Who's she?

[Gob]

Jodie Whittaker has been announced as Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord - the first woman to be given the role.



The new Doctor's identity was revealed in a trailer broadcast at the end of the Wimbledon men's singles final.

The Broadchurch star succeeds Peter Capaldi, who took over the role in 2013 and leaves in the forthcoming Christmas special.

Whittaker, 35, said it was "overwhelming, as a feminist" to become the next Doctor.

She will make her debut on the sci-fi show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas special.

The Huddersfield-born star, who was a late favourite to become the Doctor, will find a familiar face for her on set - Doctor Who's new showrunner is Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.

Whittaker said: "I'm beyond excited to begin this epic journey - with Chris and 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. I can't wait."

The actress also shares another Broadchurch link with Doctor Who - co-star David Tennant was the 10th Doctor.

More here; http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40624288

Jodie was brilliant in Broadchurch.

[Scooter]

Two questions: one, in spite of people all around me who are fans and urge me to watch it, I never have, largely because I have felt that I need to watch it from the beginning to completely make sense of it, and that's just too damn long. So if I wanted to start watching now, say, how many prior seasons should I watch first in order to have a proper understanding and appreciation for the current storylines, characterizations, etc.?

Two: From what I gather, the periodic changes of who plays the Doctor are worked into the plot as the Doctor leaving behind a former body and taking on a new one, or changing the old body into a new one, or something of the sort. Is there anything about this process to suggest that the new body must and always be the same sex as the old one? Because his personality is altered by the new body as well, right? So it's not as if someone who was always a man would feel lost in the body of a woman.

So why are there some people who are trying to make this a thing?

Presumably they could push the concept further and have a Doctor who is mildly autistic, or a bit schizophrenic (or has something similar already been done?)

[RayThom]

The doctor, that's Who.

Jodie Whittaker has been announced as Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord - the first woman to be given the role.

Damn, there goes the franchise. And just when I started getting into the show.

[BoSoxGal]

My cousins are huge Dr. Who fans; there was much rejoicing in the house today when the new Dr. was revealed.

From what I understand, the Dr. is a genderless alien manifesting in human form, so there should be no big deal with a female incarnation - but we live in a sexist world and sadly, lots of sci-fi nerd boys are very afraid of girls.

I've not watched the show either for the same reason you cited, Scooter - but I've got some time on my hands these days so I think it's time to give it a whirl. (I did watch a few episodes of the show's first incarnation from the 60s, but I gather the reboot is a fair bit different.)

Interestingly, I just read an article on The Vegan Society's page discussing how Dr. Who was a vegan originally, tying in nicely with the alien's overall ethic toward all other living creatures. Sadly, in the reboot of the show the writers changed that up, owing to their concern that the Doctor's veganism would be a turnoff to meat eating fans. Kind of sad, considering that food in Star Trek is all fabricated by technology because people have stopped the genocide of other species in the future.

[Big RR]

Kind of sad, considering that food in Star Trek is all fabricated by technology because people have stopped the genocide of other species in the future.

Unless you're a Kingon or Romulan and any other number of non terrestrial species. Face it, the Enterprise is a warship brimming with the latest in weaponry, not a Greenpeace ship. If the food is fabricated (and having only watched the original series and Voyager, I'm not sure that it is, although it could well be, I'd bet it's more for convenience than because they do not want to kill other species.

Ray, I watched it a long time back (in college and grad school, during some of Tom Baker's run) and stopped when he was replaced and I didn't like the new doctor (from what I've heard of many fans, I think that's par for the course). I'll admit I wasn't as much of a fan as some of my friends (I didn't rush to watch every episode), but I never felt at that much of a loss having not watched the earlier ones (but then, I enjoy figuring things out and don't mind if I don't get every inside joke or reference immediately)--if you want to give it a try, I'd suggest watching a few episodes of the new one (you need to see more than one) and go from there.

[Lord Jim]

I'd bet it's more for convenience than because they do not want to kill other species.

Exactly.

The Vulcans are vegetarians, but in all the ST series I've seen (which would be well, all the series) the Terrans are happy to eat real meat whenever they get the chance.

