A female Doctor.

[gremcint]

I am a doctor who fan and have been for several years I've seen doctors 1,8,9,10,11 and discussion that comes up a lot is to have the next doctor be female.

For those how don't know the doctor is an alien who instead of dying regenerates into a new body(Actor) entirely and we're on 11 (hey you, I see you, no spoilers) and he's always male. They've had lots of female timelords and one traveled with him for a while too.

I don't think the doctor should be played by a woman, here's the thing he is a male character this isn't an entirely new character he is still the doctor with all his memories and actions intact, he is not a different person really. I don't think it fits the mythology they've set up to have him become a woman next time. I just honestly don't think it fits. Now not I'm saying against transgendered individuals but there is a difference between realizing something about yourself, exploring personal issues, making some hard decisions and just spontaneously growing boobs and changing genitalia out of nowhere. If anything given the writing of the current doctor I think it would turn into to much of a joke.

I don't think it's going to happen but I don't think it would be a good choice for the mythology. Further if they did it and wanted to switch back to another man after then who knows the reaction that would generate.

[Ginger Tea]

The doctors wife episode (Neil Gaimen) had him commenting on one timelord who did gender swap it could have just been a throw away comment and not cannon with timelord biology, but that has been in flux for along time, hello half human 8th, how exactly did he become half human? Not read a 8th novel or audio book so I don't know how that was explained etc.

Being the last timelord you do have few female role models, the companions have been getting stronger over the years, was a bit meh with Freema, but I was pro Donna before the whole Doctor Donna bit.

Yes we have River Song, but as she shed her regenerations to save the 11th after poisoning him we know that she will only be along for so long, atleast we know she wont get killed in any episode as she's already dead in Tennants time line.

Also Ranna or whatever the other timelord from Baker's tenure, she confused the regeneration aspect by having a dozen or so forms before settling on her hired actors, yet only used one regeneration to do so.

Perhaps he could headfuck the audience by learning rivers genome to regenerate into a semi clone, or inject some of her dna whilst exiting as Smith, more doable, then give the real River Song something to say "Hello Sweetie" about.

[Kelmon]

Personally, i think the most important thing about his next regeneration is that he - or she - will be a ginger.

That is all.


But in all seriousness, i think i'm more comfortable with the doctor staying male in each regeneration. Though I can't say why, really. Maybe it would be different if we didn't have 10 male predecessors already, with the old series showing us an amalgam of future regenerations (the Valeyard), also male, and...well....having one still unaccounted for, but again: male.

[HYHYBT]

I just trust that they will come up with some explanation for why the limit of, what, 13? doesn't apply and he/she/it can come back as many times as profit dictates. (I know it was introduced early on, relatively speaking, but still, specifying such a number wasn't the best idea.)

[Greenday]

I'm only on Season 4 of the new series, but I've been waiting for a female Doctor. I fear it'll only be for one episode and it'll be a goof episode.

[gremcint]

I just trust that they will come up with some explanation for why the limit of, what, 13? doesn't apply and he/she/it can come back as many times as profit dictates. (I know it was introduced early on, relatively speaking, but still, specifying such a number wasn't the best idea.)

well my understanding is the master used up his regenerations completely and they restored him.

[Ginger Tea]

They have given the Master more even though we never saw all incarnations (that I remember) but the wiki said he was granted more by the timelords for the timewar so each time they paint themselves into a corner, they McGuffin out an excuse.

First Doctor left, McGuffin Regeneration, hell they also have a second one that isn't quite the same and speculation hints that some of the Regens were in fact the other, no idea which mind my classic who is scant as I cant remember the good episodes just the vagina plants (due to the Radio Dead Air retrospective) and the Basset monster from 7th run, plus I only saw the last bits of Bakers run and don't remember the BBC running reruns all that much back in the day, I can only lay claim to the regeneration scene as my Baker exposure.
But the Tennant 'hand job' is the 2nd type else he would be 10+11, or he was not quite dead due to his timelord physiology vs human's when shot by a Dalek.

