Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
Well, it’s happened! We’ve had the news! The new ‘Doctor Who’…is a woman! That’s right! Jodie Whittaker is to play the Thirteenth Doctor in the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series for 2018 under the new reign of Chris Chibnall as head writer. WOW!!! I suppose this was bound to happen sometime soon.
Okay, let’s get one thing straight here. I like the look of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor when I saw the trailer for her announcement on BBC TV. It was rather low-key in the build-up to her announcement, wasn’t it? I’m very glad they didn’t do a big show of it when it was like Peter Capaldi.
Jodie Whittaker starred in the TV series ‘Broadchurch’ with David Tennant, which was also created by Chris Chibnall. I haven’t seen ‘Broadchurch’ nor have I seen Jodie Whittaker before on TV or film. Her announcement as the new Doctor is big news!
Let me get this out of the way here! Jodie’s announcement as the new Doctor has understandably divided fan opinion. From what I’ve read, many fans are pleased with this announcement; others less so. Now this is my personal opinion on this and no-one is under any obligation to agree with me.
I have no issue with the Doctor regenerating into a woman. If that’s the direction Chris Chibnall wants to go with in his new era of ‘Doctor Who’, then that’s fine. Although I’m surprised he went for this controversial decision, since he’s clearly not playing it safe and it’s going to get some fans angry.
But like I said, I don’t have any objection of the Doctor becoming a woman at all. It’s something that’s been talked about since the days when John Nathan-Turner was producer of ‘Doctor Who’ in the 1980s. The possibility of the Doctor being able to change his sex is something that’s undeniable.
When fans react against this notion, it’s because it’s something that’s outside their comfort zone and it’s something that’s going to be dodgy. This is something I sympathize with as I know a woman Doctor won’t please everyone. But there is something that people overlook in regard to the Doctor.
The Doctor is an alien! He/she has abilities and traits that are more advanced than any human being like us is capable to comprehend. And being someone who has two hearts and can change his/her body into any form he/she wants, it isn’t outside the realms of possibility that sex changes can happen.
This has been put into practice lots of time, including the Comic Relief special, ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’, when Joanna Lumley became the Doctor. It’s also been done recently with Missy as a female version of the Master and with one Time Lord General who regenerated into a woman in ‘Hell Bent’.
For me, the issue that comes with a woman being a Doctor is how they attempt to make comic relief out of it. This is especially true when Michelle Gomez as Missy tends to be pantomime in her performance as a villainess compared to John Simm’s Master, who I found threatening in the series.
But with Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor, I have confidence that she will turn out well as the Doctor. This sounds overly optimistic, I know, but from seeing her in the trailer, she has a look of Peter Davison about her. I hope she can convey some of Peter Davison’s performance into her own.
Also, the decision was made to make the Doctor as a younger woman compared to Peter Capaldi as an older man. This is something I prefer and it’s what Chris Chibnall has gone for, as I gather they’re attempting to return ‘Doctor Who’ to the days when it had high viewing figures with David Tennant.
I’m wary about the innuendos that might be addressed with regard to Jodie Whittaker as a lady Doctor. But so long as Jodie’s performance is good and the stories are excellent by Chris Chibnall, I’m okay to roll along with it. It’s something to get used to, but it does breathe new life into the TV show.
The bottom line is, I’m willing to give Jodie Whittaker a chance and find out what she’s like as the new Doctor. I admit I wasn’t keen on the idea of a female Doctor years ago. But over the years, I’ve gradually come to accept the notion and I’m strangely looking forward to seeing what Jodie is like.
So, yes, Jodie Whittaker will make her first appearance as the new Doctor in the Christmas Special on TV in December 2017. It’s something I’m looking forward to and I hope my anxieties about it will be put to rest. But from what I’ve seen, I’m confident that Jodie will be a very good Doctor in the series.
This is my current opinion for now! Let’s see what lies ahead!
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim. 🙂
Bradley's Basement 
God i love your optimism Tim & i wish i could get on board with a female Doctor but i can’t , the Doctor had Thirteen lives & lived 2000 yreas surely if he wanted to regenerate into.woman he would’ve done so, all this is is bowing down to political correct fans who pushed for this & hearing Chibnall only intended to cast a woman is sexist & you know how upset this casting has made me to the point I’m on hiatus from all things Doctor Who & worried this casting destroyed my love for a show that I’ve adored since i was 4 years old.
