From when Michelle was cast and we technically didn't know as what character, but..... FYI, it is Ainley's rubbish beard.
When it comes to equal pay, racial justice etc. I am all for it. When we get needless character changes to established characters based on PC pressure it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not so sure a male wonder woman would go over to well with female fans. I have no problem with female leads and characters. I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, Resident Evil Fan, Underworld fan and would have been displeased if all those characters went male based. All those franchises started out female and should remain so.
I didn't want it to be a woman, and I still think they're doing it to make bloggers happy (which is what I've thought all along), but the bottom line is, they've never made a bad casting choice. They know what they're doing. So I will give it a chance.
Buffy ended 14 years ago, Resident Evil ended last year so that doesn't really matter. Underworld is planning television and film spin offs based on Sebastian and David, with David being one of the new Grand Elders alongside Selene, is that a problem? The Q already means genderQueer or Questioning so they'd just be under that. I doubt the Time Lords even have names for it, they can't hold onto one gender forever and likely have romantic entanglements over millennia, the Doctor is just odd that they've been one for so long.
Ok, but when has that ever happened? 1) We've seen plenty of actors portray Doctor Who. This time around they've found an actress to portray the Doctor. Doctor Who was never about masculinity. I don't think the Doctor cares about gender much. 2) What's "PC pressure" about making 1 out of 13 Doctors female? Just seems like something that's way overdue.
If you watch the series as a whole the Doctor has been written as male. (Until that line with Smith a few years back) The character was never intended to be female. Sure besides the female part the basic premise remains the same. But than I have a question......if the premise remains the same why now make the Doctor( and Time Lord's in general I assume a species that has no assigned sex) Female???
How was being male ever part of the premise anyway? The show is about a somewhat crazy alien who experiences adventure. The Doctor has been portrayed by a man so far but nothing indicates that it always had to be like that.
In what way would the series have been improved by having yet another man in the role? Who could have been cast that would have delivered anything different or fresh? Kris Marshall?
Have you met my sister? And no, because S. Trans means to move between one and another...so I am not sure the extra definition was even needed. Immutable is a bit long I suppose...stationary? Statrosexual? Meh. I am probably far too primitive and unenlightened. Or naf. Or something. XD
Transgender refers to anyone not cisgender, that's more or less the primary requirement. That covers a number of gender identities not reliant on the binary definitions.
It's just doing what other productions (comics/movies/tv shows) have done. Changing race and sex of established characters. It's been pretty much par for the course the last several years. I would have preferred a new traveling female time Lord. We had two excellent spin offs of Doctor Who. Why not create a new character and show? We had an excellent original character that was Bi Sexual In Doctor Who and Torchwood. One of the best characters to come of modern Who (if not the best)....Captain Jack. I would have loved a new female Time Lord. I'm not as torn as some fans over this. The show really dropped the ball when they went from the eleventh Doctor to the 13th..(the secret war doctor was an excuse to rush through the regenerations and reset his 12) They should have spent the entire 12 doctor run pondering the ramifications of no more regenerations. So this is not that big a blow to me. The show has been on a downward spiral since the end of Smith's run...
I would say that ratings and potential PC pressure are different things. I hope they cast Jodie because they thought she would make the best Doctor and not for any other reason.