Dr. Who as a woman?

[Not Matt]

I have pondered on the same thing. I mean when the tenth doctor regenerated in to the eleventh there was a moment when he went "I am a girl?!?". Implying that a gender regeneration is possible. If the twelfth doctor is female I just hope it's an actress that can bring a lot of new things to the table as well as play the part in an entertaining and pleasing manner. If they find a women qualified and that hold my to standards then...... SURE! Girl doc is alright by me. Go team TARDIS.

Ps: good luck on getting in to the doctor who universe. I know it seems like a confusing clusterf### at first glance. Best wishes

 

[OtherSideofSky]

As long as they don't screw it up by making a huge deal about the Doctor being a woman, it would be great.

Ideally, the doctor would just regenerate as a woman, make a brief comedic comment about her new body (as per usual) and then it would never be mentioned again because she's busy doing Doctor things.

Basically, if the Doctor is anything but a white cis-gendered man, he'll encounter prejudice whenever he travels back in time. I mean, it's one thing to have a young girl wandering around with a man, but to have one on their own...well, it'd just be a lot more hassle and force the show to handle social issues it isn't fit to deal with, what with being a family orientated thing.

There are actually plenty of time periods and places where this would not be true. A black Doctor would have no problem going to Africa, and in many places in antiquity he would merely be regarded as a foreigner, with no extra baggage attached to the color of his skin except possibly for some curiosity in less cosmopolitan areas. A trans* Doctor would find no problem in certain Native American cultures and, oddly enough, in some parts of Europe (there are some famous cases to point to even into the middle ages). As for a female Doctor, there have been plenty of societies throughout history in which it would be considered perfectly normal for her to be walking around and acting on her own, and several major civilizations in which her claim to the title 'doctor' would not raise eyebrows.

All a Doctor who is not a white, cis-gendered man would really mean is an opportunity to visit the parts of history that are not about white, cis-gendered men (there happen to be a lot of those, even if they are not often adapted into entertainment media).

Contemporary prejudices and structures of social privilege and disprivilege are hardly as universal or as long-standing as most well-intentioned individuals would have you believe.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Rule 63 FTW?
I think it'd be great though.

I am trying to get into Doctor Who, but it feels like trying to jump into The Marvel universe. I feel overwhelmed.

He travels through time and fights bad guys/aliens/demons/monsters/things what's more to understand.
I suggest starting from the modern series, from the guy before David Tennant.

 

[Fudj]

Nothing says The Doctor can't be female, but they do tend to stick to the same genders (most of the time) otherwise shit could get pretty weird on Galifrey.

Would I still watch it? Yes I would, but I think in part it would depend on who played The Doctor

 

[Ljs1121]

Hmmm, Dr. Who as a woman?

Yes I would watch it.

Now imagine the good doctor meeting the Daleks while on PMS.

Spoiler: horrible joke warning

She could also find yet another use for the sonic screwdriver...

No... Oh, lawd, why?!? D:

On topic, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and say that it wouldn't make that much of a difference to me. I watch the show because the Doctor has an amazing personality, there are some awesome villains, and because Matt Smith is the sexiest person alive there are some pretty interesting storylines. The Doctor's gender would really be irrelevant to me.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

Otherwise I would recommend series 1 with Christopher Eccleston. That was when a lot of people started watching, including myself, and it requires no prior knowledge if the show to get into.

That's what I always recommend to people too. I used to watch the older series on and off when I was younger, but not consistently enough to really know everything that was going on, and after such a big gap with nothing new, I'd pretty much lost track of everything other than major characters and a few of the more memorable storylines. They reintroduce everything at a comfortable pace starting in the new 2005 series that make it approachable for people who've never seen it before, and with only about a dozen episodes a year, it doesn't take too long to catch up on.

That's the ideal way to do it, at least. Otherwise, if you don't have as much time or are in a hurry, you can start with the introduction of whichever new Doctor you want, and that always seems to be an ok starting point. You miss some explanations of details and backstory that way, but at least you don't come in in the middle of any stories or anything.

As far as making him female goes, doesn't bother me. I don't really care what he is or who plays him, as long as they do it well, both in terms of writing and acting.

 

[waj9876]

It could be a problem, yes. It would be fine if The Doctor didn't change much, which he/she would inevitably do, considering how often female main characters fall into the story-killing cesspool that is "being a woman before being (insert stuff here)."

