Good evening everyone,
I thought that now would be a good time to discuss options for the 14th Doctor. Yes, the 14TH DOCTOR. I know, we are still on 12 and we have yet to see what 13 will be like. But what if we get our votes on now and give the BBC and the show runners something to think about now? Until August 15th 2017, we will be running a poll about the next Doctor Who. Decide now who should be the 14th Doctor!
Monday, July 24, 2017
Addressing the backlash on Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who
It's been a rough few weeks for Dr Who fans, show runners and actors since it was announced a female would take on the Doctor. While the casting received general praise, the media and other outlets are saying otherwise. While I do not agree with those taking offense to the casting, I thought it would be prudent to remind everyone of a few things: 1) The show is fictitious. It is not real. What happens and doesn't happen in the show will not change the course of history, solve or create more problems, etc.. 2) This is not your show, it belongs to the BBC. They own it and they can allow whatever changes they would like. 3) Whatever happens on this or any other show/movie.. It does not ruin your childhood. That is just ridiculous. You already lived your childhood. What happened, whether happy or sad, happened then. 4) You do not have to watch this fake show.
Now that I got that out of the way.. I too praise the casting for the new Doctor. Not so much because a woman was cast, but more because I enjoy Jodie as an actress. She is quite an exceptional actress and while she may never win most beautiful woman in the world she is a pleasant face to see on screen. I also very much like her personality and I feel she will really own this role. The only negative feeling I had about this casting was it's timing. I feel like the choice to cast a woman was forced on us. For example, in the media and the world today female-power is on the rise and highly advertised. If we do not accept it, we need to get with the times. - Don't get me wrong, I believe in full equal rights, especially for women. I believe they deserve as much praise, pay or recognition as all men. In many cases they are superior to men. If it weren't for women throughout the world, men would be lost. But it just feels forced. If Jodie was picked as the 11th Doctor or the 14th Doctor, I wouldn't have felt it was so forced. But with Wonder Woman being a success, Rey being the driving force(no pun intended) in the Force Awakens, Ghostbusters being an all female cast and the fact that there have been a lot of rights for transgenders being discussed, it seems like the BBC and show runners were trying to jump on this band wagon. If the casting was done wrong, this could become very catastrophic for Doctor Who and any potential for another female Doctor in the future. Thankfully Jodie Whittaker is an exceptional actress and I do feel that if anything goes wrong, it would be the writing for her character and not her - much how it was for Peter Capaldi.
Despite that, it is not necessarily a bad thing. If the writers can write this female Doctor successfully, I can see the 14th Doctor being another female as well. But only time will tell. My gripe is most of all on the backlash of the Doctor being a woman. There have been many cases where older doctors felt that the Doctor should or at the very least could be a woman. Tom Baker himself wished his predecessor the best of luck addressing them as "Who ever he or she is". There was even a rumor that the original creators had discussed eventually a potential female actress for the role. We see that male to female regeneration is possible and canon in the Doctor Who Universe. Matt Smith in an episode of Doctor Who spoke of a previously Time Lord who had regenerated into a woman at some point and even kept regenerating with the same tattoo. In fact, when David Tennant regenerated into Matt Smith, the Doctor thought he regenerated into a woman. In recent years the Master had regenerated into a woman, played by Michelle Gomez and this was well received. She did a fantastic job and we grew to love her as Missy/The Master. It worked. It was done right and written well. Even Peter Capaldi's Doctor spoke of the evolution beyond what human genders are for Time Lords. The point being is this: It is canon for a Time Lord to regenerate into a different gender(or even Alien being) and if written well can be quite an adventure.
What I want to address is this: Moffat and the BBC had said that 80% praise this casting on social media and online polls. Many are saying that the show will fail because 20% of those that do not agree will stop watching. I disagree... I think maybe 5% of those disagreeing will stop watching. I also think that fans of Broadchurch or Jodie herself will tune in out of curiosity. I think that those who stopped watching Doctor Who waiting for something fresh to happen will also tune in. Females throughout the world looking for a female role-model are also going to tune in... No, the show will not fail because there is a female Doctor or because of the fans that hate the idea. If it fails, it will fail because the writers did not do her justice.
For everyone getting bent out of shape over this, please don't. Give it a chance. Give it at least 3 episodes(Not including the regeneration episode). I always despised how people just want the same thing over and over. I mean, how boring! I remember when Transformers was first released in theaters that people every where were complaining that Michael Bay ruined their childhood. Such an idiotic statement. They even sent this man threats. I agree that Michael Bay focused on explosions and sex appeal a bit too much and that everything after the second Transformers movie was just horrible. But it wasn't because he changed things, it was because he didn't direct it well. The designs were horrible and other than Bumble Bee and Optimus Prime, I couldn't tell the robot beings apart. But all fans had asked for a movie and when it was announced one would be made, they wanted it to be a complete remake of the original series and it's design, right down to the story. What is the point in that? Just re-watch the DVD's then. Listen, if change is hard for you then you need to fix that because life is all about change and you can not stop change. If you can not embrace it not only will you be left behind in life, but far worse than that: you will suffer emotionally. You do not need to agree with the changes you see. You do not need to do what everyone else is doing. But if you will judge or be angry at people and things that change, it will be toxic for you.
