Anyone heard the Doctor Who news?

[burrunjor]

No more female Doctor Who's ever!

It's a terrible idea. The Doctors are all supposed to be the same character. It's not like the Slayers IE a different person carrying on the legacy. It's jarring and makes it difficult to imagine it is the same character. Yes each incarnation is different, but you can never make them too different. It's about finding the right balance, of an actor making it their own, but not so difficult that you could never imagine it was the first Doctor, William Hartnell still under there.

This is why things like David Tennant getting off with Billie Piper were controversial. They were out of character for the Doctor overall. With this in mind how the hell is a gender change going to work? Either you write the female Doctor as a feminine character in which case she'll jar with the 13 men before. Or you write her as being like a real life trans person, IE someone who wants to change gender. I obviously don't have a problem with someone like that, but that's not how the Doctor has been portrayed. Or you do what they did and make the Doctor completely sexless in which case what is the point?

Personally I think a lot of people want it because they think "you saying a woman can't play the Doctor? You think women can't play leads" and that's the most thought they put into it. It's so frustrating.

Of course you also get the political fanatics who want it to happen for their own stupid agenda. These people know it's not a good idea, hence why they can't provide a single genuine reason, so they push the "DW is all about change" nonsense which just leads to the show becoming more obsessed with rewriting its own past than in doing anything new or interesting.

The female Doctor idea needs flushed down the toilet. To be honest though at this stage I don't care. The Timeless Children has wrecked the show to such an extent that it needs rested for a few years and then rebooted with a new 9th Doctor. No more Moffat, no more Chinballs none of that crowd.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

So it could be that a reborn daughter of a doctor could be right.

 

[Time to Shine]

Hopefully Amy Pond era Moffat at least. I thought Moffat's writing went downhill when Clara Oswald was introduced because he seemed to have some sort of hard on for her where she would always be pushed front and centre, even over the Doctor., I prefer Kennedy to Clara, that's how much the character irritated me. I was actually on the verge of quitting Doctor Who during the Clara years, it was only the news she was leaving that kept me watching. She should've gone in the rip off facehuggers episode but Moffat chose to do several fake outs which was annoying. She finally got killed off by the Raven (her own fault) but then Moffat ruined that episode by bringing her back.



Whilst I can see your point, I hope they do go back to a man because the Doctor was and always had been male. The problem is that you've got a vocal minority constantly making a massive deal out of gender and race (exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion, and let's be honest they're not the most pleasant of people behaviour wise), and it looks like they're being pandered to when you have a female Doctor or a POC Doctor. The issue isn't so much that the Doctor might be female or POC, it's the stuff that surrounds it which gets people's backs up.



He destroyed the mythology of the show with the Timeless Children arc. Had he not done that, then he'd still be disliked because of the preachiness he injected into the series, but he wouldn't be hated as much as he is.



I gave up. I made it up to the Bill episodes but I just couldn't carry on. I'd miss one episode and not care, then it became two episodes, three, four, etc. I didn't even watch Capaldi regenerating. Capaldi just didn't gel as the Doctor for me. I haven't even watched the new year's day special.



Agreed. The show started getting too preachy and nobody wants to be lectured by a show they watch for entertainment. I did prefer the most recent version of the Master over Missy though.



Chibnall was the worst thing to happen to the Doctor since the Time War.

Why did you have a problem with the time war?

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I have not seen the Jodie Whitaker season of Doctor Who, I dropped off in Capaldi's last season. I'm sad that it's a trend that we can't have a new era Doctor Who doctor for more than 3 seasons.

Well we’ve had like 5 years with Jodie, if anything the BBC did her dirty because they took forever to get the seasons out and she had less episodes from day one. They were slightly longer episodes but I still don’t think it adds up.

I always thought Jodie was a good choice to be the first female Doctor, but she's not been well received with both her performance and the storylines. Not to mention that it's been what 5 years, and she's only had 3 seasons, and shorter episodes, some of you say (I don't know I haven't seen them). But also, I've had no idea when these episodes have come out. So, yea I think the Doctor Who showrunner, writers and producers as well as the BBC have failed Jodie Whitaker. It almost seems like they were never really behind the decision to have a female doctor.