I can’t see it working Tim, i spoken to a lot of people old & young & they think it’s preposterous & opens up many cans of worms, to me the Doctors male & should remain so.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Simon.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I appreciate your feelings on this.
I’ve had time to think and reflect on this latest casting decision for the new Doctor and I’m still keen on finding out what Jodie Whittaker will be like. It’s interesting how you’ve spoken to people and they agree on what you think. The consensus of people I’ve talked to about this has been positive and they’ve agreed with my optimism to the latest casting of Jodie as the Doctor.
I try my best to see all sides and give a balanced argument on a female Doctor. It won’t agree with everyone and I can’t change people’s thoughts (including your good self) on what they make of a female Doctor in the series. I can only speak from my perspective and want to continue enjoying the series when it comes back in 2018.
If I find that the new Doctor doesn’t work out for me, I can still enjoy the BF audios and re-watch classic ‘Doctor Who’ stories to review on my blog. I enjoyed reviewing Series 10 with Peter Capaldi this year and I want to do the same for Series 11 with Jodie Whittaker in her first season as the Doctor. I’m confident that she’ll win me over, but then again I’m a sucker for a pretty face aren’t I? 😀
I don’t want to judge how the new era will turn out under Chris Chbinall’s direction since it hasn’t started yet and I enjoyed the stories he wrote under RTD and Steven Moffat’s reign. I’m confident that this new era will turn out okay, but then again that might change by the time I come to watch Series 11 next year. I’ll have to find out!
Anyway, I still appreciate how you feel about this. Hope you’ll continue to enjoy ‘Doctor Who’ through Big Finish and through the ‘Doctor Who’ stories on my blog. 😀
Tim. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to agree with Simon, I am in no way against women in strong roles but this is imho going be a massively divisive and silly change. Dr Who is a a tv show with a certain dynamic that despite its seemingly limitless format works because of who the Doctor is – a mad MAN in a box. To switch the lead to female after 54 years is messing up a format that I personally fell in love with.
I honestly thought I would adapt to the idea of a female Dr, but the more I think about it the less I like it. I never thought I would say this but I would prefer Dr Who to have ended than to go in this direction. RIP Dr Who…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Ishvar.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this and nice to hear from you!
Yes, it seems like a dodgy misstep in the show’s direction at the moment. In no way is this going to please everyone. But I’m willing to side with Peter Davison on this; take a diplomatic approach and not judge harshly on how this works out. It’s something new and it’s bound to come up with its own problems. It’s bound to end up silly, but I can’t be certain about it until I see the actress who plays the new Doctor. I want to find out whether Jodie Whittaker will work as the new Doctor. I hope she will. After all, Peter Davison proved that a young actor can play the Doctor and we got David Tennant and Matt Smith. Heck, we can soon end up with a black actor playing the Doctor which I’m now hoping will happen.
I appreciate your anxiety about this as well as Timelord Simon’s. But for the moment, I want to stay in neutral over this issue and remain optimistic about watching ‘Doctor Who’ when it comes back in 2018 with Jodie Whittaker. If I change my mind about it, then I’ll do my best to justify why I’ve changed it. But after mulling it over for some time, I’m confident that this new direction of the show will turn out well for me. If it doesn’t, then I’ll say it.
Many thanks again, Ishvar. Hope to see you at another convention soon.
Tim. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great blog Tim. I, for one, can’t wait to see what the future brings. To me, it’s not such a stretch of the imagination that the Doctor can change from man to woman. After all, Time Lords are beings who can change every single cell in their bodies in order to ‘cheat death’, so what is stopping the Doctor becoming a female?
I’d like to think (and this shows my naivete) that we as a race are advanced enough to allow for a change such as this. A role model should be a behaviour rather than a gender. I’m pretty sure that when Romana 1 was trying on different bodies for her regeneration that one of them was a gladiator… So the concept has always been there.
karen
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Karen.
Glad you like my blog and thank you for following me.
Glad you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this latest announcement about Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor. I admit that I am weary about this new announcement, but at the same time I can’t wait to see the new series; looking forward to reviewing Series 11 and hope that Jodie will prove everyone wrong and that she’s a good Doctor. I’m confident that she will be and hope there’ll be something of Peter Davison’s Doctor in her. Whether that’ll come to pass I don’t know.
