Doctor Who: Pond Life (Prequel to Series 7)

[Broomstick]

The BBC is running a series of prequel mini-episodes to "Asylum of the Daleks" and Series 7 in general. They're called Pond Life and are available up on YouTube.

Part 1 has the doctor leaving Amy and Rory a phone message with, um, interesting and exciting background noises.

Part 2 has the doctor barging into their bedroom and waking them up

Part 3 is supposed to be up tomorrow, and so on until the new episode airs on September 1 in, as another place on the internet described it, "Britain and a couple of prominent former colonies". Unfortunately for a few others they may have to wait an additional day or three. Unless, of course, one finds - >ahem< - alternate sources for it but I don't want to encourage anyone to do anything naughty...

[Dartzap]

The US gets it on the same day as well, so no excuses to whinge this year

[Broomstick]

Yes, I do believe the US would fall under "prominent former colony of the United Kingdom".

[Alkaloid]

I like the ABC at the moment. (the Australian ABC, not the American one) They're putting it up on iView pretty much as soon as it finishes airing in the UK, a full week ahead of when it will be broadcast on free to air, and have flat out stated that it's because people pirate if getting content when released easily is hard, and they don't want people to pirate it so they are going to make it easy to watch.

[Revy]

Kinda off-topic, but still Who related, I just read an interview with Matt Smith. He was asked about the possibility of a female Doctor, and his response basically boiled down to:

*The Doctor having a baby. Because, y'know, if you have a female Doctor the only thing that crosses your mind is BABIES, because women have babies. Obviously.
*It's not going to happen anyway, because. Just because.

I actually liked Smith, but now I'm kinda meh ...

If they ever do have a female Doctor someday, I hope to hell it only happens when the show is being run by someone who can write decent female characters, and don't fall back on crap like making the Doctor pregnant (because women can have babies so we can't pass up that goldmine! ) or sexual tension with male companions/historical figures. In fact I think it'd be great to have an older actress fill the role in the hopes that it might force the writers to actually be creative. Then again, does anyone really think we're ever going to get an 'icky old person' (ewww!) playing the lead role in the show? I won't hold my breath.

Sorry for the tanget, I just wanted to vent and I didn't want to make a whole new thread just to do so.

[The Romulan Republic]

The first Doctor and third Doctor were elderly.

Smith's opinion sounds stupid, but I haven't seen the interview so I don't know. Could you post a link to the source?

[Revy]

The first Doctor and third Doctor were elderly.

I know, I meant the tendency these days (especially with the BBC) to cast increasingly younger actors, to the point where the current Doctor is the youngest one yet. I'm convinced it's because, as I sarcastically claimed, producers/execs or whatever see old people as 'yucky', and cast really young people because they think viewers are morons and won't want to tune in and watch old people in leading roles. I wouldn't be surprised if the next Doctor is a teenager.

Smith's opinion sounds stupid, but I haven't seen the interview so I don't know. Could you post a link to the source?

I don't have it saved, but I'll see if I can find it.

[Eternal_Freedom]

The way to correct the porblem woudl be to cast someone in their late 30's or 40''s in the role. Still active enough in a pinch but more restrained than Tennant and Smith. Woudl even fit as it woudl be the Twelfth Doctor and the chracter's getting old.

Of course, that's unlikely to happen, more's the pity.

[Captain Seafort]

Of course, that's unlikely to happen, more's the pity.

Unlikely enough that it was Moffat's initial intention before he decided that Smith was ideal. Plus the description fits most of the Doctors to a T.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Of course, that's unlikely to happen, more's the pity.

Unlikely enough that it was Moffat's initial intention before he decided that Smith was ideal. Plus the description fits most of the Doctors to a T.

Didn't know that was Moffat's idea. My opinion of him just improved. Don't get me wrong, I liek MAtt Smoth as the Doctor, I just think we coudl do with an older take on him again, especially in lives 12 and 13.

As for a female Doctor, sorry, but I just don't think it would work. One, it would be most likely written badly, and two, it's supposed to be some random bloke in a box solving problems in time and space.

[FaxModem1]

So, part 4 was rather humorous.

Part 5, however, was a bit heartbreaking.

[Revy]

As for a female Doctor, sorry, but I just don't think it would work. One, it would be most likely written badly, and two, it's supposed to be some random bloke in a box solving problems in time and space.

So change 'bloke' to 'lady' and it's totally ruined?

[Eternal_Freedom]

As for a female Doctor, sorry, but I just don't think it would work. One, it would be most likely written badly, and two, it's supposed to be some random bloke in a box solving problems in time and space.

So change 'bloke' to 'lady' and it's totally ruined?

See, that makes me sound terribly sexist, but, sadly, yes. It's the whole premise of the show. Plus, as I said it would probably be badly written and kill the show for good.

[Revy]

No, sorry, it is not the premise of the show. The premise is "Time travelling alien explores the universe and gets wrapped up in crazy adventures involving other aliens, and brings a few human friends along for the ride."

