You wanted to know who the 13 Doctor would be... and here she is!

July 16, 2017 9:01 AM

In a YouTube video released today, the BBC announced that the successor to Peter Capaldi as The Doctor in Doctor Who will be actress Jodie Whittaker of Broadchurch and Black Mirror.
posted by DirtyOldTown (251 comments total)

I think the Daily Mail may have exploded
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:02 AM on July 16, 2017 [25 favorites]

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS! I can't wait to watch the misogynist fanboys tear each other apart.
posted by crossoverman at 9:02 AM on July 16, 2017 [46 favorites]

Still not ginger!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:03 AM on July 16, 2017 [49 favorites]

The title is a bit spoilery for people who don't want to know, but I don't know how you could avoid the casting news until Christmas.

I think this is great news !!
posted by Pendragon at 9:04 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

WHOA

And yay!
posted by Kitteh at 9:04 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Hmm, never mind I see that you named Jody Whittaker in your post above the fold. Good luck people who will try to avoid the name of the new doctor until Christmas, I guess.
posted by Pendragon at 9:05 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's a little-known fact that the TARDIS actually runs on the tears of fragile masculinity.
posted by olinerd at 9:07 AM on July 16, 2017 [112 favorites]

I admit that I was hoping for Richard Ayoade (Moss from The IT Crowd), but this is very awesome news, and a female Doctor is long overdue.

I also look forward to licking up the tears of misogynist fanbabies who can accept a time-traveling alien who changes appearance, but can't accept the alien being female.
posted by SansPoint at 9:07 AM on July 16, 2017 [23 favorites]

Recommendation for people not wanting to know who the next Doctor is until Christmas: avoid the internet. Really. I don't even know how that is a reasonable goal.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:07 AM on July 16, 2017 [47 favorites]

Super psyched!

Love the little teaser trailer too, very well done. Hope she keeps that coat.
posted by davros42 at 9:07 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Fantastic! I've liked her in everything I've seen her in, amazingly (even the dreary Return to Cranford). May the show's writing be worthy of such a good casting decision.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 9:08 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I LIVED TO SEE THE DAY :D :D :D :D

Honestly I'd have been happy with anything other than "white male" but this is nice. Maybe we don't get a female POTUS yet, but we can at least have a female Doctor.
posted by The otter lady at 9:09 AM on July 16, 2017 [19 favorites]

I'm not the biggest Chibnall fan in the world, but this does make me more interested in seeing how it goes.
posted by Artw at 9:09 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I normally avoid all Doctor Who spoilers, but yes, I didn't even try to avoid this. Impossible.
posted by Pendragon at 9:10 AM on July 16, 2017

I'm 100% on board. I was somewhere between grudgingly tolerant of the idea of a female Doctor and ever-so-mildly against the last few times around. But the show has gone out of its way (mostly with The Master/Missy) to establish that gender isn't a critical part of who a Time Lord is. As that has built up, it's been easier and easier to get on board with the other fans who were way ahead of me. And Jodie Whittaker is great. Bring her on!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:10 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I don't feel the excitement I expected... I guess I'm just apprehensive to find out how she'll be written.
posted by meese at 9:10 AM on July 16, 2017 [9 favorites]

Recommendation for people not wanting to know who the next Doctor is until Christmas: avoid the internet. Really. I don't even know how that is a reasonable goal.

There's that cave Bois told us not to go into, that's about it.
posted by Artw at 9:10 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

Massive down-votes on the YouTube video already. SAD!!!
posted by Pendragon at 9:11 AM on July 16, 2017

So Beth is the new Doctor?

Seems a fitting ending after what she went through...losing a child, scummy husband.

TV shows are real.
posted by NervousVarun at 9:12 AM on July 16, 2017 [34 favorites]

meese: If it makes you feel better, Moffat isn't the showrunner for the new series, so at least it won't be his particular brand of bad female characterization.
posted by SansPoint at 9:12 AM on July 16, 2017 [28 favorites]

Just don't look up "Torchwood".
posted by Artw at 9:13 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

Recommendation for people not wanting to know who the next Doctor is until Christmas: avoid the internet.

Also, live in a cave on your own, completely off the grid and with zero human contact till then until then as the new doctor will be on the front of several newspapers tomorrow, mentioned on TV and radio relentlessly, be trending across social media and so forth. And that's before the BBC milk this for all they can. Holding out not knowing for just a day would be a significant achievement, let alone several months.
posted by Wordshore at 9:15 AM on July 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

Biggest, most hilarious, dummy spit I've seen so far is someone posting a pix of a Tardis-themed coffin on twitter with 'DR WHO RIP'
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:15 AM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

Just don't look up "Torchwood".

Ah, the halcyon days of steel-bikini Cyberwomen and purple gaseous sex monsters.
posted by sobarel at 9:15 AM on July 16, 2017 [13 favorites]

Chibnall did give us Torchwood's Cyberwoman which doesn't inspire confidence in me....
posted by Pendragon at 9:17 AM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Well chuffed. Much as I'd love them to reveal at Christmas, I think it's impossible, realistically.

Can't decide which is best- the fab choice itself, or the salty misogynist tears.

I throughly recommend Attack the Block.
posted by threetwentytwo at 9:19 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

So anyway, if you didn't go out and watch Attack the Block already after The Force Awakens then I heartily recommend giving it a spin now.
posted by Artw at 9:20 AM on July 16, 2017 [17 favorites]

A female doctor could be so good if she were sufficiently alien and not steeped in Earth based gender norms and cultural expectations of femininity. Moffat not being the showrunner is a start, but I have low hopes for the writer's room living up to my vision. A female Doctor who was angry, distant, alien and weird first and foremost would be amazing. My main hope is that they don't humanize the character just because they have a woman in it.
posted by deludingmyself at 9:21 AM on July 16, 2017 [41 favorites]

I'm still gonna write fan-fic comics where it was actually Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
posted by Artw at 9:22 AM on July 16, 2017 [13 favorites]

A female doctor could be so good if she were sufficiently alien and not steeped in Earth based gender norms and cultural expectations of femininity.

And the doctors up until now weren't steeped in Earth based gender norms and cultural expectations of masculinity ? Why does a female doctor have to be sufficiently alien ?
posted by Pendragon at 9:23 AM on July 16, 2017 [43 favorites]

Yayyyy!!! I hope she nails it.
posted by saulgoodman at 9:24 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm going to start a charity to buy buckets of sand for people to avoid "spoilers" for things that happen in real life.
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:25 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Awesome!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:26 AM on July 16, 2017

Holding out not knowing for just a day would be a significant achievement, let alone several months.

A friend of mine has posted on FB that he was just hoping to get home from work to watch it on iplayer. Turned off his phone Internet, stuck his headphones on, all the sensible stuff. Foiled by a text from his mam popping up on his lock screen asking if he was pleased it was a woman.
posted by threetwentytwo at 9:26 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

A young Dalek and his father are in a terrible car accident. The father is killed instantly; the Dalek, very close to death, is rushed to the emergency room. The attending Doctor takes one look at the patient and says, "I can't operate on this Dalek." Why not?

(ANSWER: The Doctor is still grappling with her predecessors' memories of the Time War and is reluctant to save, rather than kill, a Dalek unless prompted by stark utilitarian calculations or badgered by her companion.)
posted by Iridic at 9:27 AM on July 16, 2017 [127 favorites]

I guess I'll have to wait for Julia Zemiro.
posted by hawthorne at 9:28 AM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

And the doctors up until now weren't steeped in Earth based gender norms and cultural expectations of masculinity ?

Arguably, until the reboot, the Doctor was very conspicuously asexual and not gendered in the traditional sense. A lot of the novelizations played up the more alien and unfamiliar subtext to the Doctor's identity in ways that didn't always come across on-screen, but the fundamental alienness and the superficiality of his resemblance to humans and how it masked a deeper almost mystical strangeness was always a prominent theme of the myth.
posted by saulgoodman at 9:28 AM on July 16, 2017 [15 favorites]

Yay! But I want Sue Perkins for 14.

