Fan Perspective
The perspective of many of the Whovian universe seems to be split. Even though the idea of a female Doctor was tossed around for sometime, there are still some who do not like the choice. Although many are lifelong fans, many say they are not going to watch. I really see where they are coming from, after all they has always been a male Doctor. This makes many of them think that the Doctor is only to be a male.
I will be honest with all who read this blog. From the beginning, all I see are men playing the Doctor. The thought of a female Doctor never seems to be a possibility, until Steven Moffat chooses Michelle Gomez to play Missy. This to me is the first signal that a female may play the Doctor in the future. Moffat changes the whole stance of Time Lords in some little way by doing this. Now, what we all need to look at and see is that Time Lords are aliens. They are not human and they regenerate. They physiology is different, therefore they will not follow human ways nor thoughts. Moffat changes more than just the Master into a female, I believe. There are other shows which involve Time Lords and we see a male regenerate into a female.
There is one more thing to note here though. After John Nathan-Turner was hired as executive producer, there was talk of casting a female in the role. There were some then who thought he would in order to raise the ratings. I don’t know but in the 1980’s it may have caused a bigger uproar than today.
From this article there has been complaining, but Merriam-Webster shuts it down.(1) This is good to show that Doctors in our own cultures can be both male or female. This begs the question, why can’t the Doctor on Doctor Who be a female?
BBC Perspective
We hear that the BBC wants something new and bold. In the process they hire Chris Chibnall, the showrunner for Broadchurch, to run Doctor Who. Their hope is to make wholesale changes in Doctor Who. Changes which will bring the show back to the days of David Tennant. From their perspective the change to a female Doctor is what they want. To them it is a bold move on Chibnall’s part. Of course Chibnall denies that he is going to cast a female because it is a gimmick. This is a cover up and at some point I believe his choice is Whittaker in the beginning.
The BBC love the choice and thinks this will mean much to the show. From their perspective it is the right thing to do. Their hope is that with the new production team, writers, and all the new crew that the show returns to it former fame once again.
My Perspective
From my perspective, I can see this being something which will help the program. I see the drop off in the quality of the show since Moffat took over. The first dew shows with Matt Smith as the Doctor are decent, but Moffat begins to write the stories are the companions. This I believe is the down fall of the whole thing. The writing is not as good either, but he makes the stories about the companions and not the Doctor. This I believe hurts the program.
As time moves on during Moffat’s seven years as the showrunner things get worse. The time with Clara as the companion really got away from the Doctor and who is really is. I did not realize this until I read a comment from another fan. This I believe is the reason I watch most of the Peter Capaldi stories only once. This is a disservice to Capaldi. He is a great actor and deserves so much more. Now, I did enjoy season 10 and believe that it is the best of Moffat’s career, but I hate to see Capaldi leave without truly showing his abilities as an actor.
For me, I am not going to quit watching the show because Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor. I am an old school Doctor Who fan, but I will accept the change in the hopes of seeing a great show again. I like Smith and Capaldi as the Doctor and believe that both could have been better with the proper writing. Now, Chibnall is in charge and all reviews say that Whittaker is a great actress. If she is then Chibnall can hit a homerun with her as the Doctor. My hope is that whatever Chibnall does brings Whovians a better product on the television.
