You should see what's happening on Tumblr. The community has exploded with cries of how the Doctor is still Caucasian or isn't a woman. Something about Moffat being sexist too.

You've been in this fandom a while, Zeo, does this happen every time a new Doctor is announced?

Hate to say it, but it's Tumblr. This was to be expected

Its happened before, but this is probably the worst I've seen it. The British media has been trying to push the "Doctor should be female" thing wherever it can in the news.

Last year everyone was too busy whining about how Matt Smith was way too young for the role and how nobody had heard of him :lol

I remember that time. Wasn't a Who fan yet and was amused that people would make such a big deal of it. Sometimes I think the media has a venomous effect on people's perceptions.

Like you, I liked it when the Doctor was more paternalistic but I'm guessing this side of the Doctor is less often seen these days because of certain vocal people. I do think they sneaked a bit of the Doctor's paternalistic side into Matt Smith, hiding it behind his youthful face. That was a brilliant move, I thought.

Apparently Peter Capaldi is as old as William Hartnell was when he was casted. I believe he should be one of the oldest actors cast for the role, but I haven't checked the facts yet.

They've established in canon that Timelords can switch sexes when they regenerate. I just don't understand this notion that if they make him a woman it would be purely to 'appease people' or would be a 'gimmick'. Why? There cant be a strong female lead? That arguement is a little, non-intentionally I imagine, sexist. I believe the Doctor could be a woman and it could still be successful. Because having a strong female lead in Sci-Fi is no longer an oddity. Nor should it be one. I think the next Doctor after Capadli's time should be female, I honestly do. With a male companion. Or female to, why not.

Nobody said having a strong female lead is in any way bad. Lots of shows have done it successfully and I don't think it can't work.

The problem is, the Doctor isn't a "legacy" character like Batman, or Spider-man. He's literally the same continuity Doctor we've known since the First Doctor. Changing his gender means changing the core of what he is, how many shows have done that while establishing continuity with previous series?

Some franchises have women inheriting the mask. Robin, for example was once Stephanie Brown, which was interesting for a character who was always called "The Boy Wonder". No problems there, because Stephanie Brown isn't Dick Grayson, Jason Todd or Tim Drake. She was Stephanie Brown.

Other shows cast a female main character that was usually occupied by a male. Captain Kathryn Janeway was the first main female captain of Star Trek, and she had her own personality, interests, leadership style, etc. She was not a female Captain Kirk or Captain Picard and as a result was a strong character in her own right.

Besides that, sometimes reimaginings cast women in previously male roles. Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica was an interesting reimagining as a female character, but that show was a reboot, not in continuity with the previous show. Loads of Power Rangers seasons adapt the male character as female, and that's perfectly fine. These were all separate characters that started from scratch, written to be female characters and they worked.

The only character that I can think of at the top of my head that would occupy the same position as the Doctor regenerating into a female Doctor is Jadzia (and Ezri) Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Like the Doctor, Dax has occupied bodies of many different incarnations. Now the difference is that Dax was, from the very beginning, created to be someone who had been both male and female. The appeal of her character was that she was once Captain Sisko's old male mentor and now she's this attractive young woman. That was her dynamic from the very beginning and it worked for her because it was a core part of her personality. It was written as part of her characterization.

Make no mistake, I am not opposed to female leads in shows, in fact, I welcome it. However, I feel that a female Doctor that is a canon regeneration, while not impossible or not unworkable, is not that good an idea. Establish a reboot or alternate universe and make him female, fine. Create a new series about a female Time Lord? Perfect, after all, we know Time Lords can regenerate into opposite genders now. Might even be more interesting than Doctor Who. Just establish that in the beginning and not tacked on to a character about to celebrate 50 years on-screen. Right now, for the reasons I've stated, forcing him into a female persona feels..well, forced, and would be unfair to whoever the female actress is hired to play her.

:eyebrow Losing his penis changes the core of who he is. I want you to go home and think about that statement.

As someone who is rather neutral to Dr. Who, having yet to actually watch it (it's right under Kamen Rider), I must ask this, what is there to lose in making the Doctor a woman?