Also, this tweet is giving the Daily Mail comments the mocking they deserve: @TechnicallyRon - I took Daily Mail comments from people angry about a possible Female Dr Who and turned them into episode titles for the new series
posted by bibliowench at 9:28 AM on July 16, 2017 [54 favorites]

Your move, Eon Productions.
posted by ckape at 9:28 AM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Whooray!
posted by Shepherd at 9:29 AM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS
posted by tzikeh at 9:30 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can see how/why people are unhappy about the surprise being spoiled, but realistically: We found out when the BBC wanted us to find out. That's about as much as we can hope for.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:32 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

Oh, God, Sue Perkins would be a fabulous Doctor.

I've only seen S1 of Broadchurch, but apparently Broadchurch is a hotbed of Doctor Who related dopplegangers!
posted by rmd1023 at 9:33 AM on July 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

Doctor #6 approves of Doctor #13
posted by SansPoint at 9:34 AM on July 16, 2017 [20 favorites]

I have been behind the idea of a woman as Doctor since I got into the rebooted Doctor Who, but recently I've become nervous about the kind of dynamic she might have with a companion - basically, we have so many ways for men to be authority figures, and so few ways for women to be authority figures that aren't, like, mom.

I think having a woman Doctor could help to change that, if she's written well! But the recent seasons have kind of worked with the assumption that it's okay for the Doctor to treat his companions with a great deal of arrogance and superiority and paternalism and... that's a dynamic that plays really differently if it's a woman being arrogant to a man than the other way around.

So, I'm really excited about this, but also ... ugh, what if it doesn't work and then all the fanboys feel vindicated about not wanting a woman to play the Doctor?
posted by Jeanne at 9:36 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

So, I'm really excited about this, but also ... ugh, what if it doesn't work and then all the fanboys feel vindicated about not wanting a woman to play the Doctor?

Who gives a shit?
posted by hawthorne at 9:38 AM on July 16, 2017 [63 favorites]

Happy for this news, but a little sad that my unreasonable dream of it being Tilda Swinton will never come true.
posted by ejs at 9:38 AM on July 16, 2017 [21 favorites]

> I think the Daily Mail may have exploded
Previously
posted by farlukar at 9:38 AM on July 16, 2017

I was rooting SO HARD for Phoebe Waller-Bridge. But then, I guess it's better she's still doing her own thing, as--marvelous as her Doctor would no doubt be--we'd be losing out on her having time for writing if she took a gig like that.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:40 AM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

There should be an episode where the 13th Doctor meets the 2016 Ghostbusters.
posted by Servo5678 at 9:40 AM on July 16, 2017 [25 favorites]

Then again, "first"
posted by farlukar at 9:40 AM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

I was rooting for Tilda Swinton... I just feel like Tilda has that alien quality built in. This is a great choice too, though. Daughter woke up this morning and said, "We need to start watching Dr. Who again..." (she doesn't really watch television)... so yay!
posted by Huck500 at 9:42 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

No new episodes until 2019? This cannot be right....
posted by asra at 9:42 AM on July 16, 2017

This will probably get me to watch again, I just couldn't take Capaldi.
posted by octothorpe at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Colin Baker quoting himself as the 6th Doctor about this event when I was going to use that as the title of this thread if I made it or my first comment in it if I didn't is everything to me right now.

I only know Whittaker from the first season of Broadchurch but she was as good an actor as David Tennant and Olivia Colman, two of my favorite people in anything they are in, so this seems like a really good choice.

Now I only have to sit with this feeling of "please god, don't fuck this up" for the next almost-year, and I'm sorry that women and people of color have to live with this even more than me all the fucking time.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:48 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

It's a little-known fact that the TARDIS actually runs on the tears of fragile masculinity.

Isn't being in touch with our emotions a good thing any more?
posted by biffa at 9:51 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Then again, "first"

Curse of the Fatal Death is oddly predictive of a lot of things that happened in Moffs eventual run.
posted by Artw at 9:54 AM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

Uber-fan idiot Ian Lavine hates it... which makes me love it even more.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:54 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

After watching her in Broadchurch, she's not who I'd expect to play the Doctor. But, you know ... acting!

Having seen so many different actors in this role -- where they've without exception been distinct yet somehow undeniably the Doctor -- I am fairly certain she'll do fine. I was very skeptical about Matt Smith, and I was wrong.

I'm super-excited.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:55 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Can't wait for Tennant's reaction. It's going to be a joy.
posted by tzikeh at 9:58 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, she's not *quite* the first woman to play the Doctor, if we count Absolutely Everything Whovian (and written by Moffat, too!)
posted by tzikeh at 10:00 AM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Of course the real news is that it's the first Doctor from god's county of Yorkshire
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:09 AM on July 16, 2017 [12 favorites]

and written by Moffat, too!

And it fucking shows. Seriously, what is that man's problem?
posted by howfar at 10:12 AM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

It's an obvious fact that much of the resistance to a female Doctor was sexism. But a fair bit of resistance also came from the kind of slavish fastidiousness to established patterns that sometimes runs in nerdery. Think of the people who took to hair-rending at stuff like Superman's costume no longer having underwear on the outside. Those folks (of whom, I was likely one) were a factor, too. (Although some straight-up sexists tried to hide in those ranks too, no doubt.)

Now... whatever your final score is on how Moffatt handled gender (which has got to negative, but never mind that for the purposes of this argument), one thing that does score in his favor is that he did a pretty solid job of laying the ground work that could let the Nothing Must Ever Change nerds let go of the "but it's always been a man!" argument. Whether it was obvious stuff like the old Gallifreyan white man becoming a younger black woman, The Master becoming Missy, or the Doctor's speech on Time Lords and gender or even subtler stuff like the Capaldi-era shift away from the Tennant/Smith "boyfriend Doctor," Moffat has been chipping away at that particular breed of nerd's resistance bit by bit.

He's got a lot to account for, but he did that much at least. He brought some of us inertia-bound fans around. I wouldn't be interested in serving as that man's defender. I've got too much against him myself. But credit where paltry credit is due for what he did manage, at least.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:20 AM on July 16, 2017 [34 favorites]

He also gave the Doctor infinite regenerations, so there's that too for snapping rigidity of fandom.
posted by tzikeh at 10:22 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

This is adorable. (Someone posting her daughter's reaction to the news on twitter)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:24 AM on July 16, 2017 [33 favorites]

About fucking time.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:25 AM on July 16, 2017

(Someone posting her daughter's reaction to the news on twitter)

So... anyone know how I can download that video and share it elsewhere (with link and attribution, of course)?
posted by tzikeh at 10:31 AM on July 16, 2017

My guess is that the companion this time will be a late-middle-aged to young-retiree-aged man who will mistakenly see himself as the wise elder to 13, only to be regularly put in his place. Colm Meaney or thereabouts.

Either that or a young girl who gets taken under 13's wing and learns to live with confidence and without apology from someone for whom gender really and truly is incidental.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:31 AM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

I've been bored with Doctor Who for the past few years. It has felt so very same old same old same. This makes me want to start watching again. I'm very pleased with this choice. It's a step in the right direction.
posted by Fizz at 10:34 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

Before we assume there will be a new companion... Moffatt left Bill's exit ambiguous, there's been no announcement that Mackie is leaving the show, and she happened to find this today.
posted by plastic_animals at 10:37 AM on July 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

As for Twitter - oh my god, it's full of snark. Fave one so far goes along the lines of 'at least she'll get plenty of practice for the role, battling all these awful cyber men'.
posted by Devonian at 10:58 AM on July 16, 2017 [47 favorites]

I don't know Jodie Whittaker's work at all, so I'm going with the usual optimism when a new actor is announced in the role of the Doctor. It's Chris Chibnal about whom I harbour strong doubts, based on his middling DW scripts and uneven Torchwood ones. Thankfully, they've worked closely together on Broadchurch, and their collaboration on DW ought to be the best between showrunner and lead that we've had yet on DW.

