Codpiece@feddit.uk 1 day ago
I’ve not once thought gender was ever an issue for the show. Having seen Jodie Whittaker in other things prior to Doctor Who, I was really looking forward to her taking over. Same for Ncuti, and I think they both did well given what they had to work with.
I don’t think the writing was even that bad, except for the odd terrible episode, but all seasons had duffers. Changing too much too soon has affected it badly. It’s strayed too far from the previous family friendly show, possibly thanks to Disney and the need to explain it all to a new audience.
We need a new Matt Smith-esque era.
She did do acting before she did comedy, probably nothing anyone's ever seen.
It looks like I'm not alone in having the impression that the most recent seasons were badly received: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/ratings/
I don't think it was that gender "was an issue" or anything. Like I say I thought it was just kind of generally understood that the recent seasons just weren't very good, but it looks from the comments like that's not the Lemmy consensus, so be it.
Nollij@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
The biggest problem I had with the Jodie era was the companions.
Doctor Who has a rich history of the Doctor/Companion interactions following traditional gender roles. The Doctor is a powerful man who can bend time and space to his will, and his companion is an empathetic woman who can keep him grounded and retain his humanity. While there have been exceptions, this is the default formula.
When Jodie started, this all got turned upside-down. How should a woman Doctor act? Do they maintain the same character archetype (as they did with the Master/Missy), or do they make the character more feminine? What effect should that have on her relationship with her companions? Should the companion continue to be the traditional feminine role? Headstrong and masculine, but powerless? Wise and sage, like an advisor? This is a difficult plan for even the most accomplished writer.
Chris Chibnall was apparently not up to the task. Instead, he threw all of the options in at once. At best, it felt crowded and disjointed. But more often, it felt like they were focus-group testing. And by the end, it seemed clear that Kaz was the most popular with test audiences.