With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who now upon us, it provides an opportunity to not only look back on whats come before, but also to consider the future of the franchise. With such a complexly rich history that ranges from psychedelically zany to just plain silly, certain questions arise. These questions run the gamut from seemingly obvious (What happened in the Time War?) to simply nitpicky (Why is every companion a linchpin of the universe?), but one in particular has a lot of people desperate for an answer: When will the Doctor be a woman? There hasnt been any official information on the next Doctor, but if the change does happen, it wont be entirely out of the blue. In fact, there are some reasons it should take place.
3. Other Time Lords Have Changed Genders
The exact mechanism behind the regeneration process has never been firmly established. When it first occurred, it was known as renewal that came about after the First Doctor (William Hartnell) described his body as wearing a bit thin. Later on, when the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) was exiled to Earth, the Time Lords forced a change of appearance resulting in the Third incarnation (Jon Pertwee). Despite the description, it was clear that the Thirds personality was different from the Seconds, particularly highlighted in The Three Doctors where the different versions all bicker with the others. It wasnt until the Doctor transformed into his Fourth form that the process was called regeneration. When the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) was preparing to regenerate, he explained to Rose Tyler that it was possible he could return with two heads (or even without one), but this may have just been a joke at her expense. On top of that, after generating his Tenth form (David Tennant), the Doctor takes stock of his new body to make sure he has the right amount of limbs, implying that sometimes Time Lords arent even humanoid when they regenerate. In The End of Time when the Tenth Doctor regenerates into the Eleventh (Matt Smith), he immediately checks his body and even mistakenly believes he has become a woman for a second. Considering he might have had an extra head, becoming a girl wouldnt be that extreme. In The Doctors Wife, a Time Lord named Corsair is described as having regenerated as a woman at least twice. This means that not only can Time Lords change genders, but that the change is not permanent. Obviously thats good news if they do decide to experiment with a female Doctor; they wont be stuck with the option for good (as if anything on Doctor Who could ever be permanent).