I should have said Capaldi era because I can't remember one series from another. Felt it was a mixed bag throughout but with the average to bad outweighing the good to great. Still not sure how much I put down to me losing interest and how much due to the actual quality.

I like Capaldi's version of The Doctor, my problem was always with the story lines. I feel that they've tried to make Doctor Who into a more "modern" type of series, and lost some of the charm that made the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors so special. They got too gradiose and convoluted with their story arcs, plus characters that people didn't like (Clara) really hurt the show.

I think its too late for the show to be saved without some kind of hiatus and then finding a writer to clear up Chibnal's mess.

I think they need to take a break from the show. Take their time to figure out how to create the show that we all loved. And take the time to find an actor that fits the role. It feels like the Doctor Who brand has really gone down hill. Maybe even try to get back Tennant and Smith (maybe even David Bradley as the 1st Doctor, I loved his version) and do another event type special to get people excited about Doctor Who again. Also, another criticism I've had of the show, is the overuse of the Daleks and the Cybermen. It's too the point that I no longer find them threatening but rather comical. *Ex-ter-min-ate* lol.

 

[Bop]

I should have said Capaldi era because I can't remember one series from another. Felt it was a mixed bag throughout but with the average to bad outweighing the good to great. Still not sure how much I put down to me losing interest and how much due to the actual quality.

I think Capaldi’s era was a mixed bag, although season 10 is one of my favourites. But the difference is there were always a handful of good/great episodes. I think with Jodie’s era I haven’t found a single episode great and some were just the worst the show has ever seen. Capaldi has some great acting moments as well- actually they all did apart from Jodie. I don’t know if she’s a bad actress but this is basically all I’ve seen her in, the part doesn’t seem to suit her. But it could also just be the writing.

Hopefully Amy Pond era Moffat at least. I thought Moffat's writing went downhill when Clara Oswald was introduced because he seemed to have some sort of hard on for her where she would always be pushed front and centre, even over the Doctor., I prefer Kennedy to Clara, that's how much the character irritated me. I was actually on the verge of quitting Doctor Who during the Clara years, it was only the news she was leaving that kept me watching. She should've gone in the rip off facehuggers episode but Moffat chose to do several fake outs which was annoying. She finally got killed off by the Raven (her own fault) but then Moffat ruined that episode by bringing her back.



Whilst I can see your point, I hope they do go back to a man because the Doctor was and always had been male. The problem is that you've got a vocal minority constantly making a massive deal out of gender and race (exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion, and let's be honest they're not the most pleasant of people behaviour wise), and it looks like they're being pandered to when you have a female Doctor or a POC Doctor. The issue isn't so much that the Doctor might be female or POC, it's the stuff that surrounds it which gets people's backs up.



He destroyed the mythology of the show with the Timeless Children arc. Had he not done that, then he'd still be disliked because of the preachiness he injected into the series, but he wouldn't be hated as much as he is.



I gave up. I made it up to the Bill episodes but I just couldn't carry on. I'd miss one episode and not care, then it became two episodes, three, four, etc. I didn't even watch Capaldi regenerating. Capaldi just didn't gel as the Doctor for me. I haven't even watched the new year's day special.



Agreed. The show started getting too preachy and nobody wants to be lectured by a show they watch for entertainment. I did prefer the most recent version of the Master over Missy though.



Chibnall was the worst thing to happen to the Doctor since the Time War.

Yeah I used to be a lot more critical of the Moffat era, but now I have newfound appreciation for even the worst of it. I definitely hate the side of the fandom who it looks like Doctor Who is pandering to nowadays but at the same time I wouldn’t want the show to prove the other side right that a woman could never be the doctor because some of them are genuinely sexist and awful people as well.

I have not seen the Jodie Whitaker season of Doctor Who, I dropped off in Capaldi's last season. I'm sad that it's a trend that we can't have a new era Doctor Who doctor for more than 3 seasons.

I always thought Jodie was a good choice to be the first female Doctor, but she's not been well received with both her performance and the storylines. Not to mention that it's been what 5 years, and she's only had 3 seasons, and shorter episodes, some of you say (I don't know I haven't seen them). But also, I've had no idea when these episodes have come out. So, yea I think the Doctor Who showrunner, writers and producers as well as the BBC have failed Jodie Whitaker. It almost seems like they were never really behind the decision to have a female doctor.
I like Capaldi's version of The Doctor, my problem was always with the story lines. I feel that they've tried to make Doctor Who into a more "modern" type of series, and lost some of the charm that made the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors so special. They got too gradiose and convoluted with their story arcs, plus characters that people didn't like (Clara) really hurt the show.

I think they need to take a break from the show. Take their time to figure out how to create the show that we all loved. And take the time to find an actor that fits the role. It feels like the Doctor Who brand has really gone down hill. Maybe even try to get back Tennant and Smith (maybe even David Bradley as the 1st Doctor, I loved his version) and do another event type special to get people excited about Doctor Who again. Also, another criticism I've had of the show, is the overuse of the Daleks and the Cybermen. It's too the point that I no longer find them threatening but rather comical. *Ex-ter-min-ate* lol.

Jodie’s seasons had less episodes but the episodes were slightly longer in run time, still I think overall she’s still had less time than other doctors. They took far too long to release each season though, we went the whole of 2019 without doctor who apart from a New Years special. It didn’t help the momentum because the episodes we had were not very exciting so the wait inbetween seasons was boring.
I agree about the writing for Capaldi, I didn’t like the Clara arc and a lot of the storylines. But I felt that Capaldi’s performance always made the show worth watching even through the bad story choices. I think the strength of the show is that we always had really strong, likeable, funny actors for the Doctor. Before Jodie’s version came along I never knew what doctor to put last in any ranking 😂
From the modern doctors that is, I haven’t watched the classics.
It’s so funny because the most recent season of Doctor Who featured so many classic monsters like the Daleks and the Judoon, the season coming is going to have the Weeping Angels return. But in Chibnall’s first season he took such pride in not wanting to bring back any old monsters. When the villains he created were so bad he had to admit defeat and basically bring back everything from old Doctor Who.

No more female Doctor Who's ever!

It's a terrible idea. The Doctors are all supposed to be the same character. It's not like the Slayers IE a different person carrying on the legacy. It's jarring and makes it difficult to imagine it is the same character. Yes each incarnation is different, but you can never make them too different. It's about finding the right balance, of an actor making it their own, but not so difficult that you could never imagine it was the first Doctor, William Hartnell still under there.

This is why things like David Tennant getting off with Billie Piper were controversial. They were out of character for the Doctor overall. With this in mind how the hell is a gender change going to work? Either you write the female Doctor as a feminine character in which case she'll jar with the 13 men before. Or you write her as being like a real life trans person, IE someone who wants to change gender. I obviously don't have a problem with someone like that, but that's not how the Doctor has been portrayed. Or you do what they did and make the Doctor completely sexless in which case what is the point?

Personally I think a lot of people want it because they think "you saying a woman can't play the Doctor? You think women can't play leads" and that's the most thought they put into it. It's so frustrating.

Of course you also get the political fanatics who want it to happen for their own stupid agenda. These people know it's not a good idea, hence why they can't provide a single genuine reason, so they push the "DW is all about change" nonsense which just leads to the show becoming more obsessed with rewriting its own past than in doing anything new or interesting.

The female Doctor idea needs flushed down the toilet. To be honest though at this stage I don't care. The Timeless Children has wrecked the show to such an extent that it needs rested for a few years and then rebooted with a new 9th Doctor. No more Moffat, no more Chinballs none of that crowd.

If you think about it, it could have been a smart way to go to have the first female doctor sort of act like a trans person. Since he’s only ever lived in a man’s body he probably would feel out of place in a woman’s body.
But The Master pulled off becoming a female much better than the doctor did.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Why did you have a problem with the time war?