[Lord Jim]

From what I understand, the Dr. is a genderless alien manifesting in human form

I don't think that's correct...

For one thing, he isn't really in "human form" there are internal physiological differences (He has two hearts, he's not affected by some poisons and other things that humans are, etc.)

And there's this:

Amy: But you look human.
The Doctor: No, you look Time Lord. We came first.
— Doctor Who, "The Beast Below"

There are also episodes showing other Time Lords, some of them on their home planet Gallifrey, and they are never shown as anything other than gender-differentiated humanoid types...

Also there are flashback scenes of The Doctor when he was a boy on Gallifrey, and he was, well, a boy...

All of that having been said, this most recent series established a precedent for Time Lord regeneration resulting in a gender change ( "The Master" becoming "The Mistress"...I suspect that story line may have been written in to test audience reaction to the idea)

[Big RR]

I'm stretching my memory now, but I seem to recall that a time lord could only regenerate 13 times--haven't we reached that number already (I honestly don't know if the first actor who played Dr Who was supposed to be the first generation, but there have been a lot of Dr Whos over the last 50 years)? Maybe this is a new time lord, possibly a female one?

[Scooter]

Yeah, I don't really see much evidence that the Star Trek universe is more conscious of animal rights than our own. But I don't buy into the mystique that many fans do, of a show that was in the vanguard of pushing on social issues. I think that most of the time they were being careful not to gallop ahead of their audience, too careful sometimes. The storylines would sidestep real world issues with artificially simplified scenarios whose "lesson" wasn't particularly transferable to real life. And they often appeared too eager to pat themselves on the back for doing so.

[Scooter]

I'm stretching my memory now, but I seem to recall that a time lord could only regenerate 13 times--haven't we reached that number already (I honestly don't know if the first actor who played Dr Who was supposed to be the first generation, but there have been a lot of Dr Whos over the last 50 years)? Maybe this is a new time lord, possibly a female one?

This will be number 13. They may have to engage in some retconning if that limit was previously established (because true fans will no doubt remember). I don't imagine anyone expected the show to be around over 50 years later.

[Big RR]

I'll see if I can find anything that says that (although I could be thinking of another show and confusing the two), but maybe a fan here could confirm/deny?

[BoSoxGal]

Everything you'd want to know about Time Lords:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Lord

Apparently there was an episode that discussed the 12 regenerations, but there's a work around discussed in a later episode.

In the original series TLs were presented as human, which changed to human-appearing. I haven't watched the show since the 70s and my recollection isn't perfect. Apparently lots of aspects of TL lore are constantly under discussion by fans and the issue of gender is one of them.

In any case, there have been female appearing TLs in prior episodes so this shouldn't be a big deal but lots of fanboys are pissed - no big surprise there.

[Big RR]

Thanks BSG; I'm glad I remembered it right, but they weaseled around us (like the unlimited/extended life span replicant in the original cut of the Blade Runner).

[RayThom]

Dr. Who at the Cybermen Day Spa and Cantina.



I could never get my head wrapped around how cheesy the special effects were. On the other hand, my English cousins couldn't understand my inability to suspend disbelief. They kept sending me DW junk and I kept giving it away.

In my defense, I didn't have much exposure to the Doctor until the mid '70s when PBS started airing episodes on a weekly basis. By that time I was well into my 20s and I knew bad sci-fi when I saw it. Besides, I was way to busy spending my idle hours into achieving various degrees of drunken oblivion.

And the rest is history.

[Econoline]

Jim Wright's take on this is perfect:

• So, the new Doctor is ... <horrified gasp!> ... a WOMAN
  
  A woman.
  
  Can you believe it?
  
  The New Doctor can't be ... <horrified gasp> ... a WOMAN!
  
  No no no! The Doctor, a time traveling non human alien from a distant planet in a fictional universe who has regenerated, what? ten? eleven? times now from the dead into a different body in order to fight an ongoing cast of ridiculous kitchen appliances using really, really shitty special effects over, I dunno, 30 years or more, yeah THAT guy, has to be a white dude.
  
  Has. To. Be. A. White. Dude.
  
