The Language of the Night: A Woman as Dr Who? Excellent! But why not, say, Wunmi Mosaku?

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U.K. Breaking news:

Sunday July 15 2017

(History is made )

BBC TV UK

At 4.26pm,

shortly after Roger Federer became the only man to have won eight Wimbledon singles titles, the BBC interrupted its tennis coverage to announce an even more audacious first: the casting of Jodie Whittaker to play the central character in Doctor Who as a Time Lady rather than a Time Lord.

-guardian.

[My premise here is not to rain on the parade of joy and excitement that has *mostly* greeted Jodie Whittaker , but to suggest that maybe a WOC in such a role is even more overdue.]

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Dr Who,

for those unfamiliar:

 is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBCsince 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "The Doctor", an extraterrestrial being from the planet Gallifrey. He explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes, while working to save civilisations and help people in need.

The show is a significant part of British popular culture,[2][3] and elsewhere it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series.[4] The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. -Wikipedia

The many faces of The Dr:

Notice anything ?

Yes- you got it, he's traditionally always both male

and white…...

And at one point he was always Posh, and upper-class:

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Within the fictional narrative,

the Doctor is a Time Lord

from the planet Gallifrey

-wikipedia.

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Tom Baker in classic Who:

The show eventually ran out of steam in 1989, 

but was revived in 2005,

by  Russell T Davies. 

[ And ]   

The new Dr. was a  working class bloke from Langworthy,an area of the Salford, Greater Manchester. Played here by Christopher Eccleston:

So, obviously-

 it matters who plays The Dr in the modern world.

Which is where Race and gender come into play....

Sure, companions can be women or POC [once in awhile]:

(In the meantime, fans and others wanted a non Brexit-related referendum):

Doctor Who fans call for black or female actor

as new Time Lord

BBC show’s incoming lead writer Chris Chibnall being urged to seize opportunity for change as Peter Capaldi leaves

Doctor Who fans have called on the programme’s new lead writer to seize the opportunity to appoint a black or female actor as the 13th incarnation of the Time Lord, following the announcement that Peter Capaldi is leaving.

online speculation has focused on Homeland and Supergirl actor David Harewood, the IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade, Olivia Colman – who starred in Broadchurch, and Ben Whishaw – who plays Q in the James Bond films.

It is not the first time that the subject of Doctor Who and diversity has been aired. Current writer Steven Moffat said the role was previously offered to a black actor but “for various reasons, it didn’t work out”. Pearl Mackie, whose father is from the West Indies, has been cast as the Doctor’s companion, and Moffat said it would be “amazing” for the show to have two non-white leads..The Guardian’s critic Mark Lawson said that Chibnall had an “obvious opportunity” to do something different at a time of urgent debate in British TV about diversity. “It seems likely that Charlotte Moore, BBC TV’s director of content, will at least want a conversation about whether the gender and race of the character played by a dozen white men so far is written in stone tablets somewhere in the galaxy,” Lawson wrote.

-guardian

So,again:

it really matters a lot * which actors * portray this long running and clearly beloved fictional television character...

Doctor Who: 13th Doctor Could Be Black & Female

The 13th Doctor of Doctor Who could be played by Michaela Coel, which would make her the first female and first Black Doctor. Doctor Who returned to the small screen this month for a tenth season – and one filled with goodbyes. Star Peter Capaldi, the 12th Doctor is on his way out after season 10, as is long-time showrunner Steven Moffat. Big changes are afoot, and this has sparked all kinds of speculation over who might be replacing Capaldi, and if the 13th Doctor could shake things up for the franchise

.screenrant.

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 ‘Doctor Who’: Casting Suggestions for the 13th Doctor Who Aren’t Straight, White Men

indiewire

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However,outside of the Whoniverse,

(In reality):

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British TV and film industry 'pulls plug' on black actors, says Cush Jumbo

Actor Cush Jumbo has accused the British television and film industry of “pulling the plug” on actors of colour, and said she repeatedly came up against “the exotic best friend ceiling” when auditioning for roles in the UK.

Jumbo, known best for her roles in hit American TV series The Good Wife, and its spin-off The Good Fight, spoke at an evidence session for the Labour party’s inquiry into diversity in the arts about the failures of broadcasters to recognise the value of black and working class actors.

Jumbo disputed that there was a “brain drain” of British actors of colour deciding to go to America, and said instead that “this country is literally pulling the plug and we are all just slipping through”.

she continued: “If there was work here, I would be working here. I would like nothing more than to be working in film and on television in this country.

-guardian

Dr Who has almost always been played by actors of great charisma.

People are clearly calling out  for this.

And maybe this will someday happen. But it's 2017-

How long should society really have to wait for even fictional representational equality for POC, even in the  future worlds of tv Science Fiction?

*

As for The Dr,

the portrayal could only become richer and deeper as played by some of the truly great actresses, which it  seemingly won't even consider.

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Wunmi Mosaku

Mosaku graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic "Art in 2007 and made her stage debut at the Arcola Theatre in a production of Pedro Calderón de la Barca's The Great Theatre of the World. known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries Moses Jones (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series Vera (2011–12). She won the 2017 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress 

wikipedia.

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Links

A female Doctor? She’s the revolutionary feminist we need right now guardian 

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017