With the BBC’s announcement Sunday that the thirteenth Doctor Who will be Jodie Whittaker, the internet began chattering immediately about the news. And while many praised the first female Doctor in the history of the series, of course somebody had to break out their tiny violin and begin furiously playing a song.
The sexist reactions Sunday were at times thinly veiled, blaming “political correctness” and the idea that Doctor Who was forced into landing a female lead because of the the times — like that’s a bad thing. Affirmative action apparently should not apply to sci-fi series.
“Like the absolute worst thing they could do with #DoctorWho is make it female because they feel they have to,” commented Twitter user David Bedwell. “It won’t work being forced.”
“And again the PC brigade get their way,” commented NeathBlue. “R.I.P Doctor Who.”
Others just couldn’t get over seeing a woman portray a character traditionally played by a man. “I just don’t see Doctor Who as a woman…” said Twitter user Michael Charles Sull. “I fear this victory for PC feminist tokenism will ruin this iconic series for a great many people.
Huh? Luckily, other than a few sour grapes, a huge portion of the internet is pretty excited about a female Doctor Who. They’ve also been poking some serious fun at anyone who can’t get their head around it — in 2017.
“Daleks Announce That Gender of Dr. Who Has No Bearing on Their Desire to Exterminate,” posted Mark Campbell.
“First, they came for the Ghostbusters, and I said nothing. Then, they came for Dr. Who, and I said nothing. Because I’m a sane, adult human,” commented Adam Proteau.
“If Doctor Who writers really love me there will be a moment where a man tries to explain time travel to her so I can laugh my ass off,” said takilah805.
Whether the show will in fact take some meta digs at the fans who can’t handle their new Doctor, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s worth noting that the ratings for Doctor Who have been less than stellar over the past few years; the addition of Whittaker might breath some much-needed life back into the series. Older fans may even be inclined to return to the show.
The new season of Doctor Who will air sometime in 2018.
