The 13th Doctor Debate: Nevertheless, She Deserved Better.

I'll be honest, I am one of the many fans of Doctor Who, who is less than thrilled about the recent casting decision. Having watched Doctor Who since 1978, as a wide-eyed six year old who would drop everything and rush to sit glued in front of the TV set as soon as the first note of that iconic music started playing, I think there will always be a part of me that will retain that child's view of the beloved show I grew up with - and there will always be something of that child part within that will also inform and shape my responses to different aspects of the series today. So when I heard the news of Jodie Whittaker's casting first announced that little child inside me felt her heart sink, as as she stomped her child size foot and said, "No, that isn't right, The Doctor isn't supposed to look like that, I want my Doctor back!"

Do I think that's a reasonable response to have? Quite frankly, no. It's the response of a petulant and petty inner child, railing against change within a show that is all about that very thing. But it is also my most honest and immediately felt response, even if it is coming from the inner mind of a 6 year old, who sat in front of that TV set forty years ago, and who doesn't want to let go of her Doctor.

But then I began to think, and to try and explore more within myself as to why, even after that initial surge of the inner child's response to the news has subsided, I was still disappointed with the direction the BBC had chosen to take. And the final conclusion I have come to, is this...

She deserved better.

Doctor who has more than 50 years of history behind it, 50 years of established, and suggested canon from a whole range of different sources and media. The introduction of a female incarnation of The Doctor should have been an important enough event to have warranted a build up that explored those different, and sometimes conflicting sources of canon. It should have been built up, and heralded by great script writing, fantastic stories, well woven tales of how and why The Doctor could, and would regenerate into a woman. There were a myriad of questions that could have, and certainly should have been answered through good story telling. Instead what we got was a few heavy handed plot hints (some of which contradict established canon, with zero explanation), followed by a lovely speech from the 12th Doctor regarding the advanced nature of Gallifreyan society...and, wait, that's it?

Again, she deserved better.

The announcement has also left me wondering, "How hard is it to write good, original female characters, or to create a good original female character driven show?" The casting choice of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor didn't feel like a win for equality, or better representation of female characters in the media; it felt like someone handing me a plate of crumbs and telling me I should be grateful to have gotten any cake at all - "Here's your strong female character; sure we've just tacked a feminine template onto a previously codified male character, instead of bothering to expend the time and energy to create something original, but here, just shut up and be thankful we gave you this much at least."

In a society where creative endeavours have the power to effect change, we deserve better.

So although I have come to the final decision that the 13th Doctor's tenure as a woman isn't something I'm personally interested in watching (as much as I do wish the show, and Jodie Whittaker herself, all of the absolute best for the future), I will just say this...

Nevertheless, she deserved better.