Moffat on Why We Didn't Get a Female Doctor

Yesterday 'The Telegraph' was running an article in which they where citing Moffat describing why he did not choose an actress as the 12th Doctor: 

I didn’t feel enough people wanted it [...] Oddly enough, most people who said they were dead against it were women.

I for my part am glad that Peter Capaldi is not a Petra Capaldi, however, I can't help feeling a bit disappointed about Moffat not mentioning to have any other reasons than peer-pressure. I mean, the Doctor has been a guy for 1000 plus years. Why should I change that, or even want to change that? It has become part of his identity. Sure, some may think it to be fun and the audience could cope. But could he? Could the stories? Wouldn't that be the famous jump over the shark? 

Changing his gender is not necessary, not story-wise and even not gender-policy-wise. For isn't the basic idea of emancipation that there is no difference between men and women, both of them have theoretically the same abilities, the same potential? So why should it be better to make him a her?

I simply fail to come up with a compelling reason. Maybe one day someone will. But I hope, for the sake of the fans and the show, that it will be a good one.

The New Tenant of the TARDIS

The die is cast and after a ridiculous life-event we know that Peter Capaldi is the 12th Doctor. As things are at the moment, with Hurt's 'Doctor' increasing the number of the Doctor's completed regenerations, he also may be the last, strictly speaking, canonical Doctor. After all, we're still waiting for the BBC's emergency protocols to become effective and the Mighty Moff coming up with a solution for the 'odd 12 regenerations rule', as RTD used to call it.

So who is the new guy? If his name does not ring a bell to you, then you're either not living in the UK and/or are not familiar with British TV history. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but Capaldi is a legend.

Which is, ironically, the only, really, the only downside I can see in casting him. For nobody will refer to the big Peter Capaldi as “the guy from Doctor Who”. 

Apart from that I'm surprisingly pleased with Moffat's decision, because his choice fulfils my only requirement: I wanted someone who's a fan of the show. And Capaldi is famous for being in love with Doctor Who.

He's also Scottish, which is amusing as now we're having a Scottish showrunner, we had a Scottish actress playing a Scottish companion and this is the 2nd Scottish actor playing the Doctor within... has it been 4 years? I'm not complaining. So the only remaining question is whether he'll be allowed to keep his accent. Would that be fair?

And he's in his mid-50ies. Actually, that's the second, even though rather small, reason why Moffat's choice is a bit surprising. At least, for a change, nobody is complaining about the new guy being too young. And Capaldi looks as if he'd start every day with jogging ten miles, so he'll be certainly able to keep up with all the required running. No worries about that.

But it's somewhat unexpected that Moffat decided against 'playing it safe'. I thought he'd bend to the public pressure and cast someone looking 25. Because, let's face it, some of those people who have been regularly  watching Doctor Who for a few years now have not spent their Saturday afternoon in front of the telly because of the TV show's awesome concept or Moffat's writing abilities. But those, mostly female, viewers wanted to see Matt Smith in a bowtie saving the universe, or whoever needed to be saved that weekend. There will be certainly people watching Doctor Who because of Capaldi. But it makes this decision nevertheless a risk. One worth taking, IMHO, because it serves the story. We like to forget that our favourite 1000plus years old Time Lord is not 25 any more. At the same time Capaldi has already proven to be an excellent actor so I have no doubts that we won't be missing the Doctor's, let's call it bouncy qualities in season 8.

The last remaining question to tackle is his costume. Will the 12th Doctor still think bow ties are cool? And who's for combining them with a pair of blue jeans, which is the only clothing item I cannot remember the Doctor has been ever wearing. Will he go back to the tradition of having a favourite intensifier? Or a catchphrase? Sorry, that's more than just one question. But they are exiting ones.

So, I don't care if Peter Capaldi was not on your personal list, or if there may be other, much better people out there, in your opinion. I don't care because ATM I'm too curious to find out how Moffat will make this work.

Why Most Fans Are Against a Female Doctor

Even though some newspapers claim that Whovians wouldn't mind having a female Doctor, there are polls suggesting otherwise (87% con, only 13% pro). Now, it shouldn't really matter. In the 21st century we wouldn't care about giving the most powerful weapons of mankind into the neatly manicured hands of a female president, or rather, if we made a poll on having a female president in the USA results would certainly not be this clear.

So, why are we willing to accept the idea of a woman taking the precious seat in the oval office, but at the same time we do not want to have one driving the TARDIS? The short answer to that is that while many women were among those people who'd be for a female president (or at least not against it) there are many women (well, girls) who are against a female Doctor. And that's making a difference.

