Series 7/Season 33/(insert your own alternative designation) News

[Tekken Force]

Glad to hear that.

I also read something about David Tennant wanting to return for the 50th anniversary, and I know there is some tradition in former Doctors returning. It would be interesting to see how they are going to do that. I mean, I thought that if two doctors from different times were in the same place there would be a paradox, and the universe would end.

I don't know, but I hope he wears his brown suit this time!

[liana]

I don't know, but I hope he wears his brown suit this time!

Did he even wear it after season 2? I don't remember.

[Tekken Force]

Sometimes yeah.

[newbaggy]

The new Doctor Who Magazine gives more details on the 2012 episodes. Together with some other information that has come out recently, the line-up appears to be:

Episode 1 (part of Block 2)
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Nick Hurran

Previously described by Moffat as having a "Die Hard" vibe, this appears to be the Dalek story - and not just one set of Daleks! It appears that Daleks from all eras of the programme are being used (even Russell T. Davies' own Dalek has been taken from his home to the set), although no story details have leaked so far. Currently filming.

Episode 2 (Part of Block 1)
Writer: Chris Chibnall
Director: Saul Metztein

Guest starring: Mark Williams, Rupert Graves, David Bradley

Said to feature largest set ever constructed for the series. Mark Williams might be playing Rory's Dad

Episode 3 (Part of Block 1)
Writer: Toby Whithouse
Director: Saul Metztein

Guest starring: Ben Browder, Adrian Scarborough, Garrick Hagon

Wild West episode, partly filmed in Spain. Browder is the town sheriff, Scarborough is an alien. Chief "baddie" appears to be a "Terminator"-style cyborg.

Episode 4 (Block 3)
Writer: Chris Chibnall
Director: Douglas Mackinnon

Chibnall's second script for this season will be the last "Amy and Rory" story to be filmed. No details of story content as yet. Douglas Mackinnon is the first RTD-era director to return to the series, but he did work on Moffat's Jekyll.

Episode 5 (Part of Block 2)
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Nick Hurran

Amy and Rory's swansong, partially filmed on location in New York and featuring the Weeping Angels. Moffat claims that not everyone gets out alive "...and I mean it this time."

Episode 6 (Block 4)
Writer: Steven Moffat

The Christmas Special. Jenna-Louise Coleman will be introduced as the new companion, who will NOT be called Jasmine. In Moffat's audition script (unrelated to his actual new companion introduction), he used "Jasmine" as the companion's name because he didn't like it, thus making it clear to those in the know that "Jasmine" and the real new companion were different characters. 40-50 actresses were initially auditioned by executive producer Caroline Skinner and casting director Andy Pryor, with those called back for a final audition getting to test for Steven Moffat by performing scenes with Matt Smith.

[liana]

Thanks for the information, newbaggy.

[Austin 3:16]

Newbaggy, is Daily Express the one that has been reporting about who might be replacing Matt Smith? There was a report on Darkhorizons.com that the next Doctor could be female but they said it came from a tabloid. Is that Daily Express?

I'm starting to think the report might have been an April Fools joke that the site took as truth accidentally. If not I would be open to a female Doctor. Can u shed any light on this one Newbaggy?

[newbaggy]

Newbaggy, is Daily Express the one that has been reporting about who might be replacing Matt Smith? There was a report on Darkhorizons.com that the next Doctor could be female but they said it came from a tabloid. Is that Daily Express?

I'm starting to think the report might have been an April Fools joke that the site took as truth accidentally. If not I would be open to a female Doctor. Can u shed any light on this one Newbaggy?

The Daily Express is a tabloid, although one that would consider itself slightly upmarket from the so-called "red tops" such as the Sun (not that it makes its reporting any more reliable), and the report did come out on April 2nd, so not technically an April Fool. For those who haven't seen the report, it claims that an unnamed "insider" told their reporter that the 50th Anniversary season will end with Matt Smith's departure as the Doctor regenerates into a woman. The "insider" goes on to claim that Lara Pulver - Irene Adler in Moffat and Gatiss' Sherlock (her episode, A Scandal in Belgravia, will be shown in the US next month) - is considered a leading contender for the role.

