Poll: A question for those whom wanted a female doctor (Season 8 Finale Spoilers)

[Ronald Nand]

So my question to anyone whom wanted a female doctor in Doctor Who: "Do you still want a female doctor given that we have a female master?"

Personally, I'm not a big fan of race and gender swapping of established characters, but I'm open to the idea if that fits in with the practice of the medium (comics) or fits in with the canon like with Doctor Who (I've only watched the new series, so I'm confident gender swapping fits in with the canon of the new series at least). However I think the better route to diversity in TV shows is to create iconic female characters, but that's a completely different argument.

However I think having a female doctor now would be feel extremely contrived now, given one established character has had a gender swap, it would feel like were ticking of the PC checklist rather than doing something interesting and new with the show.

Anyway that's my opinion, what does everyone else think?

 

[madwarper]

None of the above.

While I don't necessarily care about the sex of the Doctor, he could regenerate as a she for all I care, but what I want is a) good actors, b) good writing and c) good direction. And, it appears that as long as Moffat remains at the helm, we won't be getting them.

 

[Phasmal]

Yes, but not written by Moffat.

I always find it funny that it'd be `PC` to change the Doctor, even though it's already established that he can become male or female and look like anything- like, oh yeah it's totally not political at all that he just happens to be a white dude all the time. There is no non-political option, male is also a gender, it's not the default setting.

I'd like more female characters, too, but within the context of a character than can gender swap for established canon reasons, I find it strange that anyone would be against it. Especially considering many people involved with Doctor Who have wanted that for some time. It's not out of canon, it's not against what people want, so we have to go the `it's PC gone mad` route.

[small]If this is a bit rambly or grumpy, go easy on me. I've got some weird vertigo going on right now, it's making me rather irritable.[/small]

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

With Moffat at the head I definitely wouldn't, because he's a horrible, horrible showrunner. As a result I don't find these 'it's canon for Time Lords to genderbend' claims to hold much water, considering for the most part Moffat pulled that particular detail out of his ass.

IMO creating an original female Time Lord character would be immensely preferable.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Personally I'd think if the Doctor had spent 900~ years as a male that'd be more or less what he identifies as, to switch to a female I would assume that it would be a major thing for him and would have to factor into a lot of the story. It just can't be "Well I guess I'm a lady now, whatever". It'd need to be significant. Even if it is something that can happen, it hasn't happened to the Doctor and would require story with it to be done justice.

As for race its kind of established that Time Lords are typically European in appearance, but not exclusive to the appearance, so it really doesn't make much different story wise on that front.

 

[Vault101]

However I think having a female doctor now would be feel extremely contrived now, given one established character has had a gender swap, it would feel like were ticking of the PC checklist rather than doing something interesting and new with the show.

Anyway that's my opinion, what does everyone else think?

uhhh....are you kidding me?

you don't just have "one" and then say "welp....I guess were done here" there's actually no logical reason you couldn't have both a female doctor and a female master, there's no reason you couldn't have a female doctor a female master, a female "monster of the week" and a female companion ALL AT THE SAME TIME

I mean seriously women aren't even a "statistical" minority! if aliens watched our mainstream entertainment they'd think only 20% of people were female!

in other words your pulling some serious "men as default" shit there

 

[Thaluikhain]

As mentioned, clinging to men as the default at the time is also a deliberate choice. It's just the one people tend to choose.

 

[Little Woodsman]

Like many other people here I'd be OK with the Doctor changing if it was well done. But that's a pretty big *if*.

What I was hoping for this season was that more hints as to the mysterious woman being the Rani being dropped... and then it would be revealed that she was actually Romana, working on some 'big picture' sort of plan where a lot of people would suffer and/or die in the here and now to prevent much, much worse suffering and death later on.

Now I've mentioned it and it will never happen {sigh}.

