The Master regenerated into Missy.
In a previous episode on Gallifrey, a past male character was now female and noted that it was her preferred gender.
And the biggest foreshadowing of all in the final episode of this last season;
The Master saying something to Missy about the future being all girly and Missy saying that she hoped so.
Oh, and with Czarcasm, let’s add in Milla Jovovich as the lead in all the Resident Evil movies, or Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld movies, or Sigourney Weaver in the Alien movies. Were any of them any more unbelievable or subject to complaints because the lead was a kick-ass woman? :dubious:
And also, generally speaking the Doctor doesn’t kick-ass his way out of things, he thinks his way out of things. (As has been aforementioned in this thread).
I don’t see how a Galifreyan woman’s body would be less able to think.
If this is the thing that makes Doctor Who implausible to a person, it says a lot about that person.
Also, [ul]
the Doctor referred in an episode (The Doctor’s Wife) to an old friend (the Corsair) who regenerated into both male and female forms.[/ul]
[ul]The Doctor, upon regenerating into the 11th, initially believed that he had regenerated into a female form.[/ul]
[ul]Tom Baker told an interviewer that the (as yet unnamed) 5th Doctor was not necessarily a man https://drwhointerviews.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/tom-baker-1981/[/ul]
What don’t you understand about the character being gender fluid?? You’re not a fan of this show and many here think this is a good move, so we’re left with only one conclusion.
I’ve been interested in starting to watch this show for a few years, but it’s seemed overwhelming with its extensive history and detail. I feel like I’m too late. However, with this move (and Alex Kingston is one of my girl crushes) I think it’s time to jump in. Any suggestions on how to get a good background without being completely lost? Reading or watching seasons? Watching it all from the beginning is :eek:.
I’d suggest watching from the beginning of any particular Doctor’s regeneration. So, for example, you could start with Eccleston’s first episode (which, being the beginning of NuWho is also a good reason to do that). Or the first episodes of David Tennant, Matt Smith, or Peter Capaldi. To begin I’d stick with NuWho at first then go back and revisit OldWho if you find yourself liking the program.
The new series has mostly one-off episodes, only a few multi-part stories. The old series was ALL serial episodes, most 4 episodes in length but at least one as short as 2 and at least one as long as 10 if I recall correctly, so the pacing is considerably different. And the effects incredibly cheap and cheesy, to the point that it’s the actors holding up walls so they don’t fall over cheap and cheesy at times.
You might want to supplement your watching with something like the TVTropes episode recaps, or the Wikipedia entries on episodes where you can find the continuity references and other information. There are also wikipedia-style fan sites that can give you more information. Not only is there 50+ years of TV history, there have been several movies, audio plays, and a multitude of books for a truly enormous extended universe that even people such as myself, who have been following the show for decades, do not fully know about. While many consider only what’s been broadcast on TV to be cannon with the release of “webisodes” by the TV producers that’s clearly no longer true and in fact there has never been an official cannon. As seems appropriate for a show involving time travel, there is a LOT of snarled and contradictory bits out there so, basically, don’t stress to hard over it.
Jump in, try a few stories to see if you like it, and it’s OK if you don’t get all the references and in-jokes. For the most part, it’s not necessary to know them to follow the stories.
If 10 seasons isn’t too daunting, I’d just watch starting from Eccleston (the first Doctor after the series reboot) and stick to the new series. You could also do a sampling of some of the doctors to get an idea - you probably do want a new thread for a detailed list, but I’d recommend each Doctor’s first and last episodes, all of the River Song episodes (since you like Alex Kingston), and a few highly recommended episodes from each one.
The old series has the slow pacing common to shows of that era, and was intended to be watched serially, not streamed. It’s also got 70s/80s BBC special effects, which means sometimes the villain is literally an inflatable chair or spray painted bubble wrap. Not that it’s no fun to watch, but it’s a different experience and you don’t need to catch up to enjoy the newer stuff.
In one of the most recent episodes, the Doctor calls the Master/Missy his “man-crush” when they were young. He checks himself and says he thinks they were both male at that point.
All of the historical Time Lords who changed genders at regeneration have clearly established that the premise of the race is gender fluid.
Yeah, the old effects were rather cheap and cheesy. In the Tom Baker episode with Leela and the Severteem, the surrounding ‘jungle’ is a rather small room filled with plants and a bit of fog.
Or Eccleston, Pertwee*, Davison, McGann, Capaldi, or either Baker**. Not familiar enough with Troughton to say. ‘Father’ wouldn’t be my choice for Hartnell, either, but the distinction between ‘father’ and ‘grandfather’ isn’t a huge one.
So…uh…McCoy, then. Seven is Doctor Dad.
(Pertwee, McCoy, and Capaldi are the only one of those three that even feel old enough to be their respective companions fathers - though I acknowledge everyone except Davison and Smith have been (albeit, barely in Tennant’s case) - it’s just that they’re not really played that way.)
Actually the first one I could see having a romantic life, with his companion or anyone else. … Holy crap, I’ve just realized Three was my first fictional male crush.
** OK, I could see Four having a love of Dad Jokes.
I agree, of any other other than Seven-Ace that did father figure, unless (like you said) you include One-Susan as grandfather figure. This is especially true in the modern series where he’s much more like a romantic interest (though other than River doesn’t really reciprocate). I really don’t think his interactions with Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy/Rory, or Clare come off as ‘father figure’, and I think there’s some serious Oedipal issues if you see it that way.
McCoy… the darkest and most manipulative of the bunch is also the best father figure? Really amusing that it works out that way.
I was just thinking we had this discussion before m->f for a character and how it would supposedly destroy blah blah and the detractors were out in full force, and the people wanting the character to show what she could do, and the majority stayed in the neutral zone.
Sure it would. If you accept, as a lot of people do, that the 007 designation and the name “James Bond” is given to their top field agent, then why not a female Bond? Nobody seems to have a problem with Black Widow being a girl.