Jodie Whittaker is the 13th Doctor

[Dar70]

When was it first established that the Doctor wasn't human? That he could regenerate? That he had two hearts? That he was a Time Lord? That he was from Gallifrey? That he had a frenemy called The Master? That he was half human on his mother's side? That he was the last of the Time Lords? That he had an unknown incarnation we know as the War Doctor? That he wasn't the last of the Time Lords?

None of that was there from the beginning of the show. Writers and producers came up with new ideas that added to his backstory and character and fans accepted them. This is another of those new ideas. Years from now people will read about today and be surprised that anyone saw this development as any different from any of the above changes.

Helpful suggestion: if you're going to bang on about political correctness, you're admitting you have nothing of value to add to the conversation, and you obviously haven't been reading the thread.

Fans didn't accept all of those changes. Many didn't like the war doctor or that galifrey had survived. Bad continuity and constant ret-conning is one thing about Doctor Who that has irritated me. It has some of the worst continuity.
The characters traits have changed with each new regeneration but the one constant besides some zanyness and a need to help other people/species was he was male and basically the same person. Now we find out there is has no gender at all. So with the regenerations except for a few basic emotions and memories the character is pretty much completely different. But yeah maybe you are right and this development will just be part of the already confusing backstory of the doctor and eventually fully accepted.
Still I wish they would just stick to a set of rules for the character instead of constantly trying to reinvent.

 

[DarthPipes]

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...

That was a major screw-up by Moffat. It would have been fascinating to see The Doctor on his final regeneration, knowing that his next mistake could be his last. That The Doctor was truly mortal now. Of course, The Doctor will keep regenerating as long as he makes money for the BBC but still...it was a lost opportunity and Moffat is to blame for that.

 

[jaime]

Yeah, lets just ignore the whole blowing a fuckton of Cybermen up just to use their surveillance equipment.

Lol. I can pick earlier violentísh moments in the Doctors life if you like...but spaceships going boom is ever so slightly different to graphic or consistently violent behaviour, and is still significantly more suitable for a kid under say...12...than a balloon made of skin. Girl in the fireplace is pretty touch and go, but not quite as overt as it got in the first year or Capaldi. Capaldi who, in the very first episode of his I chanced watching with my little one now is a little older, didn't care visibly when a small boy was pulled to his death through ice, as long as he got his screwdriver back. So that got shut off. I get the Alien morality thing they are going for...the whole run has been a reattempt at the Colin Baker years in soooo many ways, but really....not suitable for kids. I even thought maybe the penultimate episode would be alright...but no..there it is...a hole shot in a girl just before bed. I started on Who when I was three or younger, but that really has not been possible since Smith. And if you know of a decent, family viewing (I.e not just for kids, but the whole bunch) show, ideally in SF&F, with a decent role model male figure for little boys under 7 somewhere in the main cast, and ideally but not necessarily British...then feel free to correct me, cos I want to watch that show. And it hasn't existed since Smith left Who. I won't even worry about it being on early enough to watch...cos they buggered that for poor Capaldi too. And I like Moffat...I just don't think these last few series have fulfilled all of what Who once was, and that the world is poorer for it.
Oh...and yeah...if the new chappess gets back to family friendly, that will be good and we can watch again, as a family. Doubt it will happen though. Who isn't for that anymore it seems, even if I enjoy it mostly.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Never even heard of it before. Is this a European thing, as I've not heard it out of San Francisco at all.

Tom Baker started it.
Here's an article discussing the history of the cast and producers mentioning the idea over the years.

 

[Mad Jack Wolfe]

I don't have to explain crap. I don't think the doctor should be a woman. Sorry, it's just how I feel about it. Call me sexist all day long. But that doesn't make me one. I just don't want to watch it anymore. Its rubbish. It isn't Doctor Who. So..respect other people's opinion. You like it. But that doesn't mean everyone else has to.

When you puke up bile like this, yeah. You'd better be ready to defend your position. Your central argument is "I don't think the doctor should be a woman." Present a cogent argument as to why the Doctor should not be a woman, and I'll reconsider my evaluation that you're a sexist prick. Easy-peasy.

 

[Ithekro]

Tom Baker started it.
Here's an article discussing the history of the cast and producers mentioning the idea over the years.

Not that, "cis" and the labeling part of the discussion.

 

[Steve Roby]

Meh to the casting news. The actor playing the role has never been the problem, what's stopped me and most of my friends watching has been the horrible writing/scripts the last few years.

You know the show is getting a new showrunner/head writer, right?

Enh. I would be more behind it if there hadn't been such a hard push from a segment of the fan base. This doesn't feel natural to me as a result; instead it feels like an appeasement gimmick. That kind of appeasement usually doesn't work out either (as a long list of other shows can attest to with appeasing "'shipper" fans).

