Will there ever be another straight white male Doctor Who?
And by then will anyone care?
shareI think the answer is yes but probably not for a while.
I do think the best way is to pick by ability. When Gatwa auditioned they already had a doctor in mind, from what I heard possibly 2 females in mind and Gatwa similar to matt smith, blew them away.
I do however think they will keep away from a white male for a while. They need to establish that the doctor can be anything and rightly so. Going straight back to a white male after whitaker would have been a mistake.
Having a black man play the doctor is all wrong!!!! It's not like a black guy being the main star of a new series. This is a television programme that has existed for fifty eight years and the new producers/showrunners have got a badger up their ass with this hokey, rubbish idea!!!
Shut the door Mary
JB
The doctor is alien so I don't see any issues with them changing. The issue is people keep looking at the doctor as a human
shareNot really. He changes into other people yes, but it has always been a white male of usually an older age but with occasional younger incarnations. The gender bending idea came with Neil Gaiman's The Doctor's Wife, and had never been mentioned before although it is possible that Moffat instructed him to add that line or he may have done it himself. Moffat really was the architect of the show's demise and Chinballs continued it by destroying the established history of the show and sadly RTD has now wiped it off of the face of the earth!
Shut the door Mary
JB
The idea of changing The Doctor into a woman was around a long time before Neil Gaiman wrote for the show. Tom Baker was perhaps the first person associated with the show to publicly endorse the idea, when he wished his successor luck -- 'whoever he or she might be.'
No less a figure than Sydney Newman was asked for advice in the mid- to late-80s as to how to revive the flagging show's fortunes. And one of his suggestions was turning the Doctor into a woman.
It was a topic that had been long discussed by both people involved in the show and the show's fans. I remember the possibility being brought up at literally every regeneration from Tom Baker until the show's cancellation.
In terms of narrative within the show itself, the notion was deliberately never addressed one way or the other until 'The Doctor's Wife'.
But given that it's established in 'Destiny of the Daleks' that Romana could choose a non-human appearance, before she finally decides to be Lalla Ward indefinitely, I don't think a Time Lord choosing any kind of human form is much of a stretch, really.
The Doctor isn't a white male of any particular age. The Doctor is essentially a shape-shifting alien. That's the show. That's always been the show.
Tom Baker was joking as he was quite morose at the time for having left the show which he found was his entire life. JNT was asked about a female Doctor in the late 80s too and said that wasn't an option he wanted to pursue.
I say let them do what they like with the show as it's going to lose even more viewers and interest from the public and the day we don't have to pay the license anymore can't come quick enough for me!
Shut the door Mary
JB
Tom Baker was joking
He was being tongue in cheek, but he was expressing his true sentiments as to the possibilities of the character. He's always been consistent on this matter.
JNT was asked about a female Doctor in the late 80s too and said that wasn't an option he wanted to pursue.
It wasn't something RTD wanted to pursue either during his first tenure. And presumably it wasn't something other producers wanted to pursue either, or they would have done. The crucial part is that no showrunner ever chose to shut the idea down within the 'canon'. And that Terry Nation and Douglas Adams could do the 'alien creature' Romana joke to establish the endless possibilities of a Time Lord's appearance.
I say let them do what they like with the show
Big of you. share
As others have mentioned its not a new idea. I was originally unsure myself, but the show started to go stale and needed a change. Why should they stick to doing the same thing when it's been made apparent a few times that timelords could be anything.
I'm not a fan of Chibnall's era, but that was the bad writing. When Ruth was revealed to be a doctor, the switch was insane and she felt so much like a classic doctor. Such a waste really.
I can't really reply as I haven't watched the new series since 2017!
Shut the door Mary
JB