No. The time war was the worst experience of the Doctor's life so far (having to wipe out the time lords, leaving him the last of his kind, apart from the Master). I was comparing Chibnall to that in regards to the character.

Also, another criticism I've had of the show, is the overuse of the Daleks and the Cybermen. It's too the point that I no longer find them threatening but rather comical. *Ex-ter-min-ate* lol.

the season coming is going to have the Weeping Angels return.

Looks like I'm going to be Team Angel in the new season.

 

[thetopher]

Not to mention that it's been what 5 years, and she's only had 3 seasons, and shorter episodes, some of you say (I don't know I haven't seen them). But also, I've had no idea when these episodes have come out. So, yea I think the Doctor Who showrunner, writers and producers as well as the BBC have failed Jodie Whitaker. It almost seems like they were never really behind the decision to have a female doctor.

The fewer amount of episodes was so the series would have a bigger budget to have per episode; there have been more 'on location' shoots (in the US for example) as the season has progressed so the cost has gone up, plus they want to improve and update the FX.
What they should've done is keep some episodes as either bottle episodes or Doctor-lite episodes set on earth; these tend to be much cheaper regarding sets but can be great at fleshing out characters and relationships; for a Doctor who had three companions this would've been useful.
Problem is that you need good writers to do this kind of thing. Oh well.

The other problem isn't that the Beeb wasn't behind the project- there were no cutbacks, plenty of big name guest stars and Chib's was given the same kind of freedom as other showrunners- its just that the 'diverse' cast of writers weren't experienced at writing sci-fi (apart from Chibnal who just isn't very good at storytelling). They were modern drama writers. That's why the show looks great but feels flat in terms of spectacle and character.

 

[burrunjor]

In order to fix Doctor Who they need to do the following things.

Cancel the current version pronto.

Give it a rest of a few years.

Then either sell it to Netflix or someone who can put money into it, or bring it back as an animated series. I'm not talking about a Saturday morning cartoon, I'm talking about as an animated drama like the DC movies. Either way they can get over budget problems and actually have stories set on other worlds, other time periods etc.

Cut New Who out of canon. It's too much of a stone around its neck. Make the first Doctor of this new animated or Netflix series the 9th Doctor. Don't be overt about it. Just have the Doctor show up. Don't mention the past, but have him casually mention being on his 9th life once this version is established. Then somewhere down the line do an episode where he meets say Matt Smith's Doctor who is revealed to be from another universe. (Like they're doing with The Flash and Michael Keaton now.) That way you don't cut all of New Who out, and can now and again have crossovers, and even alternate universe version of New Who characters. (For instance maybe the Martha of this universe can run UNIT?)

Cast an older eccentric MALE character actor as the Doctor. My choices are either Julian Richings or Julian Barratt.

Richings in particular would be a real return to Hartnell. See this clip of him here.

Dean Meets Death: Video

Now compare it to Hartnell in his first story.

The Doctor Enters The Tardis: Classic Who 1963

You can see how both have a real alien, distant quality. None of this quoting Ghostbusters and kissing 19 year old girls like in New Who. Also establish that Time Lords do not change gender (unless they want to) when they regenerate thus eliminating the stupid female Doctor discussion for good. Also no romantic, pretty boy, sappy, emo Doctors. FFS the character is supposed to be an old eccentric, alien scientist. Sherlock Holmes meets HG Wells meets CS Lewis. Not some Angel lite like Eccelston, or a cute adorkable Peter Parker type like Tennant.

Cast Dana Delorenzo as the feisty badass companion, though I also wouldn't object to Susan Wokoma. Hell get both. If you feel you need to have a romance pair Dana up with a hunky or a cute male companion and build up a love story with them to ease people in. Or one between Dana and Susan (I only didn't say that as I fancy both and it might look like I'm being a bit pervy LOL.)

