Let's best honest, "Doctor Who" fans have strong opinions about every actor who plays The Doctor, including the 12 previous male stars before Jodie Whittaker. No matter who was announced, a section of the fandom was going to squint, tilt their heads, and find fault. But because the Thirteenth Doctor is also the first woman, the conversation went in that direction for a while, getting extreme (but predictable) responses from both sides. To be fair, most of the conversation was in support/defense mode, anticipating a gender-based backlash that did arrive but was nowhere near as strong as the support.

Jodie Whittaker, 35, isn't exactly a household name, but you've probably seen her somewhere -- possibly in "Venus," "Broadchurch," or one of the best episodes of "Black Mirror." She told the Telegraph of the U.K.

"I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and 'Doctor Who' represents everything that's exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one."

The Doctor is an extraterrestrial Time Lord who regenerates every so often into a new incarnation -- which is how we've had 12 previous Doctors -- so if ever there were a role that could be justified as more than just one gender, it's this one.

Still, not everyone feels that way. And for every, say, five cheers for change there was a post at #NotMyDoctor blasting what was seen as PC run amok. However, the majority of the fandom was probably somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, closer to the usual cautious optimism/let's see how it goes.

Here's the list of Time Lord stars so far:

  • William Hartnell (1963-66)
  • Patrick Troughton (1966-69)
  • Jon Pertwee (1970-74)
  • Tom Baker (1974-81)
  • Peter Davison (1982-84)
  • Colin Baker (1984-86)
  • Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)
  • Paul McGann (1996)
  • Christopher Eccleston (2005)
  • David Tennant (2005-2010)
  • Matt Smith (2010-2013)
  • Peter Capaldi (2013-2017)
  • Jodie Whittaker (2017-)

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