My previous post had a lot of good comments, but one that I thought cut right to the heart of the matter in a simple, matter-of-fact way was the one below by Dave S. I thought it deserved a spot of its own, so here it is.
******
I'm also disappointed that we've been given a female Doctor apparently in the name of political correctness. To me, the character that I've been watching and reading about since at least 1980 is a male, and I feel it will be difficult for me to adjust to a female playing the role. If anyone wants to label me a sexist over that, go right ahead, I've been called worse.
What I find remarkable
is that the views of me and people like me are simply being dismissed as the
ramblings of old fogies or met with hostility - one comics pro-fessional (who I
don't believe I've heard of) can post on Twitter that anyone who doesn't like
the casting can 'STFU and don't watch it' and this is not only tolerated, but
congratulated.
It seems as if some people have just decided that if they shout louder than others, then their opinions become the default correct viewpoint
that everyone else should either adhere to or be dismissed and abused.
I
do not want a female Doctor. Should anyone want to take that personally and
abuse me for it, go ahead.
Someone in the Daily Mail comments section
made the point that this casting is like Jackie Chan playing Poirot. It reeks of stunt casting, cheap sensationalism used in lieu of actual ideas.
I'm
undecided right now whether I'll be watching the next series. Part of me wants
to give it a try - it is after all something that has meant a lot to me for
almost my entire life, but part of me also thinks that the Christmas special
might be a good jumping-off point. If I switched off just as the regeneration
scene starts, I would have seen The Doctor in his final body, meeting his
original self, and passing away having fought the good fight so many times.
I'm also concerned at Chris Chibnall's comments that he always intended
to cast a female Doctor - shouldn't he be looking for the best actor available,
irrespective of anything else? The fact he's said that just confirms to me that
this is a gimmick, a way of causing controversy simply to get attention.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for the mo.