If he didn't leave on sour terms with the producers, I would love them to actually do some pre Rose (if there was any time as it's hinted that he had recently regenerated hence his mirror gawking) or pre regeneration 9th Doctor with or without Rose as they made far more books with him than shows, even though a lot of them could be find/replace and work just as well, I might enjoy Freema books if it was Donna pasted over the text, she was rather meh to me unlike Ms Am I Bovvered.

He's a time traveller, his meet ups with River are all over the place, so why not rehire an old one for a short break and reshoot the regeneration from Smith to whomever (no pun intended) some time later as all you have to do is film the new guy posing and work with the Christmas exit footage.
It's just a pitty all the others are either dead or getting a bit too older looking to pull a mid season story arc without heavy makeup or CGI.

I'm only on Season 4 of the new series, but I've been waiting for a female Doctor. I fear it'll only be for one episode and it'll be a goof episode.

A case of Fatal Death, Rowan Atkinson ends up as Joanna Lumley and walks off to bone the masters brains out off camera.

[Hyena Dandy]

If he didn't leave on sour terms with the producers, I would love them to actually do some pre Rose

If by "He" you mean "Paul McGann," then no, he didn't leave on sour terms with the producers. The reason he wasn't in the new series was that Russell Davies, while he felt that McGann did a good job as The Doctor, with the script he was given, thought that The Doctor, as McGann portrayed him, was far too light.

I have a few qualities I'd like to see in the person playing The Doctor.

1) Knowledge of Genre work/Ability to do it convincingly
2) Strong, distinctive characterization
3) Manic energy
4) Outright alien behavior and/or appearance
5) Can act old and young at the same time.

To that end, I can't think of anyone who would be better fit to play The Doctor than Tilda Swinton.

Failing her, though, my next choice would honestly be Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir on DS9.)

Edit: Editing post will be big enough for it's own, so if someone migth see this, I'm making it into a different post. Didn't notice part of GT's comment.

[Ginger Tea]

No I meant Eccleston, might have fudged his number, but it is unclear on the time between regenerations as to 8 and 9/rose, theory says first adventure, even though all the images of the titanic Kennedy etc are Eccleston not any of the others, though they could be Rose adventures she just isn't as visible hell she could be the one taking the damn photo's.

[Hyena Dandy]

A case of Fatal Death, Rowan Atkinson ends up as Joanna Lumley and walks off to bone the masters brains out off camera.

Curse of the Fatal Death, yeah. Not sure how much you can glean from it. Obviously, it's non-canon, having been made I think even before the '97 movie. None of the ideas from that could possibly carry over, because, for obvious reasons, no-one who worked on that is with the MODERN show.

At least I'm PRETTY sure, because that was just light comedy, and currently, Doctor Who is a fairly serious show. Now, just to be sure, I'm going to look up all the people involved with that.

Hmm, the director was John Henderson, looks like he was last seen doing something called Benidorm, yeah, he's not in Doctor Who.

Sue Vertue, she's on Sherlock.

And the writer was some guy called Steven Moffat, who is...

..Currently the showrunner of Doctor Who

...So, looks like Swinton might have a chance, huh?

[Hyena Dandy]

No I meant Eccleston, might have fudged his number, but it is unclear on the time between regenerations as to 8 and 9/rose, theory says first adventure, even though all the images of the titanic Kennedy etc are Eccleston not any of the others, though they could be Rose adventures she just isn't as visible hell she could be the one taking the damn photo's.

I knew that might happen!

Ah, yeah. Eccleston didn't leave on bad terms, he just doesn't want to have anything to do with thes how. He feels he's done all he can with it, and doesn't want to be typecast.

[Andara Bledin]

Re: Eccleston

Both Eccleston and the producers wanted him there for a single season of the run, and while I really, really liked him as the Doctor, I think that only the one season worked very well to really get people introduced to who he is, and the shift after only the one turn also got people up to speed on his regeneration quickly.

