Dr Who

[ISaySteadyOn]

So, is anyone besides me pleased that the new doctor is a woman?

And also, predictable response from dudebros.

The new Ghostbusters is great and I am a huge fan of the original cast.

The original cast all make cameo appearances too.

The recent Ghostbusters had a bit of a dull final third with an over reliance on cgi, but it's a similar problem I find in almost every Marvel movie and most modern blockbusters. The 4 main actresses were solid and funny with good chemistry.

This gender flip with the Doctor has happened before in Sci-Fi, we saw Starbuck cast as a woman in the battlestar galactica series, and that worked out brilliantly. Well written and well acted with flaws, depth and heroism.

People pitched a fit about that as well, but battlestar galactica is still regarded as some very good sci-fi. No reason at all it can't be the same with Doctor who.

God I miss Battlestar, may be time for a re watch...

I do hope they left tweeky alone

We absolutely love Capaldi but are quite excited by Jodie Whittaker taking over. I haven't seen her in anything at all, but she has the immeasurable benefit of not being Kris Marshall, who had been rumoured to be the next Doctor.

(Nothing against Kris Marshall, except he is not and will never be a Doctor.)

The "can Time Lords be women?" thing is way past established. Not just Missy, but we've had at least one Time Lord regenerate before our eyes in recent seasons from a white man to a black woman. Even as far back as Sarah Jane Adventures, it was established in-show that Time Lords could regenerate into bodies that were very different from their current ones.

I really enjoyed Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica remake (although hadn't seen the original)

Sci-Fi tends to be the thing that DH and I watch together, we love Dr Who. Glad we finally have a female Dr

Shes not an actor I'm familiar with, personally as a fan I'll watch and support whoever is daft enough to take the role and the accompanying madness on but I can't help but wish the first female Doctor was someone more famous. Olivia Coleman would have been brilliant and Shirley Henderson is an inspired idea!
I'll watch with interest and hope for decent writing this season.
And watch Broadchurch before Christmas..

It's not really a surprise- the dr was always going to be either a woman or a man of colour- if they wanted to be really inclusive a woman of colour but unfortunately they aren't quite there so have gone with your stereotypical "safe" choice of a blonde white woman which is a win, but next time they could do better!

I see Peter Davidson has now come out and said that he thinks it is a shame that Dr Who is now a woman, because it takes away the male role model for young boys. I mean FFS, really?!

I find incredulous and sad that Peter Davidson can't manage to consider the huge and vast array of male role models for boys. And then not get too worked up when one of them (one!) becomes female. He might have a point when 95% of all mainstream characters are female and have been for decades. Then he might be able to complain legitimately.

I can if I squint a bit think I can see Davidson's point, if only from the perspective of male violence. It's true 99.999% of protagonists and heroes are male, but The Doctor stands out as something of a pacifist who almost always eschews weaponry and physical violence (barring a brief flirtation with Venusian Judo or some such in the Pertwee era).

In that context I think role models like the doctor are incredibly important for little boys. I'm not saying we shouldn't not have a female doctor, simply that I don't think everyone who is critical of a female Doctor is an automatic misogynist.

Broadly speaking the reaction seems favorable most of my fellow fans seem exited and are looking forward to a woman in the role, and whilst I think there are some people who are struggling with it they are very much in the minority.

My only personal reservation about all this is with the current companion who happens to be a lesbian. Is this going to result in a not so subtle dig at the perceived cotton ceiling. Is Bill going to now suddenly have to be attracted to a person she has known as a mentor figure and most importantly as a male the whole time?

I almost always prefer the companions who don't end up mooning over the Doctor so I actually really liked Bill. I'll be just a little bit sad if that dynamic changes now the Doctor is now a hot young blonde woman.

Surely the criticism should be about the lack of pacifist role models, rather than specifically criticising the new Doctor Who actor solely on the grounds of being female? And the point about the lack of positive pacifist role models for boys could be made at any time, as much as you like. No need to wait until one specific role happens to change sex.

Regarding Bill, I thought that she'd be off around the universe on her own now with her watery friend? Rather than having to follow the Doctor?

The criticism is whatever you choose to make it. It's a subjective preference. It's as valid to bemoan the lack of non-violent male role models in general as it is to mourn the loss of one specific character in popular culture. Although having the new Doctor as a woman won't magically erase the previous episodes!

Like I said I'm broadly in favour of the casting choice, good science fiction is littered with decent female heroes, from Princess Leia, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor and now a female Doctor Who.

Regarding Bill, I thought that she'd be off around the universe on her own now with her watery friend? Rather than having to follow the Doctor?

I thought so - she is dead but not in a proper dead and buried way. Bit like Clara who is "dead but still waltzing around in a Tardis with Ashildir and not dead as long as she doesn't come back to the point in time she died" dead.

Is Capaldi the only Doctor who has managed to kill 2 of his companions? Or is Rose also dead but not really dead? Matt Smith lost Amy and Rory but they were in their 80s.

Rose didn't die, she was just sealed off in an alternate universe and could no longer travel in time with the doctor as he couldn't get to that world.