At some point bring Romana back and cast Morgana Robinson. Set her up for her own spin off series. Also develop a spin off series about Absolam Daak, a Dalek bounty hunter. Create a shared tv universe, Doctor Who, Daak and Romana and now and again have big crossovers between all three.

Make the TARDIS cosey and ray gun gothic like the classic era. Make it bigger, give it a Library, a garden etc.

Use the Daleks and the Cybermen and the Master but write them in character! Have the Cybermen be a desperate race clinging to survival, the Daleks be a massive empire, the Master be a controlling, megalomaniac that hates the Doctor rather than his sex kitten like Missy LOL. Make them threatening. Have them win now and again. (Set more Dalek stories on other worlds, show their war with other races so we can actually see them destroy other species.)

Invent new monsters, try and add to the Doctors rogues gallery.

For the love of god don't mess around with the lore and the Time Lords. If you don't want to use the Time Lords. Just. Don't. Use. Them! Don't kill them off so that they can never be used, and don't mess with the successful formula of the Doctor being a renegade from them. I hated the Time War. Turned the Doctor into a Superman clone rather than the unconventional, underdog of a time lord he should be.

Get in a script editor and a producer so it's not just one man's vision and hire a wide variety of writers. Look for people who like sci fi and fantasy. No more sitcom writers like Moffat or guys who write dreary crime dramas like Chinballs.

Also though this goes without saying, stop pandering to SJWs and focus on telling exciting sci fi stories instead. Look to the works of Arthur C Clarke, novels like Star Maker and even old 50s and 60s comic books for inspiration. That old school sci fi about exploring the universe is what DW does best.

 

[burrunjor]

So it could be that a reborn daughter of a doctor could be right.

Sorry do you mean retcon Jodie into being the Doctors daughter? Personally I think the Jodie era should just be flushed.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Sorry do you mean retcon Jodie into being the Doctors daughter? Personally I think the Jodie era should just be flushed.

They could just make the Jodie era a fever dream of Capaldi's Doctor as he lies dying. He then regenerates into the new male Doctor who is Ginger (the doctor wants to be ginger).

"It was all a dream" might not be the greatest of all tropes, but I think people would be willing to accept it if it wiped the timeless children arc from canon and returned the Doctor to his former glory.

Richings in particular would be a real return to Hartnell. See this clip of him here.

Dean Meets Death: Video

Whilst I wouldn't want that guy as the Doctor (I like the Tennant/Smith versions of him), that guy would make an excellent villain or at the very least some sort of force that is neither good or evil. Perhaps the Doctor has to undo time or change a fixed point or something and the price is wiping out all the events of Jodie's Doctor.

Also though this goes without saying, stop pandering to SJWs and focus on telling exciting sci fi stories instead.

This alone would significantly improve the quality of the show.

 

[burrunjor]

They could just make the Jodie era a fever dream of Capaldi's Doctor as he lies dying. He then regenerates into the new male Doctor who is Ginger (the doctor wants to be ginger).

"It was all a dream" might not be the greatest of all tropes, but I think people would be willing to accept it if it wiped the timeless children arc from canon and returned the Doctor to his former glory.



Whilst I wouldn't want that guy as the Doctor (I like the Tennant/Smith versions of him), that guy would make an excellent villain or at the very least some sort of force that is neither good or evil. Perhaps the Doctor has to undo time or change a fixed point or something and the price is wiping out all the events of Jodie's Doctor.



This alone would significantly improve the quality of the show.

Smith was fine, but Tennant sorry his style has to be dumped from the show.

It's not that he was a bad actor like Jodie. I can understand his popularity, but he just wasn't the Doctor. He was too conventional, too vulnerable, too romantic and too much of just a normal hero.

The whole point of the Doctor in the classic era was that it was about the only leading role that quirky character actors could play, because it was such an off beat kind of a part.

When you look at the first 7 Doctors almost all of them were unconventional character actors outside of the show. Hartnell was known for playing villains, Troughton, often for playing quirky odd parts, Pertwee a mad comedy actor, both Bakers were villain actors, McCoy well he is the definition of a weird character actor.

