Warbler said:
It is not too difficult for newcomers to watch “Twice Upon a Time”.
It’s not difficult but the people making it, and we, want it to be a successful show. It’s a fresh start, and I’ve read from a lot of people (including many in this thread) that they’re tuning in and enjoying it for the first time in many years. Others who have never watched the show are asking “what’s a good time to start?” and seem quite relieved to know that the answer is “right this moment”.
Why have them go back and watch an era (which I love, but one which has abysmal ratings and a lot of disdain for it)? And then to know what’s going on in ‘Twice’, they need to go further back. And further, and further. Clean breaks and jumping on points are important, especially when the entire production team has changed. People very easily feel overwhelmed by how much of this show there is, even based on the length of just the new series.
It would be one thing if this resulted in an actual plot hole, but that’s not the case. She was falling and then she fell into a train immediately after regenerating. I think they handled it perfectly. And based on the reviews and feedback of others who either never watched before, or lost interest, it seems to have worked.