The Thirteenth Doctor is the current incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who. She is portrayed by English actor Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character in the series. In the show's narrative, the Doctor is a time travelling, humanoid alien from a race known as the Time Lords. To account for actors' departure from the series, the programme introduced the narrative concept of regeneration, a means for Time Lords to recover from mortal or fatal injuries, giving them a new physiology, appearance, and a distinct new personality.
Whittaker appeared for the first time as the Thirteenth Doctor at the end of the 2017 Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time," and will star as the Doctor from 2018, starting with the programme's eleventh series.
Video Thirteenth Doctor
Casting
In January 2016, Steven Moffat announced that he would leave the show after the tenth series; he is set to be replaced by new showrunner Chris Chibnall. Peter Capaldi confirmed a year later that the tenth series would be his last, too. Following this news, several media reports and bookmakers had speculated as to who would replace Capaldi as the Thirteenth Doctor. Bookmakers' favourites included Ben Whishaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kris Marshall, and Tilda Swinton.
Casting a woman
The concept of a female Doctor was first mentioned in 1981, when Tom Baker suggested his successor might be female, after announcing the end of his tenure as the Fourth Doctor. Producer John Nathan-Turner later discussed the possibility of casting a woman as the Sixth Doctor to replace the departing Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor, claiming it was feasible but not something he was considering at the moment. In October 1986, during the transmission of Colin Baker's final season as the Sixth Doctor, series creator Sydney Newman wrote to BBC Controller Michael Grade, with a suggestion that "at a later stage Doctor Who should be metamorphosed into a woman". Joanna Lumley later appeared as a satirical version of the Thirteenth Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death. Arabella Weir also played an alternate Third Doctor in the Doctor Who Unbound Big Finish episode Exile. Neither portrayal is typically considered to be within the show's main continuity. Prior to the show's return, different women had been considered for the role of the Ninth Doctor and Twelfth Doctor.
The concept of Time Lords changing gender upon regeneration was seeded throughout Moffat's tenure as showrunner. In the 2011 episode "The Doctor's Wife", the Doctor recalls a Time Lord acquaintance known as the Corsair, who had at least two female incarnations. In the 2013 short "Night of the Doctor", the Sisterhood of Karn offer a dying Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) control over his inevitable regeneration, with "man or woman" being touted as possibilities. The first on-screen cross-gender regeneration was shown in the 2015 episode "Hell Bent", in which a white male Gallifreyan general (Ken Bones) regenerates into a black woman (T'Nia Miller), who states that her previous incarnation was the only time she had been a man.
The most notable Time Lord to have appeared in both male and female forms prior to Whittaker's casting is the Doctor's nemesis, The Master, portrayed from 2014 to 2017 by Scottish actress Michelle Gomez. This character was known as Missy, short for "Mistress". The tenth series finale, "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls", addresses cross-gender regeneration several times; the Doctor tells his companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) that Missy was "his first man-crush," and adds that he is only "fairly sure" he himself was male at the time.
Casting Whittaker
When referring to whether the new Doctor would be a woman, incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall originally was quoted in February 2017, as saying, "Nothing is ruled out but I don't want the casting to be a gimmick and that's all I can say". On 14 July 2017, the BBC announced that the portrayer of the Thirteenth Doctor would be revealed after the 2017 Wimbledon Championships men's finals on 16 July 2017. Immediately after the announcement, Death in Paradise actor Kris Marshall was the bookmakers' favourite at 4/6, although twenty-four hours later, Jodie Whittaker, notable for her role as Beth Latimer in Chibnall's crime drama Broadchurch, had become the favourite at 5/4. Whittaker was introduced as the Thirteenth Doctor on 16 July and subsequently made her debut in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time". On Whittaker's casting, Chibnall said, "I always knew I wanted the Thirteenth Doctor to be a woman and we're thrilled to have secured our number one choice. Her audition for The Doctor simply blew us all away." Later on in his statement, Chibnall called Whittaker "an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature" and said that she "will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role."
Maps Thirteenth Doctor
Costume
First images of Whittaker's costume as the Doctor were released to the media on 9 November 2017. Her costume features blue high-waisted culottes with yellow braces, a black shirt with a rainbow stripe across it, a lilac-blue coat and brown lace-up boots. Some fans noted that the outfit had similarities to earlier Doctors' costumes with others comparing it to Robin Williams' costume in the American sitcom Mork & Mindy.
Reception
Fan reaction to Whittaker's casting was largely positive, although a sizeable minority were unhappy. Some said that a female Doctor would be a good role model for young girls, while others felt the Doctor was only ever meant to be male, or criticised the casting as an exercise in political correctness. During the Doctor Who panel at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat denied there had been a "backlash" over Whittaker's casting, and said there was "80% approval on social media". Moffat commented, "It strikes me that Doctor Who fans are more excited about the idea of a brilliant actress playing the part, than the fact she's a woman. It's been incredibly progressive and enlightened".
Guardian journalist Zoe Williams described Whittaker's casting as "the revolutionary feminist we need right now", lauding the decision as "the difference between tolerating modernity and embodying it". Williams compared the casting of a female Doctor to other examples of the show breaking "cultural taboo[s]", mentioning companions Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) as examples of the show's diversity.
Reaction among former Doctor Who actors was positive. Colin Baker, who portrayed the Sixth Doctor, quoting his own character in his introductory stories The Caves of Androzani and The Twin Dilemma, tweeted "Change my dears and not a moment too soon--she IS the Doctor whether you like it or not!". In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Baker wrote that he had "never been able to think of any logical reason" why the Doctor could not be a woman, and described himself as "shocked" that some fans of the show were vowing not to watch again due to Whittaker's casting. Conversely, Peter Davison, who portrayed the Fifth Doctor, stated that the casting could mean "loss of a role model for boys". Nevertheless, he noted that Whittaker is a "terrific actress" and would do "a wonderful job" in the role. Tom Baker, who portrayed the Fourth Doctor, reacted positively to the news. However, he warned that if the audience loses interest, then Whittaker should be replaced. He said "I think it might be quite nice to have a woman. But you just test it. If the audience don't like it then just kill her off. Nobody has ever failed by the way, nobody has, it's just how it is." Freema Agyeman, who played the character Martha Jones between 2007 and 2010, said she was "astounded" by the negative reception from some fans and that the show's history of change was key to its strength and longevity. Former cast members Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Billie Piper, Karen Gillan and John Barrowman reacted positively to the news.
Appearances
The Thirteenth Doctor made her debut in the closing moments of "Twice Upon a Time", the 2017 Christmas special. In October 2017, the BBC announced that Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole had been cast as companions Graham, Yasmin and Ryan respectively for the eleventh series and will appear alongside Whittaker in late 2018.
References
External links
- "Jodie Whittaker's First Interview after her Announcement as the 13th Doctor"
- Thirteenth Doctor on Tardis Data Core, an external wiki
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments