It’s all too obvious what’s gone wrong with Doctor Who
“Right, that’s it, you’ve got one last chance,” said my friend’s 14-year-old son settling down in front of Doctor Who on Sunday night. A longtime fan, he wasn’t too worried that they’d cast a woman as the Doctor for the first time. As it happens, Jodie Whittaker’s Timelord is terrific. She has the same exhilarating, fast-talking dash that made David Tennant’s performance so winning, with a welcome pinch of salty Northern wit. “I don’t mind if the Doctor’s a woman, the programme just has to be good,” he said. Ah, there’s the rub. It’s not.
Look, if you’re going to have a legendary leading male character regenerate as a female, it’s a good idea to keep up the breathless boys’ own excitement. Instead, the new Doctor Who feels a lot like the agenda for the annual meeting of the Hornsey and Wood Green Labour Party. Combating sexist stereotypes? Check. Anti-racist? Check. Dyspraxiafriendly? Check. Advocating for the right of men to give birth even though they haven’t got a womb? Oh, for crying out loud, where’s the remote?
On Sunday, we were subjected to Yoss, a pregnant man from a planet where men give birth to boys and women to girls. I wouldn’t rule out that becoming law in the People’s Republic of Corbyn. On telly, it was simply tiresome. The Doctor’s companions, meanwhile, are a none-too-subtle advert for diversity: black dyspraxic young male, young Asian woman, and Graham, who overcomes the burden of being white, male and middle-aged by being in remission from cancer. “I wanted to make sure that every member of the audience felt they had a relatable character,” said producer Chris Chibnall. Did the audience need a “relatable” character during the sublime partnership of Tennant and Billie Piper? They had chemistry, equalopportunities geometry.
Why couldn’t Whittaker’s Doctor have had some lovely young male assistant to boss about? That’s my kind of feminism.