The 50^th anniversary series of Doctor Who will begin in just a few months, and for the past 49 series the fans have known the Doctor as an eccentric white male. However, there has been a large amount of speculation lately by fans as to whether or not there should be a female Doctor. This speculation was fueled by Steven Moffat at the Doctor Who Convention in Cardiff, where he asked for a show of hands to see who would support a female Doctor. There were a shockingly low number of hands raised in response to his question. However, was it really that shocking that there wouldn’t be many supporters of a female Doctor? The Doctor is traditionally played by a white male, and while this fact does not make Doctor Who the most gender or racially diverse show on television, the fact still remains that a white male is what the fans expect after each regeneration.

Already it is hard enough for the writers to keep all of the fans happy after a Doctor’s regeneration. Change is the nature of the show, the fans change with the characters. There are some who stopped watching after David Tennant took on the role of the tenth Doctor, while others started to watch when he became Doctor. Therefore, since this inconsistency in the fandom already exists, adding a gender change would cause the number of fans to change dramatically. A large factor in the fans acceptance of the Doctors regeneration is the fact that his gender remains the same. It is easier for fans to accept regeneration when there is some sort of familiarity that remains between one Doctor and the next. Fans need to be able to convince themselves that though the Doctor has a different body, his memories still remain, and that he is essentially still the same person. However, if the Doctor were to regenerate into a woman, it would be infinitely harder for that actress to portray the fact that she was the same person as the previous eleven Doctor’s.

Despite just the fact that changing the gender of the Doctor would confuse fans to no end, the dynamic of the show would completely change as well. Would the Doctors companion remain female, or would the writers conveniently match the new female Doctor with a male companion? What would that mean for the Doctor and River Song, how would their relationship be affected by such a change? Those are just a few of the dozens of questions that would need to be answered were they to consider a female Doctor.

If the writers were to make such a change, the 50^th anniversary would definitely be the time to do it, and it is clear Moffat has something epic planned for the event. However, will the big surprise be a female Doctor? I doubt it. Moffat is known for taking risks, but I don’t believe that this is a risk he is quite willing to take yet. Personally, I am fine with that decision. The show just wouldn’t be the same for me if my eccentric bow tie wearing Doctor regenerated into Lara Pulver from Sherlock, who was recently rumored to be a candidate for the role of a female Doctor. What are your opinions on a female Doctor? Would you continue to watch the show, or would the change be too much to accept?

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