I knew it! I have been saying it this whole season! We got a lady Doctor and I couldn’t be more excited about this choice. Since I just binged an entire season 3 of Broadchurch recently, I am up-to-date on the current doings of Jodie Whitaker. Here’s the top 3 reasons why you should be excited to!
She’s been working with Chris Chibnall for three seasons of Broadchurch.
Ok, so this might be more important than people think. Chris Chibnall has been writing in the Doctor Who universe for some time now, in both the main franchise and Torchwood. He wrote 42, The Hungry Earth two-parter, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, and The Power of Three. And for those Doctor Who fans who love a deep-cut, he also wrote the short PS, which follows the life of Amy and Rory’s son. It was only released as a storyboard animation.
But the inevitable slump of a new showrunner/new Doctor is going to happen. At least this time, we’ll have a showrunner who is already very familiar with the nuances and abilities of his new lead. Hopefully, we’ll be starting with a leg up on this round.
In addition, Chibnall has a better record of well-written women than, say, Moffat. While his Torchwood series wasn’t perfect, his run at Broadchurch has shown us a range that gives me hope for the first female Doctor.
She’s a stellar actor.
Jodie Whittaker has been acting with the best of them for years. She’s been under the radar, an unnamed member of some big name shows. But if you take a look at her CV, you’ll see she has more than enough to take over this role.
A shortlist of her roles includes her amazing turn at the grieving mother Beth Lambert in Broadchurch. There’s an episode of Black Mirror in which the memories of her affair literally come back haunt her. She acted alongside John Boyega in the fantastic film Attack the Block. And finally there’s her feature film debut in Venus, when she held her own against acting legend Peter O’Toole (RIP).
She’s an expert at simultaneously holding a strong, fierce emotion in a light space. Her smile is brightening, but she can just as easily rage with the best of the Capaldis of the world. Her style and demeanor are the perfect follow-up to the curmudgeon that is Twelve. And I think Chibnall is the one of highlight that.
She can open us up to whole new stories.
Doctor Who is all about exploring new territory and new worlds. Why should the cast not utilize this theme? By opening the role up to a woman, we’ve got a whole new realm of stories that can be told. We’ve had a male-female setup for decades now. What if the new companion is a woman? A female-female dynamic! Or if Missy returns (doubtful with a new showrunner, but we can hope) how will a female Doctor versus Missy approach happen?
Women in power is not uncommon in a Doctor Who world, so I don’t think there’s going to be too much wallowing. But I do wonder if a female Doctor will be treated differently in a human world? I mean, the President of Earth is a woman now!
This will also be a great time to explore storylines that focus on gender fluidity, which the Time Lords believe in. That’s a world that hasn’t really been explored.
In addition, since Capaldi has said that his regeneration will be complicated, there is always the chance that there will be a touch of Susan or Barbara in this Doctor. We know that the First Doctor is returning, so why not bring with him loads of canon?
Lastly, she comes Doctor Who veteran approved!
Yes Jodie.
— Arthur Darvill (@RattyBurvil) July 16, 2017
With change comes new opportunity. And with groundbreaking change comes resistance. Negative backlash is already piling up. But I think, in the long-run, Jodie Whitaker as the Doctor will be worth the push of progress.
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