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Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord Announced: Actress Jodie Whittaker (bbc.co.uk)
Peter Capaldi, the 12th Doctor Who, had said that he wanted to see a woman replace him in the Tardis, and so did former Doctor Who stars Billie Piper and Karen Gillan. And today it's official: "the 13th incarnation of Doctor Who will be portrayed by an actress," writes Slashdot reader Coisiche -- specifically Jodie Whittaker, who American viewers may remember from her performance as CIA officer Sandra Grimes in the 2014 mini-series "The Assets." The BBC reports:
She was revealed in a trailer that was broadcast on BBC One at the end of the Wimbledon men's singles final... She will make her debut on the sci-fi show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas Day show... Whittaker said: "I'm beyond excited to begin this epic journey...with every Whovian on this planet. It's more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope... Doctor Who represents everything that's exciting about change."
Doctor Who's new showrunner said the 13th Doctor was always going to be a woman -- and that Whittaker was their first choice. "Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role." Doctor Who #12 added that Whittaker "has above all the huge heart to play this most special part. She's going to be a fantastic Doctor." And Will Howells, who writes for the Doctor Who magazine, said "I don't think it's a risky choice at all but if a show that can go anywhere and do anything can't take risks, what can?"
Doctor Who's new showrunner said the 13th Doctor was always going to be a woman -- and that Whittaker was their first choice. "Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role." Doctor Who #12 added that Whittaker "has above all the huge heart to play this most special part. She's going to be a fantastic Doctor." And Will Howells, who writes for the Doctor Who magazine, said "I don't think it's a risky choice at all but if a show that can go anywhere and do anything can't take risks, what can?"
Well she's a fine actress, an inspired choice. We can only wait to see what she does with it
Well, Kirk doesn't regenerate periodically, so that is an issue.
You can, however, have Janeway.
Actually, in case of the doctor, you quite explicitly can have a female one. Nothing says Timelords are restricted to one gender and there are canon precedents even before Missy. So there.
My only complaint about Doctor Who (all BBC shows actually) is they don't make enough episodes per season.
Because, unlike Americans, they know it will turn to shit if they make too many.
Voyager had a lot of problems, Janeway as a woman Capitan, isn't that much of a big deal compared to the other problems.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The Doctor was never about his gender, so switching it up shouldn't be cause for alarm.
However, as another poster mentioned, let's just hope this doesn't result in the writers going on a full "Patriarchy" writing binge, where the Doctor saves women from the evils of men in every episode.
There's so much potential for fun with the gender switch, I just hope they exploit that instead of going all "WOMENZ RULEZ THE WORLDSS!@!!!!1".
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Re-imagining the Doctor has been kinda the point ever since the first re-generation. The whole idea of the show for N years now has been 'OK, now we've got a new primary, how's this one different'. If that doesn't work for you, I can't see why you'd have watched Eccleston, let alone be commenting on the subject.
A thousand pounds of wood moving at 300 feet per minute. Don't get in the way.
Time Lords changing gender when regenerating is canon, and not just The Master / Missy. And the Doctor's personality changes with every regeneration, as well as his age and apparent nationality (English / Scottish). Becoming female breaks nothing, it's certainly no bigger change than going from a very young English man to a mid 50s Scottish man.
The Doctor has never really been interested in his male gender anyway - he doesn't really form romantic attachments and seems positively afraid of sex. There isn't really anything about his personality that is particularly masculine so becoming female is unlikely to alter his basic motivations or philosophy, or even the way he interacts with his companions.
Much more likely to bring a big change is the departure of Moffat as show runner. But hay, the anti-SJWs have gotta complain about something, and no point waiting to see how it actually turns out before writing it off as trolling and predicting it's failure.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
A GINGER!
John
Nope, Doctor is an alien, not a man.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Eh, I think for a fair amount of the male (nerd) demographic, they wanted to be the Doctor, a man who doesn't win through force, but through wits and snark rather than action.
For the female demographic, they wanted to travel with a sexy, powerful man who takes them on dangerous adventures. Look how many fangirls fawn over David Teninch and Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor.
I don't think the female demographic was looking to be the Doctor.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.