From: hagel@stsci.edu
Subject: Re:  The Doctor's Next Regeneration
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:33:15 GMT






>tagg@hg.uleth.ca (Nathaniel Tagg) writes:
>
>>   I was just reading the very interesting, if somewhat over sentimental,
>>stories of David E. Woon about Nyssa being transformed into a Time Lord.  We
>>have seen women time lords before.  My proposition is this:  why could the
>>Doctor not regenerate as a woman?


I've wondered about the scarcity of visible female Time Lords in the 
Gallifrey-based stories and theorized that maybe Time Lords are female for 
only 1 or 2 regenerations out of the lot.   That would certainly serve as a
population brake, which such a long-lived species could well need.  Being 
actually born female could be a bit of a rarity.  Romana, born female and 
regenerating female, might be even more unusual -- which would explain why 
the Time Lords wanted her back so badly only _after_ her regeneration.


>>   Don't just reject this out of hand.  Although the producers at BBC would
>>never allow it, it is an interesting thought.  Naturally, the personality would
>>have to be unfeminine, so as to keep withing the bounds of the Doctor's boyish
>>nature.  

Uh, Nathaniel, would you then say if the Doctor were female that her talent 
for getting her own way by charm and indirection were part of her "feminine"
personality?


>>But, with proper casting, and very careful development, why not?  One
>>of the great things about the Doctor is that he is compleletly sexless, 

One occasionally wonders.  Particularly about Pertwee's Doctor with Liz 
Shaw or Jo Grant, or Davison's Doctor in "Kinda".


>>and greedless, 

In "Planet of Spiders", Pertwee's Doctor did confess to a greed for 
knowledge -- a story about the Doctor being bribed/blackmailed in that fashion 
would be interesting.


>>a paragon of ethics (although not virtue).  If the correct spirit
>>were maintained, I don't see why the Doctor could not regenerate, at least
>>once, as a woman.  
>>   (Just imagine the next reunion with the Brigadier!)

It's worth doing for that alone!

>>   Disscusion, fellow Whovians?
>
>
>dempsttm@craft.camp.clarkson.edu (Tanya M. Dempster) writes:
>
>
>Well...The Five Doctors seems to show that in the Doctors early years, women
>were treated different by him (like when he tells Tegan to go get him some
>coffee and Davison intervenes before Tegan blows her top at him).  This would
>seem to indicate that he cannot since he would hardly treat women differently if
>he could become one himself.
>
>
Hartnell's doctor did this sort of thing a number of times, but always to
_human_ women. The 1st Doctor may well have made the classic anthropologist's
mistake of believing uncritically what a culture _says_ about its members (in
this case, that women are somehow innately more capable in a kitchen)
without doing a reality check.  He has obviously since learned better.
>
>
>
Besides, The Doctor is close to 2/3 of his
>regenerations down.  To all of a sudden make him a woman would have to answer 
>why not before?
>
>
Lots of potential reasons, from "his regenerations have mostly been in 
emergencies and therefore he didn't have much control over the result" (there's 
certainly been references to indicate that) to "he just didn't feel like 
it".
>
>
>	But...for an interesting look at the Doctor being female, I recommend
>the amateur videos of Ryan K. Johnson!!!  They were very tastefully made and
>in my opinion of pretty good quality!  He I mean she... The Doctor gives a 
>simple explanation and then acts like it's no big deal.
>	Mystic
>(alex.soto@analog.com)
>
>
I believe I've seen these at cons, and they do indeed strike just the right 
note.  The actress who played the Doctor was excellent;  I wish I 
could remember her name.  I also wish she'd touched up the dark roots that
showed in her blond hair!  A minor thing, but the idea of the Doctor as a
bottle blond somehow interfered with my suspension of disbelief. (Yes, I 
know Peter Davison was, but the evidence wasn't "in my face", so to speak.)


I have never had any trouble visualizing a woman playing the Doctor.  Just 
think of the casting possibilities!  My personal choice would be Penelope 
Keith, best known in the USA as the snooty suburban housewife in "The 
Good Neighbors" and as Audrey in "To the Manor Born".   The class of 
Pertwee and the sass of Colin Baker in one package!   Or how about (let's 
dream big, gang!) Diana Rigg or Jean Marsh?

Anyone else care to make nominations?


Crystal Hagel