Meantime, Neil Gaiman's stages of reaction to the reveal of a new Doctor apply as always: "I want to see The Doctor. I want to be taken by surprise. I want to squint at a photo of the person online and go 'but how can that be The Doctor?'. Then I want to be amazingly, delightedly, completely proven wrong, and, six episodes in, I want to wonder how I could have been so blind. Because this is the Doctor. Of course it is."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:04 AM on July 16, 2017 [37 favorites]

"But if the Doctor is a woman, they'll have to change the name of the show to 'Doctor Whom!'"
    -- Angry misogynist fanboy who also has a weak grasp of grammar
posted by PlusDistance at 11:04 AM on July 16, 2017 [32 favorites]

They were telegraphing this super hard in the finale of the last season, but I was convinced that it was gonna be a big fakeout. I'm thrilled that I was wrong!

I admit that I was hoping for Richard Ayoade (Moss from The IT Crowd),

Congratulations, you've landed on the most perfect companion since Romana.
posted by Itaxpica at 11:10 AM on July 16, 2017 [26 favorites]

I'm both delighted that Whittaker was cast for the role and disappointed the show didn't go with a WOC. (My secret wish was Bill would somehow end up being the next Doctor and she and Missy would have fantastic adventures together and Sue Perkins would drop in for tea every day and it would be amazing.) Anyway, I'm very new to Dr. Who - only started watching during this season - and now I'm especially looking forward to getting caught up while I wait for the new doctor's arrival.
posted by vespertine at 11:15 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

Nevertheless, she regenerated...
posted by Devonian at 11:19 AM on July 16, 2017 [79 favorites]

I have far more reservations about Chibnall than I do about the new Doctor. So casting someone he's worked with for years is a good thing.
posted by Gary at 11:26 AM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

-- Angry misogynist fanboy who also has a weak grasp of grammar

"... but I repeat myself."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:41 AM on July 16, 2017 [10 favorites]

i mean, the Doctor himself in the finale did say "the future is female!"
posted by numaner at 11:43 AM on July 16, 2017

That's nothing: the arrogant bowtied star of America's Test Kitchen recently regenerated into TWO women!
posted by Ian A.T. at 11:46 AM on July 16, 2017 [19 favorites]

@angryblacklady: "well actually, its about ethics in time travel"
posted by deludingmyself at 11:54 AM on July 16, 2017 [34 favorites]

the companion this time will be a late-middle-aged to young-retiree-aged man who will mistakenly see himself as the wise elder

Frazer Hines as Jamie or John Levene as Benton. I would explode if either were to happen.

The choice of the new Doctor is good, she's a excellent actor, my personal concern is the writing and direction. Chibnall's Torchwood episodes don't fill me with much confidence. But regardless as long as there are no farting aliens or Dobby Doctor (RTD is the worst showrunner for me) it'd have to be utterly insulting to get me to stop watching. Fingers crossed that it isn't a shallow gimmick and will be good!
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:58 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Everyone always forgets the 7th Doctor (in 1984's The Wrath of Eukor.) That said this is pretty great news. I'm exasperated by the morons on Twitter with their "Well, I Just can't watch anymore #DrWho13"

Interestingly, the hashtag #DoctorWho13 is almost completely positive.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:59 AM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Wow I never heard of Wrath of Eukor. I'll have to hand in my membership card.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:06 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Not the Doctor we want, but the Doctor we need?

Mayim Bialik not withstanding.
posted by blue_beetle at 12:06 PM on July 16, 2017

Frazer Hines as Jamie or John Levene as Benton. I would explode if either were to happen.


My votes's for wossname Weasley as Father Brown.
posted by The Gaffer at 12:07 PM on July 16, 2017

I would still love to see Tilda Swindon or Sue Perkins as the Doctor; I'd also love to see Phoebe Waller-Bridge do a one-person Fleabag/Doctor standup mashup monologue.
posted by doop at 12:10 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

You talking about my dude Clan Techie from Dredd?
posted by Artw at 12:10 PM on July 16, 2017

It's Doctor Who, not Nurse Who!
posted by schoolgirl report at 12:15 PM on July 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

...is an example of some of the stupid sexist responses to this news?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 12:17 PM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Nursing is actually a valid career of it's own, and that bit in Amy's choice about Rory secretly wanting to be a Doctor was weird and unwarranted.
posted by Artw at 12:21 PM on July 16, 2017 [19 favorites]

is an example of some of the stupid sexist responses to this news?

Indeed! (should have hashtagged it #impotentnerdrage or something)
posted by schoolgirl report at 12:25 PM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

I'm actually enjoying the broflake buttpain tweets, because they are so eminently ridiculous and they are being so superbly ridiculed. Like the one that said 'How would you feel if a man played Queen Elizabeth II?' - answer 'They're called 'kings', sweetie.' - and GRAH GRAH WUD LADY MACBETH BE PLAYED BY A MAN? - answer 'How the role was written, and played for around a hundred years.'

'It's Doctor Who, not Doctor Womb!' needs nothing more, mind.

I'm in the 'Timelady woot! Chibbers, er, not so much' camp, but you can't go a'Doctoring if you don't have copious reservoirs of unreasonable hope and optimism, so if you're looking for me, that's where I'll be.

(Will miss Capaldi, though. He did what he could with the naff scripts, and absolutely flew the good stuff into the sun.)
posted by Devonian at 12:26 PM on July 16, 2017 [12 favorites]

DOES NO ONE ELSE REMEMBER DOCTOR DONNA?! I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS HERE!
posted by gideonswann at 12:33 PM on July 16, 2017 [32 favorites]

I mean, she sure doesn't.
posted by flatluigi at 12:35 PM on July 16, 2017 [68 favorites]

:(
posted by flatluigi at 12:36 PM on July 16, 2017 [25 favorites]

I mean, she sure doesn't.

Too soon!
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:45 PM on July 16, 2017 [39 favorites]

Honestly, I would rather have another season of Capaldi.

I was going to say that I'm glad the new Doctor won't be written by Moffat, but Chibnall doesn't inspire that much confidence either (gave up on Torchwood). I think I'm going to miss Moffat though, after all, he wasn't the one responsible for the episode that riled up my fangirl rage and caused me to take a lengthy break from Who (Donna's departure, still mad).
posted by betweenthebars at 12:46 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I initially misread it as Johnnie Whittaker, Family Affair's Jodie Davis from the '60s...

Ms. Whittaker blew the doors off theaters in her first movie, Venus, opposite Peter O'Toole. This Yorkshire lass will do just fine in the role -- if not, I'll take off me belt and, by thunder, me trousers will fall down!

I too was hoping for Ayoade, but I must admit I can't help but imagine him saying, "Awww, look, it's a Dalek! Can we keep it, Roy, can we, huh?" Anyway, as long as the new Doctor is never Mike Myers or Ricky Gervais, I'n cool.

Now if they could just somehow get Captain Jack hooked up with pansexual imp (and imho likely actual virgin) Dean Pelton from Community, I will be content.
posted by zaixfeep at 12:46 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I didn't watch Broadchurch and don't really remember her from Black Mirror, so all I know is the photograph. Both I and Mrs Me thought she looked blandly pretty, but then we also agreed that that was our first impression of David Tennant, too, and look how that turned out. Looking blandly pretty is what any off-duty actor in their twenties and thirties needs to do if they want to be an on-duty actor.

I think it would be funny if the companion was a young man rescued from a life of tedium and elevated to a position of awesomeness.

I'm meanspiritedly glad it's annoyed Ian Levine. That's some bad karma for me, but worth it.

