Sunday, September 30, 2018

On the Precipice of Series 11… (Doctor Who)


First, a note.  Since the show is moving to Sunday evenings this season, I’m going to temporarily move the Sunday Who Review to Mondays, just so I’ll have a bit more time to digest each episode before my write-ups.  I’ll still use the Sunday Who Review tag, though – don’t want to make them hard to find!

Now, if there’s anyone who still doesn’t know the identity of the Thirteenth Doctor and is somehow holding out, leave now.












She’s almost here!  Not gonna lie, I squeed hard at the most recent trailer.  I’m nervous about what’s coming, but I’m also reaching peak excitement.  Here are my last thoughts/wishes/whatever before we see Thirteen in all her Doctory-ness.

I’m a little worried about the rumblings on how the season’s going to be so different this year, from no classic monsters (pros and cons) to suppositions that the Doctor may be without the TARDIS for part, or even all, of the season (I don’t see how that could possibly be true, and I call blasphemy.)  I get that a new showrunner is going to want to put his own stamp on the proceedings, but this concerns me for two reasons.  1) I know that Jodie Whittaker is likely to get the blame for any dissatisfaction, and I don’t want her shouldering the load for things that have nothing to do with her (goodness knows she has enough of that to deal with already.)  And 2) I want Thirteen to have the full Doctor experience, because she deserves it.  I hope the rumors we’ve heard are largely overblown.

I don’t know how much I want the show to address the Doctor’s gender.  I’ve said before that I don’t want it ignored but I don’t want it hammered on either, and I’m not sure what exactly that sweet spot would look like.  While I certainly don’t want her dealing with sexism constantly, it wouldn’t feel right to have it be a non-factor.  Maybe something where it’s there, but the Doctor being her astonishing Doctory self pulls people along anyway such that they don’t realize that they’re taking orders from her until they’re already doing it?  I know I’d like her companions to take note of how she moves through the world(s) and how people respond to that.

That said, if we’re going to look at sexism, I don’t want it to only be addressed in adventures that take place in the past.  Regardless of everything else happening in the world right now, some of the online reactions to Whittaker’s casting are proof enough that it’s just as relevant today.  If you’re gonna say it, then say it.

My personal preference is to stick with a mostly-asexual Doctor with varying levels of romantic attraction, hopefully tending more toward the aromantic side.  It would be interesting if we got confirmation on how Time Lord orientation works – whether the Doctor, no matter the gender, is primarily heteroromantic or primarily attracted to women – but I’m pretty apprehensive as to how the show would handle Thirteen in even a romantish situation.  Besides, I have my doubts that the show would really go there with Thirteen and a female character (other than possibly very mildly in reference to River,) previous characters notwithstanding.  Of course, I also suspected that we’d never get an LGBTQ full-time companion right before we got Bill, so maybe they’ll surprise me?

I just want it to be amazing.  I want it to be so good, it hurts.  I don’t know if that’s something fair to put on it, but I just want everything good for it.  I want fun plots, I want awesome dialogue, I want adventure and hope and excitement and impossible choices and heroism and joy.  I want little kids to see and love the Thirteenth Doctor, I want a new crop of fans coming to the show and having her be “their” Doctor, and I want her to take her place among all who came before her and all who’ll come after her.

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