Ever wondered what Doctor Who would be like as a woman? Me too. But even if you have pondered that prospect, Patsy and Edina probably aren’t the first images that come to mind.
Nonetheless, recent reports indicate that Ab Fab alum Jennifer Saunders may be tapped to play the first ever female Doctor for a special one-shot episode.
Of course, “first ever” is only sort of accurate. Saunders’ Ab Fab partner in debauchery, Joanna Lumley, gave us a brief snapshot of what a female Doctor might be like during a skit done for the U.K.’s Comic Relief telethon in 1999.
This talk of the potential for the Doctor to regenerate as a woman leaves me with two nagging questions. First, will a female Doctor get her own little-girl-lost sidekick? I certainly hope so, particularly considering the Doctor’s habit of falling for his beautiful assistants. Second, if Saunders doesn’t get the gig, who should become the first female Doctor of the series? Perhaps Gillian Anderson would be willing to engage in a little time travel.
Or maybe Mandana Jones would like to take Tardis out for a spin.
Of course, it is possible that the Saunders talk is nothing but a load of horse hooey. After all, current Doctor David Tennant still has the rest of series three, plus four one-hour specials, to finish. Who knows what lies ahead for the venerable sci-fi series? Only the Doctor, that’s who.