 

[Ronald Nand]

snip

uhhh....are you kidding me?

you don't just have "one" and then say "welp....I guess were done here" there's actually no logical reason you couldn't have both a female doctor and a female master, there's no reason you couldn't have a female doctor a female master, a female "monster of the week" and a female companion ALL AT THE SAME TIME

I mean seriously women aren't even a "statistical" minority! if aliens watched our mainstream entertainment they'd think only 20% of people were female!

in other words your pulling some serious "men as default" shit there

Like I said in the OP I'm not a fan of changing an established character's gender but I'm not against adding female characters into our TV shows, I'd rather have some new iconic female characters being created, I'd rather have new characters like Madame Vastra rather than bringing some character from the old series and switching their gender.

Changing a character's gender starts them off in the wrong foot in my opinion, it creates a sense of resentment in fans with this much change being forced onto them, many fans will already not like the character without seeing that character in action.

I view gender swapping the way I view affirmative action, I recognise that it is necessary but it needs to be done in moderation. We don't have many iconic female characters because male characters were allowed to thrive while the industry didn't bother writing female characters, so I recognise changing established characters genders is necessary to even things out.

I think the Doctor needs to change to keep the series fresh, I don't want the same Doctor in each series, this is one reason why I like Capaldi's Doctor, he's very different compared to the Doctors in the new series, with him being older and meaner.

In summary I want more female characters and diversity in TV shows but I don't think that changing established character's gender and race is the best way to do this.

 

[totheendofsin]

I'd like a female Doctor eventually, but they definitely shouldn't do it specifically to do it. They should only do it if the best person for the job is female

 

[Vault101]

[snip.

we can argue till were blue in the face as to weather or not a female doctor would be "inappropriately changing an established character"

but that's (kinda) beside the point. You're assuming more than one major female character is a deviation from a perceived "norm"

there's no logical basis for that, there's no logical reason that the make-up of any cast of characters HAS to include more men than women [footnote/]taking into account the setting/story obviously[/footnote]

I'd like a female Doctor eventually, but they definitely shouldn't do it specifically to do it. They should only do it if the best person for the job is female

so if a character is male is just a given but a female character is a deliberate calculated attempt at PC/affirmative action?

Which is too bad since I liked Eccleston and Tennant a lot as actors.

I never got the hoo ha over tenant, he just seems so "been there, done that" and I can't take him seriously, like whenever he was supposed to have a serious moment I expected him to whip out the Barty crouch tounge (and this was before I saw him in harry potter)

granted I didn't watch *that* much of his seasons....but I guess Eccelson was how I pictured a "modern" doctor...understated

 

[geK0]

I think it could create a lot of really funny moments where the doctor forgets (s)he was a female.

Imagine all the hilariously awkward moments where he'd talk to people in times and places where women were viewed less favorably and just not clue in to why everyone's being awful to him. I'd love to see the doctor react to being hit on.Sure a lot of people would complain about it being "SJW", but who really cares about whether people perceive that there's a hidden agenda if it's funny and well written. Have they already done a Salem witch trials episode?

The female doctor would have to be a tomboy and still where the typical fancy type of outfit; I think that'd be awesome.

With the whole regeneration plot device, they could make the doctor anything they wanted to be without worrying about any plot holes.

Spoiler: Don't they already have a female doctor?

omg I'm so blitzed right now and am totally in the mood to actually watch this now! thanks for indirectly making me do this!

 

[agent9]

No, however I would not be opposed to a new female doctor. Doctor who has been long established as a male, and while I have nothing against there being A female doctor, I would not want this Doctor to fill that role. I just don't see how this could fit at all. I would rather have him start a family, grow old, and pass the mantle since he has finally stopped running from his past sins. It's a shame that river is dead because that could have been much more than what it ended up being.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Well, there was always the Curse of Fatal Death where the Doctor DID regenerate into a woman....

But yeah, I'd still love a female Doctor. Sounds like fun.

However, that isn't why I posted.

Seriously, what's with all the Moffat hate? The seasons since he took the helm have been the best seasons of New Who. I can barely watch the early New Who seasons anymore - the stories are just meh compared to the recent ones. Which is too bad since I liked Eccleston and Tennant a lot as actors.

 

[Schadrach]

I'd like a female Doctor eventually, but they definitely shouldn't do it specifically to do it. They should only do it if the best person for the job is female

so if a character is male is just a given but a female character is a deliberate calculated attempt at PC/affirmative action?