For the record, as I've mentioned before, and will henceforth shut up about, I'd have liked Adeel Akhtar, but I don't get to run any television programmes, least of all Doctor Who, so it's not really up to me.
posted by Grangousier at 12:52 PM on July 16, 2017

Richard Ayodade could possibly have gotten me to actually watch Doctor Who.

That said, there's absolutely no reason that it should have taken so long for a science-fiction television show to poke even so very lightly at the boundaries of just how a non-human alien might finally regenerate.

Still British though, hm? Oh well, we've got an American Doctor Thirteen already, and that's OK.
posted by Guy Smiley at 12:53 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Lots of planets have a Britain.
posted by Artw at 12:55 PM on July 16, 2017 [37 favorites]

what if it doesn't work and then all the fanboys feel vindicated about not wanting a woman to play the Doctor?

Spoiler: the misogynist fanboy brigade will claim it didn't work unless every episode is better than "Blink." Even then they'll say those episodes would have been better with a man. There's no pleasing them and they'll find ways to feel vindicated because their fragile egos demand it.

Leaving that, Jodie Whittaker was fabulous in Broadchurch and she's a dynamite choice. I teared up on the reveal. About time. Pun intended.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:56 PM on July 16, 2017 [20 favorites]

Especially the Empire, hmmmmmmm, AR-TW?
posted by Guy Smiley at 12:57 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I initially misread it as Johnnie Whittaker, Family Affair's Jodie Davis from the '60s...

I initially misread it as Johnnie Wallflower.

The Doctor saves the doggies from the robot dog catcher.
The Doctor saves the kittens stuck in trees. (the trees turn out to be misunderstood aliens.)
The Doctor visits Puppy Island.
The Dogtor-Donna.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 1:00 PM on July 16, 2017 [23 favorites]

Btw, not I'm not Moffat-bashing, I think he's been getting Who ready for a female Doctor since Fatal Death by making gender and race something that can change with regeneration and it's nbd. I just don't think he would've been able to resist the boob jokes, in fact, he probably would've plagiarized his own boob jokes from Coupling.
posted by betweenthebars at 1:01 PM on July 16, 2017 [7 favorites]

When William Hartnell debuted as the first Doctor in 1963 it was a different time. The United States hadn't even had a woman as President yet!
posted by ckape at 1:02 PM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

I'm kinda glad they didn't pick Tilda Swinton or anyone else who was too well-known because they would have had too much character baggage from previous rolls; yes, Capaldi was known by some from The Thick of It, but not too many (and not many outside of BBCland) and it did weigh him down somewhat. That's also why Richard Ayoade would never be right.

One thing: I hadn't seen much of Jodie Whittaker (and wouldn't have recognized her if I had), but in the pictures and clips from previous roles, her hair was darker. Did she go Blonde to do the Doctor? (I was also rather annoyed when I saw Gillian Anderson as a blonde Dana Scully in the X-Files revival... yes, she'd played other light-haired roles, but Dana's a redhead, dammit)
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:09 PM on July 16, 2017

> Capaldi was known by some from The Thick of It
"Hello, I'm the fucking Doctor!"
posted by farlukar at 1:18 PM on July 16, 2017 [7 favorites]

I haven't cared much about Who since Donna got mindwiped, so I am cautiously optimistic. But then even though I liked 10 ok, 9 was my fave dude Doctor. By 11 I just stopped caring. Amy and Rory bored me stupid. I never watched Capaldi at all. Thankfully continuity is not a thing for this franchise so I can just jump back in.
posted by emjaybee at 1:18 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Jodie Whittaker answers 13 Questions about the 13th Doctor, from the BBC website.
"I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender."
"Is that your costume in the filmed sequence which introduced you as the new Doctor?" "No."
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:07 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Personally, I'm more of a James Bond fan, so this reminds me of how people totally lost their shit when Judi Dench was cast as "M." Couldn't be done. Made no sense. Betrayed the character. Destroyed the franchise.

And she turned out okay...
posted by Naberius at 2:11 PM on July 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

Oh no, the thought just popped up -- Doctor Who Barbie. "Block transfer computation is _hard_!"
posted by zaixfeep at 2:18 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Whenever I think of an Aoyade doctor I can't help but think of his catchphrase from Travelman.

"We're Here! But should we have come!"
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:19 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

I've been thinking that maybe the smartest thing Chibnall could do is just continue to write the part of the Doctor as though writing for a man and than let Whittaker and the directors color in the added subtext of a female doctor through performance/direction. It'd be maybe the safest way for a writer with an uneven track record to avoid going in for unfortunate tropes.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:29 PM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

I'm not even really sure what you'd change, TBH.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on July 16, 2017

Devonian: Nevertheless, she regenerated...

Just for you, Devonian.
posted by tzikeh at 2:35 PM on July 16, 2017 [7 favorites]

DOT that's it exactly.

And I am not nervous about quality, because to be fair, there have been plenty of terrible episodes with male Doctors. If she can avoid being as bad as the worst male Who episode (whatever one that is, I'm sure that's a heated debate) then her season has done as well as it needs to.

I mean, yes, I would love brilliant writing and tight plotting and no stupid dialogue in every episode, but this is Doctor Who. You only get those things sometimes.
posted by emjaybee at 2:36 PM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

All this talk of Sue Perkins (who yes 100% I agree would make a great Doctor but was never gonna happen) makes me wish that Eccleston, Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi would get together and perhaps make a show where they get to eat lots of cakes and pies....
posted by tzikeh at 2:40 PM on July 16, 2017 [9 favorites]

I totally get why the BBC would reveal this in July, but how on earth did they keep it a secret this long?
posted by kimota at 2:47 PM on July 16, 2017

You know how the Doctor sometimes can use a face over again in his regenerations? (Like how 12 looks like the man he saved in Pompeii or how the Curator Doctor from the future looks like 4?)

I wonder if they could talk one of the actors who played a previous Doctor onto coming on as The Master, having impishly taken their Doctor's face?

I bet David Tennant would have a blast doing that. Or maybe Davison?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:51 PM on July 16, 2017 [10 favorites]

Imagine the fanboy head splosions if the new Doctor was a woman and the new Master was one of "their" Doctors.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:54 PM on July 16, 2017 [9 favorites]

DirtyOldTown: the smartest thing Chibnall could do is just continue to write the part of the Doctor as though writing for a man person and than let Whittaker and the directors color in the added subtext of a female doctor a different person through performance/direction.

Fixed, you, for, etc.
posted by tzikeh at 2:54 PM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Colin Baker's tweet was very nice, but what I really want to hear is "The Doctor is now a woman! So, suck it, haters!" in Tom Baker's jovial Little Britain announcer voice.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:55 PM on July 16, 2017 [10 favorites]

All I know is that 13 showed up wearing 12's clothes, so that bit of continuity has been maintained.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:57 PM on July 16, 2017

I sort of hoped the first female Doctor would be a ginger, so that the Doctor could delight in being red-headed even as the people around her dropped their jaws that she was a woman, only to have the Doctor insist that was nbd, but did you see the red hair?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:05 PM on July 16, 2017 [31 favorites]

As far as I can tell, the feminine version of avuncular is materteral. I hope they maintain all of the materteriality(?) of the Doctor. Or just avuncularity. If anyone with better knowledge wants to help me out...

This is, of course, long overdue. I'm sure they will do neat things with it and screw up pretty badly as well. I'd much rather they have the chance either way.
posted by poe at 3:06 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

As I read comments online, I do wonder why the Doctor hasn't gone and dyed his hair ginger if it meant so much to him.
posted by ZeusHumms at 3:09 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

I think Tilda Swinton's already got her hands full being the new Bowie.
posted by acb at 3:19 PM on July 16, 2017 [9 favorites]

Reading this tweet:

13th Doctor: WTF IN 2000 YEARS I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH TREACHERY
Companion: Doctor whats wrong?
Doctor: This coat has FAKE pockets

It makes me want to see a sight gag early on of the Doctor putting on a women's-cut earth coat and being silently puzzled at fake pockets
posted by rmd1023 at 3:19 PM on July 16, 2017 [57 favorites]

When does Doctor Who come back after the Christmas Special anyway?
posted by ZeusHumms at 3:22 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Cool, in another 50 years we might have a PoC as the Doctor.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:30 PM on July 16, 2017 [6 favorites]

Arguably, until the reboot, the Doctor was very conspicuously asexual and not gendered in the traditional sense.

