The titular character of the Doctor from “Doctor Who” has been played by 12 different men over 50 years, but the Time Lord has never reincarnated as a woman. With Steven Moffat departing as show runner after next season, 58-year-old Peter Capaldi says his time as the Doctor is over. Many fans are openly campaigning for a female Doctor, while others fear a gender swap would strip something innately unique about the character. What do you think?
PERSPECTIVES
Fans have been calling for a female Doctor for awhile. It’s only fair! How many white men can you watch before it gets repetitive?
Without a massive shakeup, the time-travel fantasy will die. Casting the 13th Doctor is a key decision for the BBC – and it needs to think outside the Tardis. MORE: Why the new Time Lord can and must be a woman
Former “Doctor Who” actress Billie Piper says it would “feel like a snub” if the next Doctor wasn’t a woman. Her character, Rose, is routinely voted as fans’ favorite companion from the series.
thetylt.com
Some ‘Who’ fans are even openly clamoring for actresses like Haley Atwell (“Captain America,” “Agent Carter”).
I’ve never really cared one way or the other in the “Should the Doctor be a woman” debate, but @HayleyAtwell would be epic. #DoctorWho
— [?]CJ Dawn [?] (@cjdawn236) August 19, 2015
12th doctor is by FAR my least favorite. The next doctor should be a woman. Doctor who should not be confined to a gender.
— BeyonChe Guevera (@AlphaQueer) August 25, 2015
Joss Whedon thinks Doctor Who should be a woman. Will somebody pass this along to him please. https://t.co/yopjmPwHRg
— Tom W Huxley (@tomwhx) July 28, 2016
But fans and several former Time Lords, including Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davison, say the Doctor should never be a woman — often citing tradition or general traits innate to the character’s gender.
The Doctor is male and, while precedent was set in the series for Time Lords to change gender, in the real world such a change would destroy ratings. Some would argue the programme revolves around change – and that’s true. But making the Doctor female would do no more than tick an “equality” box. If Auntie Beeb wants a female Time Lord, then give us a spin-off – we’d welcome it. Just don’t mess with our boy! thetylt.com
Even U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is weighing in on the speculation.
Theresa May doesn’t want female Doctor Who. “As someone who.. enjoys Doctor Who, she will just want it to continue and be entertaining.”
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) January 31, 2017
Doctor Who ‘should never be played by a woman’, says novelist AL Kennedy http://t.co/UmwHkn0Ckb
— paniettonie narkoman (@Jeesssik) August 20, 2015
#DoctorWho should never be played by a woman, that’s not being sexist, it’s the fact that The Doctor has always been played by a male.
— DexCat (@TheDexterKat) July 28, 2015
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