to hope that the next Doctor Who is female and not understand why this would be so terrible?

[findingme]

My first AIBU - I have used advanced search and can't see an existing post on this so apologies if there is. I don't want to link to DM so please just google "Female Doctor Who" to look at the recent articles about this in the DM and newspapers.

It seems that it is a possibility and I can't understand why anyone would think this is a bad idea. AIBU?

Apologies if this has already been said, I haven't had time to read the entire thread but wanted to comment.

I have never found any of the Dr Whos remotely attractive but I know others have. I don't want that to be taken away from them
They will just replace him with some eye candy for the boys and I'm sorry boys but you have enough of that already. Dr Who is our candy so hands off.

My DH is convinced the next Dr will be a female. He swears that in the last scene of the snowman thing, when Clara and her friend are in the graveyard, friend says to Clara something like "Lets leave Doctor, it's spooky here" Now I didn't hear this (being asleep at the time) but he swears he heard it, and despite trawling through Dr Who sites, I can't find any ref. to it. Surely Whovians would have picked this up?

The show would lose a big amount of fans if it was a female Doctor, the fiasco with the writing the police box out and the verbal from fans even though it was 1st April has already hinted to the writers the backlash.

Personally I would like a female doctor as it might encourage more girls into STEM studies which is remarkably male. But for the die hard original fans (XH springs to mind) it would be an awful risk that could alienate a massive amount of fans.

A spin off would be better, perhaps bringing Romona back with the Doctor's daughter. After all the daleks keep coming back even though they were all destroyed in the time war. Okay both boys are helping me keep my DW facts straight. And they keep on about the first ever episode and the doctor being called grandfather which to them locks it in stone he will always regenerate with dangly bits.

I would love a female Doctor Who and I'm kinda surprised that everyone is so opposed to it.

Why would it alienate fans? Are women really that unpopular that diehard fans wouldn't watch it? If so, that's really sad .... are we in such a state that men and women can't identify with each other?

Greydog - just watched the end of the DVD - with the subtitles on, and her friend says "I hate this place. Don't you think it's creepy?" Definitely no 'Doctor' there...

Every time there is a new Doctor there is this debate. I am old enough to remember speculation (I think) about it as far back as when they were replacing Tom Baker.

It's getting really boring.

Actually, now I've seen that scene again, I think that Clara's friend is Angie and Artie's mum.

From what I can see, the opinion of the fans is that they do want a woman to play the doctor. They just don't think Moffat is capable of writing a woman doctor (or indeed should be writing Doctor Who at all).

From that perspective I would rather they bring a woman doctor in only if Moffatt is definitely leaving.

Re the James Bond kerfuffle upthread, I shared a flat at university with a girl called James. I saw her passport, that really was her name. Just sayin'.

Georgia Davison's Doctor's Daughter character is absolutely screaming to be re-used somehow.

And if the current writers want to go the whole hog, Thandie Newton?

I've only read the first page and am surprised at the vociferous response. "You can't have a female doctor - because" seems to be the main comeback.

are we in such a state that men and women can't identify with each other?

That's clearly not the case given all the female fans have managed to identify with a male Doctor :)

It is interesting how much this has brought out the 'B-b-but no one who does anything that matters can possibly be a woman because, well, because women will just spoil everything' in a lot of men.

Actually, I don't think it's Moffat's writing that's the problem, it may be more his script editing (or lack of it) Apart from the Christmas special, Moffat only wrote the first and last episodes of each half of the last series, which were arguably among the better episodes - if they had all been up to that standard, I don't think there would have been so many complaints.

Now, in A Writer's Tale RTD describes how he tweaked/edited/rewrote, sometimes in minor ways, sometimes drastically, many if not most of the scripts by other writers, so he had a hand in pretty much every episode. In fact, iirc, he said that the only writer he didn't edit was Steven Moffat.

So I'm wondering whether Moffat didn't have time, or maybe the inclination to script edit to this degree, and maybe it made the difference?

"are we in such a state that men and women can't identify with each other?"

That's clearly not the case given all the female fans have managed to identify with a male Doctor

No, SoupDragon that is women identifying with men, not men and women identifying with each other

Olivia Colman. That's who I'd choose as the next Doctor.

Itll be Shirley Holmes and Jane Bond next, just you wait...

I'm starting a new campaign.

In this country, we have had a Queen of England since 1953. It's plain she is meant to be a queen - that whole Daniel Craig thing would be ridiculous with a man - so I feel we should put our collective foot down against feminism going too far and insist the next monarch remains in the approved gender to which we have all become accustomed.

Who's with me?

I'm just disturbed that my concept of me running the country is mostly about dictating who should be the doctor rather any more important matter I could be influencing. If there is going to be another queen, it probably shouldn't be me.

Rusty But the problems with Moffat's writing are most strongly evident in things like the fact that every major female character he has created (Amy, River, Clara) has a life defined by and revolving entirely around the Doctor. It's to do with the arcs he chooses for them, the problematic tropes he chooses for them and the fact that we have very little sense of their character and motivations that extend beyond the Doctor.

It's also fairly evident from interviews that Moffat has given that he has a bit of a problem with the ladies, unfortunately.

When we heard Matt Smith was going I was quite hopeful that the Beeb might seize this opportunity to get an entirely new team in.

It wouldn't break Who canon, it's been said that Time Lords can change gender at regenerations and even species. I think there will be one at some point but they enjoy messing with us during the speculation stage about who will be the new doctor. The Daily Fail doesn't count, there's lots of fan sites that are positive but I suspect it depends if they can find the actor to pull it off.

LRD that's like my ishoos with priesthood - having only experienced women priests, I have grave doubts about the validity of men's ordination ...

Ah, sad, fair, but very understandable.

Treas

Male companions

Ian Chesterton
Steven Taylor
Ben Jackson
Bret Vyon
George and Alan Motimer
Tony Barker
Jack
Robert Zierath
John
Oliver Harper
Jamie McCrimmon
LethBridge stewart
John Benton
Mike Yates
Arnold
Charlie Fisher
Finney
Brod
Lammers
Jason
Jeremy Fitzoliver
Harry Sullivan
Adric
Sir Justin
Maxwell Edison
Gus Goodison
Thomas Brewster
Grant Markham
Will Hoffman
Henry Gordon Jago
George Litefoot
Adam Mitchell
Jack Harkness
Mickey Smith
Rory Williams
Craig Owens
Dorium Maldovar

StuntGirl

"I've only read the first page and am surprised at the vociferous response. "You can't have a female doctor - because" seems to be the main comeback."

And the opposite is true. Most for a female Doctor are saying that "you should have a female Dr because"

ok, but she should be called Dr.Why !!!!!