When you think of The Doctor, you don't think "Oh yeah, that guy with the time machine," you think of him/her/it as The Doctor. That's all The Doctor needs to be. As long as they can keep that feel, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[SamFancyPants252]

It'd just be River Song but more pretentious and self absorbed.

Oh god.

 

[squeekenator]

It'd just be River Song but more pretentious and self absorbed.

Oh god.

No, it'd be like the Doctor only female. Or do you hate the Doctor just as much as River?

 

[Bat Vader]

It would be interesting to see that. I think a female playing the doctor for a few seasons would be pretty cool. I need to start watching Dr. Who again. One actor I would love to see play the doctor as a homage to time travel would be Christopher Lloyd. I know he is getting up there in years but I think it would be awesome none the less.

 

[SamFancyPants252]

It'd just be River Song but more pretentious and self absorbed.

Oh god.

No, it'd be like the Doctor only female. Or do you hate the Doctor just as much as River?

No. I just feel like every female actor in that show has a character that has been deliberately written to be annoying and obnoxious. Including Amy.

Now what I meant by what I said was that River is evidently a response by the writers to the hypothetical "what if the doctor met his match"? question. However River can't eclipse the Doctor's brilliance as she can't be the protagonist; he has to be.
So in writing him as a woman, I can't help but feel the writers would try and overdo the "sassy, funny, independant woman" thing and we'd end up with a more overconfident, self assured and self referential version of River Song. Basically, River but more in the central position of authority.

 

[Hazzard]

It would honestly never happen, because that would make the doctor a lesbian/bi-sexual. This would upset a lot of the UK audience so the BBC wouldn't do it because they always avoid controversy.

 

[scw55]

Time Lords can regenerate into the 'opposite' gender if they wish. They're not humans.
Would be interesting. Needs to be well written though and not just 'LOL THE DOCTOR IS WOMAN NAW'.

It would honestly never happen, because that would make the doctor a lesbian/bi-sexual. This would upset a lot of the UK audience so the BBC wouldn't do it because they always avoid controversy.

The Christmas special will have "lesbians" this year pre-water shed. I use "" because one of them is a Silurian. Pansexuals? Doesn't matter.

 

[Dr. Doomsduck]

Well, I started watching series 5 with minimal knowledge of the series, and that worked out just fine.

Would I still watch Doctor Who if the Doctor was a chick?

Definitely! It'd be interesting to see.

That said, I do think it'd be difficult for the Doctor to be a Person of Colour or a woman, no matter how much I'd like to see it happen. Louis CK made an interesting point about it, starting at 0:45.

<youtube=TG4f9zR5yzY>

Basically, if the Doctor is anything but a white cis-gendered man, he'll encounter prejudice whenever he travels back in time. I mean, it's one thing to have a young girl wandering around with a man, but to have one on their own...well, it'd just be a lot more hassle and force the show to handle social issues it isn't fit to deal with, what with being a family orientated thing.

that's inaccurate actually besides the last few hundred years anything before that is fair game for anyone depending on where you are going, hell the father you go back the more beneficial it would be to be darker/more asian.

and that last part is kinda bull shit excuse

oh were scared of writing something meaningful so no one but strait white male can be represented
bull shit, man up your writing or go home
do you know how many times i got that excuse on why there arent more different raced anything
that's not an excuse , its cowardace( unless it literally makes no goddamn sense for the character change that i can honestly buy, but a reincarnating doctor that travels though time, he can be anything wants, but white dude that's what he chooses, its cowardice plain and simple)

You're right, it IS bullshit, but it's the bullshit writers still dish out, so, sadly I don't see it happen unless the BBC ups their game significantly.

 

[TorqueConverter]

Probably not because it will probably be shit.

Patrick Stewart wasn't cast as Captain Picard because he was bald. They didn't just go get some bald guy to satisfy a bald guy quota.

They did cast a woman, native American, hispanic, black and an asian in Star Trek Voyager just because they wanted a culturally diverse cast because, apparently, that has some intrinsic value. It was like affirmative action gone horribly wrong. None of the characters were likable. That show was awful.

Create a likeable character with the next Doctor. Go get an actor who will best represent that character. Pay no attention to gender in the process.

 

[Little Woodsman]

As many others have said, it would be fine if well written.
I will also echo others in saying that I have my doubts that it would be well handled/written.
It would also raise some VERY interesting questions, considering that there are two instances I
can think of off the top of my head where humans have married time lords, and known nothing about
the physiology of their spouses prior to making the commitment.
Could be a startling thing to wake up one morning and discover you are now in a same-sex marriage.
I would definitely keep watching the show to see how it was handled.