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Has there ever been a non-white non-male Dr. before? Isn’t his aspect as such part of the character? I’m juxtaposing this post with the one about “Why White People Think Manga Characters are White” and the post about that movie a while back where the entire cast was cast with white actors instead of Asians and I”m wondering if this isn’t simply the same thing. Why change the character?
I’m not against a non-white or non-male Dr., mind you. But why change? How does that then change the character, and why should that change be made?
Weird, of my last 5 doctors only 2 were white men.
Ron, over the years the Doctor has been old and young, blond and brunette and white-haired, tall and short, thin and stout, curly-haired and straight-haired, and played by actors with quite a wide range of facial features. It’s not as if all of the character’s incarnations are supposed to look like the same guy — in fact, that they don’t resemble each other is a big part of the fun of the show. Why should the amount of melanin in the Doctor’s skin represent such a huge difference as to utterly change the concept of the character, when all of these other changes have not? The character’s an alien to begin with: it’s not as if his European appearance has any cultural implications within the reality of the show, as opposed to within our reality — if you see the distinction.
As for the new guy…eh, I’ll give him a chance. But I am disappointed that he’s so close in appearance to Tennant. A POC would have been awesome, as would a woman, but even if they were going to go with Yet Another White Guy, I still hoped they’d go for a much bigger contrast in physical appearance. If he’s not at least psychologically quite different from the last incarnation, then I’ll be quite annoyed. I liked Tennant’s Doctor fine, but the periodic change is an important aspect of the character to me, and it just doesn’t work if they don’t let it really be change.
Of my last 7 doctors (1 pediatrician, 2 general practitioners, 1 endocrinologist, 3 psychiatrists), 6 were male.
Apparently there were at least two black actors in the running, and I, too, am a little disappointed that one of them didn’t get the job. A woman doctor would also be excellent.
But to tell the truth, what bothers me most is the trend towards younger and younger, and invariably good looking doctors. It was one of the few roles where a middle-aged-to-elderly man could still enjoy a certain glamour, still be the centre of attention. Oh my.
Yeah, I agree with you on that, Tom.
Schala, the doctor in question is Doctor Who.
Good lord, thats a great idea — I think it’d be enormous fun. I can’t imagine where the Tardis would end up….
I know Mandolin, I was just putting one for joe. Experiences aren’t universal.
And as a matter of fact, all 7 of them were either uninformed, outright assholes, ignoring their patients and what they say, making demands and trying to blackmail their patients.
The pediatrician is too far in the past, but he was uninformed.
The first doctor was uninformed and ignoring what I was saying.
The second doctor was also uninformed and ignoring what I was saying. He also made me sick through his being uninformed.
The endocrinologist ignores what I say (he’s the least worst).
The first psychiatrist ignored what I said, was uninformed, and an asshole for more or less saying I shouldn’t come again.
The second psychiatrist was an outright asshole, for the little time I saw him. That he holds a proeminent position is just more damning for him. He’s been there for nearly 40 years, and he’s still considered respectable.
The third psychiatrist was the only female of all doctors. Uninformed, not listening to what I said, and making crude jokes she probably thought were funny, but that were outright transphobic. She’s the only one who tried blackmail (tried to remove hormones if I didn’t find work soon, saying transition was wrong if I didn’t work).
Overall I’m not really satisfied with what I saw of the medical profession. Maybe passing two decades in school kills your empathy or something?
As for Dr Who, from what I saw of the show I like it. Too bad I only saw a few episodes. I’m not really a TV watcher though.
I also like Dr Venkman, can’t wait for Ghostbusters 3 – as I do watch movies.
it’s not as if his European appearance has any cultural implications within the reality of the show
Well, it does, but he lost his aristocratic accent when his whole allegedly superior culture died.
This, plus the fact that Rose became a deity for about a minute, allowed him to fall in love with a
pet doghuman.Sorry for my off-topic rant above.
If I could watch the show like I can watch anime – meaning end-to-end without commercials, at whatever time I want, and as files on my computer, I definitely would.
Someone has a torrent link to some Doctor Who?
I didn’t really think they’d do a black doctor. It’s nice to know they actually considered it, though — something I also thought would never happen.
Tom, I’m not so sure I’d agree on the “good looking” bit; this latest fellow looks too young and… I dunno how to describe it. Lumpy? Something. Not visually appealing to me at all. Then again, I wasn’t all that hot on Christopher Eccleston until I saw him play the role (and then I loved him), so I’ll reserve judgment on the new guy.
nojojojo (say it ain’t so)
No doubt I was just being grumpy because I’m getting on in years myself. The earlier incarnations of the Doctor were the ones I grew up with, and I have vivid memories of Troughton, Pertwee and Tom Baker. They were pretty special: by no means good looking by Hollywood standards, with irregular, asymmetrical faces and almost freakish phsyiques. But the “thespian” personality of each (they had spent much of their careers in provincial theatre and doing radio drama, earning a pittance for the most part) always shone through – a certain natural authority combined with a fey love of the eccentric and dramatic (their clothing, unlike that of today’s Doctors always looked like something filched from the property-box). I really miss them, and I really miss the type, too. Incidentally, I’ve just watched the “The Next Doctor” in which David Morrisey plays just such a role, so I’m not the only nostalgic around!