Logically, all of the above is possible: Matt Smith quitting after four seasons as the Doctor would be entirely reasonable (only Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee and David Tennant - if you count the specials - did more than three); the story of the Corsair in The Doctor's Wife indicates that Time Lord's can change sex when they regenerate; and Lara Pulver might be considered if they went down the "female Doctor" route (although so might many other actresses). However, outside of the sci-fi websites, several of which seem to have taken a fairly relaxed "We don't think it's true, but what would you think if there was a female Doctor?" approach, nobody has really run with the story. That suggests to me that there is probably nothing to worry about - either it's an April Fool that got out of hand, or a lazy journalist spinning a tale out of some rumour that has no substance.

[quinny06]

In fairness, they announce that a female Doctor is coming every time the regeneration topic comes up. I think its pretty much a certainty that one day it will happen, but will it be Doctor number 12?

Also, the thought of Steven Moffat writing for the Daleks gives me chest pains. My heart can't take it!

[newbaggy]

In fairness, they announce that a female Doctor is coming every time the regeneration topic comes up. I think its pretty much a certainty that one day it will happen, but will it be Doctor number 12?

Blame it on Tom Baker, who ended a press conference to announce his departure from the series with good wishes for his successor "...whoever he or she may be..." Producer John Nathan Turner later admitted that he knew that Tom was going to say that as a joke at the reporters' expense (there was never any consideration of a female Doctor), and played along because he knew it would get publicity for the show.

Also, the thought of Steven Moffat writing for the Daleks gives me chest pains. My heart can't take it!

Well, he has written for solo Daleks (The Big Bang, The Wedding of River Song).

[Austin 3:16]

Thanx Newbaggy. That's what I was thinking too. Like I said I wouldn't mind there being a female Doctor, but Matt just said about a wk or two ago that he was sticking around for the foreseeable future. So I was like "wait is this a goof?"

[liana]

I think, and I might be wrong on that, that Timelords regenerate according to their sexual preferences. I believe that just as we have straight females, straight males, bisexuals and homosexuals, Timelord also have their sexual preferences. IMO, and of course I could be wrong and it is just how I see it, the Timelord the Doctor talked about could be regenerating as both female and male because he liked being both. Sometimes he wanted to be a male, and sometimes a female. Our Doctor, so far, seems to want to be a male. I mean, in the 11th hour he panicked when he saw his hair, because he thought, for a moment that he could be a girl. He visibly relaxed when he saw he wasn't.

I don't object agaisnt the idea of the doctor being a female, but I just don't see the character of the doctor as a female. In fact, I don't think he would like to be one. He would be a male trapped in a female body, IMO. And no, being a male who feels like a male and thinks like a male in a female body isn't the same as being gay/homosexual. That is why, for me, the doctor as a woman isn't convincing. They could do it, sure, but it rings false to me, based entirely on who the character is. Each doctor is different in may ways, but essentially they are the same man. It doesn't matter if sometimes they are older, or younger, or they talk, speak or act different. All of this is superficial, deep down, they ARE the same person. And I believe each generation reflects that, and him being a man is part of that.

I don't really believe that a doctor who likes being a man, and wants to be a man (and so far it seems clear to me that he does like it) would regenerate as a woman. And that is why the idea of female doctor doesn't sit well with me. It seems like something that would be done not because it would be good for the series, or because it would make sense in a story telling point of view, but as something that would be done merely for shock value. I am always opposed to anything done for shock value. A creative choice has always to have the character in mind. You can't abstract from the character just for the sake of creating controversy/or shock.