Who is this mysterious segment to whom you refer? Name names! Bring this nefarious conspiracy into the open, o brave challenger of oppression!

Still I wish they would just stick to a set of rules for the character instead of constantly trying to reinvent.

Yes, let's have the same thing all the time! It's the only way to keep the series fresh!

 

[Awesome Possum]

Not that, "cis" and the labeling part of the discussion.

It's actually more of an American thing.

 

[Dar70]

Uh, yeah, because audiences are tired of seeing white men in almost every protagonist role. It bores people.
That's not PC pressure, that's just audience preferences based on people living in diverse societies that they expect to be represented in media, too.

In a world where most people realize that diversity is part of everyday life and women aren't just "sidekicks" or "love interests", it'd be irritating to keep making the Doctor a white man when that is absolutely not needed for his/her character or the stories he/she is in.



If we only allow women and minorities to be protagonists in new franchises, it'll be incredibly hard to change much because established franchises are incredibly powerful in an age that sees Hollywood and other producers rely on established stuff with built-in fanbases instead of creating genuinely new content.
It's not like white men are in danger of being underrepresented.

No one is saying white men are in danger of being underrepresented...lol

But examples I have cited earlier Buffy,Resident Evil, Underworld ALL "newer" established female characters and very popular franchises.There's no reason why they couldn't have created a new Female Time Lord in the Who universe.

Again why the constant changing of an established characters race and gender?

It's definitely not because new content wouldn't be accepted. I just gave three excellent very popular examples above. If done well it's not only accepted, it becomes a new iconic franchise.

 

[Dar70]

You know the show is getting a new showrunner/head writer, right?



Who is this mysterious segment to whom you refer? Name names! Bring this nefarious conspiracy into the open, o brave challenger of oppression!



Yes, let's have the same thing all the time! It's the only way to keep the series fresh!

A series doesn't need to constantly reinvent/retcon it's main character to stay fresh. There's so much more they can do.

 

[TemporalFlux]

Casting a woman isn't a "gimmick", it's just normal.

I liked Missy. Why? It was a surprise. She was given a season of brief appearances to grow into it and be a great character before we even knew who she was. I saw her; I admired her. Being the Master really turned out to be inconsequential.

What this feels like? "The Doctor is a woman now. F*** you."

That just doesn't make me interested.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Again why the constant changing of established characters race and gender?

So you're okay with having an alien regenerate as completely different looking white men but regenerating as a woman is too much of a change?
What about a black man? Is the regenerating magic also bound to an ethnicity?

And I already explained why it makes sense to add more diversity to existing franchises. Producers aren't super-excited about creating new franchises so if we don't change existing ones, we'll have this unrealistic representation (white men everywhere) for ages. That'd be awful since it's so unrealistic.

 

[Ithekro]

It's actually more of an American thing.

Never heard of it before today. But that's not a new thing for me either.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Again why the constant changing of established characters race and gender?

Constant????
Why should this be any different that casting someone with a different hair color, eye color, height or nationality?

 

[{ Emilia }]

What this feels like? "The Doctor is a woman now. F*** you.

It's quite telling how you seem to associate that with an insult.

Again: Casting women as protagonists isn't a gimmick, it's perfectly normal and represents what society is like.

Getting the 13th white man in the row would've felt like a "gimmick".

 

[Nerys Myk]

A series doesn't need to constantly reinvent/retcon it's main character to stay fresh. There's so much more they can do.

You do realize you're watching Doctor Who, right?

 

[Dar70]

So you're okay with having an alien regenerate as completely different looking white men but regenerating as a woman is too much of a change?
What about a black man? Is the regenerating magic also bound to an ethnicity?

And I already explained why it makes sense to add more diversity to existing franchises. Producers aren't super-excited about creating new franchises so if we don't change existing ones, we'll have this unrealistic representation (white men everywhere) for ages. That be awful since it's so unrealistic.

Again why not create completely new characters within the franchise. I already mentioned Captain Jack. One of the best characters to come out of the franchise and he got his own show. If the Doctor couldn't regenerate you could bet your last buck that they would have went the route of creating a new Time Lord. This was easier for them.

Edit. I would have been fine with a different ethnicity.

 

[Mad Jack Wolfe]

Again why the constant changing of an established characters race and gender?

"Regeneration. It's a lottery." ~ the Tenth Doctor

 

[Timby]

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.

Sydney Newman--you know, the co-creator of the show and the Doctor--said he fully expected that at some point the Doctor would become a woman.

 

[Mr Pointy Ears]

Having mixed feelings about it, heard all the rumours but didn't they would cast a woman as the doctor,i watch a few epsiodes b4 I decidecwhenever or not to continue to watch dr who,ratings will tell whenever it was a good idea or bad one having the 13th rengenerate as a woman...13 is unlucky according to sources