The Thirteenth Doctor is the perfect choice. Here’s Why.
For those of you who unfortunately don’t realise, today the BBC released a teaser trailer revealing the identity of The Thirteenth Doctor. It appeared after the Wimbledon Finale, lasted about a minute, and unleashed a torrent of responses. I’m not here to talk about the response, but more about the choice itself, one I feel is a great choice for multiple reasons. However, to expand on that, I have to discuss the choice, which is why i am hiding it underneath this break:
the trailer is very simple, it follows someone in a hood walking through a forest, and then removing their hood, to reveal Jodie Whittaker from Broadchurch as The Doctor. I have to admit, the moment I saw the hood, I thought to myself “It’s a female, look at the body shape, plus they’re hiding the head because they don’t want to give away the long hair and feminine build”. As the hand appears, it was also feminine, adding to my theory. Now, I personally had expected the safe choice would be Kris Marshall (good actor, wrong choice in my opinion) but what I had hoped for was a female choice, specifically Hayley Atwell from Agent Carter.
Whilst I may have hoped for Atwell, I do feel Whittaker is a good choice, for multiple reasons. Not only is she a good actress (able to do comedy, drama, the whole works), but it also feels like a decision propelled by creative and not business. The truth is, if it was up to the BBC, David Tennant would still be playing The Doctor, but because they can’t, the safe choice is a young male, such as Kris Marshall, who recently left Death In Paradise. In order to have Whittaker, Chibnall has had to go against massive expectations, and also, he has gone for the unsafe choice. We can tell this is the unsafe choice, because of those on Twitter who have instantly responded saying they will no longer watch Doctor Who because The Doctor should always be a male.
Those who are critiquing the choice saying James Bond would always be a man, and the same with The Doctor? Here’s the thing:
James Bond is a human male spy. He’s been played by a Scottish man, an Australian, and an Irishman. The only essential thing is that he’s human, and a male (so Idris Elba is still an option).
The Doctor is an alien, that originates from a planet where people die, and turn into another person to keep on living. They have shown to change sex, race, and even species (seriously, this may confuzzle you). The only thing that stays the same, is what that regeneration represents (The Master represents doing evil, The General following orders and leading arms, Romana being curious, intelligent but sheltered) and The Doctor, the very point of his name, is to do good (that’s the whole point of the War Doctor, who supposedly didn’t follow the name of The Doctor). In fact,t here are only two requisites to being The Doctor:
1 - you possess a TARDIS (Not use, because The Third Doctor was mostly grounded on Earth during his time).
2 - you do good.
That is legitimately the only two major facts of The Doctor. Having a cock is not essential in being The Doctor, regardless of what people say, it is the actions of the character that matters.
But even going beyond the sexuality of the actor, let’s look at the choice from a reactionary point of view. Each actor chose to officially play the Doctor was chosen for specific reason.
The First Doctor was chosen to set a standard, a tremendous actor with that stern, mature nature to him, so they chose William Hartnell. The second actor had to be someone who could replace The First Doctor but was strong enough to create his own distinctive persona and demonstrate that there was longevity in the character, so they chose Patrick Troughton. The Third Doctor was going to be based on Earth and required a more action-orientated choice, similar to The Avengers, so they chose Jon Pertwee. The Fourth Doctor was going to be going back into space, so needed to bring back the eccentricity and alien nature, so they chose Tom Baker.
After seven years of Baker, they needed someone renowned enough to replace but also younger and more team-orientated, so they chose renowned TV actor Peter Davision. The Fifth Doctor was more placid a character, so they wanted a darker and stronger iteration, so they chose Colin Baker. Baker was too dark, so The Seventh Doctor was more jovial a creation who had elements of mystery returned to him, so they chose Sylvester McCoy. And when introducing the series to a new audience, they chose a more modern and romantic style, in Paul McGann,
But more importantly, every choice for The Doctor in the revived series made sense because of what they represented. Christopher Eccleston was chosen as The Ninth Doctor to demonstrate that the character could have gravitas and drama, that it could matter in the present day. David Tennant was chosen to demonstrate an adventurous and kind iteration, one who loved too much and cared for everyone (I may have my issues with Davies’ version of The Doctor, but he was still fantastic), Matt Smith was chosen despite Moffat originally looking for an older actor because he represented the eccentric and weird element of The Doctor. Even John Hurt was chosen to demonstrate that The Doctor was willing to make the choice nobody else could, but the most important element was to prevent suffering for those not affiliated with The Time War. And finally, Capaldi was chosen not just because he was an awesome actor, but he also could remind the audience that whilst Tennant and Smith hinted at the oldness of the soul, Capaldi wore that age and frustration on his face, but when it came to the actions he performed, he was above all else, kind. And that is The Doctor,
So, the new series has educated the audience upon several defining factors of The Doctor: He is old and weird, but cares and loves for all and is driven by not just adventure but also the weight of his past, and whenever he is near death, he repairs into a new person. So, the audience knows the majority of his character, but there’s one thing that hasn’t truly been emphasised: The Doctor is an alien, who can regenerate to repair himself but he is not governed by our rules or biology, he never even truly was a he. The Doctor is an alien, with multiple forms but no set race, sex or species. The Doctor is defined by his kindness, not his depiction. So, if the idea of a man turning into a woman confuses you, congratulations...you’ve just experienced the true alien experience of not understanding the biological requirements of a Time Lord. On Gallifrey, they can be male, female, black, white, oriental, humanoid or not. And if you’re reacting badly to the idea of The Doctor being a woman...then maybe you never truly understood the concept of The Doctor in the first place.
Defined not by sex, not by appearance, but by The Name. In the name of The Doctor, that vow to do good. The belief that everyone could be better, to help those in need. The Doctor is defined by the TARDIS...a simple police box for people to call when they’re in need, when help was required.
There have been thirteen previous incarnations of The Doctor, one for War, and twelve for good...
But the most alien yet, may be our newest version...Jodie Whittaker as The Thirteenth Doctor.
