Jodie Whittaker is the 13th Doctor

[Starkers]

Late to the party but anyway, my tuppence on the casting.

On the whole more than happy. I have seen her in quite a few things but it's been a few years since I saw her in anything so don't feel able to really comment on her ability, although I recall her being good in everything I saw her in, especially Attack the Block. Her gender is immaterial what it comes down to know is how well she can play the character and we won't know that until the closing minutes of the Christmas episode (and really we will only get a tiny glimpse even there).

It is of course dismaying to see negativity out there, although we all knew that would happen. I'm choosing to focus on the positives, and it's encouraging to see the majority of people on here are willing to at least give her a chance (and really shouldn't that be the default whoever Who is? I mean if Kris Marshall would have pulled that hood back I'd have been disappointed, but that disappointment would have faded and I'd have given him a chance to prove me wrong.)

I just hope the material she gets allows her to shine, to be honest I'm warier of Chibnall as showrunner than I am of her as the Doctor.

And. She. Is. The. Doctor.

 

[Starkers]

So, when do we start speculating about her replacement?

I think it's traditional to at least wait for her first episode

 

[Rincewiend]

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[Skellington]

Alex Kingston's reaction to the. news:

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor...die-whittaker-first-female-doctor-new-doctor/

 

[jaime]

So, when do we start speculating about her replacement?

Tradition demands Wednesday.

 

[O_Kav]

I think until recently no one put that much thought into it, and Syndney Newman was largely giving a quote for the fun of it by the nineties...and was also likely to choose Joanna Lumley because he fancied her, or she was practically the only SF TV actress he could think of at short notice.
Shame they wasted Keeley Hawes on that bank episode really. Buts she's been Lara Croft so is probably only allowed one icon a career.

Tom Baker was apparently OK with the idea of a Female Doctor too. Maybe Newman seriously considered it before the 90s or maybe he didn't. I tend to agree with the notion that, yeah, only recently DW producers really started to ponder about it. Either way, during the Classic Era no "side" of the discussion managed to address it on screen.

 

[DimesDan]

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The Doctor with The Doctor being quite Doctor-y.

That was very very good.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

That was very very good.

I want her to use her natural accent.

 

[Orac Zen]

I thought there'd be a meltdown over this news and so it's proved. What a hilarious thread. I might have to reactivate my Gallifrey Base membership and see if it's nuked itself yet.

I haven't seen Jodie Whittaker in anything and have no idea what she'll be like, but so long as the character remains recognisably the Doctor and the writing is good, I couldn't care less about this particular piece of casting. I do think she's pretty brave to take it on, given the hysterical overreaction casting a woman was sure to provoke from some...elements. Good luck to her.

Some thoughts on other posts in this rather long thread:

Is nothing sacred in this politically correct nightmare of a country that we live in? The next series of Doctor Who will crash even more then their reinvention of Top Gear. Why are the BBC intent on ruining their own franchises recently with terrible casting decisions. She was rubbish in Broadchurch. Ah well at least I have Star Trek Discovery to look forward to which looks amazing and will fill the void. I think that my time with Doctor Who is done for a while.

I hope this is supposed to be some sort of satire. If not... .

As with everything I will give it a shot. If the writing and acting is there.............then there will be no problem.

Agreed 100%.

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.

What melodramatic drivel. I see you've attempted to backtrack from this sort of nonsense in your later posts, but this is just absurd. Freaking out because a fictional character isn't what you want it to be is laughable.

So again, gender preference is sexism? Does the LGBTQ community know this standard now?

Sexual preference is not bigotry. Refusing to watch a show because of the lead character's gender is.

Asked and answered. Brilliant post, The Wormhole.

Indeed. Sydney Newman (you know, the guy who created Doctor Who) suggested Joanna Lumley back in 1986.

Don't try to be reasonable about this, Meh, and certainly don't bring those irritating fact thingys into this. You really should know better.

 

[DimesDan]

I want her to use her natural accent.

I'm not so sure, but then again, being from the South, I'm not a massive fan of the Yorkshire Accent. Give me RP anyday.

 

[Ithekro]

Have her go weird....Liverpool.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Don't try to be reasonable about this, Meh, and certainly don't bring those irritating fact thingys into this. You really should know better.

