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“We have a choice: either we change and go on, or we die as we are.”

Thus spoke the Doctor some fifty minutes prior to a change long-awaited by some, detested by others and rather bittersweet as far as I’m concerned. Whether referring to the changing of faces (and accents!) of the title character, or the new people behind the scenes, this was rather an excellent send-off for Capaldi, who I’ll sorely miss. He was the cynical yet hopeful, grumpy yet kind character that so well befits the Doctor, troubled by memories of love and loss as I imagine any person becomes over the course of so many years. The storyline was fine (certainly emotional; I may have welled up once or twice or thrice with the goodbyes and the Christmas truce), Bill great (never disliked her, but never fully liked her either – until now! Rather late than never I suppose…) as indeed was the Captain, excellently portrayed by Gatiss who fit the role perfectly. David Bradley put on a convincing First (again), although his lines and views seemed rather more outdated than they ever were at the time, but others may correct me on this. At any rate such views will now certainly be dispelled to the past where they belong (on the show and hopefully in comments about it too), for Doctor Whittaker will see you now – and we will be seeing rather a bit more of her in some time. At the risk of reading too much into the few shots bestowed upon us, there certainly was a cheerful expression and lighthearted tone in her “ah, brilliant”, which seems a good follow-up to the Capaldi years. Now.. how long until that next episode?

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Got a few pages of comments to catch up on later, but I did enjoy this:

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@juniperfish To the defence of the makers of BBC nature documentaries (whom I adore), I am sure various shows have included footage of some snails having a good time, which would technically be bisexual hermaphrodites or somesuch. (What a weird start to my second post on these boards!)

@jim4 Until a century or so ago, blue was actually a feminine colour – associated among others with the Virgin Mary. Young girls would be dressed in light blue, while pink was given to boys as it is of course light red: thus strongly associated with the military, from Spartans and Roman Legionaries all the way to the Redcoats. A blue Tardis thus is an excellent colour for a Doctor currently using a more feminine appearance. 😉

 

Still find it difficult to believe how big a deal this apparantly is to some people. Firstly, all those who have been major fans up until this stage have, I’d assume, seen the recent two series. In these, the groundwork allowing for a ‘gender’ change has been not just created, but so explicitly that a female Doctor was bound to appear at the earliest opportunity. Secondly: what’s the big deal? Maybe I’m just lucky living and working in an environment where gender is basically irrelevant, but I genuinely cannot understand the major implications this seems to have to some (unless your name is, say, River Song, in which case I look forward to seeing your reaction on screen). I just hope the writers also won’t make a big deal out of it either – couldn’t care less about Bill being gay, but they made it into ‘a thing’ by referring to it at least every other episode. Have a laugh with the regeneration, then move on and make people accept it by presenting it as completely normal.

Good thing Game of Thrones has restarted and I’ve just started watching Broadchurch (research you see), will take my mind of the long wait ahead until the Christmas special, let alone Whittaker’s first proper series.

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Another new member here – although one with a more positive outlook than some. ^^

After the previous two series, I for one would have been shocked had it not been a woman. To some extent disappointed too, perhaps. The writing was as heavily on the wall as the scribbles of a madman.

Turned on the telly in time for just a few minutes of sports commentary (which I can’t help but dislike). The hand looked feminine, the face confirmed both it, and that I didn’t immediately know who she was! So, as for the actual choice: looking forward to seeing what she (and the new writer of course) makes of the role. Capaldi I only knew from the Thick of It, which meant I was both keen to see his Doctor, and simultaneously completely blank on what kind of Doctor he would be (assuming a full-on Malcolm Tucker was off the books). Whittaker I have only seen in a single episode of Black Mirror, where she was good, albeit mundane. Then again, her part was that of an ordinary person! It hardly tells you what kind of time-traveling alien she would be. Bring on the next series! (Although I’ll miss Capaldi. Quite possibly my favourite Doctor.)

 

PS. When seeing the hooded figure, did anybody else think: Idris Elba? Would happily have watched that too. (Or was he only in the running as the next Bond? I can’t keep up, the discussion threads tend to be so similar.)

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