Guest Article: Jodie Whittaker is a Bulletproof Doctor

Feature article by guest contributor Gideon Christie.

“JODIE WHITTAKER WILL CAUSE THE DEATH OF DOCTOR WHO!!!” A loud Facebook comment confidently proclaims.

How many times have you seen this, or variations upon, over the last 365 days? A few times I’d bet. Now, as much as the BBC and certain media outlets wouldn’t like to admit it, the casting of Whittaker as the 13th Doctor has caused a bit of a rift in the fanbase – some love it, some hate it, some, like me, are still waiting to see.

I’m a long-time Whovian who visits an abundance of fansites, forums and social media daily. I’ve been gauging the viewpoint of various fans since the news was first announced on 16 July, 2017, and there was, and still is, a noticeable divide, more so than I’ve seen caused by any of the previous castings of the modern era. Now, what may surprise you is that I don’t consider this necessarily to be a bad thing.

I believe that thanks to this fan divide and the actual reasons behind Whittaker’s casting (more on that below), it puts the 13th Doctor, and by extension the show, in what I’m calling a “bulletproof” position. Basically what I mean is that nothing, no matter how negative the reality and volume of dissenting viewpoints, will have any effect on the immediate future of the show. Certainly not enough to cancel it. So no, Doctor Who will not be axed if the Whittaker era fails, Mr. Facebook commentator. But allow me to explain further.

Chris Chibnall has, in a recent interview, stated that he cast a female Doctor because “I just felt the time was right. If the show hadn’t done it, we would have been behind the world”. He therefore conceded that it was decision driven by the political landscape right now. While some may scorn at this line of reasoning, it’s actually his safest move. It portrays Chibnall in a what will be perceived by many as the current “morally correct” position. More importantly though, it means the BBC and Chibnall have everything to prove. They have to make sure that Jodie’s era of Doctor Who is a massive success more than ever. Or at the very least, perceived of as a big success, even if things don’t go to plan.

The fans that are against the casting believing it could ever cause the immediate end of the show are being rather short-sighted. The BBC and Chris Chibnall simply have too much riding on this bold new era to allow Doctor Who to fail at this point. They will not wish for any widespread viewpoint to spread that the show is failing as a result of the latest casting.

I suspect the mainstream media reviews for Jodie’s era will be almost overwhelmingly positive (earned or not). The 13th Doctor will very likely be hailed as one of, if not the greatest Doctor yet, while Chibnall as a “genius,” equal if not exceeding Steven Moffat in his heyday. And the reported viewing figures will take into account a myriad of other factors that will allow them to paint the rosiest picture available.

You see if Jodie Whittaker is – and I stress this is just hypothetical – not actually received very well this autumn and the ratings drop, there is just too much at stake behind the scenes now for this to bring about a bad result for the future of the show. Whittaker is almost guaranteed to get a second run regardless, because it would be way too risky to give any indication that she was ever at fault for being the first female Doctor. The ideological ramifications are just too great in this current climate.

And even if Whittaker somehow doesn’t get a second year, she could leave claiming it was always a “short-term” arrangement, or leave early saying they wanted a ‘surprise’ regeneration, or some such. Then the course correcting will begin. I’d liken the situation to BBC’s other major brand Top Gear, wherein the divisive, short-lived Chris Evans era was quietly swept under the rug when it was clear audiences weren’t on board with the new vision. But the key takeaway is: the BBC are still keeping Top Gear alive and attempting to find something that resonates with audiences in the same way the Clarkson era did. I think the same will happen to Doctor Who if the reception is poor.

I want to stress the “If” part. I’ve just been thinking about a worst-case scenario for the show in this article. Until we see the episodes there’s still many reasons to think Jodie Whittaker will actually be great, and might even win her biggest doubters around yet. Either way, I hope I got across why I think the show is safe for many more years, whatever may happen. Only time will tell…