I wonder how long until the MRA backlash creates a myth that, before all this politically correct nonsense happened, the old Doctor Who was a swashbuckling two-fisted manly man, going mano a mano with the scum of the universe and swiving wenches like some kind of James Bond/Duke Nukem hybrid.
posted by acb at 3:34 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I took Daily Mail comments from people angry about a possible Female Dr Who and turned them into episode titles for the new series "

Has Jim'll Paint It done a TARDIS full of bras yet? If not, why not?
posted by acb at 3:36 PM on July 16, 2017

It always kind of depresses me when 2/3 of the comments about a women doing something cool are about the online trolls who will inevitably harass her. They will! Of course they will, and it sucks. But it feels like there are more interesting things to talk about during the initial announcement of something like this than "the MRAs and fanboys will cry so much!" and it makes me a little tired. I hope for this new Doctor that she's supported by great writing, she will certainly be by great acting, I hope her relationship with her companion(s) is heartfelt and funny and one for the ages, I do.

So then, not to rain even further on the parade, but...this is so long overdue it's ridiculous, and the ridiculousness of it outweighs the purity of excitement I had always imagined I'd feel when this finally happened. Whittaker should do a great job! Moffat leaving is a huge relief! But overall it's kind of like, and this doesn't take away from it being monumental for this particular franchise, it's kind of like...it's 2017. There is absolutely no reason this shouldn't have happened so much earlier, and any excitement I have about it is tinged with sadness about that. What will happen after 13? Will things revert back to the status quo? Will will get a female Doctor of color? I want to say this is entirely forward momentum from here on, but of course I can't.
posted by colorblock sock at 3:37 PM on July 16, 2017 [15 favorites]

acb: Has Jim'll Paint It done a TARDIS full of bras yet? If not, why not?

I'm waiting for the Chuck Tingle story about all this.
posted by tzikeh at 3:38 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

So, I'm really excited about this, but also ... ugh, what if it doesn't work and then all the fanboys feel vindicated about not wanting a woman to play the Doctor?

Look, it's not equality if we have one shot and if it's not perfect, we say "oh, sorry! We should have stayed with men, I guess." How many Batman reboots, Hulk reboots, Spiderman reboots, etc. have we had? White men get to fuck up and fail and they just hire another white man to start over. Equality means we get that benefit, too.
posted by greermahoney at 3:40 PM on July 16, 2017 [45 favorites]

I think that all of the surviving 'Old Who' Doctors will push back strongly against any "macho man Doctor" historical revisionism. But the "MRAs and fanboys" control a dangerously large percentage of the Internet, as well as most of the non-BBC British media.

But here's my expectations for future Doctor Casting... #14 will go back to White Male, but after that all bets are off. The next ten (because the show's going to keep going that long) will be 4-out-of-10 female and include more than one Asian and more than one African (likely of both genders) and one with an obnoxiously American accent. But no Irish.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:51 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I had been hoping for Tamsin Grieg as the new Doctor, with Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey as her Companions.

"Doctor, help! I've swallowed The Little Book of Calm!"
"Quiet you. Doctor! Somebody help me drink this bottle of red!"

Her sonic screwdriver would open so many wine bottles in just the first three episodes, would have been amazing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:51 PM on July 16, 2017 [26 favorites]

So I'm wondering how countries that have different words for male and female doctors are going to cope re Who now

(afaik the keeps its English title 'Doctor Who' in Germany)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:05 PM on July 16, 2017

It makes me want to see a sight gag early on of the Doctor putting on a women's-cut earth coat and being silently puzzled at fake pockets

Followed by the Doctor having the TARDIS produce a new version of the coat, with pockets that not only exist, but are actually bigger on the inside.
posted by Pryde at 4:06 PM on July 16, 2017 [11 favorites]

If wine-consuming Tamsin Grieg is a new Doctor regeneration, then her Master/Missy foil can only be played by Lena Headey, aka Cersei "Orders Wine by the Barrel" Lannister.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 4:07 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

How many Batman reboots, Hulk reboots, Spiderman reboots, etc. have we had?
Well, io9 did two impressive ranked listicles recently, one with FORTY different non-Peter-Parker-Spider-Men in the comics and the other with TWENTY-TWO different Spider-Women (Spider-Gwen was only ranked #5?!?). Sometimes, the Super Comics are ahead of the curve; others they go after trends that don't work and quickly reboot the reboot.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:09 PM on July 16, 2017

When does Doctor Who come back after the Christmas Special anyway?

They start filming next spring so fall 2018 at the earliest but it will more likely be a Christmas 2018 special followed by series 11 in early 2019.
posted by plastic_animals at 4:09 PM on July 16, 2017

I mean I think that Olivia Colman should be cast in pretty much everything but I have liked Jodie in pretty much everything I have seen her in - including the fairly-ordinary-but-got-some-good-bits Marchlands - and I think this is just swell!
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:14 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

but now nobody will understand that classic riddle anymore!

(A man and his son are both hit by a car; the father is killed but the son is only critically injured. when the ambulance brings him to the time hospital, Dr. Who says, "I can't distort the time streams to take this man back before the accident happened, to save his life; he's my son!"

how is this possible?)

(DON'T TELL ME HER NAME'S NOT DOCTOR WHO)
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:05 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

They start filming next spring so fall 2018 at the earliest but it will more likely be a Christmas 2018 special followed by series 11 in early 2019.

I don't think this is right. I believe they start shooting before Christmas and Whittaker's first series will air around May of 2018.
posted by crossoverman at 5:10 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

(afaik the keeps its English title 'Doctor Who' in Germany)

Isn't the German word for “who” just “wer”, regardless of gender? You might have to go to the Slavic and/or Baltic languages before “who” is gendered.
posted by acb at 5:13 PM on July 16, 2017

Let's split the difference! This Radio Times piece from February, which seems to be the source of all Series 11 filming/airing information, says filming begins early 2018 for an autumn 2018 airdate.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:30 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Isn't the German word for “who” just “wer”, regardless of gender? You might have to go to the Slavic and/or Baltic languages before “who” is gendered.

I think the issue is more Doctor than Who. (Arzt vs Ärztin)
posted by ckape at 5:36 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

DirtyOldTown: "You know how the Doctor sometimes can use a face over again in his regenerations? (Like how 12 looks like the man he saved in Pompeii or how the Curator Doctor from the future looks like 4?)

I wonder if they could talk one of the actors who played a previous Doctor onto coming on as The Master, having impishly taken their Doctor's face?"

5 words: Louise Jameson as The Rani.
posted by Pinback at 5:53 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

But here's my expectations for future Doctor Casting... #14 will go back to White Male, but after that all bets are off. The next ten (because the show's going to keep going that long) will be 4-out-of-10 female and include more than one Asian and more than one African (likely of both genders) and one with an obnoxiously American accent. But no Irish.

There is ONE rule of casting The Doctor that even Fox got. The Doctor can be any gender. The Doctor can be any race. The Doctor can be any age. The Doctor MUST be British.
posted by dannyboybell at 5:59 PM on July 16, 2017 [19 favorites]

I have been amusing myself with watching some "reaction to the announcement" videos on Youtube.

