2) The Rise Of Women-Led Sci-Fi Movies And TV
Apart from the fact that the show itself has been hinting at this for a while, a female Doctor feels so right in 2017 because the past couple of years have seen an increase in the number of sci-fi/fantasy movies and TV series that have female leads.
For the best examples of this, let’s look at the superhero genre. For years, studios believed that superhero movies based around women were guaranteed flops. An assumption purely based, it seems, on a couple of misfires from the early 00s (namely, 2004’s Catwoman and 2005’s Elektra). This year, though, DC finally made a Wonder Woman movie and – guess what happens? – it becomes one of the most acclaimed and highest-grossing superhero films ever.
The same goes for TV, too. For a long time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer seemed to be one of the very few superheroines on television, but recent years have seen the likes of Jessica Jones, Supergirl and Agent Carter join her on that front.
While a few years ago, perhaps even when Peter Capaldi was cast in 2013, would have probably been too early to introduce a female Doctor for the first time, now it feels totally right as it makes Doctor Who part of a move in the zeitgeist to equalize the male-to-female ratio of leads in sci-fi/fantasy fiction.