Over the weekend, along with the sad news of the passing of George A. Romero and Martin Landau, came news that the new Doctor Who would be, for the first time in over fifty years of the show, a woman!

So the new Doctor is being played by Jodie Whittaker, star of the British crime drama Broadchurch.

Immediately there were those who made their displeasure known.  The Doctor is a man!  What will this new Doctor wear, pink?  And you just know where the sonic screwdriver jokes went.

Frankly, I’m intrigued.

Yes, a case can be made that the producers of Doctor Who are purposely shaking things up and, in the wake of the success of Wonder Woman, perhaps reasoned the time was right to try a female version of the Doctor.

Some have argued that because of his (note this word) history, Doctor Who should always be male.  Some even felt he should be an elder gentleman, which is what the majority of the Doctors have been with a few exceptions.

Again, I’m intrigued.

Of all the famous characters out there, the Doctor is perhaps the only one where the concept of changing his race or even sex makes sense.  The reason there have been so many different Doctors, to those who have never seen the show, is because the Doctor regenerates whenever his current body is about to expire.  In reality, of course, this is a gimmick which allows the show to continue with different actors and their different takes on the character and not have any uncomfortable explanation of why.

Having said that, if the Doctor regenerates, why wouldn’t he conceivably regenerate into a female form?

I for one will most certainly catch the new episodes.