Jodie Whittaker is the Thirteenth Doctor

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Well, it’s happened! We’ve had the news! The new ‘Doctor Who’…is a woman! That’s right! Jodie Whittaker is to play the Thirteenth Doctor in the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series for 2018 under the new reign of Chris Chibnall as head writer. WOW!!! I suppose this was bound to happen sometime soon.

Okay, let’s get one thing straight here. I like the look of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor when I saw the trailer for her announcement on BBC TV. It was rather low-key in the build-up to her announcement, wasn’t it? I’m very glad they didn’t do a big show of it when it was like Peter Capaldi.

Jodie Whittaker starred in the TV series ‘Broadchurch’ with David Tennant, which was also created by Chris Chibnall. I haven’t seen ‘Broadchurch’ nor have I seen Jodie Whittaker before on TV or film. Her announcement as the new Doctor is big news!

Let me get this out of the way here! Jodie’s announcement as the new Doctor has understandably divided fan opinion. From what I’ve read, many fans are pleased with this announcement; others less so. Now this is my personal opinion on this and no-one is under any obligation to agree with me.

I have no issue with the Doctor regenerating into a woman. If that’s the direction Chris Chibnall wants to go with in his new era of ‘Doctor Who’, then that’s fine. Although I’m surprised he went for this controversial decision, since he’s clearly not playing it safe and it’s going to get some fans angry.

But like I said, I don’t have any objection of the Doctor becoming a woman at all. It’s something that’s been talked about since the days when John Nathan-Turner was producer of ‘Doctor Who’ in the 1980s. The possibility of the Doctor being able to change his sex is something that’s undeniable.

When fans react against this notion, it’s because it’s something that’s outside their comfort zone and it’s something that’s going to be dodgy. This is something I sympathize with as I know a woman Doctor won’t please everyone. But there is something that people overlook in regard to the Doctor.

The Doctor is an alien! He/she has abilities and traits that are more advanced than any human being like us is capable to comprehend. And being someone who has two hearts and can change his/her body into any form he/she wants, it isn’t outside the realms of possibility that sex changes can happen.

This has been put into practice lots of time, including the Comic Relief special, ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’, when Joanna Lumley became the Doctor. It’s also been done recently with Missy as a female version of the Master and with one Time Lord General who regenerated into a woman in ‘Hell Bent’.

For me, the issue that comes with a woman being a Doctor is how they attempt to make comic relief out of it. This is especially true when Michelle Gomez as Missy tends to be pantomime in her performance as a villainess compared to John Simm’s Master, who I found threatening in the series.

But with Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor, I have confidence that she will turn out well as the Doctor. This sounds overly optimistic I know, but from seeing her in the trailer, she has a look of Peter Davison about her. I hope she can convey some of Peter Davison’s performance into her own.

Also the decision was made to make the Doctor as a younger woman compared to Peter Capaldi as an older man. This is something I prefer and it’s what Chris Chibnall has gone for, as I gather they’re attempting to return ‘Doctor Who’ to the days when it had high viewing figures with David Tennant.

I’m wary about the innuendos that might be addressed with regard to Jodie Whittaker as a lady Doctor. But so long as Jodie’s performance is good and the stories are excellent by Chris Chibnall, I’m okay to roll along with it. It’s something to get used to, but it does breathe new life into the TV show.

The bottom line is, I’m willing to give Jodie Whittaker a chance and find out what she’s like as the new Doctor. I admit I wasn’t keen on the idea of a female Doctor years ago. But over the years, I’ve gradually come to accept the notion and I’m strangely looking forward to seeing what Jodie is like.

So yes, Jodie Whittaker will make her first appearance as the new Doctor in the Christmas Special on TV in December 2017. It’s something I’m looking forward to and I hope my anxieties about it will be put to rest. But from what I’ve seen, I’m confident that Jodie will be a very good Doctor in the series.

This is my current opinion for now! Let’s see what lies ahead!

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim. 🙂