It’s happened only once, way back in 1999. The Curse of Fatal Death, a Doctor Who spoof written by one Steven Moffat, featured Joanna Lumley as a female version of the Doctor. We laughed, we sniggered and we generally didn’t mind the change of the Doctor’s gender as it was all quite tongue in cheek.
But if it were to happen, if we were really faced with the prospect that the Doctor was about to become female for the first time then who would be best to play the role?
Well if the poll administered by SFX magazine’s website is any indication then the general public would like to see Hollywood actress Helena Bonham Carter try out the role as she is considered to be something of a “female Tom Bakerâ€
The top 5 suggestions for the best female Doctor were:
1. Helena Bonham-Carter
2. Tamsin Greig
3. Emma Thompson
4. Keeley Hawes
5. Emma Watson
According to Dave Golder, the online editor on www.sfx.com:
“Of all the Doctors so far she is probably most like a female Tom Baker.â€
Coming in second in the poll was actress and comedienne Tamsin Greig, who guested in the 2005 episode The Long Game as a surgeon. Actress Emma Watson, famous for her roles in the Harry Potter film series, was the only actress under the age of thirty to make the top five.
However, it seems that the actress who has played one of the most Doctor-ish roles to date, Alex Kingston as River Song, feels that it’s something that won’t happen anytime soon stating:
“I think the Doctor will always stay a male.â€
What do you think then? Should the Doctor be able to change gender or should Time Lords and Time Ladies stay well out of each others way?
It’s a male’s role just as Miss Marple, Supergran and Wonder Woman are female roles.
Such a thing would only please a bunch feminazi’s who know nothing about creativity and respect for a long tradition.
Have to agree, the Doctor should stay male. It’s got nothing to do with feminism or prejudice, it’s just one of those iconic roles that you can’t really re-cast the gender of, like James Bond.
If you agree that the Doctor has to be played by a woman, then you have to agree that Romana may some day regenerate into Russell Brand. Does anyone really want Romana – or Susan, or Rodan, or the Rani, or any of the other female Time Lords we’ve seen over the years – to someday become all hairy and bearded? If the answer is yes, more power to ya. Me, I’d rather see Carter cast as, well, a new Romana (though my personal favorite is Katie McGrath from Merlin for that part), or the Rani or – shocker of shocker – a brand-new character.