If we are being honest, nobody really likes change. We are creatures of habit and like things to be the way they always were for us. We hate every regeneration. With every regeneration, the world loses "Their Doctor" or the actor they got used to seeing play the Doctor. There is always backlash when a new doctor is announced. While we may even praise the decision for the cast Doctor at first, as we draw closer and closer to his regeneration some of us may begin to hate that new coming Doctor. It happened when both David Tennant and Matt Smith were about to regenerate. It happened when I used to watch the show in my younger days and the 4th and 5th Doctor were about to regenerate. But know this: The Doctor can change tastes in food(Fish sticks and custard anyone?), candies, personality, voice, face, accent, etc... But at the very core... he will always be the Doctor and we will always remember all his regenerations, male or female.
Now that I got that out of the way.. I too praise the casting for the new Doctor. Not so much because a woman was cast, but more because I enjoy Jodie as an actress. She is quite an exceptional actress and while she may never win most beautiful woman in the world she is a pleasant face to see on screen. I also very much like her personality and I feel she will really own this role. The only negative feeling I had about this casting was it's timing. I feel like the choice to cast a woman was forced on us. For example, in the media and the world today female-power is on the rise and highly advertised. If we do not accept it, we need to get with the times. - Don't get me wrong, I believe in full equal rights, especially for women. I believe they deserve as much praise, pay or recognition as all men. In many cases they are superior to men. If it weren't for women throughout the world, men would be lost. But it just feels forced. If Jodie was picked as the 11th Doctor or the 14th Doctor, I wouldn't have felt it was so forced. But with Wonder Woman being a success, Rey being the driving force(no pun intended) in the Force Awakens, Ghostbusters being an all female cast and the fact that there have been a lot of rights for transgenders being discussed, it seems like the BBC and show runners were trying to jump on this band wagon. If the casting was done wrong, this could become very catastrophic for Doctor Who and any potential for another female Doctor in the future. Thankfully Jodie Whittaker is an exceptional actress and I do feel that if anything goes wrong, it would be the writing for her character and not her - much how it was for Peter Capaldi.
Despite that, it is not necessarily a bad thing. If the writers can write this female Doctor successfully, I can see the 14th Doctor being another female as well. But only time will tell. My gripe is most of all on the backlash of the Doctor being a woman. There have been many cases where older doctors felt that the Doctor should or at the very least could be a woman. Tom Baker himself wished his predecessor the best of luck addressing them as "Who ever he or she is". There was even a rumor that the original creators had discussed eventually a potential female actress for the role. We see that male to female regeneration is possible and canon in the Doctor Who Universe. Matt Smith in an episode of Doctor Who spoke of a previously Time Lord who had regenerated into a woman at some point and even kept regenerating with the same tattoo. In fact, when David Tennant regenerated into Matt Smith, the Doctor thought he regenerated into a woman. In recent years the Master had regenerated into a woman, played by Michelle Gomez and this was well received. She did a fantastic job and we grew to love her as Missy/The Master. It worked. It was done right and written well. Even Peter Capaldi's Doctor spoke of the evolution beyond what human genders are for Time Lords. The point being is this: It is canon for a Time Lord to regenerate into a different gender(or even Alien being) and if written well can be quite an adventure.
What I want to address is this: Moffat and the BBC had said that 80% praise this casting on social media and online polls. Many are saying that the show will fail because 20% of those that do not agree will stop watching. I disagree... I think maybe 5% of those disagreeing will stop watching. I also think that fans of Broadchurch or Jodie herself will tune in out of curiosity. I think that those who stopped watching Doctor Who waiting for something fresh to happen will also tune in. Females throughout the world looking for a female role-model are also going to tune in... No, the show will not fail because there is a female Doctor or because of the fans that hate the idea. If it fails, it will fail because the writers did not do her justice.
For everyone getting bent out of shape over this, please don't. Give it a chance. Give it at least 3 episodes(Not including the regeneration episode). I always despised how people just want the same thing over and over. I mean, how boring! I remember when Transformers was first released in theaters that people every where were complaining that Michael Bay ruined their childhood. Such an idiotic statement. They even sent this man threats. I agree that Michael Bay focused on explosions and sex appeal a bit too much and that everything after the second Transformers movie was just horrible. But it wasn't because he changed things, it was because he didn't direct it well. The designs were horrible and other than Bumble Bee and Optimus Prime, I couldn't tell the robot beings apart. But all fans had asked for a movie and when it was announced one would be made, they wanted it to be a complete remake of the original series and it's design, right down to the story. What is the point in that? Just re-watch the DVD's then. Listen, if change is hard for you then you need to fix that because life is all about change and you can not stop change. If you can not embrace it not only will you be left behind in life, but far worse than that: you will suffer emotionally. You do not need to agree with the changes you see. You do not need to do what everyone else is doing. But if you will judge or be angry at people and things that change, it will be toxic for you.
If we are being honest, nobody really likes change. We are creatures of habit and like things to be the way they always were for us. We hate every regeneration. With every regeneration, the world loses "Their Doctor" or the actor they got used to seeing play the Doctor. There is always backlash when a new doctor is announced. While we may even praise the decision for the cast Doctor at first, as we draw closer and closer to his regeneration some of us may begin to hate that new coming Doctor. It happened when both David Tennant and Matt Smith were about to regenerate. It happened when I used to watch the show in my younger days and the 4th and 5th Doctor were about to regenerate. But know this: The Doctor can change tastes in food(Fish sticks and custard anyone?), candies, personality, voice, face, accent, etc... But at the very core... he will always be the Doctor and we will always remember all his regenerations, male or female.
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