If it works, you have the first Lady Doctor in quite possibly a long line of Lady Doctors that can go on all sorts of Timey-Wimey adventures. If it doesn't, regenerate and return to the status quo.
Not sure why there's an issue to trying this out. It's not even a bad retcon to use in the show on a continuous level.

My .02...

Two words...sex appeal. The doctor should NOT have it. If the doctor became a woman, it would shift. The doctor is all about the mind. If they cast a woman the would have to address her being pretty, and that in itself could have back lash. The actors who have been cast in the past were selected on how the could channel a unique personality. Then THAT was the foundation of their appeal. Look at the actors...not many would be the cover of GQ anytime soon...

Seriously? Gender is a totally different thing from sex. It's not merely about what genitals you have but an in-built psychological thing. Try telling a transgendered person that his or her biology defines his or her gender and see how offended they feel!

Notice that in Ranma 1/2 when he becomes a girl, he is still fundamentally a guy? That's what a female Doctor logically would be, a male in a woman's body and would that be a fair representation of women?

Goodness man, before you ask me to "go home and think" you should think too.

I've already mentioned that it's not so much a problem with having a female Doctor as changing this Doctor for the sake of it. It could work but you'll need some pretty damn good writers. I see absolutely no precedent in this and I would love for someone to point out examples.

As stated, make a new Time Lord, reboot it, lots of ideas. I just don't think changing this Doctor is particularly easy to do.

EDIT:

Another good point. The female Doctor would be all about her being a woman instead of, you know, being a proper individual with dignity. With good writers they can avoid it but it's very hard to find such writers.

Well, this has gotten deeply philosophical oddly fast. I mean, it was already going philosophical but this is faster than I expected

And it's also getting a tad angry.

The irony is you make the Doctor black or a woman, and they will outcry that you have sold out, using something like gender or skin colour to appear falsely progressive or whatever. You don't do it and you get an outcry of racism, sexism or whatever.

The fact of the matter is, if the Doctor did one day turn out to be black or a woman, I'd be okay with it if they just treat it the same as any other Doctor and don't introduce them as 'the first black Doctor/the first female Doctor', that shouldn't be what it is about.

Still yay Capaldi got it!

These two speak sense.

I disagree that changing skin colour is as significant as changing gender. I feel that skin colour is much more of a cultural thing compared to gender.

I do agree that whatever Doctor, I would give the show a try. I just don't trust that most writers can write it well.

Sigh...I guess you won't address accusing us of being "a tad sexist" or saying that I think a person's personality changes when he loses his genitals?

What's to say the past 50 years of the Doctor haven't been just a glimps of his entire existence, right down to his regenerations? It's not like Gallifrey was blown up when the Doctor was born and his first catalogued-by-humans regeneration is his first regeneration ever. Right?

I didn't accuse you and Zeo of being sexist. I said the arguement was. I certainly didn't mean it to come off like I was calling you and Zeo that :lol

:lol

Okay, okay I'll trust in your good intentions even if I still disagree. Agree to disagree.

This. All of this.

The Doctor's core mindset is MALE. He was a father, he was a grandfather. If he changes into a woman he's either going to be a male in a female body (so yeah, yay equality?) or become change the character he's been for the last 50 years so much that he isn't the Doctor anymore. The argument isn't sexist, I'm completely FOR strong female lead characters but they should be able to stand in their own ground. I want a Wonder Woman, not a Batgirl to put it simply.

If a fundamentally female character was changed to a male for the sake of shaking things up there would be public outcry, but the fact the opposite is fine and anyone who gets branded sexist who disagrees is just rude and annoying.

There's been more than enough references in the shows run to say all the incarnations we've seen so far are all the Doctors. To add any more regenerations anywhere other than after the established ones would just piss a lot of people off.

Personally, I don't feel the argument is sexist but it does somewhat annoy me that people seem to always concentrate on the wrong thing.

Remember when Idris was cast in Thor? Everyone was okay with that because I mean who the hell believes in the All Father and his gang of merry men these days, right? And I mean Black people are like...a minority or something, right? It's so progressive to cast black people in predominantly white roles.

Now reverse that around, could you imagine the seething hatred of the outcry if you cast a predominantly black character as a white person? Especially if that character who is usually black, that you now portray as white, was a religious figure, defunct or not?

