Lucky Number 13

On the brink of a geek milestone

Aura Wilming
Jul 28, 2017 · 4 min read

It’s a bitter-sweet time for me. This Christmas Capaldi will have his last run as the Doctor. So far, Capaldi has been my favorite Doctor. A Doctor’s Doctor, Capaldi was as perfect in his role as any person could possibly be. Which isn’t too surprising considering Peter Capaldi is a huge Whovian. I am sorry to see him go. I honestly would be happy watching him be the Doctor for another three seasons. But that is not to be. Come Chirstmas, the Doctor will regenerate (probably).

And once he has regenerated, Jodie Whittaker will take over. This is huge. For the first time, the Doctor will not be a man. The Doctor will be a woman. It’s a geek milestone.

I’ve not experienced that many geek milestones as they happened. Star Trek’s first interracial kiss was before my time. I was one year old when The Empire Strikes Back was released. By the time I watched the movies, I could read the Dutch subtitles, and the bit of dialogue that sent shock waves through the geek community was a bit of an anticlimax to me — they just spent 2 movies calling the guy Vader (dutch for father) after all. I wasn’t aware enough to recognize Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway, or Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko as big deals when I first saw them on the television.

Come to think of it, the first real milestone I lived through, was Starbuck played by a woman in the Battlestar Galactica reboot. I thought that was pretty cool. But I am sad to say I couldn’t really geek out over that milestone. I never got ‘into’ the original Battlestar Galactica. I made up for it with the reboot though. The new Battlestar Galactica still rates as one of my all time favorite dramas and the best cliffhanger ending of a television series of all time.

So yes, the 13th regeneration of the Doctor will be a woman. It’s huge, it’s exciting and it’s an event I am invested in and completely aware of.

I don’t like Jodie Whittaker as she was presented to us. The hoodie is way too casual and do we need to have Whittaker bleached blond? Seriously? She looks much better dark. Better yet, can we get her dyed a shade of red? If the Doctor has to be white again, is it too much to ask for a Ginger?

No, no, it’s okay. As a Whovian, it’s totally acceptable not to like the new Doctor when they are announced. In fact, it’s expected. Not liking the new Doctor is a time honored tradition. The Doctor doesn’t like the new Doctor. Or their clothing. Or the new TARDIS. Or any change, really.

For a show that thrives on change, the resistance to change written into it, is endearing. To be honest, after Capaldi’s first season, when the first stills for the second season came out, I was kind of upset he grew his hair out and changed his suit. I didn’t like it.

The hair thing was of course nothing compared to the noise Capaldi had to endure when he first was announced. An old man playing the Doctor? You can’t have an old man Playing the Doctor! It will totally screw up the dynamic and chemistry with the companion.

But, the dynamic and chemistry with the companion was alive and kicking when the series resumed. Improved even, in my opinion. Capaldi’s longer hair turned out to be all kinds of perfect when he made his grand entrance with dark sunglasses and a electric guitar. And so too will the thunder of complaints about Whittaker fade to only a soft rumble for episode two of season 11.

I hope, I hope so dearly, please, please, please let that last sentence be true. Because we’re not just dealing with a new Doctor. We’re also getting a new companion and a new show runner for the series. New everything. Hopefully improved everything.

I’m excited for the 13th Doctor…
But is it really too late to get Capaldi back?

Unsolicited Bloggings

The vanity publication no one asked for

Aura Wilming

Written by

Writer of fiction, blogs and erotica. Frequency in that order. Popularity in reverse.

Unsolicited Bloggings

The vanity publication no one asked for

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