A new Doctor in the TARDIS
So… I woke up this morning to one of the most exciting pieces of casting news ever! Jodie Whittaker has been announced as the 13th Doctor in the long running British sci-fi series DOCTOR WHO. I’m VERY, VERY, VERY excited about this. Let me tell you why…
I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. I love this show more than any other series/film/book/bit of media. And the announcement of a new actor taking on the role of the Doctor is always exciting.
Jodie Whittaker is superb actor and I have no doubts that she will bring something unique and brilliant to the role. If you don’t believe me, just go watch Broadchurch.
It’s a woman! I’ve been hoping for a female Doctor for years. Not because of political correctness (as some people insist). Not because I think the casting of another man would have been sexist (‘cause it wouldn’t). But because it will take the story in interesting directions. This is a series with a longevity that is a result of its ability to embrace change, often radical change… and this is a change with such potential.
Beyond my personal excitement over the casting, two other things made my day…
Today is the first day of the new school term, and I opened my 14-year-old daughter’s door this morning expecting to have to drag her zombie-like form from bed (pretty standard for a school morning). Instead I found her sitting up, all bright-eyed, staring at her iPad. She looked up at me with a massive grin as she said “I’ve seen the new Doctor”.
But perhaps the best reaction came from my 8-year-old daughter. When I told her the new Doctor was a woman she shrugged and said “So?” She went on to inform me that the Doctor could be a man or a woman and that it really didn’t matter. And that is the way it should be.
As the Doctor said in “World Enough and Time”:
We’re billions of years beyond your petty obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.