Only Davison of the original 7 was a conventional leading man, though even he didn't play it that way like Tennant.

Matt Smith meanwhile was in many ways the perfect balance for audiences. He was a weird, unconventional looking character actor who fitted in with the first 7 brilliantly, but at the same time he also did retain a bit of the more conventional side of Tennant for new fans.

Still I want to go back to the proper old school Doctor. That was more interesting and helped the Doctor stand out from other heroes more. If they feel they need to have a romance, or a relatable character, then have it be between the two companions. Cast a young man and a young woman and make that a side plot to the adventures, with the Doctor being the mysterious alien character.

Julian Richings might be a severe choice as he is very unconventional. There are other quirky character actors I'd love to see play the Doctor.

Dylan Moran an Irish comedian and actor would be amazing in the role.

I hate Eminem too. That already puts him in my good books LOL.

Julian Barratt meanwhile gives me Troughton vibes. Here he is in action. He's kind of like Troughton in that he's scruffy, uncool, a bit of a bumbling idiot on the surface LOL, but smart underneath.

These are the types you need to think when casting the Doctor. Not someone who could play James Bond or Casanova. Offbeat, madcap character actors who have no chance of ever being a leading man in normal circumstances.

 

[Time to Shine]

Smith was fine, but Tennant sorry his style has to be dumped from the show.

It's not that he was a bad actor like Jodie. I can understand his popularity, but he just wasn't the Doctor. He was too conventional, too vulnerable, too romantic and too much of just a normal hero.

The whole point of the Doctor in the classic era was that it was about the only leading role that quirky character actors could play, because it was such an off beat kind of a part.

When you look at the first 7 Doctors almost all of them were unconventional character actors outside of the show. Hartnell was known for playing villains, Troughton, often for playing quirky odd parts, Pertwee a mad comedy actor, both Bakers were villain actors, McCoy well he is the definition of a weird character actor.

Only Davison of the original 7 was a conventional leading man, though even he didn't play it that way like Tennant.

Matt Smith meanwhile was in many ways the perfect balance for audiences. He was a weird, unconventional looking character actor who fitted in with the first 7 brilliantly, but at the same time he also did retain a bit of the more conventional side of Tennant for new fans.

Still I want to go back to the proper old school Doctor. That was more interesting and helped the Doctor stand out from other heroes more. If they feel they need to have a romance, or a relatable character, then have it be between the two companions. Cast a young man and a young woman and make that a side plot to the adventures, with the Doctor being the mysterious alien character.

Julian Richings might be a severe choice as he is very unconventional. There are other quirky character actors I'd love to see play the Doctor.

Dylan Moran an Irish comedian and actor would be amazing in the role.

I hate Eminem too. That already puts him in my good books LOL.

Julian Barratt meanwhile gives me Troughton vibes. Here he is in action. He's kind of like Troughton in that he's scruffy, uncool, a bit of a bumbling idiot on the surface LOL, but smart underneath.

These are the types you need to think when casting the Doctor. Not someone who could play James Bond or Casanova. Offbeat, madcap character actors who have no chance of ever being a leading man in normal circumstances.

I agree. The Doctor is seen by many new fans to just be an arrogant romantic, like I believe the Tenth Doctor was.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Doctor Who 'hoping to cast actor of colour' when Jodie Whittaker exits

Apparently BBC execs are deliberately looking to cast a POC as the next Doctor (though supposedly don't care about age or gender, just skin colour) as a "step forward for diversity". It seems "the Doctor Who team have always thought of the show as 'progressive' and casting a person of colour would 'cement' that."

In other words, they don't care about the quality of the person they cast, just so long as they are the "right" colour.

If the BBC execs and showrunner (who will have to report to the execs) care more about "diversity" and being seen as "progressive" rather than actually making a good show, than I doubt the quality of episodes will improve. It could get even worse,, it could get so bad, it actually makes Jodie's era look good by comparison. Whenever the word "diversity" gets thrown around, you know the end result is probably going to be something "woke" so already the BBC is setting up the new Doctor for failure which the new actor will get blamed for as the "face" of the character.

