Doctor Who and Orphan Black 5.06.

[selenak]

By Jove, they did it! Jodie Whittaker was excellent as Beth in Broadchurch, so I expect good things on the acting front. Incidentally, it occurs to be that both RTD and Chibnall cast their Doctors from actors they'd worked with before (Eccleston was in RTD's "Second Coming", Tennant in "Casanova", and now Whittaker, as mentioned, in Chibnall's "Broadchurch"), while Moffat went with actors he hadn't (as far as I know true for both Smith and Capaldi, who'd starred on both Doctor Who and Torchwood, but before Moffat's reign). And speaking of the incesteous British actor casting pool, given the sheer number of Torchwood and DW alumni who showed up in Broadchurch, I totally am expecting more Broadchurch people on DW now.

Also: a round of applause for Moffat who did pave the way to a female Doctor, and anyone denying it presumably stopped watching seasons ago. Especially in retrospect, the build-up is very clear: first dialogue mention of a TIme Lord changing gender when regenerating (the Corsair), then on screen regeneration of a male Time Lord into a female one (the General), and above all Missy, who must have convinced the BBC Powers That Be more than anything else that yes, fandom can be won over by a woman playing an iconic character on Doctor Who who previously had been played solely by men. And that's not counting Clara's arc of becoming the Doctor during the Capaldi years (complete with bluffing the Cybermen about being the Doctor), River taking on Doctor-like traits and in her last appearance, The Husbands of River Song, being written as the central character with the Doctor as her Companion, and all the dialogue hints this season. I have no idea when Chibnall decided he'd go with a female Doctor, but I'm willing to bet money that the BBC greenlighted it around season 9 when it was clear Missy was being embraced by the majority of fandom. (Double round of applause for Michelle Gomez, who has become my favourite regeneration of the Master other than Delgado.)

On to Orphan Black. Which was a good spy hijinks hour that moved the plot forward.



Also, Krystal. Her appearances are always gems, and this one was no exception. I'm relieved the show let her do the encounter, not Sarah impersonating her. (BTW: does Sarah have wigs fitting the appearances of all known Leda clones? Not that I can't see the use, and it's ic for Siobhan to come up with something like that.) I still wish they'd tell her the truth, even though admittedly her Big Pharma theory actually makes more sense than the myth arc.

Speaking of which: having indicated last episode that Westmoreland isn't Westmoreland but a fraud who teamed up with Susan Duncan and Virginia Coady when they were all students, the show in this episode says so in the open, complete with photographic evidence and Susan & Not!Westmoreland having a clunky "as you know, Bob" dialogue about how the patriarchy made a male figurehead necessary in the 1960s. Which, you know, I don't doubt, but what I don't get is why SD & VC kept him around in the decades after, since he doesn't seem to bring anything of his own to the table other than skills at impersonating a Victorian Mad Scientist, which surely someone else could do as well. Also, I frown at the show dispensing with Susan and likely Ira courtesy of Westmoreland & Co. and the Castor illness respectively, because I'm somewhat invested in the House of Atreus dynamic the House of Duncan has going on, and if these guys die without Rachel around, the show is robbing me of that. Not to mention Susan & Ira are way more interesting characters than Dr. Coady & Not!Westmoreland.

Comments

[kerkevik_2014]

According to the BBC report he always wanted, or intended, the next Doctor to be female and Whittaker was always his first choice. Saw a piece earlier that Sydney Newman wanted Sylvester McCoy to be followed by a woman.

Seen the usual Time LORD not LADY (aka Adam and Steve) stuff; one by a woman who maybe should be aware that Newman pitched for her first Doctor, Patrick Troughton to come back for a few stories before a female Doctor was brought in.

My oh my, would I have loved Ace alongside him and then roaring through the Galaxy with a female Professor :-)

Btw, fave response comes from a member of Blink 182... along the lines of "Whatever next? Female WOMEN!" :-)

[kalypso]

My favourite comment so far is Colin Baker's riff on his own opening lines: "Change my dears and not a moment too soon - she IS the Doctor whether you like it or not!"

[selenak]

He also wrote a great article for the Guardian on the subject. Bless.

[selenay]

Yes! I keep seeing people yelling about Moffat not doing a female Doctor and how terrible it was and how sexist it was and...

Look, in order to do this, someone had to completely dismantle the idea that it wasn't canon. Someone had to not just plant seeds, they had to put it in our faces, on the screen, over and over. They had to reference it. They had to have a famous Time Lord change gender. They had to show a regeneration that included a gender change.

Without all of that, the outcry would have been much, much worse, and the people yelling would have had a valid point about it never having been established as possible in the canon. All that work Moffat did paved the way and left them looking very silly because now they've got no leg to stand on, just blatant bigotry. And a lot of fans are ignoring that :-(

(And I'm right there with you on the Missy love :-D)

[selenak]

Amen. I am by no means uncritical of Moffat's overall run (or Moffat's work in general), but good lord, the vilification he gets is so over the top, and the denial of credit where due (and it is most definitely due for all those reasons) is so petty and childish that it makes me wave a banner with his name on it. Since this is unpractical, I'll settle for rewatching favourite episodes. With or without Missy in them. :)

[kalypso]

Also, after the last few days, I'm convinced that the Master's remarks about "old bras" was there to show up the sort of people now sneering about bras in the TARDIS. "This is what you'll sound like, guys!"

[selenay]

I have no idea if they knew this casting decision had been made when they recorded it (I suspect not), but Moffat must have guessed it could happen. I can't believe that comment wasn't deliberate :-D

I mean, of all characters to have doing that sneering, the Master was perfect. And really makes those people look silly :-D

[kalypso]

Don't know when this particular actor was nailed down, but if Chibnall always wanted a woman, he must have discussed it with Moffat. And Moffat had, as you say, spent the last few years carefully planting seeds so that it wouldn't come out of nowhere - he must have thought that someone would want to do it eventually, even if it wasn't this time round. But there were so many references to gender in these two episodes that I think it must have been all but certain by the time they were filmed.

"Is the future going to be all girl?"
"We can only hope!"

[selenay]

I got the impression Chibnall and Moffat were consulting a lot on this season and particularly the Christmas special, so he must have told Moffat about his intentions even if he hadn't cast anyone yet. It definitely explains all the (absolutely wonderful) comments in the final two episodes.

"Is the future going to be all girl?"
"We can only hope!"

BEST

[dhampyresa]

first dialogue mention of a TIme Lord changing gender when regenerating (the Corsair)

There's the Eleventh Doctor going "I'm a girl?!" right after regeneration.

[shadowkat]

Right there with you on Doctor Who as a woman. Makes the series more interesting to me. I'd sort of given up when Capadali became the Doctor, but I now see what Moffat was doing...he sort of bookends the white male doctor run of things..very clever.

I totally am expecting more Broadchurch people on DW now.

Considering how many people from Doctor Who were on Broadchurch...we had both Rory and Tennant.

Took me a while to place Jodi Whitaker on Broadchurch...she has blond hair now, and didn't on Broadchurch. Looks very different.

[st_aurafina]

She was great as Beth in Broadchurch - especially the third season. I'm really looking forward to her run as the Doctor.