Well, it’s over. After four years, thirty performances, more perilous situations, impossible dilemmas and wobbly, shaky, time-consuming things than you could shake a stick at, Jodie Whittaker era of doctor who has come to an end. Whittaker chose to stick to the show’s legendary “Troughton rule,” which is explained by: Wales Online as:
Patrick Troughton, made the decision to quit the role after three years due to fears of being typecast. This was seen as so unusual and important at the time, that leaving a series in this way has subsequently become unofficially known as “the Troughton Rule”.
Though Whittaker left the role after three seasons, in that short time Whittaker turned the show upside down and offered a characterization that polarized fandom. As a fan, whether you enjoyed Whittaker’s portrayal or not, one fact is undisputed: her tenure has moved the needle to the show’s representation of gender. This is where the series can go.
Outdated gender politics left behind
Although some claim that doctor who always had strong female characters, it’s fair to say that when the venerable sci-fi show first hit our screens in 1963, it barely left a mark when it came to the issue of gender. The Doctor’s early companions, such as teacher Barbara and the doctor’s own granddaughter, Susan, had their moments of bravery and folly, but were usually there to yell at monsters, get in trouble, or just make cups of tea and hanging out while the doctor and the other protagonist of that week’s story did the interesting stuff.
Things improved in the 1970s and early 1980s, with companions such as Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) doing their part to challenge perceived gender norms. Sarah Jane van Sladen was a bold journalist who was also a bullseye with a gun and a very effective defender of Tom Baker’s fourth doctor. She was so well remembered that more than two decades after she left the show, she got her own spin-off series.
Ace, meanwhile, was a tomboy-esque runaway in a leather jacket with a penchant for blowing things up. Her destruction of a Dalek with a baseball bat in a 1988 episode is an iconic part of the show’s mythology.
Nevertheless, “screamers” were still surprisingly ubiquitous as the show entered its third decade. Although actors like Billie Piper (Catherine Called Birdy), Catherine Tate (hard cell), and Pearl Mackie have played powerful companions since the show’s return in 2005, Whittaker’s Doctor operated on another level. By simply having a woman send the story to her on a weekly basis instead of constantly explaining it to her, the show’s depiction of gender changed in ways that will resonate for years to come.
Changes in the relationships between the Doctor and other characters
In reality, this dynamic started to change even before Jodie Whittaker took over the reins. The relationship between David Tennant’s tenth doctor and Rose Tyler, which eventually turned into something like romance (they got together, sort of – in where doctor who fashion, the vagaries of the time-space continuum complicate it), an unthinkable turn of events in the 1970s and 1980s set the tone.
And in 2013, Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor spent much of that year’s season confronting Missy (Michelle Gomez), a female incarnation of the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master. This placed the hints of homoeroticism in the scenes between Tennant’s Doctor and the Master of his day, John Simm (Security), in a whole new light.
Whittaker’s Doctor may not have done much in the way of flirting with companions or villains, but the subtle change in power dynamics marked her Doctor. By often coming up with practical solutions to problems rather than being a bystander (as some doctors have been accused of being in the past), the Thirteenth Doctor puts himself firmly in the realm of female protagonists with the ability to make things happen. instead of hoping for the best.
The appearance of the feminine time Lord can become the norm
When the Time Lords first appeared in 1969, they were all men. Female Time Lords were so uncommon that it was deemed worthy of being used as an interlocutor in 1978, when a “Time Lady,” Romana (Mary Tamm, Lalla Ward), became the Doctor’s companion.
Since then, female Time Lords have appeared from time to time, such as Lynda Bellingham’s Inquisitor in 1987 and the aforementioned Missy. In 2015, we saw a male-to-female regeneration on the screen as: T’Nia Miller took on the role of the general.
Nevertheless, male Time Lords still outnumber female by a large majority. Will we see more Time Ladies next time the Tardis visit the Doctor’s home planet Gallifrey? Maybe we’ll do that now, seen doctor who has a new showrunner in the guise of the mastermind behind the show’s return in 2005, Russell T. Davies. His interest in the Doctor’s people extended to putting them at the center of the David Tennant era finale.