[Ginger Tea]

Aye it was a non cannon Children in Need or Comic Relief sketch, split into parts, if you donate X amount by Y hour we will play z part.*
It's ages old, but I think if you find it 'uncut' on YouTube, you can see where the breaks would have been, unless of course it is taken from the 'live' show and spliced into one later on.
Not sure if it is available whole legit.

The short 2 parter where Pond enters the tardis within the tardis was a similar albeit cannon form of this, probably a lot of the other shorts too when not used as prolongs for actual episodes.

I almost bought Orlando today, but it was closer to a tenner and I had a stack of tartan Asia Extreme £4 dvd's in my arms, she's already versed in the transgendered long life aspect, the only time bit she got though was normal speed forwards like the rest of us (flashbacks are not time travel).

Edit:
I've read bits of the wiki where he said he didn't like the way the stage hands and other non cast members were handled by the producers and would not have taken a second run even if it was offered.
if it was all smiles and sunshine and he wasn't feeling the typecast already (tbh most of the movies I've seen with him in are post Who cos I never watched them first time round and this wasn't a case of I'll watch it cos its got the Doctor in it, my to do list is massive) the two parter finale could have been bumped to the end of the second season.

But what's done is done.

*late 80's early 90's The car tree whipping scene from Fawlty Towers was teased throughout the night and when they showed it complete it was after the British public had donated a few million to which ever event of the two was being run, can't really do that now, the clip is on YouTube.


Curse of Fatal Death because.

[smileyeagle1021]

Two things, we actually know that the doctor does have more than just one regeneration, because it was established that the Valeyard was a result of him regenerating more times than he was supposed to, but not told how many more times (I could be mistaken on that, I haven't seen the episodes with the Valeyard, just heard about it from a coworker who has).
Second, with The Doctor being played by a woman, two things, first as has been mentioned, there already has been lines to establish that a Time Lord can change gender during regeneration and that their gender may be more fluid than ours, and second we don't know all of what River did to the Doctor when she saved him, if she introduced some of her own DNA into him in the process, it could very easily result in his next regeneration developing a hybrid of the two which could just as easily be pronounced as either male or female.

eta- either way, I think they should have more male companions. I loved the inclusion of Rory as more than just the tin dog (I love Micky/Ricky, but he was really a walking prop, not a character in his own right). I know it was more common in the classic series, but the modern series, up until Rory, it really came down to, hey if you want to be someone important who gets to help save the world, you better have boobs and long hair and look good in tight clothes.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I just trust that they will come up with some explanation for why the limit of, what, 13? doesn't apply and he/she/it can come back as many times as profit dictates. (I know it was introduced early on, relatively speaking, but still, specifying such a number wasn't the best idea.)

Already covered. In the Peter Davidson episode "The Five Doctors" the Timelord Council offered the Master another set of regenerations. A completely new lifecycle in return for helping the Doctor(s) out of the jam he/they were in.

So it's established back then that it could be done.

And more recently in the special with the Master bringing back Gallifrey out of the time war's time loop it was stated that timelords were dying and being reborn time and time again. Rassalon himself returned to once again lead Timelord society in the crisis. So somehow Timelords can be ressurected and given another series of lives.

So while Christopher Eccleston was the 9th actor to play the doctor, this could have been the first life in a new series of regenerations. Also since Rassalon (established in "The Five Doctors") had discovered the secret to immortality, Perhaps the Doctor learned that and now can regenerate ad infinitum.

All without having to pull something out of their asses that hasn't already been established at some point in the series.

As for a woman playing the Doctor? No. Just no.

While I believe that a woman can play a perfectly fine Doctor-like character, it would be like getting a woman to be the next 007. The character is established as being male and should remain so.

A woman as another 00x agent? by all means.

If they made the gender swapping canon a while ago...I'd have no problems with that. But so far as we've seen, male timelords stay male and female timelords remain female.

If they want a female Doctor then they need to either run a parallel series with the Doctor's Daughter (who is a recombined clone of the Doctor and is a full timelord who regenerated using the residual energy of a new timelord within the first 15 hours of her creation) -or- could use her after the Doctor has his 13th and final death and having her inherit the TARDIS and even his memories.