Trepidation is Understandable, But Give the 13th Doctor A Chance
Feature article by guest contributor Ryan Monty.
In case you were holidaying in space or living in an underground bunker in fear of an imminent nuclear apocalypse, it can’t have passed you by that some major Doctor Who news was announced two weeks ago on the Sunday of the Men’s Wimbledon final and, after the seemingly never-ending wait for the BBC to finally reveal their identity, the Thirteenth Doctor was finally revealed – Jodie Whittaker. Who, if you haven’t noticed, happens to be a woman!
The new Doctor has generated the most buzz around the show than anything has since the 50th anniversary in 2013. People far and wide across the globe have joined the discussion regarding the casting of Jodie, including many who aren’t interested in the show, bringing with it the inevitable positive and negative reactions around it. I’m still shocked that the producers genuinely went through with the decision to cast a woman. I was convinced that the bookies favourite for the role, Kris Marshall, or one of the other male forerunners that were rumoured (like Tom Rosenthal) would be cast, and so I was shocked when Jodie pulled down her hood and revealed herself. From there, almost every internet outlet and social media site imploded with the news, leading to reactions that have ranged from the very excited, highly reasonable, or outright unfortunate, with reasons far and wide that explain the reaction both for and against her casting.
The seeds have long been sown for a female Doctor. In the early 1980s, Fourth Doctor Tom Baker hinted that his replacement might be a woman, and in later years former Who showrunner John Nathan-Turner suggested that the Seventh Doctor may be female, with even one of the show’s original creators Sydney Newman recommending a woman be cast. Then of course there’s the parody The Curse of Fatal Death (written by Steven Moffat himself, no less) in 1999, where Joanna Lumley played a female Doctor. More recently, post-2005 Who has endeavoured to make the casting of the first female Doctor easier to accept, with moments such as the mention of the Corsair in the Doctor’s Wife and, most prominently, the male to female regeneration of the General in Hell Bent. Even this past series, Moffat knew that there would be a female Doctor succeeding Capaldi, and naturally there have been more teases towards that including the Doctor and Bill’s talk in The Doctor Falls. If anything, there’s a greater shock that it has taken them this long to cast a woman, given the legacy surrounding it.
However, for some, this isn’t enough to justify the casting of a woman as the Doctor. There’s been more than a few unsavoury comments which don’t need to be highlighted, but many who harbour a less than positive view have been outright shunned by some. Fifth Doctor Peter Davison made his reservations clear and received some very harsh reactions for doing so, while outgoing showrunner Moffat at San Diego Comic Con simply told detractors to “shut up”. I don’t see the fairness in this. While Doctor Who is a show all about change, this is the most seismic change there has been to the show in some time, and I sympathise with those who have reasonable and unspiteful doubts.
Some see the Doctor as inherently male, a character who vastly prefers being male or views himself as while there’s also the concern that Davison has himself, that with the Doctor traditionally being the fallible, vulnerable character, inversing that with a woman in the role may come off as a stereotype. While I don’t agree with these concerns, to dismiss them in the way some have done is disappointing, as too are the outbursts there have been towards those who support the casting. To act in ways like that is to go against what Doctor Who preaches, always: kindness and understanding. This is the biggest change Doctor Who has gone through in a long time. It’s exciting to some, worrying to others, but there should never be any spite towards how people feel. After all, it’s a silly old TV show about an ancient alien in a time travelling police box, and without change it would’ve ended after William Hartnell!
Jodie Whittaker as an actress is simply superb. My first impression of her came in 2011’s Attack The Block, where vicious aliens attack, well, a block of flats (also starring John Boyega, so now that film can brag about having stars of Doctor Who and Star Wars as leads!). I then saw her in devastating Black Mirror episode The Entire History of You, and then incoming Who showrunner Chris Chibnall’s own Broadchurch not long after. My highlight of what I’ve seen of her acting though has been last year’s Adult Life Skills, a film about a woman stuck in a rut, making films in her shed, after the death of her brother. In that, she gives a performance that is equal parts warm, funny and heart-breaking, and gave me hope for her as the Doctor. This isn’t a situation like Matt Smith, where many were concerned with his lack of prior roles. Jodie is a decorated screen and stage actor (simply look at clips for her performance in Antigone, performing alongside fellow Doctor Christopher Eccleston for a Doctor-like preview of her). The best actor for the role will always be picked, and they haven’t picked a bad choice yet. The casting of the Doctor should always be based on merit – there’s a reason why relative unknown Smith knocked it out of the park.
