I am going to, surprise, surprise, disagree with you (although I love “gender is simply what the Doctor is wearing this season.”

The Multiverse has been Who canon since Inferno (at least), albeit seldom poked at because with all of time and space to play with, we don’t really need it.

The Sontarans are bastards. They are, however, honorable bastards. Strax, a renegade, hardly counts as “Disneyfying” the entire species. I hold to the fact that they were the wrong species to do that.

Also, you might want to think about the “powers that be” demanding a Black doctor. Think about your phrasing there and how it is coming over.

I also disagree on the age thing, although I do remember having a knee jerk negative reaction to Matt Smith. He grew on me, though.