Introducing the new Doctor

[Parasondox]

I think this is a bad fucking idea. I would have preferred a non-white or non-british doctor over a lady one any day. Mainly because I don't trust the writers not to turn the Doctor regenerating into a women into the most cringey, insufferable [footnote]okay, more cringey and insufferable than current Doctor Who already is[/footnote] thing ever. I mean, the show hasn't been good for at least 5 years now, but this is not going to save it. :\

The show runner for the past 5 years will be gone so don't worry. The show can only get better and episodes can start to make sense again. New Doctor, writer and show runner.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I haven't been keeping up with the latest series of Doctor Who. I should really remedy that. Anyway I'm not adverse to this. It has already been established that Time Lords/Ladies can swap genders when regenerating so all I care about now is who well the actor/actress can perform in the role. I'm not familiar with Jodie Whittaker, so I'll have to wait and see.

 

[Tanis]

Those sweet, sweet, salty tears of the url-badman.

Tis gonna be gud!

 

[The Lunatic]

Wonder if this means there will be a male companion.

Given The Companion in Doctor who as of late (Or, at least as up to date as I watched it) was taking a more active role and becoming "The sensible one" in the relationship, having a man doing that role seems like it'd trigger complaints of "Mansplaining" or something like that.

But, at the same time, to lose the flawed nature of The Doctor would be detrimental to his character.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Well, I like her as an actor and the fact that Moffat is finally fucking off means that there's a good chance she won't be atrociously handled. That guy was great for single episodes, but running the whole show for so many years, oh boy...

...will still probably wait for my friends and family to watch it before I give it a go. Fool me once, New Who, shame on you, Fool me twice...

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I stopped watching Doctor Who back at before the Matt Smith Christmas Special with John Hurt. Probably should get back into this. Female Doctor doesn't bother me.

I'm gonna make a sexist argument for why this is a good thing and why no one should *****: It's everything you love about the Doctor only now you can fuck the Doctor and have it not be gay.

Well, I mean, it would be gay for some of us, but that's fine by me.

 

[Saelune]

I dont like Doctor Who, but I find the concept that "The Doctor" changes forms as a brilliant excuse to recast the role without breaking canon. As such, there is no issue with having whoever play them, since it is -in character- to do so.

 

[Parasondox]

Those sweet, sweet, salty tears of the url-badman.

Tis gonna be gud!

Read the Daily Mail comments. It's like a rain storm of tears.

 

[Quellist]

Serious question to any old-Who buffs. Is this whole 'timelords can regenerate as either gender, regardless of previous incarnation' something with an established canon pedigree, or something that has arisen purely in the tragically awful Moffat era (because I don't seem to recall it ever appearing in the RTD era)?

First canon mention that i know of was in "The Doctor's Wife" Moffat era but a good episode written by Neil Gaiman. That said i don't think many genuine fans are going to be outraged, just people jumping on the bandwagon.

Personally i'm just delighted we're seeing the back of Moffat and Capaldi. Getting a new doctor, any doctor is an improvement.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Appropriate that this is the 13th doctor. Good lord!

Hopefully they play it straight and don't give the gender swap too much attention past the initial episode. I'm just interested to see how this Doctor comes off personality wise. Capaldi's been my favorite out of New Who in spite of the material he's given.

I'm hoping for the opposite or what's the point of the gender flip. If it doesn't change anything about the show then it is a pointless act.

To me, it's a pointless act from the start. But it can still be unobtrusive.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Someone explain to me who Moffat is and why everyone hates him. I think I remember hearing good things about him from friends who like Dr. Who.

Anyway, if we can have Wonder Woman in a movie where it isn't all about girl power and men being the worst thing since cancer, then this could work.

 

[Mechamorph]

I'm outraged by the racist decision of not casting Idris Elba as the next doctor, as well as every other fictional character out there.[footnote]Real talk, good for her, but i don't care about Doctor Who at all. And, yes, i'm one of those Elba for Bond dudes.[/footnote]

I will see you one Idris Elba and raise you one Will Smith as M and Terry Crews as Q. The funniest thing would be if Will Smith's character has always been a maverick and now he is the one in charge and having to deal with immensely destructive agents and insubordinate 00s. Basically he is now the boss who has now has to scream at agents for antics he himself was famous for. Also Terry Crews' character can keep screaming at agents "do you even lift?".

As for a Jane Bond, I think it is best to have her own spin off. I would love a version not unlike Kate Archer from No One Lives Forever as perhaps 008. I fear that what works for James Bond (and his Bond girls) would make a female agent come across as a honey trap. We've seen plenty of that already so something fresh would be great. Of course if Jane Bond still has Bond Girls, there is a certain demographic who would watch the movie just for that.

Back on topic, well this actress has the acting chops to succeed. She should get the chance to and if she makes a good Doctor, great. If not, well, regeneration time.