Who knows how Jodie will play the Doctor? After Christopher Eccleston’s tortured take, David Tennant’s swashbuckler, Matt Smith’s silly but ancient hero and Peter Capaldi’s more measured idiot struggling with his identity, I’m curious. Whatever her take, this is a chance for Doctor Who to have another fresh start, to draw back many viewers who have been disillusioned or simply fell away. Many who haven’t even been interested in the show in the past may now give it a go, which can only be a positive. With both the current Doctor and showrunner leaving, this will be a change like the Tennant/”The Davies” handover, and a chance to give Who a breath of fresh air like The Eleventh Hour did. And, let’s be honest, there aren’t many men who could have successfully followed Peter Capaldi’s defining take on the character, the man who gave us hour-long solo tour de force Heaven Sent among others. With Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall, there is a chance for the show to grow.
Doctor Who has had a very personal place in my heart for almost all my life. I vividly remember my first ever episode when I was 10 years old, 2005’s The Empty Child, and being scared out of my skin at Christopher Eccleston surrounded by gas mask zombies (a memory I’m sure a lot of people share!). I visited Blackpool not long after, coming across a kooky little museum dedicated to the show on the Golden Mile. This was where I first discovered the longer history of the show – this wasn’t just some random show with a time-travelling Northerner and his ex-pop star friend, this show had been going on for over forty years, and there were another eight Doctors. Seeing the history of the show, the monsters, just how huge it really was, saw the start of my obsession as a kid. There was this hero – he didn’t have a lightsaber, or a gun, or dressed like a bat – this was a hero who defeated villains with intelligence and wit, had a police box to call for help, and went on adventures through time and space saving people wherever he went. He was an inspiration, and a good one – not one who used violence or aggression, but was kind and for some reason really liked bananas. I’ve never really grown out of my love for the show, and some of my happiest memories with my sadly passed away dad is seeing it with him, watching that impossible hero. That kind of role model is so incredibly important to young children, especially now when some world events seem grim.
Because of that, I can see why some are worried that Jodie being cast means the loss of this positive role model for boys. There needn’t be worry, though – just because Jodie is a woman, doesn’t mean that the Doctor can’t still be that role model. She will still be the Doctor, just a Doctor who is played by a woman. Young girls can now see themselves as the Doctor, like I did! They can see that they too could be that hero. There hasn’t been a role model lost, there has been a role model gained on top of that for kids who may not have seen themselves like that before, even if they are an alien. Saving worlds, and helping people. That’s why, more so than the gender of the actor playing this 2000-year-old character, all that matters is that kids see the core positive traits of the Doctor, because they are universal. See The Day of the Doctor:
Clara: You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise?
Tenth Doctor: Never cruel or cowardly.
War Doctor: Never give up. Never give in.
Those are the only things that matter when casting the Doctor. I think more than anything is that there simply needs to be an air of reason. Change is part of the DNA of Doctor Who. Without it, the show today wouldn’t exist! There’s always a cycle of emotions whenever there’s a new Doctor, and that’s only heightened with Jodie. I can understand completely the trepidation some have. And that’s fine! Nobody will ever agree fully until we’ve seen her in action. Personally though, I’m with the wave of genuine excitement that is around this – so many possibilities, new story directions, how will it go! Even if her Doctor’s first series is (irritatingly!) a while away, by the time she arrives – whether you’re excited, nervous, disappointed, curious, if you’ve watched the show since the start, since 2005 or any time at all – give her a chance, because by the time we’re talking about her replacement she could be your favourite Doctor!