For those of you who wanted to see Richard Ayoade as The Doctor, you may instead appreciate this reaction video from a Richard Ayoade clone. (It seems mostly positive, but hedging bets a bit.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:29 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Regeneration Cycle
posted by oh yeah! at 6:39 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

After years of staunchly eschewing this fandom I will finally join it. So excited1
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:59 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

I am not the first to note that at some point River Song's gonna show up and it will be a straight-up lesbian TARDIS.
posted by praemunire at 7:13 PM on July 16, 2017 [13 favorites]

Richard Ayoade had been so hopeful, too.
posted by ckape at 7:24 PM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'll be waiting eagerly for the first episode that Billie Piper returns for.
posted by Twang at 7:25 PM on July 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

You may instead appreciate this reaction video from a Richard Ayoade clone.

Is it too soon to put a bet down on Dom to be the Eighteenth Doctor?
posted by dannyboybell at 7:50 PM on July 16, 2017

Alex Kingston was told the news while she was at a fan convention panel, while onstage.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:03 PM on July 16, 2017 [22 favorites]

Somebody on Twitter was mocking somebody who was talking about "SJW bullshit" and wondering if they'd ever, you know, actually seen the show and now I realize the full title of the show is and always has been Doctor Who Was Kind Of An Asshole With A Stolen TARDIS Who Became A Social Justice Warrior After Meeting Some Nice Humans; the Doctor has often told the tale of going on the run because the Time Lords non-intervention policy seemed immoral but that's just a lie that's been told so long that It became the truth. But we've been watching for so long that we know the truth.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:32 PM on July 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

I really loved that reveal video. Just sets such a different vibe. I'm psyched for this.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:33 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Alex Kingston is the best.
posted by deludingmyself at 8:41 PM on July 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

i mean, the Doctor himself in the finale did say "the future is female!"

I believe it was another character who asks the Doctor if the future was all female, and he replies "We can hope."
posted by Thorzdad at 8:55 PM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yes please!
posted by Coaticass at 10:24 PM on July 16, 2017

Sometimes, the Super Comics are ahead of the curve; others they go after trends that don't work and quickly reboot the reboot.

I should have been more clear. My comment was only about film. Comic books are a whole different animal, and yes, they tend to take more chances. Although writers and artists are still overwhelmingly white males.
posted by greermahoney at 12:14 AM on July 17, 2017

(afaik the keeps its English title 'Doctor Who' in Germany)

Yes, it does. Nowadays, titles of shows are rarely translated, so we don't have "Spiel der Throne" (GoT), "Die gehenden Toten" (WD), or "Brechend schlecht" (BB).

Either way, usually the female form of "Doktor" is also "Doktor"; although "Doktorin" is sometimes possible. Legally "Doktorin" would only be correct if the doctoral regulations of the department that awards the doctorate allow it; in conversation and writing, the default address would be "Frau Doktor" ("Ms. Doctor"). I would say "Frau Doktor Wer" sounds a little more natural than "Doktorin Wer".
posted by erdferkel at 12:45 AM on July 17, 2017 [5 favorites]

It's a Doctor Who Special on Christmas Eve, not a Doctor Who Special on Christmas Steve!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:26 AM on July 17, 2017 [32 favorites]

I would just like to point out that Alex Kingston portrays the Doctor's actual wife.

This is canon.

I do hope she gets to come back!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:28 AM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also honestly, I always thought the Rani should reappear immediately with more than one actor. She should be double-cast in a multiple-regeneration episode from the start.

The Two Ranis

...aaaand it's goodnight from me!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:30 AM on July 17, 2017 [17 favorites]

I think the issue is more Doctor than Who. (Arzt vs Ärztin)

Shouldn't that be Doktor/in (as in one who holds a doctorate, rather than a physician)?
posted by acb at 2:41 AM on July 17, 2017

This will annoy exactly the right people.
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 3:03 AM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

My favourite tweet so far is this one from @peterbroks:
*Enters mind of someone who objects to woman taking role of Doctor Who*

"Wow, it's so much smaller on the inside"
posted by edd at 3:21 AM on July 17, 2017 [29 favorites]

rum-soaked space hobo, I want you to know that I may have favourited your comment, but I also just sighed loudly like six times.
posted by kalimac at 3:48 AM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

The Sun headline (scroll about halfway down) wins the prize. (Ah, farlukar had this yesterday)
posted by epo at 4:23 AM on July 17, 2017

I do hope [Alex Kingston] gets to come back!

I don't, but that's because River Song as a character irritates me deeply.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:40 AM on July 17, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'm stoked for a female Doctor. I just don't know if I can accept Jodie Whittaker as a blonde.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:21 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

German stacks honorifics up, so it would be Frau Doktor or Frau Doktor Proffesor if Ace comes back.
posted by Artw at 7:30 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

German stacks honorifics up, so it would be Frau Doktor or Frau Doktor Proffesor if Ace comes back.

Not necessarily, and not like this. It would be "Frau Professor Doktor".

As a general rule: Office titles come first, then optionally degrees (but if a degree is higher than another, it is usually not named --for example, "Frau Dekanin Professorin Doktor Doktor" or ""Frau Dekanin Professorin" are both okay for a female professor with two doctorates who is currently a dean; but note that the lower degrees are usually not mentioned).

Also, be aware that although some people really insist on these honorifics, others will be very amused if you use anything more than a "Liebe Frau"/"Lieber Herr" ("Dear Ms", "Dear Mr"). And of course, that's a German perspective, things might be different in Austria.

Of course, this is moot, as these Time Lord names are pseudonyms, and do not really follow these conventions. Far more important is that German has gendered definite articles, so "Ich bin der Doktor" , it would become "Ich bin die Doktor" (both translations of "I am the Doctor", one male, one female). Moreover, one could also use "Ich bin die Doktorin", using the rather unusual female form.
posted by erdferkel at 8:44 AM on July 17, 2017 [6 favorites]

@CharlTaylorPage: 'Feminists ruining my childhood' cry fandoms of DrWho/StarWars/Ghostbusters. Meanwhile little girls cannot safely Google My Little Pony
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:04 AM on July 17, 2017 [23 favorites]

Am wondering if I would accept a male Romana.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:45 AM on July 17, 2017

Anybody could be the Rani!
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on July 17, 2017

Were there any pop stars in the running?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:03 AM on July 17, 2017

Were there any pop stars in the running?

Lily Allen campaigned actively to be on the show as a companion at least once that I can remember. I could see her as Romana or the Rani. Her brother Alfie is terrific as Theon/Reek on Game of Thrones, so it's reasonable to think she might be a solid actor as well.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:27 AM on July 17, 2017

Personally, I'm more of a James Bond fan, so this reminds me of how people totally lost their shit when Judi Dench was cast as "M." Couldn't be done. Made no sense. Betrayed the character. Destroyed the franchise.

And she turned out okay...

By the way, I came pretty close to instead saying: Personally, I'm more of a Battlestar Galactica fan, so this reminds me of how people totally lost their shit when Katee Sackhoff was cast as Starbuck. Couldn't be done. Made no sense. Betrayed the character. Destroyed the franchise.

And she turned out okay...
posted by Naberius at 11:04 AM on July 17, 2017 [4 favorites]

Let me be the n-th commenter to say that Whittaker seems fine but I'm far more worried about the writing than the actual actor. I'm actually not that opinionated on a woman doctor - it's fine, a guy would have been fine, although given the outcry when Capaldi came on board I think the producers would have had much, much more backlash from choosing another guy, unless it was Richard Ayoade (although I get why people think he would have been a less-good choice).

Oddly I didn't actually see any first-hand complaining about Whittaker in my Twitter feed - presumably I follow too many women or something - although I did see a lot of criticizing the backlash.

This least season has lowered the stakes and been a lot better for it. Although overall I'm getting tired of big tentpole franchises like this - I wish it was possible to tell new stories about new characters. I loved Dirk Gently. I never got around to watching Orphan Black but I hear it was good. I feel like there's too much pressure overall on Doctor Who to be the big sci-fi TV show of the day. I've been very happy that it came back but it unlike the Doctor I don't expect it to last forever, although given the nature of the Doctor herself, yeah, it could and probably will be around longer than I will.
posted by GuyZero at 11:29 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Sun headline (scroll about halfway down) wins the prize. (Ah, farlukar had this yesterday)

And if you looked inside then it also reported on all Jodie Whittaker's nude work, with pictures.
posted by biffa at 12:41 PM on July 17, 2017

yes, she'd played other light-haired roles, but Dana's a redhead, dammit

It's actually pretty realistic for an almost 50 year old red-head to have significantly lighter hair. My sister had amazing auburn-red hair growing up and now is mostly referred to as a blonde due to the way her grays look.