 

[Veylon]

Back on topic, well this actress has the acting chops to succeed. She should get the chance to and if she makes a good Doctor, great. If not, well, regeneration time.

I thought this was supposed to be the last one. Twelve regenerations and that's it, right?

 

[Vault101]

You guys, seriously I can tell you as a member of the female special this is not a big deal...

Well, Moffat's work there is done.

She's a decent actor, and all the best and that, but I think it is bullshit to have gender-changing doctors (especially after 12/13 regenerations). Have a series based around a female doctor, by all means, but this just smacks of gimmickism. Then again, after the wreckage that was a number of series of Steven Moffat's writing, they probably need to raise viewing figures somehow.

Not that I've been watching it since the Clara series anywho. So my opinion is largely irrelevant.

Gimmickism? Well that's my new favourite word

 

[brucethemoose]

Back on topic, well this actress has the acting chops to succeed. She should get the chance to and if she makes a good Doctor, great. If not, well, regeneration time.

I thought this was supposed to be the last one. Twelve regenerations and that's it, right?

Ha.

Have you watched Dr. Who recently? They'll find a way to explain it.

 

[Hawki]

Back on topic, well this actress has the acting chops to succeed. She should get the chance to and if she makes a good Doctor, great. If not, well, regeneration time.

I thought this was supposed to be the last one. Twelve regenerations and that's it, right?

Ha.

Have you watched Dr. Who recently? They'll find a way to explain it.

They explained it ages ago at the end of Matt Smith's run, when the Time Lords granted him a new set of regenerations (since the 13th Doctor will technically be the 15th, factoring in the War Doctor and how Ten effectively used a regeneration to keep his old form.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Someone explain to me who Moffat is and why everyone hates him. I think I remember hearing good things about him from friends who like Dr. Who.

TLR: Moffat can be a brilliant writer when given boundaries, a not-unlimited budget, and a demand to actually finish. As a show runner, well...you know that old adage "show, don't tell"? He picks the third option: imply but never resolve.

Long version? It's technically about Sherlock, another series Moffat ran, but criticisms apply to Doctor Who as well, and specific examples using the Doctor happen early in:

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!! The outrage to this has been delicious to behold. I've even had a text from a friend saying that he was done with Doctor Who.

I mean, who didn't see this coming, ever since it was revealed that Time Lords can swap gender? And then The Master turned into Missy and was generally well received. So I don't see The Doctor being a woman as being a problem myself, it is certainly going to add a new dimension to a character that has been an endless parade of men for the last 50 years.

As much as I love Capaldi in all his other works... he started DW as a schizophrenic mess, became a needy schizophrenic mess, became a pretty good schizophrenic mess ... then it felt like he just stopped evolving beyond being cryptic for cryptic sake. I genuinely enjoyed him when he was brilliant and there were moments he was brilliant, but somewhere along the line he sort of got stuck. I think he was have fitted better as a slightly less edgelord-y role ala his role in The Thick of Things.

Jodie Whitaker seems like a breath of fresh air. I really hope they take this character into more the direction of my favourite doctor, Peter Davison. More like that lovely uncle you have that just glows with warmth... who seems refined, proactive, but is shown to suffer the weight of their actions because they are the only ones that can do something. The 5th Doctor could still kill ... but he didn't turn it into this elabourate circus of emotionality... he knew what he was going to have to do inevitably and because it didn't seem like this circus of wild emotion but rather was this internalized horror and pain, it felt real. He'd then paint over it with a quiet veneer of appearing as if the very vision of a close post-Edwardian schoolboy senior of quiet, smiling stoicism.

I hope Jodie Whitaker brings that idea of quiet, thoughtful integrity again. I get that NuWho is all about frenetic energy with boundless indirection... and painting Britons as if quirky and somewhat living that working class utopian visage of the airbrushed reality of London living... but it's old schtick.

Maybe by having a female lead they're trying to create a newtone beyond 2000+ year old manchild with a magical box? I'm hoping they're actually thinking; "Let's make a nuanced character that isn't merely a bipedal kitten surrounded by jiggling yarn..."

Also... as much as I love Missy (and I do) ... John Simm will always be the greatest Master. He just chews up the fucking scenery. Every scene. He realizes how insane the Master is as a character, that to make him genuinely threatening beyond all compare is to make him a ball of batshit fun. After all... what's more frightening than a Timelord who holds nothing, not even logic, sacred? John Simm has weird energy. Lanky without much height, brooding but frenetic, and he makes joyous laughter even feel inhumanly insane.

 

[Zontar]

Ah Hbomberguy, if only you did this and only this instead of going on crazed political rants, you might have an extra 0 at the end of your subscriber count.

 

[SoliterDan]

Let's say this. As a nerd who knows things, such regeneration is cannon and possible, therefore I have no objections.

If they're gonna shove social justice bullshit, then I'll have a problem with that.