New Doctor Revealed Sunday After Wimbledon

[JLTucker]

As the title says, we'll know who the new Doctor is tomorrow.

I have no idea who is in the running, and I know a teaser was released, but I refuse to watch it. Now, my dream Doctor would be 11 again because he was the best of the new series IMO and it would be cool to bring him back. It wouldn't make much sense given he accepted the regeneration gracefully, as opposed to 10. Bringing 10 back would be a nice touch and would fit 12's desire to not want to change.

Thoughts?

[Crazedwraith]

It would be idiotic to bring back an old actor as new incarnation. Missing adventures of an old incarnation would be okay.

Almost as idiotic as bringing back an old doctor with a new actor. Though that's not without precedent.

[Iroscato]

Word on the street is it'll be Kris Marshall, which I'm...interested in.

[The Romulan Republic]

Mmm, I love the smell of new Doctor in the morning.

But damn, am I going to miss Capaldi. Its hard to believe that this is happening again so soon. And I wish Capaldi had got a chance to shine under a writer other than Moffat. Of course, I wished the same for Matt Smith.

I'll be rather irritated if its not a female Doctor, given how heavily I feel that's been foreshadowed. Never been a fan of teasing the audience and then pulling a bait and switch, in general. But I'd accept almost anything willingly, save for bringing an old Doctor back (that would be indicative of both craven pandering and creativity sterility, and a betrayal of the legacy of a show that has thrived in part because of its willingness to constantly reinvent itself).

Oh, and please not another young pretty boy to appeal to the young fan girls/shippers. Unless they're a really, really good actor.

Edit: Besides, on the subject of a female (or non-white) Doctor, we do need more diversity and equal opportunity in casting, and Doctor Who is in a more or less unique position to do that without creating a continuity issue, due to the premise and the concept of regeneration. But of course, this topic has been rehashed time and again.

[Crazedwraith]

But of course, this topic has been rehashed time and again.

And yet you felt the need to rehash it all again. Now I agree in principle. I just don't think they will do it. (or that they'd do it well if they did)

Even if we generously assume the confirmation that sex can change in regeneration is foreshadowing for a female doctor, that's still only Moffat's foreshadowing. The new guy is under no obligation to follow up on it.

[The Romulan Republic]

But of course, this topic has been rehashed time and again.

And yet you felt the need to rehash it all again. Now I agree in principle. I just don't think they will do it. (or that they'd do it well if they did)

Even if we generously assume the confirmation that sex can change in regeneration is foreshadowing for a female doctor, that's still only Moffat's foreshadowing. The new guy is under no obligation to follow up on it.

I want to complain, but given how many other Moffatisms I strenuously object to and would love to see discarded, I'm not sure I can.

Its more than the confirmation that such changes can happen, though. The show's been toying with the idea for a long time, since even before Moffat took charge.

Off the top of my head:

-Jenny, the Doctor's female clone. Biologically, at least, she basically is a female Doctor (and also perhaps the new series' single biggest example of wasted potential, other than perhaps the conclusion of the Time War/Gallifrey arc in Hell Bent being turned into a love letter to Clara).

-The Doctor/Donna hybrid thing in "Journey's End".

-Eleven initially thinking he'd regenerated as a girl.

-The toying with Clara as a female counterpart to the Doctor (including her pretending to be the Doctor at one point).

And personally, I tended to see Missy as basically a trial run for a female Doctor, to see how the audience would react to gender-switching a major, long-established character.

The concern about it being done well is well-founded, though, at least under Moffat. He tends to write all his major female characters the same way, as flirty, amoral/psychopathic fast-talkers with special powers.

And I don't trust most writers (or at least most male writers) not to take the opportunity to reduce the Doctor to the butt of cheap jokes and/or fan service.

Or they might use it for clumsy, ham-fisted speechifying full of what TV Tropes calls "unfortunate implications" (I don't automatically object to "message" episodes, but I don't think Doctor Who has handled them very well in recent years).

Or, hell, all of the above.

Maybe things will be different with Moffat gone, but without a more thorough overhaul of the writing staff... yeah, I don't know.

I just hope they don't leave it (because with this show, it almost has to happen sooner or later) until the show is on its last legs, throw it out as a ratings stunt, and then when the show fails anyway, blame it on having a female Doctor. I'd like to think we're past that sort of stupidity, but I don't think we are.

[Eternal_Freedom]

My biggest worry with a female Doctor is that she'll be written as "the Female Doctor" rather than "The Doctor as played by a woman" which is a different thing entirely. In other words, I'm worried that what in any other character would be a trait will become the defining trait, like how Janeway was written as "the female Captain."

Though, frankly, if they're a good actor/actress and there is at least decent and consistent writing, I likely won't care once the first couple of episodes are done.

[The Romulan Republic]

Yeah, my sense is that the Doctor should just be the Doctor: an old eccentric adventurer who just wants to travel the universe, but who's conscience, or circumstances, force him into taking on the burden of solving the problems he encounters, and who is sometime tempted to cross moral lines in pursuit of the greater good. Someone with charm, or at least personality, and a distinctive style.

