# From Doctor Who to Doctor...Who? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557 "2017-07-05T19:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/282 "2017-07-19T13:40:20Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Oh yes, that episode was especially over the top even for the time, in part because it was written by Douglas Adams. I really loved Duggan, the detective who solved problems by punching things, and wish they had made him a full companion for a while. I guess they got their ‘violence as the first solution’ quota filled with Leela. “What a wonderful butler. He’s so violent!” Like others, I used to watch Old Who on PBS back in the day. I loved it, but yeah, it’s probably not to everyone’s taste these days. Now I’m sad, following those links and finding out that The Star Hustler is dead! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/283 "2017-07-19T14:46:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Do not blaspheme [the](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/08/20/jack-horkheimer-1938-2010/#.WW9e2CspXTk) [hork](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJheh1XcAQ)! Oh, Jack Horkheimer was great (although “Jack Horkheimer, Star Hustler” as a title sounds like it belongs in the “Check It Out With Dr. Steve Brule” category of shows). Entertaining and educational - yes. High production values - not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/284 "2017-07-19T16:28:37Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I just want to chime in to say I’ve noticed a curious variation on one of those choices. In all the boards I’ve seen with threads concerning the new, female Doctor, I have yet to see anyone chime in that “I’m a woman and I’m not OK with this.” On the other hand, I’ve seen several posts stating some variation of “While I’m a guy, my wife (or gf) is a fan and says she doesn’t like it…” I’ve yet to see any posts by any of those wives/girlfriends. > > Just something I’ve noticed. My wife’s first reaction was\< “Wait - didn’t the other gut just start? Crap, I _am_ behind.” Her second reaction was, “This’ll be interesting.” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/285 "2017-07-19T18:56:25Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Oh. > > I thought he had something against northerners. Lots of planets have a north. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/286 "2017-07-19T19:09:56Z")
> **[Doctor Who News - BBC Responds to Complaints About Casting](https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/07/bbc-responds-to-complaints-about-casting.html)** > > The BBC has issued a formal response to complaints about the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the thirteenth Doctor. Since the news was released on Sunday ... (from Doctor Who News) \*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.\* ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/287 "2017-07-19T19:34:59Z")
I don’t mind the gender change. I just hope she fills the role well, and carries on what is core to what the doctor is. “Never cruel, never cowardly…” I am more upset about the change at all, as I was really getting to like capaldi, even after a bit of a rocky start, IMHO, and will miss him, as well as a bit of concern about new docs in general, as I wasn’t a huge fan of the matt smith era. Not saying that I am against it, just that I will miss capaldi, as I still miss tenant, as the Doctor. Staying male would have been more of a statement than a gender transition, anyway. It’s well established that they can change genders in regeneration, and that the resulting gender is not necessarily under the control of the regeneree, so a thirteenth male in a row would have been statistically unlikely, just the fact that he went through his first set of natural regens without ever changing gender. So, quick question as to etiquette. I am aware that if I am speaking of a real person who has transitioned, I should refer to them in the past as their current gender. M to F transition should be referred to as a “her”, even if talking about the time before transition. Is that a similar etiquette when talking about regenerating aliens, do we refer to the Tom Baker years as “her” as well, or do Time Lords look at it differently? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/288 "2017-07-19T20:14:56Z")
When the Doctor was talking about the Corsair in The Doctor’s Wife, he referred to them as him or her as appropriate for a given regeneration. ‘The mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn’t feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooo, she was a bad girl.’ ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/289 "2017-07-19T21:52:54Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > When the Doctor was talking about the Corsair in The Doctor’s Wife, he referred to them as him or her as appropriate for a given regeneration. > > ‘The mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn’t feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooo, she was a bad girl.’ See, the problem I have with that is not that the Corsair switched genders, but that there was another swashbuckling Time Lord out having space adventures. It kind of dilutes the Doctor and the Master if every Time Lord on a gap year from the Academy. borrows his/her Dad’s/Mum’s Tardis, awards him/herself a _soubriquet_ like the Outsider and ponces about the galaxy gushing that it’s so _authentic_. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/290 "2017-07-19T21:57:03Z")
I do support this casting decision, but it’s curious that the BBC announced this in the same week that the long awaited pay grades of top BBC talent was announced revealng a massive gender pay gap… > **[BBC facing backlash from female stars after gender pay gap revealed](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/19/evans-lineker-bbc-top-earners-only-two-women-among-best-paid-stars)** > > Director general Tony Hall defends pay levels as corporation’s list of best-paid talent reveals huge gender imbalance ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/291 "2017-07-20T01:36:22Z")
Watched [Attack the Block](https://vimeo.com/52531285) last night. The Japanese subtitles didn’t make the dialogue any easier to understand, but I could understand her and she was good. ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/292 "2017-07-20T02:21:32Z")
