Should Doctor Who be played by a Woman?

Question

Now don't get to orthodox you Dr Who fanatics out there. I think it might be quite a good idea, also I think with Russel T Davies behind the scene it could be pulled off. I was thinking someone like Gillian Anderson or Jodie Foster or even Helen Mirren, the first two with English accents of course, I'm not that blasphemous

THE WAY SOME OF YOU RESPOND, YOU'D THINK I WAS PROPOSING GENOCIDE.

Answer 1

Definitely not. It would be completely contrary to everything we know about the Time Lords.

There are male Time Lords (The Doctor, The Master, Borussa, Chancellor Goth, e.t.c) and female Time Lords (Susan, Romana, The Rani, Lady Flavia, e.t.c), but it has never been implied that Time Lords can change sex by regeneration.

On the contrary it has been strongly suggested that Time Lords have a family set up similar to ours - e.g. Time Lords being taken from their families at the age of 8 to attend the Academy, the Doctor having a Grand Daughter and having been "a dad once".

It might be possible for Time Lords to change sex by similar means to humans, i.e. by an extremely painful operation, but that would hardly be suitable subject matter for a family TV show like Doctor Who.

The only way it could work for the Doctor to be played by a woman would be in an alternate reality scenario, like the BIg Finish audio play where Arabella Weir played the Doctor.

Answer 2

There are so many pros & cons to this argument.
You could say why not, but I do agree with the answer that goes into the history of Gallifrey - you have male and female Time Lords/Ladies. They are seperate sexes. Look at the problems that Dax had in Star Trek DS9 when she became Jadsia (not sure bout that spelling!) from Curzon.
I feel the argument about Starbuck in Battlestar is redundant, as they are different characters, whereas Dr. Who, although
having different characteristics each regeneration is fundamentally the same person.
And to get really nit picky! He is a nobleman of the Draconians, who do not allow women in the presence of the king!

Answer 3

Isn't he about out of lives at this point? Or did I miss something? The new guy seems pretty good but (ok, I'm gonna sound really old now) Tom Baker and Peter Davison are still my favorites. I do think your idea is cool - it might be fun for there to be an episode where he turns into a woman (Helen Mirren would be perfect, you're right) but I'm not sure the idea would be sustainable across a whole season......

Answer 4

I think it would be interesting, but I don't know what it would be like with a female doctor ... it might not be as good as the ones that are on now. I don't think it would be good to change it now, since it's been on for so many years. If they did it from the start it would be cool! Every time he regenerates we would be wondering what would happen :) Really cool ;) Let's hope it doesn't happen too soon though! David Tennant is a great actor for the part! :) My mom thinks he's a horrible actor though :P Can never figure out why :)

Answer 5

it wouldn't be completely true to the dr. who character who is definately male, and not at all androgenous. also, he would have to take on a male sidekick to provide the sexual tension and attraction that exists between doctor and sidekick.

although the female actors that you suggested would suit the role as doctor, the sidekick would have to be a very weak character as a female doctor would take up all the elements usually displayed in two people.

she would be sexy, funny, quirky and intelligent but sympathetic and caring. leaving little to nothing for the sidekick to embody if you see what i mean. in conclusion a female doctor wouldn't need a sidekick, and the show just wouldn't be the same

Answer 6

I wouldn't be use to seeing a woman as the Doctor but anything is possible ... No one will be as good as Baker but this is a new direction for Dr.Who so I can't really make that comparison.

It could work. Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica is a female instead of a male as the character was portrayed in the original series ... so anything could happen.

Answer 7

No but I do think that Romana should make a return, as she was left in E space she would not have died when all the Time lords did, and it would do the Doctor good to have a equal.

Answer 8

I don't think the doctor would want one of his last lives to be female. But it might be funny, if say something involving a body switching device, that lets him see through the eyes of a woman... or a point of view gun...

Answer 9

Noooooooooooo way David Tennant is the coolest Dr ever and I hope he never leaves the show.

Answer 10

Yes, and about time too. And why should Dr have an English accent? After all he's not British last time I looked, and I'm for one would've loved in David Tennant had used his Scottish accent.