Jodie Whittaker’s a fine actor — pity her Doctor Who’s so forgettable

How will you be remembered? This is a question that has no doubt passed through the mind of everyone at some point. For many people, the simple act of just being remembered is enough. Those who are deemed influential often get to leave behind a legacy. But what is a legacy? The great Athenian statesman Pericles said: “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” In the 21st century, entertainment can facilitate the creation of a person’s legacy, for it is woven into the cultural fabric of the world. This can be applied to the small handful of actors who have been lucky enough to play the lead role in the cult BBC science-fiction show, Doctor Who.

William Hartnell appeared in over 75 British films, but will always be remembered as the first actor to play the iconic role of Doctor Who in 1963. Hartnell was the first to use the Tardis – the Doctor’s time-travelling spacecraft. Since its introduction in the first ever episode, the device, built to represent an old-fashioned British police phone box, has become a cultural icon. Even though he had a successful career in film — most notably playing the character of Dallow in the movie, Brighton Rock — it was Hartnell’s role as the idiosyncratic Time Lord that will forever define his legacy.

So, in 2017, when it was announced that Jodie Whittaker was to become the show’s 13th Doctor, it got me thinking again about legacy. I do not care whether the role is played by a woman. My argument has less to do with chromosomes and more about merit. I had seen Whittaker in Broadchurch and was very impressed with her as an actor. She played the role with conviction and sincerity. With Doctor Who she took over in Series 11 and rumour has it she is set to leave after Series 13.

The show has entertained and enthralled millions of young adults for over half a century. The year I was born, when Tom Baker played the fourth Doctor, the show recorded its largest ever audience: 16 million viewers. Step into the Tardis and come forward forty years and by the end of Series 12, the show received its lowest viewing figures in 15 years, with the final episode of the series being seen by just 4.6 million.

It would be naive and wrong to lay the blame for the show’s declining audience entirely on Whittaker. It was always going to be a hard act to follow the previous incarnation of the Doctor, Peter Capaldi. But the show has suffered from terrible scripts since Chris Chibnall became the show’s main writer. He took over from Stephen Moffat, head writer for the show from 2010-16. Moffat was an established scriptwriter, whose love for Doctor Who was evident in programmes he previously worked on, often making references to the Daleks in shows like Coupling.

Moffat appeared to be genuinely passionate about writing. As such, he had the ability to tell a good story. Stories are what captivate our sense of imagination and wonder. They allow us to explore new worlds and stir our sense of adventure. But where Moffat excelled at crafting a story, Chibnall seems more concerned to shoehorn-in the latest social justice issue and saturate every episode with a political message.

Speaking to Vulture magazine, Whittaker says that Chibnall was convinced he wanted her for the role, as the two had worked together on Broadchurch. There she played the role of a grieving mother very well, but when it came to Doctor Who, things seemed to change. Where some actors research roles, she didn’t. “I’d seen a few episodes, but hadn’t followed a particular Doctor,” she tells the magazine.

She goes on to explain: “What Chris wanted to do, particularly in the cast and in the story, is reflect the world we live in today. Very often, we’re only seeing stories being told through the white male gaze.” This may explain the progressive stance when it came to the narrative in Series 11. Instead of the usual light-hearted subject matter that dealt with Daleks and bizarre alien races, we got 1940s colonial India and the segregated southern state of Alabama in 1950s America. White men were often depicted as bigoted and terrible fathers. In the episode ‘Arachnids in the UK’, we even had an ersatz Donald Trump character. An evil capitalist, hell-bent on destroying the environment, no matter what the cost.

One possible reason for the change in direction of Doctor Who could lie with its broadcaster. In recent years the BBC has become an increasingly partisan institution that appears to care more about diversity quotas and lecturing its audience on the evils of modern society than providing genuine quality entertainment. The corporation recently announced a new three-year £100 million plan to produce “diverse and inclusive content”. Perhaps the cynic in me sees the social justice message in Doctor Who as just a marketing ploy to keep the show funded?

Politics aside, what about the acting? While previous iterations of the character put their own idiosyncrasies into the role, Whittaker’s version comes across as an even more hyperactive David Tennant. But where Tennant’s eccentricity was appealing, Whittaker’s is the imitation of an epigone.

Any criticism from fans is generally met with the usual trite, worn out deluge of “isms” and phobias. If you don’t like it, you (and your bigotry) are the problem, not us. Although I am sure what most Whovians want is just an hour of mild-mannered, inoffensive escapism, not a political lecture.

This once timeless show has become mired in the sociocultural angst of identity politics. The combination of bad writing, political pandering and the outright refusal to accept any criticism has meant a haemorrhaging audience and left a once respected show bereft of all credibility. In the end the real losers are the fans of all ages.

If an actor’s legacy is defined by their best work, then Whittaker will be remembered for her role as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch. If it is not, then maybe, like the rest of us, she will just not be remembered. After all, 13 is an unlucky number.

Regenerations are a salient part of Doctor Who. Perhaps Laurence Fox should audition.

I hear he might be available.

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