The twelfth Doctor Who could signal the moment to try something new
A successor is needed to William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith. The Time Lord is about to change once more and, when Mr Smith leaves after appearing in the 50th anniversary episode in November this year and a Christmas special, a twelfth Doctor will be sought.
Applications are already pouring in, mostly not from the candidates. Hugh Laurie will have his advocates, as will Benedict Cumberbatch and Damian Lewis. It may, however, be time for a female Doctor to take the role. It might even be possible to promote from within, like a company grooming a successor. The latest Doctor has had three companions since taking over in 2010, the most recent of whom is Jenna-Louise Coleman, who could yet be a candidate.
The shift from male to female authority is difficult in politics and business, but it is surely not beyond the capacity of the Doctor. Think of how the transition takes place from one Doctor to the next. It is a form of regeneration in which the character of the Doctor takes on a new body after he sustains injuries that would be fatal to anyone other than a time-travelling humanoid alien. There is nothing in any of this about gender. The laws of regeneration are a bit like the British constitution, unwritten and a little mysterious, but that allows the Doctor scope to reinvent herself however she likes.
Doctor Who, which began as an attempt to teach television viewers about history, has always been closely connected to big events. The first episode was delayed owing to extended news coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It must be possible to turn the Time Lord into a Time Lady.
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