I'm sorry I can't help it! It's in my blood!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm not so sure, but then again, being from the South, I'm not a massive fan of the Yorkshire Accent. Give me RP anyday.

Being from Yorkshire I'd disagree.

 

[Orac Zen]

I'm sorry I can't help it! It's in my blood!

Overwrought melodrama is funnier, though. And being reasonable about this sort of stuff just seems weird, somehow.

 

[ITL]

Being from Yorkshire I'd disagree.

Tha does reyt, lad.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Tha does reyt, lad.

Equality for Tykes.

 

[DimesDan]

A slight kernel of truth here:

Doctor Who fans reminded that it's for children:

DOCTOR Who producers have once again reminded the show’s ardent fans that it is actually for children.
Fans are concerned that as a time lord from Gallifrey, the Doctor is now far beyond his or her allotted 12 regenerations and therefore the show should already have ended.
They now fear the Doctor Who universe could collapse in on itself, destroying everything including Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.
But a BBC spokesman said: “How’s about this? We’ve just decided that The Doctor can fire Angel Delight from his or her fingertips and is sexually attracted to suspension bridges. How did we do that? Because we’re making it up as we go along.
“If you watch any third-rate comedian, he will pretend to like Knight Rider and Bazooka Joe bubblegum before talking about watching Doctor Who from behind the sofa as a child. As… a… child.”
The spokesman added: “We’re getting really sick of having to discuss Tardis engineering with 35 year-old men who smell like damp sandwiches.”

 

[jaime]

A slight kernel of truth here:

Doctor Who fans reminded that it's for children:

But I liked bazooka joe bubblegum, and knight rider. However, I was clearly too working class for watching doctor Who from behind the sofa...not much space so the sofa was against the wall.
And if Doctor Who is for kids....then maybe we could have less dead children, skinned people, chopped up people, and people with holes in the middle or beheadings this year. Just a thought.
And I am ninety percent sure the sixth doctor probably did rather like suspension bridges...or ironbridge at least.... and now we know what all that regeneration energy is in new Who...butterscotch. Hopefully not sugar free...aspartame is a bad idea.
And us mid thirties who fans...well...I don't think we discuss Tardis engineering with anyone, let alone the producers...it's not a very tech oriented fandom.
And we don't smell of damp sandwiches. I probably smell of pepperoni pizza or whatever it is my little one has recently got everywhere but in his mouth.

 

[DarKush]

I'm an extremely casual watcher of Dr. Who but I am glad for Jodie Whittaker's casting. I wasn't much of a fan of Peter Capaldi's run, nothing against Capaldi but the stories didn't engage me. Whittaker could be the shot in the arm that the franchise needs and it can allow the show to do its usual time traveling stories but from a different perspective. Heck, they could do many of the same episodes from the past and they might be different simply because of the gender change and how the characters would react to a female Doctor.

I'm more interested in Who again than I've been in a couple years now. To me, a lot of the outrage over Whittaker comes from some segments of the Who fanbase and societies in general who have a zero sum mentality. If it's not another traditional white male as Who or whatever character, then it's an automatic 'loss' for white men. I don't see it that way. I see it as expanding the kind of characters and story possibilities that perhaps some of these dissenters might like if they give it a chance, and it could provide them an opportunity to see things from another person's perspective and gain new insights.

 

[DimesDan]

But I liked bazooka joe bubblegum, and knight rider. However, I was clearly too working class for watching doctor Who from behind the sofa...not much space so the sofa was against the wall.
And if Doctor Who is for kids....then maybe we could have less dead children, skinned people, chopped up people, and people with holes in the middle or beheadings this year. Just a thought.
And I am ninety percent sure the sixth doctor probably did rather like suspension bridges...or ironbridge at least.... and now we know what all that regeneration energy is in new Who...butterscotch. Hopefully not sugar free...aspartame is a bad idea.
And us mid thirties who fans...well...I don't think we discuss Tardis engineering with anyone, let alone the producers...it's not a very tech oriented fandom.
And we don't smell of damp sandwiches. I probably smell of pepperoni pizza or whatever it is my little one has recently got everywhere but in his mouth.

Whoosh.