The premise is not reliant on that time travelling alien being male, and every time I see people insist that the Doctor will not and should not be played by a woman, it always strikes me as them meaning something like "I don't want to see the kickass male hero I love watching get turned into a woman."

Speaking as a male-to-female transgender person, I'd personally love to have a major iconic and heroic character get an actual sex change, and give me a hero I can identify with. Because at the moment I have zero such characters that fit that bill. But hey, I'm a tiny minority, so I should just shut up and accept that I'm probably never going to have something like that.

I'll agree that it would almost surely be badly written, but have you noticed? The show still has a male Doctor and it's being written badly anyway. The show doesn't need a female Doctor to suck, it's doing quite well at throwing endless plot holes and idiocy at us as is. Having a female Doctor would only give the writers a couple more ways to write crap. But since Moffat and Smith have made it perfectly clear that it'll happen over their dead bodies, the only way we would get a female Doctor is with a new show runner and presumably a new writing staff, which at the very least opens the possibility for writing competency.

To a degree. It's still the BBC after all.

[Thanas]

a) Don't diss the BBC. It's programming is oustanding and heads and shoulders above that of most other countries.
b) Sorry, I just cannot see a female doctor either.

[Eleas]

No, sorry, it is not the premise of the show. The premise is "Time travelling alien explores the universe and gets wrapped up in crazy adventures involving other aliens, and brings a few human friends along for the ride."

The premise is not reliant on that time travelling alien being male, and every time I see people insist that the Doctor will not and should not be played by a woman, it always strikes me as them meaning something like "I don't want to see the kickass male hero I love watching get turned into a woman."

Fuckin' A.

But since Moffat and Smith have made it perfectly clear that it'll happen over their dead bodies, the only way we would get a female Doctor is with a new show runner and presumably a new writing staff, which at the very least opens the possibility for writing competency.

Thank you. *standing ovation*

Honestly, the idiocy of this "the doctor is a man who travels around having man experiences as a man" has gone on for far too long. One thing that I adored about nuWho was that beyond the sometimes camp exterior and not-always-stellar plots, it was about passion, about loss, about hopes and dreams and convictions - in short, the human condition, expressed so well by the Doctor by him being more than human.

To me, the Doctor is the lens through which we explore what it means to be human, for good or ill. This notion that such an exploration demands a male perspective honestly revolts me. It's one of several reasons why I chose to bail on Moffat's run.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It's not so much that such an explanation requires a male perspective, but it is now so ingrained into the show over eleven incarnations that it's just how it is. Besides, we have seen a fair amount of Time Lord biology, and every single case we have seen on screen shows male Time Lords regenerating into males and females regenerating into females. All we have to base gender-swapping on is one throwaway line about the Corsair, who is most likely another renegade (if the Doctor is fond of him it's probably the case).

More to the point, the Doctor doesn't seem to like the idea of becoming female does he?

[Revy]

b) Sorry, I just cannot see a female doctor either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female president either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female surgeon either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female astronaut either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female fire-fighter either.

Hey, all you women out there! You're only good for being the sidekick! The companion! You wanna be the lead? The hero? The Doctor? You're out of luck. Men can't see it happening, so it aint gonna happen. Nuff said. A reason? You want a reason? I just told you the reason you silly girl - they just cant see it happening. That's your reason. Now hush.

[Eleas]

It's not so much that such an explanation requires a male perspective, but it is now so ingrained into the show over eleven incarnations that it's just how it is.

Ah. Then logically, for symmetry's sake, we should have loudly protested Mickey Smith's presence as a companion during a time where, for over eight incarnations, no black person had been a companion. That was just how it was, after all.

Besides, we have seen a fair amount of Time Lord biology, and every single case we have seen on screen shows male Time Lords regenerating into males and females regenerating into females. All we have to base gender-swapping on is one throwaway line about the Corsair, who is most likely another renegade (if the Doctor is fond of him it's probably the case).

In other words, it's even an ability supported by canon, renegade or not.

More to the point, the Doctor doesn't seem to like the idea of becoming female does he?

The Doctor doesn't like the idea of regenerating and becoming something new at all. I fail to see why becoming a female is suddenly the thin red line.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It's not so much that such an explanation requires a male perspective, but it is now so ingrained into the show over eleven incarnations that it's just how it is.

Ah. Then logically, for symmetry's sake, we should have loudly protested Mickey Smith's presence as a companion during a time where, for over eight incarnations, no black person had been a companion. That was just how it was, after all.

That's a rather different issue. We're talking about swapping a character's gender, not racial equality. THere's no physical difference between races, but there is a big difference between men and women.

Besides, we have seen a fair amount of Time Lord biology, and every single case we have seen on screen shows male Time Lords regenerating into males and females regenerating into females. All we have to base gender-swapping on is one throwaway line about the Corsair, who is most likely another renegade (if the Doctor is fond of him it's probably the case).

In other words, it's even an ability supported by canon, renegade or not.

It is an ability but we have no idea how the Corsair achieved it. Whether it was natural regeneration or some other process they used is unknown. As I said, it's one throwaway line, we shouldn't extrapolate too much from that.

