SJA - Death of the Doctor

There's an article over at Digital Spy.com which reveals a few spoilery details about the upcoming Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor" where Matt Smith makes a guest appearance as well as Katy Manning as Jo Grant.

They list 10 vague and not-so vague hints as to what to look for in the episode. But what may be the biggest revelation and impact Doctor Who in the future is item #6.

I spoiler-ed out the list out of consideration for those who want to remain untainted.

Spoiler:

I have heard that about #6, and that this question would be answered.

#6 is interesting. So if this is an option now why can't the Doctor regenerate into a woman too? Not being sarcastic being serious.

The genetic difference between a black man and a white man is just shy of nil. Pigmentation is not a realistic difference.

The genetic difference between male and female is more significant.

Sounds like they're just opening needlessly shut casting doors.

I think the chap who played Doctor Moon in Silence of the Library and he's been seen in other films from Resident Evil to James Bond flicks, would make a good Doctor.

I agree, I would love to see Colin Salmon as the Doctor. A voice like honey, his.

If the Doctor can make himself human, why not a Time Lady? Surely staying in the same species but changing sex would be much easier than changing species entirely?

As far as species, what differences are there between Gallifreyan and Human?
Number of hearts... and... what?

Well, they're completely different species. That's like us saying the Sisters of Plentitude or the Cat from Red Dwarf are exactly like cats today.

But has it ever really been stated as such? There is as much different between them and us as between us and, say, a chimpanzee?

Besides, that isn't the point.
The interference of the Watch disguised the Doctor, so that he appeared Human. I suspect in the same way the Chameleon Circuit disguises the TARDIS.
Is the TARDIS a Police Box, or does it just appear to be one?
Was the Doctor's species completely changed or was it some sort of disguise that required the Watch to maintain?

So, again, regenerating into another gender is a bigger leap that regenerating into a person with different hair or skin.

Honestly, if the show went there, it would probably lose me.

A spin-off with a Time Lady would be fine. Adding a Time Lady to the show as a recurring or even regular would be fine. But it would annoy me if she could become a guy and he could become a she.

It's all well and good to say that people were skeptical about regeneration to start with, but really... the change from Hartnell to Troughton is not the same as if it had been Hartnell to Dench.

I think Judi Dench would be awesome as a Time Lady, but not as The Doctor.

In the past there they mentioned that the Doctor's blood was nothing like human blood. In the TVM Grace said it "wasn't blood" and "Spearhead from Space" another Doctor called the Doctor's Dr and asked it if was some kind of joke. He said that the blood could have come from a dog or something along those lines.

Of course there is the two hearts and respiratory bypass system. Then also in "Caves of Androzani" the Doctor was able to sneak passed the android guards that had human detectors because they did not recognize him as human.

In "Human Nature" and "Utopia" the Chameleon arch changed both the Master and the Doctor's physiology into that of a humans. The Doctor was human, blood, one heart and all. It wasn't just a disguise like the TARDIS, it was a genetic change. This is how the Family of Blood could not detect the Doctor and how the Doctor could not Detect Yana (how he could not detect the master on Earth was a different matter, more like your TARDIS theory)

In Stolen Earth/Journey's End, The Doctor mentions that when the TARDIS looses power, the doors are just wood. So, the Chameleon Circuit, just like the arch, must transform it, not just disguise it.

I am not sure what I would do, if they changed gender. Race is not an issue, we have has a Spanish Master before, well, that is a different story, so it may not apply. I think the woman actor was a joke that JNT put out, and the press ran with it. And it just gets "regenerated" every time a search goes out for a new actor. And the "I'm a girl" Matt line was a wink at this "rumor".

I can't remember who said it or when, but I do recall that it was stated in DWM or on a DVD that the Doctor is biologically gendered as male , so he couldn't regenerate as female. "Curse of Fatal Death" is a spoof and doesn't count, of course. Does this statement sound familiar to anyone else?

oh can I say...horray Jo Grant...she is still so wonderful! Flaky, sweet, pure, funny and bubbly- I'd like to see more of her in SJA or DW. The scene with her and the doc was very very well played.