Doctor Who introduces a black female Doctor, making history... and throwing up a diversity smokescreen against bad ratings
Thirteen is an unlucky number, even for an alien Time Lord wanting attention. UK TV classic Doctor Who, amid a massive ratings slump, has unveiled a new incarnation of the lead character – injected with a new level of diversity.
Thirteen is an unlucky number, even for an alien Time Lord wanting attention. UK TV classic Doctor Who, amid a massive ratings slump, has unveiled a new incarnation of the lead character – injected with a new level of diversity.
As a striking male fantasy character, the time-and-space-traveling Doctor has come in all shapes and sizes since the show started in 1963, but it was actress Jodie Whittaker who became the 13th Doctor and first female to take over the role in a 2017 Christmas special that got everyone talking.
In a subversive twist, this week's episode introduced a black tour guide in the English city, Gloucester named Ruth Clayton, portrayed by Jo Martin, who surprisingly announced that she was also the Doctor.
Knowing the parallel universe and alternate timeline storylines, it is unclear if this new incarnation is from the past or future. It confused viewers and left them divided. Many fans were not impressed and took to social media to vent their anger, accusing the BBC of running “through a diversity checklist,” while others praised the creative team for bringing the children's fantasy character up to date.
Reincarnating into a different Doctor is nothing new – explained in-universe as the power to regenerate into a completely different body when lethally wounded, it was originally introduced to allow the recasting of the original star William Hartnell, who was in poor health. Nothing in the lore prevents sex or race change, but over a dozen Doctors across the decades were white men, until Whittaker. The latest episode marks the first time a black actress has been cast in a new ‘manifestation' of the role.
While the character is not a full-time ‘new Doctor' as such, the way her gender and race are being played up as a ‘making history' moment represent a zeitgeist where being diverse trumps a show's need for good writing, plot, and whatever else constitutes quality and attracts viewers.
But ratings don't lie – and turning the Doctor into a woman has not helped the viewership, which fell by almost half from start to end of Whittaker's debut season. Critics and fans have attributed it, among other things, to the new showrunner Chris Chibnall's weak writing staff, disjointed plotlines and politicized stories, and shallow plotlines, with one fan online suggesting, “It's obvious that the BBC are going to cancel Doctor Who,”and another saying, “This new series is so boring! – their solution is clearly to triple down on woke.”