I grew up as a Dr. Who fan but had to bail during the Matt Smith years. It was just all far too boring and stupid for me and watching was a chore. I think, in 2017, that casting a thin, blonde, white woman will not be the move that brings me back. I'll be interested in her costuming and so on, but gender swapping for the safest choice possible doesn't get any points from me these days.
posted by Squeak Attack at 12:54 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's cool, kalimac. I resisted posting it at all, but then the Precious Broflakes started using terrible rhymes to justify their idiocy and I figured it was fair play for satire.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:38 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh, but if you meant the Two Ranis joke, yeah that's a horrible Dad Joke and everyone should roll their eyes at it.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:39 PM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

Prepare to be Transported.
posted by Twang at 4:01 PM on July 17, 2017

I wonder if they could talk one of the actors who played a previous Doctor onto coming on as The Master, having impishly taken their Doctor's face?"

Perhaps this has already happened -- who knows? Who. knows?
posted by wildblueyonder at 4:18 PM on July 17, 2017

Oh, but if you meant the Two Ranis joke, yeah that's a horrible Dad Joke and everyone should roll their eyes at it.

It's kind of glorious.
posted by Artw at 4:18 PM on July 17, 2017

Yep, I was referring to the Two Ranis joke.

(I had to take a moment to get it, but I assure you, I made up for it in my response.)
posted by kalimac at 5:07 PM on July 17, 2017

I grew up as a Dr. Who fan but had to bail during the Matt Smith years. It was just all far too boring and stupid for me and watching was a chore. I think, in 2017, that casting a thin, blonde, white woman will not be the move that brings me back. I'll be interested in her costuming and so on, but gender swapping for the safest choice possible doesn't get any points from me these days.

New showrunner too, Squeak Attack. It should be okay for you to test the waters again.
posted by dances with hamsters at 5:16 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Are we gonna get the Valeyard this next season?
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:18 PM on July 17, 2017

I don't get the Two Ranis joke. :(
posted by XtinaS at 5:46 PM on July 17, 2017 [4 favorites]

XtinaS - it's this
posted by jason_steakums at 5:51 PM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm still having fun in comments.

Please to enjoy a pair of youtube nerdbros revel in the schaudenfreude as they make fun of people complaining about The 13th Doctor casting.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:09 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's okay XtinaS, as I always say: If you can't get a laugh, diagram it!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 10:45 PM on July 17, 2017

@MerriamWebster 13 hours ago:

'Doctor' has no gender in English.
posted by Pink Frost at 10:52 PM on July 17, 2017 [6 favorites]

I'm always happy to read the diverse viewpoints here, but I agree with the comments about weariness at the pointing and laughing at other fans displeasure. The current cycle of of outrage and backlash has poisoned so much of the public discourse. I am sad to see that happening to Doctor Who fans, even in the face of some very reprehensible comments about this choice. The Doctor has certainly shown disdain for this type of petty behavior many times over the course of the show.

I know it's not possible to satisfy every viewer's desire with casting the Doctor and the companions, especially considering how small the main recurring cast is. It seems like there are always people who are upset no matter who is cast in these roles; that is a Doctor Who tradition going back to 1966. I hope people can give the show a chance to prove itself over the next year or two.

I enjoyed Moffat's contributions to Doctor Who. His willingness to bring back the classic elements (some of which Capaldi asked for), his hiring of fresh writers and directors who really got the spirit of the show, especially Jamie Matheson and Sarah Dollard. Rachel Talalay's direction of the final Capaldi episodes was very moody and atmospheric.

I hope that the collaboration between Chibnall and Whittaker proves to be as much fun as the last five years have been for me.
posted by JDC8 at 11:15 PM on July 17, 2017 [5 favorites]

I remember vividly Matt Smith getting attacked as "too young" and Peter Capaldi as "too old". It was obvious the Next Doctor would be subjected to awfulness, so I'm glad the BBC folks decided to let it happen for a good cause.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:38 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

this sums it up
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:50 PM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

JDC8, I felt that -- in some ways the end of his tenure was the point at which I finally felt, being a prior fan of Capaldi's, that his Doctor was living up to my expectations. (But then I was already tired of Moffatt, and of Coleman.) I also grew to like the Doctor-Bill-Nardole dynamic, even though initially Matt Lucas grated on me and Mackie played out the jaw-agape stuff a little too long.

But even though I had hoped for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, excellent in both Broadchurch and Fleabag, Whittaker is definitely a solid choice. The role of Beth in Broadchurch was one of the trickiest in a show full of tricky roles, and Attack the Block is great as well, so despite my sharing Chibnall-related misgivings (and Torchwood ranged from glorious mess to dreary mess), Broadchurch is definitely a great calling card.

Finally, I'll just note that Colin Baker supporting this makes me like his Doctor more than him ever playing the role did (note, I have seen very few of his and McCoy's, but know the consensus).
posted by dhartung at 11:56 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Colin Baker does better in audio, where you can't see the hideous clown get-up.
posted by Artw at 6:09 AM on July 18, 2017

I wonder if Colin Baker does better in audio, where you can't see the hideous clown get-up.

I've heard very little, but yes. Colin Baker has a wonderful speaking voice, and his take on the Doctor is pretty interesting (and ahead of its time, frankly). With better writing, he's a good Doctor. (Peri is still awful though.)

Anyway, people have complained about Doctor Who since it premiered. Not sure if this has been posted upthread, but here are All the Times Doctor Who Was Ruined Forever.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:34 AM on July 18, 2017 [9 favorites]

I was holding out for Helen Mirren.
posted by Karmakaze at 7:43 AM on July 18, 2017

Anyway, people have complained about Doctor Who since it premiered. Not sure if this has been posted upthread, but here are All the Times Doctor Who Was Ruined Forever.

Other than the police box, people saying Doctor Who is ruined forever is the only constant over 50 years.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:07 AM on July 18, 2017 [4 favorites]

Anyway, people have complained about Doctor Who since it premiered. Not sure if this has been posted upthread, but here are All the Times Doctor Who Was Ruined Forever.

I remember someone (Dan Aykroyd?) once talking about how the critics loved Saturday Night Live, then hated it, then complained about the retreads, then were cautiously optimistic, then said it wasn't as good as it used to be...

And the punchline was "And then, we aired the second episode."
posted by Etrigan at 9:19 AM on July 18, 2017 [12 favorites]

So, counting strictly, Whittaker's Doctor is the 2nd Doctor from the 2nd set of regenerations?
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:18 AM on July 18, 2017

Yep. 13th Doctor named Doctor (not counting John Hurt), 14th incarnation (counting John Hurt), 14th regeneration (counting Ten's hand), and the 2nd Doctor from round 2 of regenerations.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:28 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

I mean if you want to be a pedantic Whovian (but I repeat myself)* about it.

Somebody online started talking about wanting the Whittaker Doctor meeting the Sisterhood of Karn, and I started imagining all the scenarios I want to see her in. And then I made myself sad thinking about how she'll never meet Sarah Jane Smith on screen.

* - Card-carrying pedantic Whovian since 1985
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:40 AM on July 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

I wonder if Colin Baker does better in audio, where you can't see the hideous clown get-up.

Spare Parts is worth checking out, if you do audios. It was the basis for World Enough and Time (in the same way that Dalek derived from the audio Jubilee), and is very good and also very Colin Baker . It captures the body horror of the Cybermen very well - they smell of antiseptic (that was a detail that made quite an impression for some reason).
posted by Grangousier at 11:48 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm looking forward to Thirteen meeting the Paternoster Gang. Jenny will likely gape, Vastra will congratulate her on an upgrade, and Strax will call her "boy."