I’ve seen Attack the Block, but I don’t remember her. I barely remember the movie though. I’m watching Broadchurch now, just started season 3. The more I watch the more excited I get. I’m not a Whovian maniac or anything. I adore time travel stuff, and I’ve watched the show sporadically over the years. Mostly I just love River Song. I have every single River Song episode, and I am crossing everything twice that they bring her back somehow to interact with Jodie’s, Doctor. It could possibly happen because River has said she had a wife, before. What if that wife was also the Doctor? I’m not fluent enough in the show to understand how the timelines work, and if there is anything trackable that would say this was impossible. But I think it would be so, so cool!!! ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/293 "2017-07-20T04:31:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen on TV. > > Let’s make a new movie about the Civil War. We’ll cast a woman in ole Abe Lincoln’s role. Maybe we can cast Minnie Driver as George Washington in the next Revolutionary War movie. Don’t be absurd. Washington won’t be female for _at least_ another 6 regenerations. Although perhaps there’s some subtle yet important distinction between the Revolutionary War and Doctor Who, which your analogy fails to capture. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/294 "2017-07-20T09:40:44Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > [Doctor Who News - BBC Responds to Complaints About Casting](http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/07/bbc-responds-to-complaints-about-casting.html) > \*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.\* “Powerful female life force”? WTF, BBC? Does the person who wrote this realize that the actor\* is not, in fact, a regenerating alien being? I mean, I’m looking forward to see what new approaches this new Doctor will bring to the role but someone got a little carried away in drafting this statement. - use of the word “actor” rather than “actress” noted and copied. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/295 "2017-07-20T10:57:21Z")
> [@TheMysteryWriter](#): > > I’ve seen Attack the Block, but I don’t remember her. She was the woman. (Not as flippant as it sounds–she was the only significant character that wasn’t one of the teenage gangstas.) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/296 "2017-07-20T13:08:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It may come as a surprise but lots of fans aren’t happy. I may be the lone voice on the SDMB. Go out on social media and you’ll hear much stronger feelings than I ever expressed. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen how much sexism there is on social media. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/297 "2017-07-20T13:37:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > she was the only significant character that wasn’t one of the teenage gangstas. Well, (speaking of Doctor Who alums) there was Nick Frost… ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/298 "2017-07-20T14:23:37Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > See, the problem I have with that is not that the Corsair switched genders, but that there was another swashbuckling Time Lord out having space adventures. It kind of dilutes the Doctor and the Master if every Time Lord on a gap year from the Academy. borrows his/her Dad’s/Mum’s Tardis, awards him/herself a _soubriquet_ like the Outsider and ponces about the galaxy gushing that it’s so _authentic_. It always amuses me when someone has a problem with something that’s been a part of the show for more than 50 years and acts like it’s a new, bad decision. The first Doctor had to deal with The Monk, another renegade time lord who picked a name and started cavorting around the galaxy, in a story that aired in 1965. And that’s not the only one, The War Chief, The Rani, and Drax were all knocking around in their own TARDISes back before the turn of 1980. You may as well have a problem with the TARDIS’s chameleon circuit not working, other Time Lords running around has been established for about as long as the show has existed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/299 "2017-07-20T15:09:55Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > It always amuses me when someone has a problem with something that’s been a part of the show for more than 50 years and acts like it’s a new, bad decision. The first Doctor had to deal with The Monk, another renegade time lord who picked a name and started cavorting around the galaxy, in a story that aired in 1965. And that’s not the only one, The War Chief, The Rani, and Drax were all knocking around in their own TARDISes back before the turn of 1980. Don’t forget K’anpo, who exiled himself to Earth. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/300 "2017-07-20T16:36:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > She was the woman. > > (Not as flippant as it sounds–she was the only significant character that wasn’t one of the teenage gangstas.) Yeah. But only knowing her from the new intro clip it took me a while of watching to come to the realization that that was her as she was the only female main character showing up. Really? That is the next Doctor? She played that character fine but I sure hope she brings some new game than that to her Doctor. I am nervous about every Doctor transition and so far see no reason not to be nervous about this one. And yeah that "powerful female life force " line worries me. If the writers are writing to some “powerful female life force” stereotype/trope they have rather than writing to the key personality elements of The Doctor who happens to be in the form of a 35 year old woman this time, then they will fail the show. She needs to bring a strong egotistical anti-authoritarian irreverent stubborn arrogant compassionate often socially off in some way and very alien character who can whip out a good one-liner or two as the central aspects … not a “powerful female life force.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557/301 "2017-07-20T16:49:04Z")
Pretty sure the people writing press copy for the BBC aren’t the same people writing scripts for the show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-doctor-who-to-doctor-who/790557.md?page=16)