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0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8cd30001A blog featuring the work and work life of NHPR's interns and fellows.

Top 5 Characters That Got "Gender Swapped"

Battlestar Wiki

After we explored the possibility of the next Doctor Who becoming a woman, we got to thinking about all the other characters we’ve come to love over the years that were supposed to be - or originally were - the opposite sex.

We’ve compiled a list of the Top 5 Gender Swapped Characters.

5. Watson on Elementary: Much controversy surrounded the decision to cast Watson as a female in the CBS interpretation of famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Concerns ranged from whether the main relationship in the show would be able to remain platonic to whether a woman had the ability to play the toughened doctor. Lucy Liu’s Watson may look different than any other interpretation of the character we’ve seen, but she seems to manage Sherlock just as well as any of the other Watsons throughout history. Viewers seem to agree – Elementary was the No. 1 new series amongst total viewers in fall of 2012.

4. Dory in Finding Nemo: In original drafts of Finding Nemo Dory was originally a male character. The idea of changing the voice actor to Ellen DeGeneres – whose voicing of the character has become so iconic that it is hard to imagine the character any other way – came from pure chance. Director Andrew Stanton decided DeGeneres was the perfect voice after overhearing the Ellen DeGeneres show at home while working on a draft of the script.

3. Mr. Spock on Star Trek: The role of second in command on the Enterprise was originally written as a cold, logic obsessed woman. Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, got bumped up to role of First Officer when studios became concerned over a female second lead character and the original actress’ connections to Gene Roddenberry (she was destined to become his second wife soon after she lost the role). We now know that actress better as Majel Barrett, or Nurse Chapel, who can also be found on the USS Enterprise.

2. “M” in James Bond: For the seven most recent Bond films, the no-nonsense Head of Secret Intelligence Service has been played by Dame Judi Dench. Her portrayal of “M” has spanned over 18 years and two bond actors and has helped to redefine the character. Though her version of “M” has had her authority questioned noticeably more than her male counter-parts, that probably comes from having been partially based on a real person. The female head of MI5 from 1992-1996, Stella Rimington, served as inspiration for the reboot.

1. Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica: Revised from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series, Lt. Thrace got reimagined as a woman in the 2004 reboot of the series. Though fans of the original series were outraged by the casting of Katee Sackhoff when it was first announced, she has become a perfect example of how well gender bending can go. Her character remained very similar to the original – a hotheaded fighter pilot with a penchant for sex and cigars – proving that being awesome transcends gender.

Leave a comment and let us know who else you would have put on the list.

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