If the above article is in fact true rather than just unsubstantiated rumour, then it means that the BBC have literally decided to go out and hire someone based on the colour of their skin and not on their merits as an actor.

 

[thetopher]

Apparently BBC execs are deliberately looking to cast a POC as the next Doctor (though supposedly don't care about age or gender, just skin colour) as a "step forward for diversity". It seems "the Doctor Who team have always thought of the show as 'progressive' and casting a person of colour would 'cement' that."

But we've already HAD a poc as the Doctor- whatsherface from Fugitive Of The Judoon...

Oh, alright. Maybe cast Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd..

But really I don't care about whatever actor/actress they get to play the Doctor next, they need a decent showrunner/writer- the problem with the last two seasons was not Jodie, it was the writers behind her that were garbage.

 

[Fuffy]

I stopped watching when Capaldi came, but how about making Karen Gillan The Doctor ? she ticks off both the Ginger checkbox and the Woman checkbox.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

But we've already HAD a poc as the Doctor- whatsherface from Fugitive Of The Judoon...

It would be better if they brought her back, plus with Holby City coming to an end next year, her schedule should be freed up.

Oh, alright. Maybe cast Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd..

I don't know about Ayode, I think his public persona and the characters he's played in the past is a very socially awkward one and I don't think that's right for the Doctor. Ayoade's Doctor would seem the fish out of water type, and whilst that might work if you just took Ayoade's Doctor in isolation from the others, it wouldn't look right next to the others.

But really I don't care about whatever actor/actress they get to play the Doctor next, they need a decent showrunner/writer- the problem with the last two seasons was not Jodie, it was the writers behind her that were garbage.

Agreed. However, that is what I mean about the actors getting blamed. Jodie is the face of the Chibnall era and so half of the blame for the poor quality, whether rightly or wrongly, gets laid on her shoulders.

I stopped watching when Capaldi came, but how about making Karen Gillan The Doctor ? she ticks off both the Ginger checkbox and the Woman checkbox.

She's too well known within the Whoverse as Amy Pond. Once an actor takes on the role as a companion, they rule themselves out of the running to ever be the Doctor.

Maybe Tuppence Middleton? She's been in a whole host of things.

 

[thetopher]

It would be better if they brought her back, plus with Holby City coming to an end next year, her schedule should be freed up.

Not a bad idea. At least that way they can use their 'progressive' cred as cover as they completely overhaul Chibnal's idiocy; undo the timeless child stuff should be easy enough considering the source- the Master- is an insane, deceitful maniac. Maybe he was trying to screw with the Doctor's head, maybe somebody was screwing with the Master's head and puppeting him from the shadows.
Maybe- as a twist- make Judoon 'past' Doctor turn out to be Romana; she is a timelord, has traveled with the Doctor in the past and something could've happened to screw up her memories.
Hell, maybe she pulls out one of those pocket watches and boom! Romana remembers everything, realizes that she's not actually the Doctor, never was, but somehow took on his identity during the Time War where she had to 'pretend' to be him.

It would go a long way to fixing some of the problems and bring back a fan favorite character for a new era. Maybe SHE worked for that daft secret organisation and then could bring the real Doctor in to help her in some way...

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Why is/was the timeless child such a bad thing that needs to be retconned?

 

[Mr Trick]

Hopefully Amy Pond era Moffat at least. I thought Moffat's writing went downhill when Clara Oswald was introduced because he seemed to have some sort of hard on for her where she would always be pushed front and centre, even over the Doctor., I prefer Kennedy to Clara, that's how much the character irritated me. I was actually on the verge of quitting Doctor Who during the Clara years, it was only the news she was leaving that kept me watching. She should've gone in the rip off facehuggers episode but Moffat chose to do several fake outs which was annoying. She finally got killed off by the Raven (her own fault) but then Moffat ruined that episode by bringing her back.