Find a good actor to play that, someone who can give it their own unique persona or spin, and you're good to go.

Edit: That's not to say that his/her gender would have no effect on how he interacts with the world, or especially, how others interact with him/her. But at the end of the day, the Doctor is the Doctor.

I do want to emphasize one more point though: Every Doctor should be something new. I don't want Ten back, or Eleven, or whatever. Nor do I want "another Ten", or "another Eleven", or whatever. Doctor Who thrives on constantly reinventing itself. If anything, one of my main criticisms of the series is that it doesn't take advantage of its premise to stray outside the box enough.

[Dartzap]

And it's.... Jodie Whittaker. She was good when beating up the killer apes from space in Attack the Block.(with John Boyega)

[JLTucker]

I did not expect a woman at all, and especially not her. Holy shit.

And it's.... Jodie Whittaker. She was good when beating up the killer apes from space in Attack the Block.(with John Boyega)

And she was great in Broadchurch, where I remember her from.

[Gandalf]

Well let's hope that "female Doctor" goes down better than "female Ghostbuster."

[Eternal_Freedom]

Cool. Now everyone can shut up with the endless speculation and agonising debate...oh who am I kidding.

Moderately excited, will reserve judgement until I've actually seen her in an episode.

[Crazedwraith]

Huh. Well looks like TRR was right and I was wrong.

Hope it goes well.

[ray245]

Hmm interesting. I would have thought they would go for an older female Doctor.

[Broomstick]

I have "endured" eight prior regenerations of the Doctor so far, with trepidation for each and every one.

Much depends on how the writing is done. For example, I though the treatment of Kate Stewart was largely excellent. Really, her gender never mattered for that character, she could have be equally cast as a man with no or almost no change in the lines delivered by that character. If the new Doctor is treated in such a manner I believe all will be well.

In some ways, I was more concerned when Matt Smith was cast, I really had my doubts anyone that young could pull off a 900+ year old character but he did fine.

I do believe the fan base largely accepting Missy, in some cases with enthusiasm, made this change possible.

Still waiting for a ginger, though.

[FireNexus]

I hope they lean in and introduce an intersex or trans companion. With the main character having gender bended they can really use the platform to help some kids out who could use the help.

[ray245]

I hope they lean in and introduce an intersex or trans companion. With the main character having gender bended they can really use the platform to help some kids out who could use the help.

I'm not sure they can find that many intersex actor/actress currently in the business. Finding one that has the right chemistry with the new Doctor, right fit for a wacky sci-fi show and be willing to work in a rather demanding schedule will be extremely tough.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Plus the fact that with the Doctor regenerating into a woman, they effectively are a trans character at this point. Trying to stick human genders onto an alien species is problematic at best.

[ray245]

And it's not like Doctor Who is really the best platform for a transperson's identity to be explored to most of its stories. The majority of the show is about traveling to alien planets or the future as opposed to exploring the society of 21st century Britain. There's barely any time to even explore the notion of gender with characters running from the monster of the week.

[Broomstick]

How about we see how a female Doctor plays out, and concentrate on her being the Doctor rather than turning the show into nothing more than a social/political/cause of the day platform?

Sure, the question(s) will come up, but I'm hoping they keep it to just one or two episodes amongst many, rather than season-long arcs about angst.

[ray245]

I'm more curious who is going to be her companion. I really, really hope they stay away from romance-based companions.

[Iroscato]

Well, holy shit. They actually went there! Hell, why not?

[ray245]

Oh, if the 9th and 13th Doctor ever meet:

[TheFeniX]

"A woman Doctor, what an age..."

Much depends on how the writing is done. For example, I though the treatment of Kate Stewart was largely excellent. Really, her gender never mattered for that character, she could have be equally cast as a man with no or almost no change in the lines delivered by that character. If the new Doctor is treated in such a manner I believe all will be well.

I'm in the same boat. Though I only watched the show seriously during Eccleston's and Tennant's run, there's only been a few choice times he's been all that.... masculine, I guess.

His (or her, now) general irreverent antics combined with flashes of seriousness isn't exactly a gender specific thing. This is provided the writing is any good when there isn't a Y chromosome around. Honestly, Dr. Who's track record with writing for women seems a lot more sketchy than with men. So, I'm on the fence. I don't get the feeling the writers are..... "maliciously" sexist or anything (though I could be wrong), but more like they don't generally try to hard to separate a women from her gender and just write an interesting character. As said by others, this leads to "Female character" rather than "a character who is also female."

That said, an emphasis on "man with boobs" wouldn't actually be a turn off for me in this instance.

In some ways, I was more concerned when Matt Smith was cast, I really had my doubts anyone that young could pull off a 900+ year old character but he did fine.

I was annoyed with him at first, then I came to my own conclusion he just didn't mesh well with Karen Gillan and the writing concerning her/them. The premise of their relationship from the start was novel, but was hampered by this. Meh, what do I know?

I thought Smith worked a whole lot better solo/with randoms of the week or with nearly any other female actress, especially Kingston.

[SpottedKitty]

Interesting. Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out (even though we will have to wait a few more months).