Doctor Who started its 12th season by mocking the fan reaction to a female Doctor. After a year long hiatus, Doctor Who returned with Jodie Whittaker at the helm of the TARDIS for her second season. While the 2017 announcement that Jodie Whittaker was cast as the 13th Doctor was mostly met with praise, there were some anti-female Doctor Who fans who were upset by the casting. The season premiere "Skyfall" contains a joke that addresses, and mocks, this controversy.
Whittaker is the first ever female Doctor on the long-running series, though not the first female Time Lord. There were several allusions in the classic series, and The Master regenerated into Missy for Peter Capaldi's tenure. Regardless, it seems as though the notion of a female Time Lord still raises a few eyebrows, and "Spyfall" made a point of poking fun at the backlash Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall received for the casting.
"Spyfall" is the first of a two-parter, and its cliffhanger episode introduces the next Doctor Who Master. For the entirety of the episode, the Doctor and her companions work with MI6 to combat a new alien enemy that seemed to hail from an alternative dimension. The initial reaction of an MI6 Agent meeting Whittaker's Doctor Who echoes the sentiments of those who complained about a woman being cast in the role.
As the Doctor and her companions arrive at MI6, Agent C greets them. Played by Stephen Fry, he steps forward and addresses Graham (Bradley Walsh) with a cheery "Finally we meet! You actually do exist." Graham is confused, and it falls to an assistant to gently point the error. "Don't be ridiculous," C says in response. "I've read the files. The Doctor is a man." It's at this point that Whittaker steps forward and simply says "I've had an upgrade." It's an amusing joke, made all the more pointed by the fact that C had instantly addressed the only other white male in the room, ignoring Ryan, Yaz and of course, the Doctor herself.
The issue of the Doctor's gender arises again later on in the episode, when Graham is talking with Agent O. Graham asks O how much he knows about the Doctor, and he replies "Not much. Our paths crossed once, very briefly, when she was a man." Graham is stunned, and then tells O that he thought she had been joking when she said she used to be male.
After having a whole season for fans to get used to the idea of a female Doctor, Chibnall is now ready to make jokes about the reactions to Whittaker's casting. While many welcomed the casting, which went firmly against the white male leads that played the titular Doctor in the past, there were fans of the series who took issue with it. However, while the Doctor had never been female before on the long-running series, it is well known that Time Lords can change gender, as seen in 2014 with Missy.
Whittaker's doctor has, for the most part, been well received by critics. She is brighter, more easy-going and happier than Peter Capaldi's version, and the change was much needed. Because she's not so weighed down with baggage, she is able to show a more carefree, fun side to the Doctor while still fighting alien enemies. Following the events of the Doctor Who season 12 premiere, it will be interesting to see how the Doctor deals with a far more serious threat to those she cares about.