This staple of the BBC network has captured the fascination of fans on a global level. From TARDIS socks to seemingly mile long scarfs, sonic screwdrivers and psychic paper everyone seems to be into this wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff.
For all 11 incarnations up to the current, played by Matt Smith, our dearest Doctor has been portrayed by a man.
This year Doctor Who goes into its 50th year. Isn't it about time we get a woman on board?! In all 796 episodes, spanning 26 seasons and 7 series is it time to bring in a female to the lead role?
Now physically it can happen. Time Lords can, and do switch between male and female incarnations. We know that the Corsair was said to switch between male and female, and when she was female, despite being as the Eleventh Doctor described "one of the good ones", was "a bad girl."
The Doctor seems to have limited control over his regeneration, if not he would have had ginger hair by now. I'm not sure if it clearly states somewhere that the Doctor can influence his change, I'd love to hear feed back in the comments if he does or doesn't have that ability.
Regardless, a female Doctor would bring about a universe shaking change to the franchise, and that may not be a bad thing. We would get to see The Doctor deal with new concerns, new issues, new perspectives. How would old friends treat her? Companions who have fallen in love with her? Would she be a sexy babe or a matronly woman? Would she continue to be seen as a hero, or will people be unable to wrap around the hero being a heroine?
Below are some leading ladies re-imagined as Doctor Who. Familiar faces in familiar places. Would you like to see one of these women in the lead role? Or another famous starlet? Or should the Doctor just stay a man?
Emma Watson
Although some may have trouble divorcing Emma Watson from her role as Hermione Granger, Emma has proven to be a capable actress outside of the Harry Potter franchise. Note the addition of fiery locks? Wouldn't it be ironic if The Doctor finally got her ginger hair, then immediately noticed other additions and subtractions to the equation? Certainly has to feel weirder than a new set of teeth. A fun twist to this equation as well, is how young The Doctor would look. There has been a growing trend in The Doctor being younger and younger. How young will they go? Now that being said, at 23 Emma is only 4 years younger than Matt Smith when he began playing The Doctor at 27, so it's not a big a gap as you might think. Fascinating points to ponder indeed!
Dame Helen Mirren
Not only has Dame Mirren expressed an interest in playing The Doctor, but I for one think she would do a damn fine job doing it! We would be taking current trends back a bit by not only going female, but going older as well. At a young 67 years old, Dame Mirren would be a full 12 years older than the oldest actor to play The Doctor (William Hartnell who was 55 when he made his debut performance). So she would be the oldest actor to date. But if you've seen her performance in RED, you know that this gorgeous lady is fully capable of holding her own on the action front. Add to that the fact that she is funny, witty, and devilishly talented and I think you'd have a fine Doctor.
Helena Bonham Carter
Yes... the fiendish Bellatrix Lestrange... the infamous Marla Singer (Slide!)... The one, the only Helena Bonham Carter. You might think I'm mad for throwing out my vote for HBC, but this leading lady has some serious acting credits to her name. She is capable of playing more than just raving lunatics and Tim Burton's signature leading ladies. She is witty, smooth, a bit eccentric, and visually interesting in appearance. Not what many would deem glamorous or gorgeous, I believe HBC has the same charm the Tenth Doctor had (and we all know how well loved he was). She is also closer in age to the typical age The Doctor is. The only hang up I could see here is HBC looks a bit like Idris from "The Doctor's Wife". This may or may not be a bad thing depending on how you look at it.
Just in case you didn't know!
View this video on YouTube
We have already been sort of treated to a female incarnation of The Doctor. In 1999 Comic relief made a parody of Doctor Who titled "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death". If you haven't seen it I recommend you do so. It's very funny, and leaves one to wonder if Rowan Atkinson might have made a good Doctor.
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