Introducing Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor

If you’re a Doctor Who fan like me (well, not like ME; you don’t want to be that obsessive), then you know that the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi will be leaving the show and will be regenerating into the 13th Doctor. Well, BBC announced it after Wimbledon on Sunday. For the first time in its 54 years, the Doctor will be a woman. Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch, Black Mirrors) was introduced as the 13th Doctor!

Not all, but many male fans of the show are up in arms, some claiming they’re going to stop watching the show (good riddance). I hope this doesn’t sound sexist, but the rumor had been that the next Doctor would be a woman, and I really didn’t want it to be. Not that I didn’t think a woman couldn’t portray the Doctor, but it’s such a huge change that’s going to filter into other changes for the show. For instance, Doctor Who really is a female-heavy show. There are many different women in the show, most of them full of confident and helping to save the world again and again. When played by a male character, the Doctor balances this out. I assume this is easily fixed by including more male companions. It would be nice if Nardole was back next season, but it seemed like he was staying put at the end of season 10.

Another thing is that though the Doctor is brilliant, there’s some things that he’s not so brilliant at. Then there’s times where he’s going to bask in just how brilliant he is. This is where his companions take him down peg. If you flipped genders there, the Doctor a woman, her companions male, they have to be careful not to make it seem like they are talking down to her.

But really, the fix to those, and the solution is in the writing. And that’s something that Doctor Who’s always fantastic at. I’m now finding myself still a little nervous, but getting very excited to see what Jodie Whittaker can do with the role!

BBC 13th Doctor Introduction