Fresh ideas, yes.
Jumping on what appears to be yet another bandwaggon for the sake of appeasing fans isn't what I'd call fresh... and THAT is the concern - Not what they've done, but their reasoning behind it.
If they pull it off, great. But the fact that people are suddenly taking an interest in the show *just because* The Doctor is now a woman is exactly what the show does NOT need...
Key, yes of course. But not the major (and also minor) plot points, as well as miraculous fixed points in the continuum around which the whole season revolves!
They're supposed to be ordinary people through whose eyes we get to experience The Doctor and the universe(s), not secret megaheroes who rapidly rise to the lofty heights of near-Timelords.
Yes, and see that final comment about how it's not been a good thing.
Some have been great stories in their own right... but not great Doctor Who stories.
But why is she HERE?
Is it because she's a great actress, or because she's a woman... or because she's a woman
and worked with blokie on Broadchurch?
Incidentally, I've only heard of Broadchurch because the Mrs watches it and it looked dreary as heck... Not selling me on the idea so far.
Yes, but they were also always sidekicks, or rather 'assistants', as they used to be known. NOT frontline episode leads and NOT romantic interests. Heck, most didn't even get families, much less bring them all along on their travels.
It's the Doctor Who show, not the Amy And Rory Show!! Like I said, more than once we started to wonder why The Doctor is even around, still...
No, it doesn't.
It is happening a lot these days, but it worked back when Ellen Ripley, Dana Scully and Sarah Connor were on-screen. It kind-of worked with the likes of Buffy and Firefly was FAR better, but now it's just waving it in the audience's face. It's standing up and being counted as showcasing strong, independent women... just like every other show.
They've swung the other way, perhaps... but the difference is that they've stayed there too long and it's gotten boring. Formulaic, even, especially with Steven Moffatt at the helm.
GB2 trailed one hand a bit too far into slapstick... It went the way of Blues Brothers 2000. GB-Reboot went all-out silliness.
A quick Google shows that Firefly was cancelled. I guess that programme was utter dross?
Another quick Google shows that Eastenders, Corronation Street and Neighbours are all still going... they must be STUNNING, right?