The only way I could accept a female doctor would be if they spend at least one season showing us a doctor who would be curious about how women are, or how they few or how it would be like to be one of them. The idea of the character becoming a female has to be an evolution that makes sense, otherwise it would be a bad move, IMO. It has to be a journey, with the doctor going from a male character who is happy being a straight male to someone who would like the experience of being a woman. So far, it would be a move completely out of the blue that makes no sense at all.

[Austin 3:16]

There was a quote on Sarah Jane Adventures. It went something like "He won't always be white and he won't always be a male". If Baker started the speculation, that quote just added an extreme amount of fuel to the fire. Like I said though, I wouldn't mind if we got a female Doctor. If u get a good actress, it just makes the show even better.

[quinny06]

Re: Female Doctor. Honestly, I change my mind whenever discussing it.

For starters, there's no point in resisting. It is going to happen. If we want this show to live forever, like it's built for, one day the powers that be will stop teasing it and actually take the plunge. I really believe that. It's not a matter of if, its a matter of when.

Now, my initial thought is no. No. Terrible idea. Publicity stunt. Wrong for the character, hasn't be stated before, blah, blah, blah. The usual stuff.

But the more I think about it, it really would be an interesting direction to go in. There's so much room to explore the implications of it, and opportunites for stories that have never been done before. Let's no even get into the infinitely long list of gags that could come from it. Sometimes I really think it would be fun to have a clever, bonkers, kick-ass heroine (which there really just aren't enough of) at the TARDIS controls. And like I said, if this show is still around in another 50+ years, it would be a massive change and would make the show feel brand-new again. And isn't that what regeneration is all about? Yes it's new, and different, and scary? But it's still the Doctor.

Of course, then I think a bit more, realise the amount of difficult gender-bending questions it would bring about. If the Doctor ever met Susan again, would she call him Grandmother now? The Doctor has shown romantic interest in woman in the past, now that he's female does this mean he's gay? It would be amazingly brave of the show to go to these places and explore this, but somehow I think they'd ignore it, and we'd add it to the already-too-long list of questions that the show never answered so fandom bickers about on the internet.

Anyway, since The Doctor's Wife I've been thinking about it, and in my own personal canon, the ability to change genders is not something every Time Lord can do. It would have been a genetic anomaly, like people born with two different eye colours. Something that happened early on, so if you reached your third or forth incarnation and were the same gender, you were 'normal'. Because it would've been frowned upon, back on that planet of the old-pomous-fellas-in-posh-hats-and-collars known as Gallifrey. People would have been embarrassed to admit it, kept it secret even. That's why the Doctor liked the Corsair so much, because she would've been all "Yeah, I used to be a Time Lord, and now I'm a Time Lady, and a bad'un at that. Got a problem with that, Mr Lord President?"

So if it was something that happened early on, the Doctor is fairly sure he's a bloke for good. Only then he'd turn out to be the anomaly of all anomalies, and change genders in his 17th or 18th incarnation.

That's how the story goes in my head anyway.

Well, he has written for solo Daleks (The Big Bang, The Wedding of River Song).

And those fleeting glimpses were instantly iconic ("rrrreeeessstttooorreee, RRREEESSSTOOORREEE!!!!"). God only knows what we'll get when he's got a whole boatload of the pepperpots at his disposal.

[Austin 3:16]

Here is my feeling on the female Doctor. Do it. If it doesn't work after awhile, regeneration is certainly always possible. I'm not saying it won't work but if it doesn't then find a new actor, or actress, and go forward.

Personally, I would love to see Idris Elba in the role. Daniel Radcliffe could do a great job too.

[liana]

I guess I am in the minority because I don't feel any need for the doctor to suddenly becoming female. I think there are several interesting female characters that could be explored, even in the Universe of Doctor Who. If we need a female Timelord, why not have a series with Jenny, the Doctor's daugher? Why take a character that has been already established as a male for 50 years and has been loved as such and suddenly switch his gender? Why do that? Because we need strong female characters? Can't we have strong female characters without them usurping the story of a strong male character?