More to the point, the Doctor doesn't seem to like the idea of becoming female does he?

The Doctor doesn't like the idea of regenerating and becoming something new at all. I fail to see why becoming a female is suddenly the thin red line.

[/quote]

Actually I was referring to Matt Smith's opening scene where he seems positively panicked that's he might now be female.

[Eleas]

Ah. Then logically, for symmetry's sake, we should have loudly protested Mickey Smith's presence as a companion during a time where, for over eight incarnations, no black person had been a companion. That was just how it was, after all.

That's a rather different issue. We're talking about swapping a character's gender, not racial equality. THere's no physical difference between races, but there is a big difference between men and women.

There's a big difference between a young man and an old man who don't look one bit like one another, too, but somehow that's just not an issue.

It is an ability but we have no idea how the Corsair achieved it. Whether it was natural regeneration or some other process they used is unknown. As I said, it's one throwaway line, we shouldn't extrapolate too much from that.

Why the hell shouldn't we extrapolate whatever we want? The only thing we need to do that shit is a narrative out, and we have it. It gives us the licence to do it, and extrapolating some external mechanism is both unnecessary and a clear case of reaching.

More to the point, the Doctor doesn't seem to like the idea of becoming female does he?

The Doctor doesn't like the idea of regenerating and becoming something new at all. I fail to see why becoming a female is suddenly the thin red line.

Actually I was referring to Matt Smith's opening scene where he seems positively panicked that's he might now be female.

And I'm referring to the fact that no other Doctor seems to have such an obvious fear of cooties, making it something of an aberration. Could it be possible that different incarnations... differ?

[Revy]

That's a rather different issue. We're talking about swapping a character's gender, not racial equality. THere's no physical difference between races, but there is a big difference between men and women.

I fail to see your point here. Men and women are different, so a shape-shifting alien cannot possibly be portrayed by an actress for once? Seriously, I'm not seeing your explanation here.

It is an ability but we have no idea how the Corsair achieved it. Whether it was natural regeneration or some other process they used is unknown. As I said, it's one throwaway line, we shouldn't extrapolate too much from that.

This about a show that uses throw away lines as major plot arcs. Bad Wolf. Torchwood. The Medusa Cascade. In any case, if a new team is running the series, and they went with it, what? Are people really gonna say "That's impossible!"? I mean really?

Actually I was referring to Matt Smith's opening scene where he seems positively panicked that's he might now be female.

Some previous Doctor's had no qualms about regenerating, but Ten did. So if Eleven (possibly, though he didn't seem to mind the idea to me) has a problem with it, that doesn't mean any of his future incarnations will.

Incidentally, the fact that Eleven even entertains the possibility he might be a women kinda shoots your previous assertion that male to female regeneration is an anomaly, not the norm, out of the water. Otherwise he wouldn't have even entertained the possibility, would he?

[The Romulan Republic]

b) Sorry, I just cannot see a female doctor either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female president either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female surgeon either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female astronaut either.

Sorry, I just cannot see a female fire-fighter either.

Hey, all you women out there! You're only good for being the sidekick! The companion! You wanna be the lead? The hero? The Doctor? You're out of luck. Men can't see it happening, so it aint gonna happen. Nuff said. A reason? You want a reason? I just told you the reason you silly girl - they just cant see it happening. That's your reason. Now hush.

The Doctor is a character, not a profession. Its not sexist for a male character to stay male.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It is an ability but we have no idea how the Corsair achieved it. Whether it was natural regeneration or some other process they used is unknown. As I said, it's one throwaway line, we shouldn't extrapolate too much from that.

Why the hell shouldn't we extrapolate whatever we want? The only thing we need to do that shit is a narrative out, and we have it. It gives us the licence to do it, and extrapolating some external mechanism is both unnecessary and a clear case of reaching.

You're trying to show a capability from one mention of one member of a species that isn't even seen on screen. How many times has SDN castrated Trekkies for similar leaps? Just because one individual can do it does not mean they all can. If I found a throaway line saying one Time Lord (that we never see or hear about again) could shit gold dust would you assume they all could?

And I'm referring to the fact that no other Doctor seems to have such an obvious fear of cooties, making it something of an aberration. Could it be possible that different incarnations... differ?

Of course they differ, I never claimed otherwise. My point is that swapping genders would be very out of character for the Doctor, unless they devoted a huge amount of time setting it up. But that woudl detract fromt he main purpose of the show; sci fi, time travel, aliens and mysteries.

[Crazedwraith]

Interestingly, Moffat did write a story where the Doctor regenerates into a woman. 'Curse of The Fatal Death' Anyone. Of course that was a comic relief episode.

While its something that could easily go wrong writing wise, the event and the stories of a female doctor. There's nothing wrong in principle. You'd lose all the people who turn up just to drool at the doctor but that's no huge loss. (i don't know if it was just tennant who had those kind of fans)


Edit: oh and the idea the doctor doesn't want to turn into a woman is just bullshit. I just youtubed that scene. He's surprised yes. Not shocked or appalled.