We both know that's not what was meant. What he was getting at is that they shouldn't decide "we're going to do a female Doctor this time" up front, but rather pick the best actor for the job, and if said actor is female so be it.

 

[Vault101]

We both know that's not what was meant. What he was getting at is that they shouldn't decide "we're going to do a female Doctor this time" up front, but rather pick the best actor for the job, and if said actor is female so be it.

except it doesn't work like that....certainly not the other way around amyway

the gender of a character is often one of the very first things conceptualised before we even THINK about casting, if they have a female doctor they are going to decide first and foremost that yes the doctor will be female...unless they screen both genders of actors which while interesting would make me think they didn't have a very clear idea of what they were looking for....and while I'm no expert I imagine when you start casting you want a solid idea of what you're looking for [footnote/]roles tailored for specific actors/actors who surprise the casting director aside[/footnote]

my issue is it seems people put all sorts of "conditions" on the casting of women, [i/]"oh but ONLY if its super duper legit and GOD FORBID not some part of an affirmative action plot"[/i] they can never "just" be female...[b/]we never question a charachter being a man, its always a given[/b]

 

[the December King]

Guess I'm just popping in to say that I would prefer the Doctor to stay male- sorry, I know that this isn't really the point of the thread and all, but I do like Doctor Who discussions!

I don't mind a slew of new female characters, with depth or agency or what have you, or even some new female Galifreyans popping in and doing stuff, or becoming pivotal multi-episodics, or even the idea of spin-offs. But I'd like the Doctor to remain male.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

I'd like a female Doctor eventually, but they definitely shouldn't do it specifically to do it. They should only do it if the best person for the job is female

so if a character is male is just a given but a female character is a deliberate calculated attempt at PC/affirmative action?

We both know that's not what was meant. What he was getting at is that they shouldn't decide "we're going to do a female Doctor this time" up front, but rather pick the best actor for the job, and if said actor is female so be it.

Funny how he argues against a female Doctor, saying it would feel contrived, yet apparently he just wantd the best actor and doesn't care about the gender.

Nah we both know he isn't just looking for the best actor without regard to gender.

 

[Something Amyss]

Does the poll question refer to right now? Ever? Eventually?

Because I can imagine maybe a female master satisfying someone in the short run, but why would it change my interest in seeing a woman in the starring role?

I always find it funny that it'd be `PC` to change the Doctor, even though it's already established that he can become male or female and look like anything- like, oh yeah it's totally not political at all that he just happens to be a white dude all the time. There is no non-political option, male is also a gender, it's not the default setting.

PC and political are just ways of saying "things I don't want to talk about," so it's perfectly accurate.

Anyway, I'm also going to throw in with "not with Moffat." Guy's a sexist little troll (the bridge type, not the internet type, not that I'm sure it matter much).

you don't just have "one" and then say "welp....I guess were done here" there's actually no logical reason you couldn't have both a female doctor and a female master, there's no reason you couldn't have a female doctor a female master, a female "monster of the week" and a female companion ALL AT THE SAME TIME

Slow down there, Vault. You gotta break 'em in slowly.

We both know that's not what was meant. What he was getting at is that they shouldn't decide "we're going to do a female Doctor this time" up front, but rather pick the best actor for the job, and if said actor is female so be it.

Is that how they cast the Doctor? Do we have some names of women who auditioned, but specifically were passed up for the better actor?

 

[Cryselle]

As much as I'd like a female doctor on a theoretical level, whether or not I'd actually /want/ one would be very dependent on how it's handled.

"Poof! You're a girl!" is a terrible way to do it. If the Doctor regenerated female, it would be a big deal, and the show would have to recognize that it's a big deal and explore the questions of why it happened and how it affects the character. To just hand-wave it off as 'something that happens' would invalidate any purpose in doing it.

So then one has to ask if they are both ready and interested in devoting an entire story arc (or at least a major part of it) to exploring those questions. And really, I don't think they are. IMHO Doctor Who in general tends to be at it's best when they develop characters through telling the story, and at it's worst when the characters /are/ the story. More than one episode of "Fish fingers and custard!" or "Why am I old?" per Doctor would be a bit meh, and I don't think they could sell an audience on a gender swap in that amount of time.