Question for the DW Fans on My Flist

[merelyn]

I’ve watched all four seasons of the new Who (and all of Torchwood, though nothing of the Sarah Jane Adventures, it’s still on my to do list). I’m not traditionally fannish about DW, per se- while invested in it, I don’t read fic, and have never gone much beyond episode reviews and the like. (Also, the fandom seems to be a bit crazy, y/n?)

I also haven’t seen a bit of the original Who. Because I am a completist, I’m easily intimidated by so many years of canon. If I were going to watch it, I’d have to watch it ALL. (This is also why I’ve never gotten into anime- I just know I don’t have the time.) So on the one hand, I’m an ignorant American here. On the other hand, I totally have a TARDIS piggy bank.

Now that everyone has heard about David Tennant leaving DW, I have a question. circa_eve and I were talking about the next doctor, and she wondered something.

The question, to those who know better than I, is this: would they ever cast a woman as the next Doctor?

Personally, I think it’d be AWESOME. I know some of the fans would probably grumble about it, but you’d think, considering the queerness of the RTD Who’verse, that it has to be a possibility, right?

Has this already been talked to death before? Am I late to this party? (If so, please point me to the wank. It’s a slow day at work and I have nothing to do but count the lay offs.)

Comments

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

The question, to those who know better than I, is this: would they ever cast a woman as the next Doctor?

Paul McGann (8th Doctor) suggested it a while back and basically got blasted for it. However, I got the feeling that the Master would come back in his wife's body based on how they left it (he's jumped bodies before...and re-set his lives). I think it would be a good option to have a woman Doctor, but it's got to be done just right. That's alot of years of canon to contend with. One false move and it's done for (which is also why I hold my breath through every New Who episode...I fear they're going to screw up canon).

And as an aside, I hope that one day you'll watch Old Who. I doubt you can even get many of the 1st Doctor's episodes, but if you just catch a few of each Doctor (or focus on the 4th Doctor) it would help you understand New Who a whole lot better. I often wonder if New Who has the same impact on fans who are not Old Who viewers. Does the image of the Dalek fleet or Davros showing up at the end of this season strike the same chord with new viewers as it does with us Old Who viewers?

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Paul McGann (8th Doctor) suggested it a while back and basically got blasted for it.

Hmm, good to know. I’d think that maybe in a post-RTD Who’verse it’d be a more plausible suggestion. Though after googling the issue for a bit, I did find this little tidbit (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2261120/Russell-T-Davies-says-Amy-Winehouse-would-be-a-brilliant-Doctor-Who.html): “But [RTD] is adamant that Dr Who could never be played by a woman, no matter how "brilliant" Amy Winehouse, Judy Dench or Lesley Sharp might be in the role. ‘I am often tempted to say yes to that to placate everyone but, while I think kids will not have a problem with [a female Doctor], I think fathers will have a problem with it because they will then imagine they will have to describe sex changes to their children,’ he said.“.

So I guess that’s that, unless Stephen Moffat thinks differently. I’m still wondering why the hell it would be such a big deal anyway. I guess some of that comes from the 45 years of tradition that I don’t really grasp.

And on that note, I should go back and watch Old Who. Since New Who is my starting off point, I bet I’d still view Old Who a little differently. (That feeling comes from my attempts at watching original series Star Trek after only ever watching Voyager. It just didn’t take, though I’m sure William Shatner had something to do with it.)

Does the image of the Dalek fleet or Davros showing up at the end of this season strike the same chord with new viewers as it does with us Old Who viewers?

Sort of? It definitely had some effect on me, but as a New Who viewer to be honest I’ve always found the Daleks to be a little more on the annoying side. As for the introduction of new characters like Davros or the Master, I had to rely on the cues the show gave (i.e. THIS PERSON IS BAD NEWS) and figure out why they were so important afterward.

[neptuneskisses.livejournal.com]

I'm exactly the same as you - if I can't watch it all from the beginning, I don't want to! I have come across some fanfic written about a female Doctor, but I can't remember who wrote it *sob*. It was good though. I know there's also a female character in the books that were written post-8th doctor (I think) that really has her own following as well - I've always wanted to explore more on that but haven't had the time. God that's such a vague answer isn't it!

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

God that's such a vague answer isn't it!

No, that’s interesting! I don’t pay much attention to DW fandom outside of stray stuff from my flist, so I didn’t know that. And yes, the frustrating travails of being a completist. Also why I still haven’t watched Buffy. Seven seasons is a big commitment. I’m getting better about it, like with Supernatural, which I only watch occasionally in a “what’s everyone talking about at the fandom water cooler?” sort of way.