My Thoughts on the 'New' Doctor
So, I don't think that I can forgo mentioning the biggest geek news of the year... meaning that we now have a 12th Doctor (or is he the 13th? I guess we'll have to wait for the 50th Anniversary special to see if they are renumbering the Doctors with the introduction of John Hurt). While there was tons of hoopla, aka, worldwide simulcast broadcast, I actually decided to just wait till after the announcement and watch the web go ape shit crazy. That, and I don't think my nerves could have taken the countdown, I'll probably watch it later, so the suspense is less suspenseful. As I was talking with one of my friends yesterday, we were commenting on how cool it would be if we just learned who the new Doctor was say, at the end of this years Christmas special at the time of the regeneration. But sadly, we live in an age of spoilers and telephoto lenses, and well, as the bookies showed, news had gotten out that Peter Capaldi was the odds on favorite with 5 to 6 odds, meaning that, yes, he had been seen and they had to make the announcement on some random Sunday in August... well, I guess less random to use stateside because it is the bank holiday weekend... but still, it didn't have the holiday hoopla that Smith's announcement had.
Now to my impressions... so, they actually chose a "someone"! This is a little surprising to me. And not just a someone, but a someone familiar to Doctor Who, in that he had a role in the abysmally laden in Latin jokes Donna episode 'The Fires of Pompeii' as well as a staring turn in Torchwood: Children of Earth... so in other words, upon looking in the mirror for the first time, if he doesn't say "hang on a minute, this face looks familiar" I will be greatly disappointed. As to my opinions of Peter Capaldi... well... here are the ways in which I will accept Peter Capaldi as The Doctor. He HAS to use his
Scottish accent. There's no getting around this fact. He is Scottish, and I don't want him doing a David Tennant and using an English accent. His Scottish accent is a must. Secondly, the evil goaty beard and moustache he's been
seen sporting lately, keep it. Makes him look more like The Doctor in my mind, though I have a feeling that I won't get my wish if you look at the first official photo above. Finally, he must publicly apologize for breaking
Geraldine's heart on Vicar of Dibley (the one sad note in perhaps the
best episode of tv of all time). Yes, I know it's a tv show, but he hurt Geraldine and yes, I know she ended up with Richard Armitage and all was well in the end, but still, would an apology be too much to ask? I liked
him in The Hour so I'll give him a chance... but take note on the Scottish accent, he used it in The Hour, so I reiterate a must.
As to all the disappointed people... the people saying, oh, he's not a she, or a minority, or young... well, actually, the older actor gives me faith that they will realize that kids aren't the main fan base for the show and are going to placate us older fans. The fact that he's a he... while making The Doctor a woman might have been cool, it might have looked too much like stunt casting and gimmicky. Also as to the, it's not Benedict Cumberbatch argument.. well, he would have never done it, and well, Peter Capaldi originated the role of Islington in Neverwhere, which is a role Benedict just took on in the new radio production... so it's like we're getting the older Benedict, if that makes sense. In the end though, I'll have to wait and see. I thought Tennant would be awful, I was wrong. I really really really hated the idea of Matt Smith and he's turned out to be, possibly, my favorite Doctor. Also a lot will depend on the rest of the cast, who his companion will be, what the dynamic between them is, because if there's one thing I can state, it's that anything is better then the limpid chemistry of Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman. How did that go so wrong?
Psst... come back in October for even more Doctor Who...
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