Well, it does, but he lost his aristocratic accent when his whole allegedly superior culture died.
Well, yeah. That’s why I went out of my way to mention the distinction between the reality of the show and our reality. “Aristocratic=White With Public School Accent (Until Gallifrey Goes Boom, At Which Point Northern Accents And The Like Become OK)” is an analogy for the benefit of the audience. It’s all about our reality (and a version of our reality that debuted in 1963, at that!), not about the internal reality of the fiction. We’ve never seen anything on the show to suggest that Gallifrey had the exact same racial prejudices as Earth.
Furthermore, as you’ve pointed out, they’ve already pretty much abandoned the Doctor=Eccentric Etonian analogy. They ditched it with the reboot. This, to my mind, makes whiteness even less something it can be argued is in any way intrinsic to the character.
I do wish, however, that they had not apparently replaced whiteness with youth as the prerequisite to their casting choices. Like others here, I’d been hoping for an older guy this time around.
Moffat said that he actually was searching for a guy in his forties, maybe slightly younger but not younger than end thirties. Yet when Matt Smith auditioned the second or the third day they were sold. Since they felt they had to be diligent they auditioned for three more weeks, but they didn’t find someone who appealed as much. So I guess we have to have faith in Moffat . (I watchted the confidential in which the announced doctor XI)
I’ve seen black Time Lords in earlier episodes, so they do exist. But I’m not unhappy that they didn’t cast Paterson Joseph. Since Survivors he’s gentle Greg for me – and I want him alive and healthy in S2.
Chiwetel —- might have been interesting. But I trust Moffat.
Hope you don’t stick around too long Smith!!!
This is the worst casting choice they could have ever come up with for new Doctor – not helped by the fact that every time Matt Smith cropped up on Confidential i wanted to hit him in the face. He comes across as pretentious and smug and in my opinion really doesn’t fit the character of the Doctor.
After months of been teased about top draw actors taking over the role, especially the Next Doctor David Morrissey rumour, who would have been amazing as the Doctor and really done the part justice we have a freaky looking kid who i really can’t believe in as the Doctor.
I can safely say as far as i’m concerned the series has gone on an extended hiatus and i won’t be watching any of the 2010 series onwards until the Eleventh Doctor is thankfully killed off and we get a half decent Twelfth Doctor!
The only plus would be if in his regeneration story the Eleventh Doctor has a tragic accident making him regenerate into the Twelfth in his debut story.
This casting has just ruined the fantastic character of the Doctor and spat in the face of Doctor Who’s impressive legacy. Thanks!!!
.
I’m not sure they did.
There is a lot of talk in black fandom communities about the distinct feeling that the Beeb just played the “Ooooh! We might cast a POC! Or a woman! We might! Just watch us! Anything could happen!” card for publicity, while all along planning to do the same old, same old.
No reason the Doctor shouldn’t be black, after all, his appearance has varied a lot over the years, but surely his gender is fixed? I mean, he’s a Time Lord, not a Time Lady.
Elusis,
I’d rather not think that. But we’ll never know.
Tom,
Speak for yourself; I’d’ve done Peter Davison in a heartbeat. And Baker, if he didn’t smile. (Not dinging his teeth — his smile was just creepy sometimes.) Puberty was weird for me that way…
And yeah, Mojo Jojo. Meant to be self-mocking, since I ramble on almost to the same degree sometimes. =)
Another reaction to the new Doctor.
Oh! Well, if we’re onto macro-linking, then here are my favorites so far:
The Bingo Card
The inevitable ‘In Soviet Fandom’ joke
It’s weird how funny I found that. Will Yakov Smirnoff’s well never run dry?
I was hoping for Paterson Joseph, but I do want to give Steven Moffat a chance to show why this guy was chosen. So I’ll watch and see. My understanding is that a lot of the names mentioned as candidates belonged to actors who didn’t want to relocate to Cardiff for several years. I’ve never been to Cardiff, but… not even to play the Doctor, really? Wow.
Wow, my macros made it over here ! I’m usually “other orange” on this blog, but I thought I’d use my correct handle. Seeing that link in comments made my day, in a geeky way. :)
I’d have liked to see David Harewood as the Doctor. He’s currently Friar Tuck in Robin Hood, and was brilliant in The Ruby in the Smoke. He’s no stranger to BBC television. I remember him as a DI from An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, back in the day; not a big role, but I liked him a lot.
Or, Bill Nighy, who has that “fabulous bitchy grandpa” vibe.
Also, hf, did you really just compare a female character with a pet dog ? Am I missing something, was that a joke ?
Not “a female character,” but every Companion before Rose Tyler.
(Some will tell you there was a TV movie that interferes with this claim. Those people are liars.)