> As an old-school Whovian, I remember well when certain traditionalists balked at the idea of a black Doctor almost by reflex, and while I'm glad to see that such reactions are almost nonexistent within fandom now, the casting of a black actor in the role of the Doctor does bring with it at least a bit of baggage, so let's not patronize one another by pretending that it doesn't.
>
> Is there, then, any real reason why there shouldn't be a black Doctor?
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I'm surprised they didn't do it in
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death.
However, given the recent presedintial election I suspect that people would complain about aping the USA.
> Pretty much anyone who's ever opened a history book should know that there are a lot of times and places in human history in which being black would make a person Not Welcome, and as we saw in the three Season 3 stories in which Martha traveled back (as opposed to forward) in time, the overwhelming temptation on the part of many writers is to respond to this reality in one of two ways - either find a way to hand-wave it away, or else really hammer it home.
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At least one of the Old series touched on this (Rememberance of the Daleks, IIRC)
> So, even in a story which attempted to own up to the unfortunate realities of racial relations in the past, the preexisting natures of the characters, as people, resulted in some arguably unintentional, but no less uncomfortable, subtext.
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Of course, the vast amount of prejudice within and between the larger racial groups has never existed. After all, only white people can be racist.
Sorry, but that particular piece of subtext never fails to annoy me.
> To my mind, the solution is simpler than one might think, and it involves retreating from one of Davies' favorite ways of portraying the Doctor.
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Your suggestion has great merit, but I don't see the producers going for it.
