over time.

The move to Disney coincided with a new incarnation of the doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa who I loved in Sex Education. If any actor can figure out what to do with a little extra pixie dust, it’s Ncuti Gatwa. His empathetic charm is mesmerizing.

According to interviews with executive producer Russell T. Davies, there was a deliberate intention to gain greater production values and more fun on the show with Disney as an international partner. It worked for me! And, apparently, most critics, since the show is currently rated at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

My favorite episode was #6 — an over-the-top cosplay of Bridgerton. So much fun!

Have you seen this show? What did you think?