I don't know. The idea tastes bad to me. Strong female characters should be built without needing a established male character to do it. Not to mention if that is all about "it has never been done before", there are several other things that have never been done before. Why not have the doctor regenerate as a kid? Why not have him regenerate as black? Or as a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian? The kind of stories that could be explored about prejudice with a Doctor who wouldn't be a white Anglo-Saxan male would be really interesting, and IMO, much more different than the ones with would come with switching the gender. Can you imagine an African Doctor travelling to the 17th century or even the middle of 20th century and facing racial prejudice? Or even facing it today? Wouldn't those kind of stories be much more precious than the ones that would come with the doctor as a woman?

*Shrugs* Personally I think that changing the ratial profile of the Doctor would be a much bolder move than simply switching the gender. It is a personal opinion, of course, but I am always against switching genders of classic characters.

----- Added 22 Minutes later -----

But the more I think about it, it really would be an interesting direction to go in. There's so much room to explore the implications of it, and opportunites for stories that have never been done before. Let's no even get into the infinitely long list of gags that could come from it. Sometimes I really think it would be fun to have a clever, bonkers, kick-ass heroine (which there really just aren't enough of) at the TARDIS controls. And like I said, if this show is still around in another 50+ years, it would be a massive change and would make the show feel brand-new again. And isn't that what regeneration is all about? Yes it's new, and different, and scary? But it's still the Doctor.

I disagree that it would still be the Doctor. The writing for a female character will always be completely different from a male one. It will be an entirelly different character that will just borrow the name and previous story, believe me. The gender makes it all different because male and female feel and think different. It is not as simple as that.

Of course, then I think a bit more, realise the amount of difficult gender-bending questions it would bring about. If the Doctor ever met Susan again, would she call him Grandmother now? The Doctor has shown romantic interest in woman in the past, now that he's female does this mean he's gay? It would be amazingly brave of the show to go to these places and explore this, but somehow I think they'd ignore it, and we'd add it to the already-too-long list of questions that the show never answered so fandom bickers about on the internet.

Honestly? They would ignore it completely, and the past won't mean squad. And if it is addressed, it will be for laughs. I also doubt that they would switch the Doctor's gender just to have a female gay lead character. They would be dealing with two huge moves: first switching the gender, which will already be a huge controversy and they might lose viewers on that one, and secondly making a straight character gay, which will open another huge can of worms. I would say it is too risky. Besides, it is not like the Who universe is lacking gay characters, quite the contrary, in fact.

Anyway, since The Doctor's Wife I've been thinking about it, and in my own personal canon, the ability to change genders is not something every Time Lord can do. It would have been a genetic anomaly, like people born with two different eye colours. Something that happened early on, so if you reached your third or forth incarnation and were the same gender, you were 'normal'. Because it would've been frowned upon, back on that planet of the old-pomous-fellas-in-posh-hats-and-collars known as Gallifrey. People would have been embarrassed to admit it, kept it secret even. That's why the Doctor liked the Corsair so much, because she would've been all "Yeah, I used to be a Time Lord, and now I'm a Time Lady, and a bad'un at that. Got a problem with that, Mr Lord President?"

So if it was something that happened early on, the Doctor is fairly sure he's a bloke for good. Only then he'd turn out to be the anomaly of all anomalies, and change genders in his 17th or 18th incarnation.

That's how the story goes in my head anyway.

Well, as I said, in my own personal canon, because the show never explained it, I think that the Timelords have controle over their regenerations, and they ultimately chose their own gender. I don't think it is something that happens without them wanting it somehow. That is why I believe that for the Doctor to become a woman he must ultimately WANT to become a woman. And if he ever makes that decision, we should watch this happening with him over a whole season, at least. We must watch him desiring to be a woman for whatever reason, even if the reason is mere curiosity about how that feels like. Then I would be able to accept it.

If it just happens for the sake of it "just happening because we can do it on tv", then it is bad writing. There must be a reason, and a very convincing reason ON SCREEN for the Doctor to become a woman, IMO, and that reason can't be "just because".