The Universe is Calling - Doctor Who Series 11 Teaser

The new series of Doctor Who is still a few months away, but publicity is starting to gear up. The newest issue of Entertainment Weekly features Doctor Who as its cover story and, today, the BBC released the first teaser for Series 11.

This is not a trailer showing scenes from the upcoming series. Instead, it’s a specially filmed sequence to help whet the appetite for more (and it’s probably not a coincidence that it uses food to do so). On the surface, it says very little about what to expect from the new series—and that fits the more secretive style of new showrunner Chris Chibnall, compared to both Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies before him.

But looking beneath the surface, there’s a lot more to glean from this trailer. The new Doctor appears to have something of a mischievous streak to her: Through what appears to be some sort of time manipulation, she steals some of Ryan’s food and replaces Graham’s newspaper with a Beano issue (intriguingly, the same one the 11th Doctor hides behind in “The Rings of Akhaten”). But she has a kinder side too. When Yasmin discovers there’s no pizza left, the Doctor helpfully replaces it. Finally, the Doctor’s smile at the end shows a great deal of warmth and fun. There’s also the television announcer. While ostensibly talking about sport, the words—“They’ve got the makings of a really great team. They’ve got great energy. They’ve got great flare...I’m really excited to see what happens”—also apply quite easily to the new TARDIS team.

In just a few seconds, this teaser conveys a fairly clear feel for the new series. I’ve already been quite excited about the new series, and this teaser has definitely made me more excited!