Last night the BBC did something unprecedented. Something that I don’t think it has ever done before – it broadcast one half hour programme out across BBC services around the world with one aim, and one aim only: to reveal the name of the next Doctor, the next actor to play what can arguably be one of the most coveted roles there is to be had.
So let’s not beat around the bush – the newest actor to play the role of the Doctor [the “12th Doctor, which raises all sorts of questions in itself] – is a guy called Peter Capaldi. Now I’ll be honest – I didn’t know who he was yesterday, except that there were a few posts on micro-blogging site Tumblr the previous day suggesting that that was the guy that would take the controls of the TARDIS. It would seem that this actor has a very tight fan base that refers to the actor as “pcap” which is sort of sweet.
So I don’t know the guy, I haven’t seen any of what he has been in previously, excluding “The Fires of Pompeii” Series 4 of Doctor Who with Donna as the companion. I probably wouldn’t have recognised him based on what I saw of him last night though. What I did see of him I like. It doesn’t bother me, as people seem to relish in pointing out, that “pcap” is 25 years older than Matt Smith. Why would it? Regeneration doesn’t specifically say that the new Doctor has to look younger than previous incarnations. It’s simply the trend that happened across the years. I think Peter Capaldi will make an awesome Doctor, from the few minutes of him onscreen last night. I think I thought he would be the right choice as soon as I saw his hands twitch before he was announced.
So that’s the announcement bit out of the way. Yay new Doctor! More questions to be answered about the 50th anniversary [also, if you are not aware, to be broadcast simultaneously around the world courtesy of the BBC].
My problem is with the actual programme itself. I thought that there was a missed opportunity there to really connect with the audience. [I am not a fan of “live” twitter updates on TV]. I know there’s a 50 year history here – so why wasn’t the history of Doctor Who explored more than a few cursory remarks about the longevity of the programme. I feel as though Peter Capaldi should have been introduced sooner, to allow people to connect to the person taking on this history.
Also, I don’t think I have ever read anything about/regarding Moffat before, but the small interview he gave I hated him more than I have his scripts. Undeniably, some of the best episodes of the last couple of series have been the ones written by Neil Gaiman. I am aware that race and gender are issues for some people out in there in the Who-verse [I think it should always be a British Male] but it isn’t an issue for me; Moffats’ one comment that annoyed me more than anything saying something along the lines of it was time for the Queen to be Male.
I actually did tell the TV [to Moffat] to “F Off” at that point – I mean – what a dick. It would be in the shows best interest, I think, to not have Moffat in the reigns of this particular British institution.
That all being said and done, I am looking forwards to this new era in this year of Doctor Who, and I shall leave you with this [quite long] clip of Peter Capaldi from his previous role in “The Thick of It”.
Be warned, there’s a lot of swear words.
Kialtho
[I want him to say “fuckitybye to a Dalek. I really do].
Kialtho Does Blogging 