The longer answer is that most fans, female fans, of 'Who' are not only into this show because of its superb science-fictional quality, or the Mighty Mofff's scripts, or RTD's less brilliant stories. And even though there may be more handsome guys than those people who have been cast as the Doctor, they are still guys and when you're a girl the idea of running away with the Doctor is just more fun when your partner in crime is not another sassy girl.

Of course, there are other less fangirly reasons why fans may be against an actress getting that role. First of all, storywise there is no real reason why he should be she.There may be more clever people proving me wrong, but I cannot think of a scenario which would make it necessary for the Doctor to change gender.

Besides, he's always been a he. The picture you get when hearing the words 'the Doctor in the TARDIS' is not that of a woman in a blue box. I know, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy, but we have been conditioned for 5o years that way  and simply ignoring that fact would be stupid. It's like changing the direction in which you're reading letters. elbissop s'tI. But only because you can do something does not mean you should. 

Maybe one day we'll have a female Doctor. But it seems the whoniverse is not ready for it yet.

On the Chances of Steven Moffat Casting a Female Doctor

Every time we are sort of in-between Doctors, there is one rumour which never fails to come up: could the next Doctor be female? While several sites are already speculating about this possibility, this time we are actually able to pinpoint things down a bit, after all, Steven Moffat seems to be the one who'll play a significant role in making that pretty important decision.

Interestingly enough, back in 2010, after being almost halfway into season 5, 'Newsarama' asked the Mighty Moff about the possibilities of having a female Doctor flying the TARDIS. And this is what he said: 

Well, never say never.  I'd never rule anything out.  I didn't contemplate it this time.  I'd have my worries about it, only from the point of view that, would you still believe it was the same person?  Is that taking it that one step too far?  What is River Song (Alex Kingston) going to think?  [laughs]  I would worry, but maybe someone with a bigger imagination than me will prove me wrong on that score.  You can get carried away with the idea of the regenerating Doctor. 

What I mean by that is, there aren't eleven Doctors.  There is one Doctor with eleven faces.  The primary idea is that you have to show the audience that this is fundamentally the same person with a makeover.  I think I would worry that the makeover, turning him into a woman would just take that one step too far.  That's not me saying I don't think a woman is good enough to be the Doctor by the way.  [laughs]  At all.  It's just that I'd worry that you'd lose the sense.  You might just fragment the sense that it's still him.

I know, Moffat lies, people change and that's a 3 years old interview. However, somehow I think that was really his opinion back then, and he certainly had his reasons. And there is a good chance that he still has those reasons today. I, at least, hope so. Because only because it is possible to have a female Doctor, does not mean that you should actually have one. If there are the right motivations (e.g. it adds something important, and not only something new to a story), then go for it.. I'm not saying I'll be happy with it, but if there are the right arguments, then there is not much you can do. But doing it only because you can, is the wrong attitude, because then you're running into danger of screwing things up.

Then again, the Mighty Moff loves screwing and breaking rules and to be fair, that is the only rule he has not touched yet (or rather smashed to pieces, only to put them together again). I for my part hope that his love and respect for 'Doctor Who' will be stronger than his craving. Because IMHO I have to agree with what he says there: chances are high that it would take things one step too far.

'How Long Are You Goint To Stay With Me?' - 'Forever'.

Matt Smith is leaving 'Doctor Who'. It's official, after all, publishing it on the BBC's official 'Doctor Who' page is as official as it gets. And surprisingly it's already this Christmas when we say good-bye to his Doctor. 

Luckily, Steven Moffat does seem to stick around a bit longer. Even though, ever since he declared that he'd love to stay forever as Who's showrunner, I've been worried that he'd leave the show at the next convenient opportunity. After all, that's what 'staying forever' seems to stand for in this fandom (just take this Steven Moffat interview as reference, regarding Matt Smith's time on 'Who')

But back to Matt Smith. Surprisingly, I'm not devastated by his decision. I'm not saying I didn't like his Doctor. Matt Smith did a good job. I like what he did with the role and I appreciate it. But at the same time I hope the next actor getting 'the best job in the universe' will be just as good (or even better). So, today's date will certainly not burn itself into my memory as the day Matt Smith decided to leave the TARDIS (unlike the 28th October 2008) simply because 11 is not my Doctor. If he's yours, well, welcome to the ever growing club of Whovians to whom the current Doctor is not the one who made them fall in love with this show. Because you have to fall in love with the talent, and not the actor. Being a Whovian there are two lessons you have to learn: first, Moffat lies. And, the even harder one, 'Doctor Who' is about changes. If you can't handle that, then, I'm sorry, but you're not a proper Whovian. 

So, the next question to answer is  'who will be next?' and more importantly, 'will he be ginger?'

The Doctor Meets The Chocolate Factory...

And the question whether Doctor Who is appropriate entrainment for children is settled till the next episode.