It's way too soon to tell, but do you think this doctor will be successful? My thoughts - The doctor has been male for decades and this is engrained on people and the whole show geared around that.. from grumpy old men, young hipsters or father figures. The stories - sci fi, aliens and monsters naturally appeals to boys more than girls. With a female Doctor i feel, they need to either cater to boys or girls, not both as i don't think the writers know what that means - hence the comment that this series will be more educational than sci fi - an obvious attempt to please both.
What i would have done, get Matt Smith come back for a series of adventures (either a christmas special or event series during Capaldi's stint) we were never told.. the one where his companion, was indeed himself or herself... have jodie and matt share the reigns and have great chemistry where they enjoy picking each others brains, out smarting each other and just having a blast... then, you have it established that a future incarnation is indeed female, no big deal at all... when Capaldi left, then you kick off with Jodie.
But here's the thing, if it caters to boys, as it always has done, you won't gain the extra girl viewers they are worried about and vice versa so instead just focus on Jodie being a strong character, with a good supporting cast and don't always have damsels in distress etc as then, the lesson taught is that women are equal to men and just as cool (not that it needed, the majority of us all know this).
changing the gender shouldn't be changing the formula.
