Photo Credit: BBC
On April 16, 2016, the BBC and the current (but soon to be leaving ) Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffatt blessed us with the latest companion to face the evils of the universe alongside the ageless Doctor. Her name was Bill Potts; and without knowing at that particular moment, Bill and Pearl Mackie (the actress who gives her infinite life) would change my world and frankly the Peter Capaldi era of Doctor Who for the better.
Coming on the scene with an undeniably, infectious hunger for adventure in her announcement trailer/short (which was the first ever for a companion), Bill quickly had me shook. She was black (thank God!), nerdy (Yes, Lord!) and was rocking a luxuriously head of natural hair. And to top all this off was the “When Doves Cry” tee shirt that let the audience know immediately that Bill was going to be cool as fuck. I was here for all of it.
Then doubt started to creep its annoying presence into my happy thoughts. Doubt which stemmed from how Freema Agyeman’s Dr. Martha Jones was received back in 2007. Or even the treatment of Mickey Smith, who despite being labeled a companion in officially licensed BBC Doctor Who merchandise is doggedly argued otherwise in most chat rooms on the subject. As a black man, I couldn’t (and to this day still) can’t help but to call out the obvious hate when it comes to these two characters, so again, my excitement for Bill and what Pearl Mackie had to bring to the role went into a nurturing, defensive nature before she even made her debut. Especially when it was announced that Bill was also an openly proud lesbian, the first in the show’s fifty-four years in existence.
So on April 15th, 2017, Pearl Mackie’s Bill premiered to almost unanimous critical acclaim with fans and critics alike noting that the character was a breath of fresh air from the previous three companions – Amy Pond (Karen Gillian), Rory (Arthur Danville), and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) – who were all tied to the Doctor’s overall mythology in a convoluted way. Instead, Bill was a working class woman with an eclectic, adventurous flair, and a vast knowledge of pop culture that even the Doctor himself wasn’t aware of. She wasn’t the sole important person of the universe, she wasn’t smitten with him, and she didn’t threaten the Doctor’s spotlight. For Whovians across the board, this was a widely accepted change of pace for the show, which was becoming almost routine in a way. But for blerd (black nerd) Whovians, especially those, like me, who also belong to the LGBTQ community, Bill’s introduction and presence was… everything.
Photo Credit: BBC
In a genre where we are widely underrepresented, Bill Potts instantly broke down every caricature of tropes that have been in place for people of color in horror and sci-fi for ages. The universal praise for Bill grew with each episode, and I couldn’t have been more overjoyed. She quickly fell into step with the Doctor and his assistant Nardole, shining in numerous episodes which showcased her tenacity and whip sharp attention to detail, her willingness to sacrifice her life for the greater good, and her utmost loyalty to the Doctor. Mind you, while harboring all of those attributes, Bill was still her own person, which is the most important part of all. While being fiercely loyal, this Spacer Woman still questioned the Doctor when needed, especially if she felt he crossed the line. Bill also didn’t care to be glued to the Doctor’s hip. She loved traveling with him, but she also had her own life back home that the Doctor sometimes crashed, but not too much. Also Bill didn’t bring her personal life unto the TARDIS, unlike previous NuWho companions. Talk about a much needed break from the norms in that area… Plus, Doctor Who has dropped some epical truths when it came to race and didn’t shy away from the topic when given the chance. This is the most aware and relevant Doctor Who has ever been when it comes to current affairs in the world. And, again, I am all here for it.
Although there are still some bigoted detractors of Bill out there (someone as of last weekend went as far as asking both Mackie and Moffatt in a live chat of a BBC Q&A special why was Bill made a lesbian, because it didn’t fit with the pattern of the show…), the consensus is clear that she has become a beloved addition to the Doctor Who. So why would they even think about letting her go?
Photo Credit: BBC
Before the show even aired, there was talk that Bill would only be a one-season companion. With the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Steven Moffatt both leaving at the end of the season, the rumors stated that Bill would be leaving as well to leave a clean canvas for the new show runner, Chris Chibnall, to play with a new Doctor and companion(s). As much as I tried to shrug off the talk as only rumors and foolishness, last weekend’s penultimate episode “World Enough and Time” provided much evidence that our time with Bill as we knew her had come to a (seriously) abrupt end. I was prepping this very blog post this past Sunday to be posted Wednesday, but something told me to wait until the Series Ten finale. Thank God I did.
While Bill as we know her is gone, there’s still hope for her to return. And that is all that matters in the end. However, why did she have to go so soon? After breaking down walls for Geek POC, LGBTQ nerds, and humanity as a whole, why would BBC, Moffatt, and anyone else involved let this great character escape into the stars, (possibly) never to be seen again? Bill’s “departure” (albeit a happy open-ended one) is a huge loss for not only Whovians, but nerdy POC/Queer people of color everywhere. If anything, the void Bill Potts left behind needs to be filled immediately, because while there have been POC who have knocked down barriers in sci-fi and horror before Bill, she’s decimated the remaining barrier to rubble.
So I would like to give a huge, huge, HUGE thanks to Pearl Mackie for bringing to life the wonderful character of Bill Potts. I would love to thank Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez, John Simm, and Steven Moffatt for delivering the best season of Doctor Who in ages. And I would like to pray for Chris Chibnall to do the right thing and bring Bill back to Doctor Who, preferably as a full time companion…
Until next time, Spacer Woman…
Photo Credit: BBC
Photo Credits: BBC
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