I can also imagine a very conflicted Captain Jack Harkness.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:50 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

As Grangousier said, a lot of Colin's work on Big Finish is well worth checking out.

Also, he's freaking hilarious in The Five(ish) Doctors, which made me think Davison would have made a fantastic showrunner (he wrote it, got McCoy, and C.Baker to play along, included one of my favorite Olivia Coleman cameos ever).
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:16 PM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can also imagine a very conflicted Captain Jack Harkness.

On the contrary, I suspect Captain Jack would be singularly unruffled by the gender change.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:41 PM on July 18, 2017 [13 favorites]

On the contrary, I suspect Captain Jack would be singularly unruffled by the gender change.

Owen Harper: [Gwen is snogging Carys] I thought she said she had a boyfriend?
Captain Jack Harkness: You people and your quaint little categories.

-- Torchwood
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:48 PM on July 18, 2017 [7 favorites]

Pretty sure Spart Parts is Davidson - it is fantastic though. /mega pedant
posted by Artw at 3:19 PM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Davison would have made a fantastic showrunner

I've only done a few of his, but in my experience Davison definitely gives the best* / most incisive commentaries on the DVDs to make me think he probably would

*best as 'left brain' appeal... he's not quite up with the madness of Tom Baker on the rhs.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:03 AM on July 19, 2017

Pretty sure Spart Parts is Davidson

Bloody hell, you're right. And Jubilee is Baker [C]. And I'm an idiot.
posted by Grangousier at 5:23 AM on July 19, 2017

I've heard the initial RTD Cyberman story was based on it, which, well, didn't really show.
posted by Artw at 6:49 AM on July 19, 2017

Oh my giddy aunt, it's Davidson.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:49 AM on July 19, 2017

Oh my giddy aunt, it's Davidson.

Moffett
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:01 PM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

Related (sort of):

Whittaker / Whitaker
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:35 PM on July 19, 2017

Oh my giddy aunt, it's Davidson.

Bloody hell.

Anyhoo, the BBC has released a statement to address Whittaker's casting on the programme:

Since the first Doctor regenerated back in 1966, the concept of the Doctor as a constantly evolving being has been central to the programme. The continual input of fresh ideas and new voices across the cast and the writing and production teams has been key to the longevity of the series.

The Doctor is an alien from the planet Gallifrey and it has been established in the show that Time Lords can switch gender.

As the Controller of BBC Drama has said, Jodie is not just a talented actor but she has a bold and brilliant vision for her Doctor. She aced it in her audition both technically and with the powerful female life force she brings to the role. She is destined to be an utterly iconic Doctor.

We hope viewers will enjoy what we have in store for the continuation of the story.

Incidentally, I was bemused to learn that Whittaker's code word for Doctor Who was "The Clooney".
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:10 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

How Some Women’s Reactions to a Female Doctor on Doctor Who Reveals Internalized Misogyny
posted by homunculus at 3:30 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

British Tabloids Publish Nudes of the Female Doctor Who and Holy Crap, What’s Happening? We’re Being Invaded By Some Kind of—”EXTERMINATE!”
posted by homunculus at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2017

...if this is somehow to weird for you...

and does it need to be pointed out the site with the most negative of "some women's reactions" was "GeekDad"?
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:48 PM on July 19, 2017

Laurie Penny: Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who is the heroic female super nerd we've been waiting for
posted by homunculus at 11:31 PM on July 19, 2017

Whittaker's Doctor Who is also establishing pay parity for the part: BBC’s Tony Hall Confirms Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker Will Be Paid the Same as Peter Capaldi After Salary Storm (about that "salary storm"—BBC Caught In Gender Pay Gap Controversy As Top Earners’ Salaries Are Unveiled).
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:17 PM on July 20, 2017 [4 favorites]

Doctor Who Helpline. "Man-children, we are here for you."
posted by homunculus at 4:18 PM on July 20, 2017

I don't know which is more pathetic - the fact that someone actually started a petition to change the gender back, or the fact that it has 500+ supporters.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:31 PM on July 21, 2017

RIP Deborah Watling... Who assistant, Victoria
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:39 PM on July 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

Davison...maybe you are "an old fashioned dinosaur"
posted by juv3nal at 2:41 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

The important thing is that they are all arguing.

(I would have expected 3rd to be the shit)
posted by Artw at 2:46 PM on July 21, 2017

Seriously tempted to sign the anti-woman-doctor petition with the name "Missy Master" and the reason "because I haven't gotten to make out with him yet"
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:25 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Christmas Special trailer.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:07 PM on July 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'm gonna miss those guys.
posted by Artw at 4:53 PM on July 23, 2017

Also at the SDCC Doctor Who panel, we got another reason to be glad Stephen Moffat is not going to be the showrunner anymore, as he semi-officially declared the character's "full" name is... Doctor Who.

"He doesn’t often call himself Doctor Who because it’s a bloody stupid name, but he signs himself Doctor W."

Save us, please, Chibnall and Whittaker!!!
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:58 PM on July 23, 2017

Davison...maybe you are "an old fashioned dinosaur"

His son-in-law is all for it.

....I rather suspect that things are a little tense in the Tennant-Moffet household right now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:38 PM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I was wondering what side the Doctor's daughter / Clone / Daughter / Wife had come down on and discovered that she is in a new series of Big Finish Audio adventures as "The Doctor's Daughter"
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:51 AM on July 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

People can be made to look bad when they are quoted out of context. The rest of what Moffat said at ComicCon was “If you prefer to believe that he’s really calling himself ‘the Doctor’ and that’s just the name of the show, that’s equally true. Because what would Doctor Who continuity be without a blatant and unresolvable contradiction?” Where he is clearly joking around and making light of the show's lack of continuity.
posted by plastic_animals at 6:41 AM on July 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

People who get upset when you call the character Doctor Who are great fun and have a fine sense of proportion.
posted by Artw at 7:22 AM on July 24, 2017 [5 favorites]

As a matter of fact, YES WE DO AND I WILL HEAR NO ARGUMENTS OTHERWISE OR I WILL TOTALLY FREAK OUT.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:39 AM on July 24, 2017

I refer you to the classic Knock Knock joke.
posted by Artw at 8:25 AM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Doctor Who is required. Bring him here.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:41 AM on July 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was wondering what side the Doctor's daughter / Clone / Daughter / Wife had come down on and discovered that she is in a new series of Big Finish Audio adventures as "The Doctor's Daughter"

I would just like to take this moment to remind that you that David Tennant and Peter Davison both played the Doctor and Georgia Moffett, who is Davison's daughter and married Tennant, played the Doctor's Daughter, and also gave birth to (her and) Tennant's daughter.

There are so many funny ways to frame that. It's all squarely in I'm My Own Grandpa Land.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:59 AM on July 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I would just like to take this moment to remind that you that David Tennant and Peter Davison both played the Doctor and Georgia Moffett, who is Davison's daughter and married Tennant, played the Doctor's Daughter, and also gave birth to (her and) Tennant's daughter.

Elsewhere, I saw a remark about their first child's birth: "that child's family tree must be a lemniscate."

(They've had 2 other kids together by now, on top of the son Georgia already had. Everyone may all just be too busy.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:34 AM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh, and an apocryphical story: I swear I read somewhere that Davison told a story about something that happened right when David Tennant and Georgia Moffett had just started dating; she was visiting Davison, and had snuck away to call David, and Peter Davison said he happened to overhear a bit of her side of the conversation while walking past the room; it was a bit....saucy, so he crept away, snickering to himself that "hee, my daughter's having phone sex with The Doctor."

And then about ten seconds later he realized with a shudder that "wait....I'm also The Doctor."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:39 AM on July 24, 2017 [10 favorites]