Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker addressed criticisms of the show stating that she doesn’t understand how the show can be labeled “politically correct.”
In an interview with UK entertainment website Inews, she and showrunner Chris Chibnall discussed the criticisms from last season and talked about the new one.
Coming off her first season as the iconic Doctor last year, Whittaker addressed the criticism toward her casting:
“The pressure is: if people hate this choice, it doesn’t just have a knock-on on my casting,” she said. “It’s going to be: ‘See? Women can’t do it.’ That felt very unfair. No one was saying to [showrunner Chris Chibnall]: ‘You are representing loads of people.’ I was somehow representing all women ever in playing this part.”
Chris Chibnall would later add, “The big difference is people now know our version of the show. Which gives us a chance to evolve.”
Not only did Whittaker address criticism of her casting, but she also addressed criticisms that the show became “woke” or “politically correct.”
Whittaker states:
“What’s interesting to me is we did an episode about Rosa Parks. And it highlighted Rosa Parks’ heroic moment in history, but it also highlighted that modern society is still suffering from a lack of progress in some people’s attitudes towards different people.”
She would add:
“I just don’t understand what’s politically correct about saying there is still racism within our current society. I just don’t understand!”
Chibnall would also address the criticism saying, “The Doctor and the show are beacons of compassion and empathy.”
He would add, “That has always been true. We haven’t done anything that Doctor Who hasn’t done in the past. I don’t think Doctor Who has changed. I think the world has changed.”
Chibnall would also address criticisms about the show’s apparent lack of continuity with past doctors noting they hope to correct that moving forward.
“She didn’t use the words ‘Time Lord’ last year, or ‘Gallifrey’. She does this year,” says Chibnall.
Not only will they be using Time Lord and ‘Gallifrey,’ but they will also be bringing back some classic Doctor Who villains including the Judoon and the Cybermen.
Chibnall explains, “It was always the plan to bring those monsters back. In the first season, I wanted to make sure that people who came to the show had their own set of monsters…”
He continued, “But now it’s about taking those new people who are on board and going: ‘Look at everything we’ve got in the toybox.'”
The first episode of Doctor Who aired today, January 1st, 2020 at 8 PM ET on BBC America. The second episode will air on January 5th, 2020.
What do you think, Whovians? Will Doctor Who be more traditional this season?