The wait is over! After all the speculation and anticipation following Matt Smith’s announcement that he would be leaving Doctor Who after this year’s Christmas special, the new Doctor has finally been unveiled, and it is….
PETER CAPALDI!
He’s an interesting choice for the role, as since the series’ return to our screens in 2005 the eponymous timelord has been portrayed by increasingly younger actors. In fact, at 55, he’s the same age that first Doctor William Hartnell was when he took on the role back in 1963, and Calpaldi’s appointment might perhaps mark a return to the Doctor being more of a fatherly authority figure, rather than the borderline sex symbol that David Tennant in particular made him. So how do we feel about Capaldi’s casting?
Peter Capaldi is a terrific actor, and while he’s perhaps best known as foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC’s acclaimed political comedy The Thick of It, he’s taken on a wide variety of roles in the past, spanning both film and TV. He’s not without sci-fi experience, too; he appeared as the Angel Islington in the 1996 Neil Gaiman-penned TV miniseries Neverwhere, and starred as Angus Flint in the 1988 Ken Russell film The Lair of the White Worm. This is in addition to his previous Whoniverse guest roles in Torchwood: Children of Earth and the Doctor Who episode Fires of Pompeii. Viewers who only know him from The Thick of It and its film spin-off In the Loop might be skeptical about his acting range, but a look at his wider oeuvre shows that Capaldi can do funny, sad, angry, crazy and strange with ease, all the traits he’ll need to exhibit as the 12th Doctor. That said, it remains to be seen exactly what sort of Doctor number 12 will prove to be, and it’ll be fascinating to see what Moffat and Capaldi come up with over the coming months. Will he have Hartnell’s sternness, Tom Baker’s weirdness, McCoy’s manipulative streak, Tennant’s exuberance or some combination of them all? Might he even bring something completely new to the Doctor, 50 years since the character first appeared on TV screens? Only time will tell, but with an actor of Capaldi’s calibre, the Doctor’s future is in good hands.
The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special will air on 23rd November on BBC1. Peter Capaldi’s first appearance in the role will be during the 2013 Christmas special.
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