Who Is Jodie Whittaker: 13 Thoughts on the 13th Doctor

Jodie Whittaker has just been cast as the 13th Doctor, to premiere at the end of the next Christmas Special once Capaldi has shuffled off the Doctor's immortal coil, and all day yesterday, people were sending me messages as to what I thought of the move. Well...

1. First, before anyone starts saying this is bad luck because of the number 13, let me remind you that because of the War Doctor, she is actually #14. So there's nothing to that even if I were superstitious.

2. Second, while I'm excited at the possibilities here, I honestly wish I didn't know yet. I know it's impossible this day and age to hide important casting news like this, much less not try to milk it for all it's worth over the months leading up to the new series (the costume, the companion, etc. etc.), but I'd have loved to see the Doctor regenerate into a woman and only THEN people losing their minds (for good or ill), instead of seeing it judged and debated on social media today. There were a number of times this last series where Capaldi's Doctor seemed to die, and no matter how much I enjoy him in the role, I wish they'd pulled the trigger right then and there. In other words, I crave SURPRISE.

3. So yes, it's a woman. I've been pushing for this (which implies some power on my part, to be clear, I have none) for a long time now. Perhaps ever since I saw Joanna Lumley in the role for a few seconds in Moffat's Comic Relief sketch, or at least since I heard the "Unbound" Doctor Who audio "Exile" with Arabella Weir as the Doctor. I would have trusted Moffat to do it, but was afraid the new showrunner Chris Chibnall or the BBC would chicken out. So glad they didn't.

4. NOT doing it at this point would have been anticlimactic. Moffat's floated the idea as far back as "The Doctor's Wife" and pretty much made it an inevitability when the Master regenerated into a woman. Series 10 was in fact replete with foreshadowing, from the Doctor making speeches about sexual fluidity to Missy playing the part for the length of a scene (just as Clara had for most of an episode in Series 8). People who are watching the show can't say they are surprised by the show, which leaves the ones who had abandoned it to be surprised. If a good surprise, I hope they'll come back. If outrage, the show was already not for them and I don't much care.

5. My theory was that Chibnall would cast Olivia Coleman as the Doctor, seeing as he had worked closely with her on Broadchurch, which he created and ran. She has a Doctorish look and the right sense of humor. I was half-right. He DID cast from Broadchurch, I just misidentified the actress who would get the role.

6. Whittaker has experience fighting aliens! My introduction to her was Attack the Block, which is an extremely fun monster invasion/base under siege movie filled with young actors who have gone on to bigger things since.

7. Okay, let's look at the video reveal:


There's not a whole lot we can get from this trailer. I don't know how much of her look here will be retained for the actual character, but the narrative, such as it is, is about the actress getting the TARDIS key and walking into the TARDIS. Who will actually come out?

8. I must say I was expecting an older woman, in part because of the gravitas usually associated with the Doctor, but I caught myself remembering Jodie Whittaker more from 6 years ago (Attack the Block) than more recent fare. She's 35, which is just fine, and puts her only in 3rd in the list of youngest Doctors. Younger Doctors have a vitality that plays well to action beats.

9. Here's what Whittaker said in an interview about the role: "I'm beyond excited to begin this epic journey – with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet. It’s more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait." She gets it, and it seems we can expect a brighter era. For all the comedy in the Moffat era, the Doctor has become a dour, depressed, haunted man, and that has turned the show into something of a tragedy. Series 10 ended with a glimmer of hope in the darkest of times. If that's the springboard for the new Doctor, I'll be happy to see where she lands.

10. Despite Capaldi's great talent and an excellent companion in Bill, I've been hearing a lot of fans express what I'll call Doctor Who fatigue. The show's been back for 12 years and even Nu fans have learned the tropes and are having trouble mustering as much enthusiasm as they used to. The announcement that Chris Chibnall would take over didn't fill me with anticipation, since his Doctor Who episodes, like The Hungry Earth have been throwbacks to past eras and rather derivative. At best, he's been hit and miss between this work, Torchwood and Broadchurch. So casting a woman is the game changer the show desperately needed, something to create an entirely new dynamic, and just enough of a stunt to bring curious expats back to the program.

11. And face it, this is the Year of the Woman in genre circles. Wonder Woman just proved a female-led superhero movie could succeed commercially and critically, something that really didn't need to be proven except to whatever fuddy-duddies still couldn't see it. This is actually the perfect time to launch a female-led Doctor Who show, and it's been a joy seeing women and little girls react to the announcement all day on social media. I remember when they were just allowed to fawn over Tennant and Smith, but this time, they can IDENTIFY with the Doctor. And maybe we can get in on their old game of thinking of the Doctor as hot.

12. Whittaker is a good actress and a strong presence, but I dare say she's also pretty brave to do this. Unfortunately, she's signed up for the Misogyny Squad's ugly comments and hateful campaigns. We saw it with Ghostbusters and Star Wars. We're already seeing it with #MyDoctorHasaPenis and such nonsense (cuz I remember when there was a contingent of fans who screamed he didn't when RTD made the Doctor too sexual). No one deserves the GamerGate treatment. Whittaker doesn't even deserve to be pre-judged negatively before her first full episode airs. Anyone spewing hate hasn't learned a damn thing from the Doctor in the past 50+ years and they can f--- right off.

13. If I can end on the matter of Companions... That will be the next big announcement. Who would YOU like to see board the TARDIS with this new Doctor? Hard to say without knowing how her Doctorishness will manifest exactly. Will she still hang out with young girls, or is this to be a golden age for male companions? Just the single assistant, or more of a family feel (with the Doctor as more of a den mother)? The sky's the limit. I'm expecting at least one instance of a male companion being taken for the Doctor by an old acquaintance...