Whilst I can see your point, I hope they do go back to a man because the Doctor was and always had been male. The problem is that you've got a vocal minority constantly making a massive deal out of gender and race (exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion, and let's be honest they're not the most pleasant of people behaviour wise), and it looks like they're being pandered to when you have a female Doctor or a POC Doctor. The issue isn't so much that the Doctor might be female or POC, it's the stuff that surrounds it which gets people's backs up.



He destroyed the mythology of the show with the Timeless Children arc. Had he not done that, then he'd still be disliked because of the preachiness he injected into the series, but he wouldn't be hated as much as he is.



I gave up. I made it up to the Bill episodes but I just couldn't carry on. I'd miss one episode and not care, then it became two episodes, three, four, etc. I didn't even watch Capaldi regenerating. Capaldi just didn't gel as the Doctor for me. I haven't even watched the new year's day special.



Agreed. The show started getting too preachy and nobody wants to be lectured by a show they watch for entertainment. I did prefer the most recent version of the Master over Missy though.



Chibnall was the worst thing to happen to the Doctor since the Time War.

Likewise there's been a vocal minority who just can't accept a female in a role which has normally been taken up by men. And lets been clear on this the nature of Doctor Who as a genre show and the Doctor as a character means there is no reason why it shouldn't be a female. The argument that it should stay male because it has always been is just so weak and counter productive. The reason it had been male for so long is because they didn't move with the times. BTW so of the anti-female Doctor crowd are not the nicest people either.

Good Doctor or not Whitaker has been treated horribly. My guess from what I've heard is that a lot of the blame does go on the writer. In some ways this is a bit of a non-story. Having been the Doctor for five years Whitaker probably due to leave anyway. People celebrating it online I think is a bit nasty.

 

[thetopher]

Why is/was the timeless child such a bad thing that needs to be retconned?

For 60 years the Doctor was portrayed as a renegade timelord; special only in the fact that he stole a Tardis, ran away and wandered about the universe trying to help where he could; he wasn't inherently special; other members of his species were depicted as older, much more powerful or smarter or whatever. The only ways that the Doctor stood out was the willingness to interfere on the behalf of people who were being threatened and his affection for Earth.

Now it turns out that the Doctor is secretly the ancient progenitor of his entire species; the first of his kind to 'exhibit regeneration' which was then stolen from him and used by others who went on to call themselves timelords.
Firstly this 'revelation' contradicts many things that have been shown over the years- including in the recent revival- which makes it bafflingly poor writing, secondly making an iconic character secretly 'incredibly uniquely special' undermines the core of how the character had previously been written; the Doctor is special because of their actions and the way they see things, not because of what they are.
And thirdly this retcon gave us no significant payoff, no insights into the character or any actual drama. Not only was it badly done, its also pointless to the character involved.

It seems obvious that this retcon was done because of current cultural sensibilities rather than in-universe story purposes.

The reason it had been male for so long is because they didn't move with the times.

Well that isn't true; Doctor Who has usually been at least somewhat politically or socially aware of current year and adapted to comment on things. To say 'oh the Doctor was always a man because old fashioned' in nonsense.
The Doctor was always a man because...the character was always characterized as male. Simple as that. The whole 'Time Lords' can change gender is a very recent addition to the lore; when it was added so it went on to effect the Doctor very quickly.

Good Doctor or not Whitaker has been treated horribly.

Again, not really. Most people who disliked the show simply quietly stopped watching. You said it yourself that its a 'vocal minority' whining about women; vocal miniority's can be ignored easily enough; if it were just a matter of them then there would be no issue.
Falling ratings and poor stories are what did Jodie in, not the haters.

A case in point many people really like Missy (a gender-swapped Master) and had no problem with the character because of how well she was written.
On the other hand people on twitter who praised the Doctor becoming a woman didn't actually bother to tune in and watch the show because, in reality, they don't really care about it and this sci-fi is stupid...but if it correlates to some political belief they have- the catch-all that is 'diversity' is enough- then their happy. Other people being unhappy is just a nice bonus for them.