The internet is melting down with the news that the 13th Doctor will be Jodie Whittaker. The reveal of the first female Doctor is attracting lots of attention, with many saying it's about time whilst others are saying that it isn't staying true to the character.
Now I'm no SJW but I am actually looking forward to the new Doctor, female or not. The last series was one of the best for quite some time in my opinion and this was in large part due to the companion, Bill Potts (played by the superb Pearl Mackie). In the last few series many felt that the companions were playing too big a role and detracting from the Doctor. Whilst it is true that the Doctor has always had companions I agree with the sentiment that the companions seemed to have a had more prominent role in later series, often with a will they/ won't they romantic dynamic with the Doctor. With Bill being gay this dynamic was done away straight away and instead we had a fresh and vibrant series with a companion just wanting to have fun and see the universe. With a new female Doctor I wonder what relationship she will have with her companions and will it be another female or will the series writers shake things up and make it a male companion? Whatever they decide that must be a good thing for a beloved series that is on the up.
Clues have been abound for a while that the Doctor had previously been a girl and that in Gallifrey gender was/ is more fluid. In fact, the General in the episode the Day of the Doctor had been female for the first 10 incarnation but turned into a male in the 11th incarnation.
In the penultimate episode of the last series the Doctor talks to Bill:
DOCTOR: She was my first friend, always so brilliant, from the first day at the Academy. So fast, so funny. She was my man crush.
BILL: I'm sorry?
DOCTOR: Yeah, I think she was a man back then. I'm fairly sure that I was, too. It was a long time ago, though.
BILL: So, the Time Lords, bit flexible on the whole man-woman thing, then, yeah?
DOCTOR: We're the most civilised civilisation in the universe. We're billions of years beyond your petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.
So the clues were there and speaking as a bit of a sci-fi nerd, it would seem likely that if there were beings greater than us they may have done away with corporeal bodies and exist as pure energy, neither male nor female but both yet neither; lots of prominent sci-fi authors have considered this scenrio so why not Doctor Who? Also, speaking as the father of a young daughter, I look forward to seeing a female take the lead of such an iconic character. What do you think?