I’m looking forward to seeing what comes in the Christmas Special ‘Twice Upon A Time’ with Peter Capaldi and David Bradley. Mind you, I’m not as emotionally invested in the new series nowadays as I was when it was Chris Eccelston and David Tennant under RTD. But that’s my personal preference and I hope Chris Chibnall will restore some really good storytelling to the series, after enjoying his episodes during the Matt Smith era and being invested with the storylines during the first two seasons of ‘Torchwood’.
Thanks again, Karen.
Tim. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I legitimately would like to donate to you. This article has made me realise just how much you truly respect Doctor Who.
Do you have a patreon? What is the link?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Floyd.
I don’t currently have a patreon at the moment, since I’m not using my blog for commercialism (yet!). If I decide to set up a patreon for my blog, I’ll let you know when it’s available.
I’m glad you like my article on Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor and that you find I truly respect ‘Doctor Who’. That means a lot to me!
Tim. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
With all that Steven Moffat prepared us for from Joanna Lumley as a Comic Relief Doctor to Missy and the General’s gender-swap for Hell Bent, coupled with several fan film female Doctors (Barbara Benedetti, Lilly Nelson, Krystal Moore to name just a few), the announcement for Jodie as the new Doctor came at a most natural time when we could be as ready for it as we’d ever be. All the YouTube reactions, especially a little girl shouting out to her parents: “The new Doctor is a girl!!!”, welcoming Jodie were phenomenal. She has opened a history-changing door, certainly for Jo Martin and (depending on how we interpret it at present) Billie Piper. Whatever challenges she would inevitably face, I was already very proud of her.
Now that she’s reprising the 13th Doctor for Big Finish, I wonder if she’ll have a crossover with Unbound’s female Doctor played by Arabella Weir.
Thank you, Tim.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
Goodness me! This takes me back to when I was uncertain about whether Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor would work. Now I’ve met her at conventions and become a huge fan of her as the Doctor. I’m pleased her era turned out very well for me as it’s one of my favourites. I’m looking forward to making a start on ‘The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures’ by Big Finish, as I plan to check out and review ‘Vampire Weekend’ for my blog’s ‘Doctor Who’ 62nd anniversary celebrations in November 2025. Stay tuned! 😀
Best wishes,
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of all the actresses who could have been cast as TV’s first female Doctor, certainly with many names in the minds of Whovians like Helen Mirren and Jane Seymour, Jodie took me by complete surprise. I knew that she worked with Chibnall prior in Broadchurch and that she had a previous sci-fi credit in a Black Mirror episode. In all fairness the faces who don’t instantly recognize being cast as the Doctor can be the most intriguing. https://share.google/images/qvz8ZMWpleNlUeLVa
LikeLiked by 2 people
My pick would’ve been Joanna Lumley. Particularly the Joanna Lumley of now, in her 70s. Spoof or no, her World Travels series convinced me that she just embodies the spirit necessary for the character. It’d be one of those instances like Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker where the incarnation would just be a slightly modified iteration of the actor’s personality.
Jodie Whittaker’s anonymity in terms of casting was a pretty interesting choice. Far more in the vein of someone like Sylvester McCoy, who attained wider recognition later through The Hobbit film series. I think that lack of typecasting is rather freeing. The incarnation can be whoever the production team wish it to be without fighting expectations (or playing into them).
I’m still fond of the Thirteenth Doctor. Much like Colin Baker’s era, I think her time got a solid thrashing from external sources. In this case, the 2020 COVID Pandemic and current attitudes towards certain demographics of our species.
I think she’ll be remembered for stories like Rosa, Demons of the Punjab and Praxeus in the end. It wasn’t afraid to break free of conventions set down by Davies and Moffat, and I think that era will be viewed better for it. When that part of the audience has finally grown up enough to be ready for those ideas. (Particularly given reactions to Rosa‘s subject matter — or, gosh, even a whole incarnation, Ncuti Gatwa — even now…)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike, Hi Wolfie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The experience I had of checking out Jodie Whittaker’s era on TV has been an enjoyable and pleasant one. Even when we in lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt reassured about Jodie’s presence as the Doctor in the TV series, even in that special video message she gave to reassure us that things would be alright. I can’t deny the Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era has been flawed, but I’m gained more enjoyment out of that era compared to the neo-Russell T. Davies era. It’s something to be said when a ‘Doctor Who’ era featuring the first female Doctor could have easily failed, and yet, after three seasons and five specials from 2018 to 2022, it’s been one of the most invigorating and enlightening eras to check out. Looking forward to revisiting that era in the Big Finish audios soon.
Best wishes,
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person