That, above all else, is what really annoys me about the whole thing. 'The Doctor is always a white man, he should be a woman or a black man'. It'd be very different if the Doctor was always a black woman, and people finally wanted a white man.

And I know someone is going to say 'but that is different!', if you think about it, it really isn't. White folk haven't helped themselves by being largely systematically the villains of history (generalising of course) but I hate this whole attitude you see on Tumblr especially that white and male are both associated with 'bad' and white male together may as well be the devil in human skin.

Maybe I am wrong on this next part, but the Doctor has never been predominantly white and a man for social or political statements, they are just the people who have been cast. And if he becomes a woman, or a black man, it should be because the best actor won, the Doctor is a damn Timelord, his role shouldn't be taken up by the person who best fits the social justice crowd of the time of his inception. We had enough of that shit with when Torchwood decided that the only sexual orientation of the time was gay.

That already happened. J in men in Black was white in the comics, and black in the movies. And again in I am Legend.. I think maybe it's just Will Smith :lol

Just a final point - Doctor Who should probably start having prominent female WRITERS before thinking about a female lead if its going to be done properly.

But who dislikes Will Smith? :lol

I saw this argument on Tumblr that basically went like, "You trust Moffat to write a female Doctor?" I agree. :lol

I'd be happy with a female Doctor if they wrote her like Donna. If they tried the whole Rose, Amy, Clara thing as the Doctor herself then no thanks.

Donna was a wonderful character but every time I think of Donna I think of her horridly disappointing ending. :(

Ladies, Gentlemen.

http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/...psf8dbd915.jpg[/URL]

And for those of you haters out there...

http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/...psfa334353.jpg

Is that his actual clothes and Screwdriver? Because if so, I am SOLD.

I'm hoping to God it is :lol

Man this is the first time I've been genuinely excited for the new Doctor in New Who. I hope he lives up.

This needs to start tomorrow damn it! ... WHY NOVEMBER MOFFAT WHY?!

ULTIMATE DILEMMA

http://dw-figurines.com/subscribe.aspx#.UgKhMJLVCSq

I hate these types of magazines so much, but I NEED those subscriber bonuses. Especially the Emperor :cry

Man that Dalek set is awesome.

Silly Locke. Daleks are always awesome :lol

Tis true. I wouldn't have so many otherwise :D

What I would love, absolutely love, is an Asylum of the Daleks diorama. With Clara's Dalek in the center, chained, in that white room. And 11 standing over it, head hung low, and just touching the head of the Dalek like he's apologizing.

I would kill for those figures. I can barely afford my current figures, so I'm currently not even thinking about getting these. Plus, it doesn't have a Special Weapons Dalek. When that gets rereleased, come find me.


In other news, I've seen the new 11 Doctor's set. Are all the Doctors new designs, or just some of them. The only ones I've seen that look different are 2-4 and 11, and I don't want to but the same figures twice (Says the guy that bought 5 blind packs of 50th anniversary figures)

You must have missed the rainbow Daleks from series five. The ones that even the show pretends never happened.

Buy the full-sized one, its getting a single re-release in the next FX Dalek wave.

Bit pointless since the damn thing doesn't talk so it'll only make gun noises, but it's good for those who didn't buy the Remembrance set I guess.

11 Doctors set full-sized or Character Building?

From what I read the new full-sized one has been cancelled, and I wasn't aware there was going to be another Building set other than the blind bagged ones.

I liked those. The show just made them look stupid by having one of each rather than done in proper ranks (So mostly reds, then a few blues and oranges, less yellows and one white etc).

Pity that ain't happening outside City of the Daleks now :(

Man, I really hope Underground Toys offers an easy way to get 12th Doctor and John Hurt Doctor Character Building figures for those of us who bought the original set. I don't like the idea of having to order a bunch of blind packed bags off of the internet just to complete my Doctor line-up.

Rerelease? Woot!!!

Yes, the Character Building one. I'll wait until they make a set that has the 12th and Hurt Doctor in it

Edit: Here's a link: http://forbiddenplanet.com/105849-do...collector-set/