Black Ford didn't affect me that much. He's only been portrayed live action by one particular actor and Hitchhiker's Guide doesn't (quite) have the long production history that Doctor Who has.
I've got more thoughts on this relating to Doctor Who and traditional assumptions about race and power in Great Britian but I've got too much of a headache to articulate them right now.
Some incarnations back, there was talk about a female Doctor; but the closest that ever came to happening was Joanna Lumley in Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death.
...and THAT was because she'd been rumored for eons, in an episode chock-full of stunt-casting and decidedly out of continuity -- and even THEN it was because it was a last-ditch-universe-demands-a-Doctor moment, after all the normal regenerations had been exhausted.
Since we're on Ten and soon to be Eleven, I'd argue the moment isn't too far off, but I'd prefer to wait until a known catastrophic moment before triggering such a big change -- the audience is more likely to accept it at that point.
I don't believe Ford is actually described in any particular manner, physically at least, in the books. If memory serves, the descriptions are about what he's doing, wearing, or carrying -- not about his actual looks. He's just supposed to be cool, and (surprisingly at first) from Betelgeuse. So there's no particular reason why he should have any particular racial characteristics.
On the flip side, I find myself strangely uneasy about the portrayal of the Doctor as someone decidedly of a different sex, or race, than we've seen before. This is odd, because I was thrilled when we saw a black Vulcan and a black Time Lord. I don't object to alien races resembling the different ethnic stocks on earth, because I would imagine that a similar ecosystem would produce similar body types based on climate and so forth. Assuming regeneration works by re-assembling the basic genetic matter in a new combination, it seems unlikely that we'd get such a drastic change -- though of course I also realize that silly ideas don't get less silly because you've got Science Words in.
At very least, I feel it would have to be explained somehow in-story. Otherwise it'd smack of stunt casting.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 02:18 pm (UTC)I've got more thoughts on this relating to Doctor Who and traditional assumptions about race and power in Great Britian but I've got too much of a headache to articulate them right now.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 03:56 pm (UTC)Since we're on Ten and soon to be Eleven, I'd argue the moment isn't too far off, but I'd prefer to wait until a known catastrophic moment before triggering such a big change -- the audience is more likely to accept it at that point.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 03:40 pm (UTC)On the flip side, I find myself strangely uneasy about the portrayal of the Doctor as someone decidedly of a different sex, or race, than we've seen before. This is odd, because I was thrilled when we saw a black Vulcan and a black Time Lord. I don't object to alien races resembling the different ethnic stocks on earth, because I would imagine that a similar ecosystem would produce similar body types based on climate and so forth. Assuming regeneration works by re-assembling the basic genetic matter in a new combination, it seems unlikely that we'd get such a drastic change -- though of course I also realize that silly ideas don't get less silly because you've got Science Words in.
At very least, I feel it would have to be explained somehow in-story. Otherwise it'd smack of stunt casting.