Nods to the Past in 'Doctor Who,' the Episode 'The Woman Who Fell To Earth'

It is a pivotal time for Doctor Who. Jodie Whittaker, the Thirteenth Doctor, and the first woman to take on the role, has just made her debut in the Series 11 premiere, "The Woman Who Fell To Earth."

The premiere is also the first episode with new Showrunner Chris Chibnall at the helm, as well as new composer, Segun Akinola.

With so much new going on, and a decree that Series 11 will not feature any classic monsters such as Daleks or Cybermen, some fans have showed concern that the show is forgetting its past.

After watching "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," they needn't worry. There are plenty of nods to the show's past throughout the episode.

1. Stop, Police!

One of The Doctor's new companions, Yasmin Khan, is a newly-minted Police Officer. We first meet Yasmin when she is dealing with a petty parking dispute.

It is while on a call out to help her former classmate Ryan that Yasmin first meets the Doctor. However, 'Yaz,' as The Doctor soon comes to call her, is not the first companion to meet the Doctor while in Uniform.

Amy Pond had her first adult encounter with the Eleventh Doctor while wearing a Police Uniform.

Of course, The major difference between Amy and Yasmin is that Yaz is actually a Police Officer. Amy was a Kiss-o-gram between jobs. She later whips the costume out for Rory on their Honeymoon.

2. The Post-Regeneration Nap

After a brief battle with aliens on a train, the Doctor's new companions take her home with them, where she promptly falls asleep on the couch, still recovering from her recent Regeneration.

The Post-Regeneration nap is something of a staple in Doctor Who, particularly for the new series. Both the Tenth and Twelfth Doctors were shown needing a significant amount of sleep following their regenerations.

The Thirteenth Doctor's nap shares a few parallels with that of the Tenth. In both sequences, someone is surprised to discover that The Doctor has two pulses.

Both Doctors also panicked at having been woken too early. However, The Thirteenth Doctor seems to recover from this faster than the Tenth did.

The scene in which the new Doctor crafts her own Sonic Screwdriver is full of a few fun Easter Eggs for fans.

The main body of the new Sonic Screwdriver seems to be crafted mostly from melted down spoons. The Doctor's initial excitement at finding the spoons is somewhat familiar.

Spoons were a favourite object of her previous incarnation, The Twelfth Doctor, who once used them in a duel against Robin Hood.

The Seventh Doctor also had an affinity for them.

Fans have also pointed out that the Doctor is not the First Woman to build her own Sonic device.

An alternate Amy Pond crafts her own version, called a Sonic probe, in "The Girl Who Waited." River Song is most likely responsible for the creation of the Sonic Trowel she wields in "The Husbands of River Song."

4. The Return of the 'Accidental Companion'

In Classic Doctor Who, quite a few companions were whisked away with The Doctor completely by accident. One of the best examples of this was Tegan Jovanka, who wandered into the Tardis in search of a Policeman.

This has not been the case in the new series, with each companion making a conscious decision to travel with the Doctor.

This changed in 'The Woman Who Fell To Earth'.

The Doctor is happy to leave Yaz, Graham, and Ryan behind as she embarks on a hunt for her missing Tardis. Unfortunately, the device that the Doctor has built to teleport herself to the Tardis malfunctions, leaving Her and her three new friends stranded in space.

The new Team Tardis also references the past in other ways. While Series 11 is the first of the new series to feature three regular companions, this was commonplace in Classic Who.

Interestingly, the new team also has a very similar composition to the original Tardis crew: A wise older man, a woman, a young girl, and a younger man to play action hero.

The difference now is that the roles are not so clearly defined. Everyone has moments of wisdom, and everyone will probably get the chance to be an action hero.

"The Woman who Fell To Earth" was aired without opening titles in order to pack an extra few minutes into the episode.

However, we do hear Thirteen's version of the classic theme over the closing credits. Fans quickly noticed that they both looked and sounded like the show's original credits sequence.

This shows us that clearly, Doctor Who is still honouring its past. The way things look now, it will continue to do so, while also moving into the future.