Doctor Who just answered a ‘divisive’ question once and for all
Doctor Who has finally settled a question that has had divided fans for years.
Fans of sci-fi series Doctor Who have long argued about whether it is possible for Time Lords to switch gender when they regenerate – a process allowing them to take on a new physical form.
Following years of hints, the question appeared to be answered last year when historically-male villain The Master was revealed to have regenerated off-screen into the female Missy (Michelle Gomez).
For any remaining doubters, however, Saturday’s season finale made the answer even more explicit for the first time on screen..
The episode (‘Hell Bent’) featured the Doctor reluctantly shooting fellow Time Lord The General (Ken Bones) in a bid to escape.
However, the old white male Time Lord surprised fans – by regenerating into a black woman (T’Nia Miller).
Upon realising that she is female, the newly-regenerated General quips: “Back to normal, am I?
“Only time I’ve been a man, that last body. Dear lord, how do you cope with all that ego?”
Most Twitter users seemed ecstatic that gender and race just got totally de-constructed… though a lot of people were just as excited to see a badass black female on their screens.
In an episode that aired last year, the series featured its first lesbian kiss between Silurian lizard-woman Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and her human wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart).
The moment was deemed too controversial for audiences in Asia – with the kiss censored from broadcasts on the continent.
A report released by the BBC previously showed that three viewers had taken up formal complaints against the series for promoting a “homosexual agenda”, while the BBC as a whole was accused of “pro-gay bias”.
The report illustrated the BBC’s use of a policy that allows them to close down “trivial, misconceived, hypothetical, repetitious or otherwise vexatious” complaints.
