[ComicGuy89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sentai

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.