  Because that's why you watch this dopey British science fiction show, right?
  
  Sure, you watch it to see the same shit over and over -- with British accents, which makes it totally cool despite the goofy story lines and discount special effects. Same shit, over and over. And over. And over. Same guy, just in different skin. Same villains. Same themes. Same episodes. Same shit. Exterminate! Exterminate!
  
  It's like Star Trek, same five characters, same five episodes, recycled over and over. And over. And over. It's the plucky Captain, the robot/alien guy with no emotions, the comic relief guy with the funny accent, the ranty emotional guy, and The Knockers. Time travel saves the day. Logic saves the day. Emotion saves the day. The computer goes berserk! And the Ongoing Alien Menace! Repackaged, recycled, over and over. Oh look, it's the time loop episode again, why doesn't anybody believe Ranty Emotion Guy!
  
  
  First the women came for the Ghost Busters, then Star Wars, then the Marvel Universe, now the Doctor is a chick.
  
  Goddamn. WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NOW? WE'RE IN SOME REAL PRETTY SHIT NOW, AREN'T WE! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NOW?
  
  Because, yeah, wouldn't want to TRY ANYTHING NEW IN OUR OUTER SPACE TIME TRAVELING ADVENTURE. Nope nope nope. Need a white dude. Just an old white British dude. Because that's why we go time traveling in outer space, right? To see the same stuff we have RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW...
  
  WHAT?!
  
  Sorry. Sorry.
  
  What?
  
  Fine. I'll stop.
  
  But come ON.
  
  Science Fiction is lucky I'm not running things, because I'd put the Wachowskis in charge of the Doctor Who franchise <Think about, it'll come to you>. That would REALLY set the mob to howling.
  ______
  Footnote: Yes, I know a certain percentage of you have no goddamned idea what this was about. That's fine. Don't worry about it. These are not the droids you're looking for. You can go about your business. Move along. Move along.

BTW, my familiarity with Doctor Who is similar to that of Scooter and BSG, for the same reasons. I saw just enough, early on, of it to get the joke about "an ongoing cast of ridiculous kitchen appliances".

[Lord Jim]

The production values are much better in the current sixty minute version that revived the series in 2004, after it had been off the air for a number of years...

[Big RR]

First the women came for the Ghost Busters, then Star Wars, then the Marvel Universe, now the Doctor is a chick

Nah, it started long before then--ever since May Martin played Peter Pan

[BoSoxGal]

Star Wars had a phenomenal heroine from the very first film - RIP, Carrie Fisher - who inspired an entire generation of women.

Then we had Captain Janeway of STV, over 20 years ago.

The Dr. is late to the party, to be sure. One of the reasons I wasn't ever terribly interested in the reboot was because it always seemed to be a fawning female hanging on the Dr.'s every word - BORING!

I plan to watch the new season with Jodie, through.

[Econoline]

Apparently this is a normal part of the Time Lords' regeneration cycle...

[Bicycle Bill]

First the women came for the Ghost Busters, then Star Wars, then the Marvel Universe, now the Doctor is a chick

Nah, it started long before then--ever since May Martin played Peter Pan

It has been long-standing theater tradition that Peter Pan is played by a female; in fact, when Robin Williams played the role in the 1991 film "Hook", he was one of the first, if not *THE* first, male to be cast as Peter Pan (Disney's 1953 animated version in which Pan's voice was provided by a male not included).   According to the book "J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Real Story Behind Peter Pan", it was Broadway producer Charles Frohman who suggested that a woman should play the role because casting a boy would affect the rest of the children in the ensemble, who "would have to be scaled down in proportion".  What’s more, English law stated that minors under the age of 14 couldn’t work after 9 PM.  As a result, a woman was first cast as Pan in 1904 ..... and another unwritten custom of the theater, like wishing someone luck by telling them to "break a leg", no whistling backstage, or "The Scottish Curse", was born.

Now, the day when someone orders a 'martini ... shaken, not stirred' and then introduces themself as "Bond ... Jane Bond", THAT'S the day when I will rise up on my hind legs and say that they have gone too far!!

-"BB"-