The biggest news in Doctor Who-dom is of course the casting of a woman as the Doctor. Gasp, gasp – you ruined my childhood now all my memories are ruined because you got female all over them. How will I ever survive?

I don’t know if you could tell from my tone there…I was being sarcastic. I have no issues with a female doctor, not even a little bit. And to be fair, for the most part not many people do. Oh sure there was a contingent of idiots on the internet (shocker!) who had the reaction I was parodying a second ago, but that was relatively small – you know, for the internet. No, most people were very complimentary and reacted like, um, rational people.

To me Jodie Whitaker is a fantastic actress and I know she will bring something unique to the role, and not just by being a woman but by being very good at her craft.

And as far as a female doctor is concerned this should have come as no surprise. They have been teasing this for years. With the mention of the Corsair changing genders, as well as the General regeneration in front of us, to a woman and of course Missy. This has been building to the Doctor regenerating into a woman, it’s not like it came out of nowhere. And the beauty of this decision is that it is just so Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is a program that thrives on reinvention. It is one of the things that makes the show great. It keeps its continuity and its history while at the same time becoming a different program every 3-5 years. This is the secret of its longevity and why people like me keep coming back – Doctor Who will always fresh, will always different. Sure everyone has their favorite eras but the fact that there are so many to choose from is to the show’s benefit. It is never boring. It constantly evolves; it continuously tries new things, new narratives, and new takes on storytelling. Reinvention – regeneration – is the very heart of the show.

So now a new production team, a different direction…this is a really exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan. I’m excited for the new kinds of stories that can be told and the new perspectives in the ways that can be used to tell them.