I'm not a die hard WHO fan but I have watched the occassional episodes over the years. My question concerns about "who" can become Doctor Who. This subject probably has been covered before but I was wondering if there are rules to when the Doctor regenerates into a new body.
They share them, but they aren't influenced by them.
The memories are what makes the Doctor the Doctor. Would you really suggest memories of Gallifrey don't influence the Doctor? What about those dark haunting monologues about all he's witnessed?
If I had a sex change tomorrow would that change my memories or baggage.
I didn't say anything about changing memories or baggage. Quite the contrary. The fact that they don't change is why the female regeneration is problematic for this character as he's been written.
I didn't say anything about changing memories or baggage. Quite the contrary. The fact that they don't change is why the female regeneration is problematic for this character as he's been written.
Clearly, it's problematic for you. And that's perfectly OK, everyone's entitled to an opinion.
But for the character of The Doctor, if it ever did happen, it really wouldn't be a problem at all.
OK if that's the case. I was referencing the established traits of his character. Such as the way he responds to members of the opposite sex and a myriad of other gender issues.
How does gender affect the way he relates to other characters?
Surely a female Doctor could respond to River Song in exactly the same way as the current Doctor does?
You guys have mentioned some really interesting stuff. I appreciate the responses. Doctor Who is a fascinating character and still so mysterious after 50 years on TV.
But there's even more to it. The gender aspect has been a core part of the narrative and speaks to male-female relationships in general. How women often trust men and idealise men. The fairy tale syndrome.
Which may be true for particular incarnations, but not for all. The Doctor changes, his companions change, their relationships change. While Rose and Ten's relationship wouldn't have worked if Ten was female, the relationship with Donna would work just fine.
We see this in the Wizard of Oz and other stories. The Doctor does have real powers but of course he has a hero complex and a dark side too which is fundamentally tied into him being male.
I don't see how this follows.
The Doctor, of all people, is about subverting expectations - forcing people to re-examine their assumptions about the world. I think if the Doctor were the one observing this debate, he'd be all in favour of breaking those pre-judgments.
That's true and I alluded to that earlier. But that hasn't been shown to be fundamental to his character's identity.
The fairy tale syndrome. We see this in the Wizard of Oz and other stories. The Doctor does have real powers but of course he has a hero complex and a dark side too which is fundamentally tied into him being male.
I really don't see that being a dark complex hero with powers has to be male? That seems increadbly outdated and sexist and just plain wrong. It's frequently been shown that his female companions are just as hero and powerful as he is.
As for changing gender identities go watch the wonderful Orlando with Tilda Swanson based on the Virginia Woolf novel. What was thought male is now female.
i remember Romana's multiple regeneration scene. Timelords can change into whatever.
Personally I try to forget that ridiculous scene!
Romana's 'regeneration' does seem to suggest that they can change into any form, and 9 seemed to confirm this by telling Rose he may never make sense again, may have two or even no head!
Personally, I like to believe that the Time Lords change into a Time Lords/Gallifreyans and that the scene in Destiny was nothing more than a folly and that 9 was only joking! So far, this has not been proved otherwise!
Personally, I like to believe that the Time Lords change into a Time Lords/Gallifreyans and that the scene in Destiny was nothing more than a folly and that 9 was only joking! So far, this has not been proved otherwise!
Or perhaps the Doctor doesn't have as much control over the process as others do because of his half-human DNA? *ducks*
Or perhaps the Doctor doesn't have as much control over the process as others do because of his half-human DNA? *ducks*
Indeed. I always thought the Doctor just "winged-it" because he only ever regenerated when his current body was too badly damaged. However, the Jacobi Master was mortally wounded and he could still predict with some confidence that he would have a young body to match the Tennant Doctor. So it looks like the Doctor is particularly bad at regeneration while other Time Lords take it in their stride.
Or Regeneration was one of the subjects he failed at the academy. We know Romana was top of her class but that the Doctor scraped through on the second try.
Mind you, he does seem to somewhat get a kick out of not knowing what he's going to get. After all, he's always been about not judging the book by the cover.
Comments
Not really
If I had a sex change tomorrow would that change my memories or baggage.
No, next question.
The memories are what makes the Doctor the Doctor. Would you really suggest memories of Gallifrey don't influence the Doctor? What about those dark haunting monologues about all he's witnessed?
Well if 10 followed up 9 and did so then why wouldn't 11?
It would certainly change your baggage.
I didn't say anything about changing memories or baggage. Quite the contrary. The fact that they don't change is why the female regeneration is problematic for this character as he's been written.
But for the character of The Doctor, if it ever did happen, it really wouldn't be a problem at all.
How does gender affect the way he relates to other characters?
Surely a female Doctor could respond to River Song in exactly the same way as the current Doctor does?
I don't see how this follows.
The Doctor, of all people, is about subverting expectations - forcing people to re-examine their assumptions about the world. I think if the Doctor were the one observing this debate, he'd be all in favour of breaking those pre-judgments.
I really don't see that being a dark complex hero with powers has to be male? That seems increadbly outdated and sexist and just plain wrong. It's frequently been shown that his female companions are just as hero and powerful as he is.
As for changing gender identities go watch the wonderful Orlando with Tilda Swanson based on the Virginia Woolf novel. What was thought male is now female.
Personally I try to forget that ridiculous scene!
Romana's 'regeneration' does seem to suggest that they can change into any form, and 9 seemed to confirm this by telling Rose he may never make sense again, may have two or even no head!
Personally, I like to believe that the Time Lords change into a Time Lords/Gallifreyans and that the scene in Destiny was nothing more than a folly and that 9 was only joking! So far, this has not been proved otherwise!