Doctor Who: Welcomes & Farewells

It's been a week since the BBC announced that actress Jodie Whittaker will play the Thirteenth Doctor on Doctor Who and I'm still giddily excited by the idea of the first woman cast to play the Doctor. My sadness and more than a bit of dread over the departure of Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat has been more than offset by the my anticipation of what Doctor Who will be like with a woman as the Doctor.  

Unfortunately, this excitement is not universally shared. In a way, that's par for the course in casting a new Doctor.  See the Doctor Who Regeneraton Cycle chart below. 

Yes, we've been through this before. 

"Who is this young punk with the Flock of Seagulls haircut? Matt Smith? He's too young and what the hell is going on with that chin? This is going to be a big mistake." 

"OK, Matt Smith seems OK. But he's no David Tennant!" 

"Oh my God! Matt Smith is the best Doctor ever!"  

"Matt Smith is leaving? No! Doctor Who is doomed! He can't be replaced!!" 

"Peter Capaldi? Too old! Never going to work."  

Lather. 

Rinse.

Repeat.   

In this case, too many objections to the casting of Jodie Whittaker hinge less on her ability and more on her gender. 

There are comments out there on social media that certain so called fans will cease watching Doctor Who simply because a woman has been cast as the Doctor.  

Yes, everybody can have different opinions nut to reject this change with such ignorance and hostility simply because the actor is a woman. But I label these people as "so called fans" because such attitudes fly in the face of what Doctor Who is about.  

Doctor Who needs this infusion of energy that will come from this historic direction in casting. when 2018 rolls around, the revived series will have been one for 11 seasons spread over 13 years. Never mind the full history going back 55 years. 13 years is a long time for any TV show and let's be blunt, that kind of duration can spawn a dangerous level of familiarity. "Dangerous" in that familiarity can breed contempt or at least a sense of fatigue. No matter what new producer Chris Chibnall intends to bring to the show, the casting of one more white man from the United Kingdom would've been greeted with "meh". The casting of a woman has removed that element of familiarity and replaced fatigue with renewed interest.  

Whatever unfair backlash the casting of Jodie Whittaker has elicited, there is a least one thing we'll know will be fair.  Jodie will be paid the same as her recent male predecessors. In a world where women frequently earn 31% less than men for comparable work, it's gratifying that Whittaker's pay will be in line with Peter Capaldi's.  

Speaking of Capaldi....

Peter still has one more story as the 12th Doctor coming up this Christmas.  And here's one thing we've  learned about that special:  Mark Gatiss is appearing in the special but his character’s identity is not revealed. 

However, Peter Capaldi observed that Gatiss’ character is “a resonant echo in the whole Doctor Who story.” Since the special also features David Bradley as the First Doctor, I wonder if that might point toward's Mark's involvement as a former Doctor.  Bradley portrayed William Hartnell, the original 1st Doctor, in the Mark Gattis penned An Adventure in Time and Space, the story of the creation of the Doctor Who programme. Near the end of the film, Gattis has a cameo as Jon Pertwee who would go on to play the 3rd Doctor. Is it possible that has David Bradley goes from portraying the actor to the character portrayed by that actor, could we get a visit from the 3rd Doctor via Mark Gattis? 

Something to ponder. 

While we look to the future, we paid a sad farewell to a part of Doctor Who's past.  Deborah Watling, who portrayed “Doctor Who” companion Victoria Waterfield, has died after a brief battle with cancer at age 69. 

Whatling co-starred with 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton on the BBC series in 40 episodes from 1967 to 1968.  

Here is a clip on You Tube with a tender moment between the 2nd Doctor & Victoria.  And here is a link to a You Tube video with the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane that name checks Victoria.  

And back to the future...

We may have some Doctor Who news out of Comic-Con later today with some new peeks at the 2017 Christmas special.  

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.