Tag Archives: Peter Capaldi

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Capaldi shines as 12th Doctor, creates dark first impression

Earlier this week, a friend of mine shared on Facebook a link to a cartoon that perfectly sums up what conversations between Doctor Who fans have been like ever since the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor on Saturday night. When it comes to the British sci-fi show, fans are passionate about the cast, the characters, and the writing, and they are not afraid to voice their opinions. Today, I thought I’d share some of my first impressions of the Twelfth Doctor and his premiere episode, “Deep Breath.”

I loved “Deep Breath” when I was watching it for the first time Saturday. Peter Capaldi won me over almost immediately, which is probably the fastest I’ve accepted a new Doctor. From the moment he peeked out of the TARDIS and told Strax to “shush,” I knew I was going to enjoy this Doctor. When I watched it again Monday night at a movie theater, I found I still enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as engaging on repeated viewings as some episodes have been, particularly the recent 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” which I also saw in a theater. However, I still enjoyed the episode overall, especially Capaldi’s performance.

One of the things I really liked about the way this episode was written was how the Doctor’s companion, Clara, was almost a surrogate for the audience member. In so many ways, she voiced all the doubts a fan has ever had about a Doctor’s regeneration throughout the episode: Why was he old? Why couldn’t he just change back? Do we still know who the Doctor is? Clara had to walk the same path from surprise, denial, then loss, to eventual acceptance right along with the fans.

One thing I particularly liked about Clara in this episode was how, even though it appeared as though the Doctor had completely deserted her when she needed him the most, she still held out her hand, confident he would be there. She knew some things about the Doctor would never change.

I have read a lot of negative feedback this week about Clara’s reaction to the Doctor’s regeneration. She knew it was coming, she knows the Doctor has already had many faces — has, in fact, seen all of them prior to the Twelfth Doctor — so why is she so disturbed by this regeneration? I think, for the most part, it comes down to the difference between knowing something and experiencing it. Fans all know the Doctor regenerates, but that doesn’t always make it easier for us to accept a new actor in the role.

Then there was the added complication of this new Doctor being somewhat addled at first. He didn’t seem to know how to fly the TARDIS and evidently managed to get them swallowed by a Tyrannosaurus rex. After spending so much time with a man that always seemed so in control of the situation, a man she could trust to lead her, it must have been extremely disconcerting for Clara to not have any idea what the Doctor was going to do next.

Clara also may not have fully understood just how much the Doctor’s personality can change from one regeneration to another. Her only experiences have been with the War Doctor, Ten, and Eleven. Ten and Eleven have a lot in common, plus the War Doctor always held himself together. So to see the Doctor suddenly so confused and unpredictable really couldn’t have helped Clara with the transition.

As for Capaldi, I thought he was brilliant in the role. He really felt like the Doctor right from the beginning, even if that Doctor was somewhat uncharacteristically confused. I had heard so many rumors about how much darker this Doctor would be — and we’ll get to that in a minute — that I was concerned he would not be a remotely likable person in this incarnation, but as he stood there in the end, begging Clara to just see him, my heart broke for him, and I couldn’t help but love him.

I was also impressed once again by how wonderful an actor Capaldi truly is. I had already known this, of course, but it really stood out Saturday night. Over the past couple months, I have been watching The Musketeers on BBC America, in which Capaldi plays Cardinal Richelieu, who, naturally, is not a likable character. I was afraid this would cloud my perception of him as the Doctor. However, I didn’t think of Richelieu once while I was watching “Deep Breath” — nor did I find myself comparing him with John Frobisher, another rather unlikable character from the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. Capaldi’s acting range and ability drew me in and made me completely forget about any other role I’ve seen him in. (And before anyone asks: no, I haven’t seen him as Malcolm Tucker, but I plan to as soon as I can find a way to view The Thick of It.)

I really enjoyed all the subtle references to previous Doctors, from the allusion to a long scarf to the Doctor mentioning that he sometimes misses Amy when Clara’s legs couldn’t reach the sonic screwdriver. I also liked the reference to the “round things” in the TARDIS — a nice callback not only to an earlier TARDIS, but to a similar comment made in “The Day of the Doctor” last year. There was also a slightly more obvious tie-in between this episode and the Tenth Doctor episode “The Girl in the Fireplace,” as these droids’ ship is the sister ship of the SS Madame de Pompadour featured in that earlier adventure.

Probably my favorite scene of “Deep Breath” was near the end, when Clara receives a phone call from the Eleventh Doctor, placed by him just before he regenerated. The call helps Clara to finally say goodbye and have closure, and I think it did the same for many fans. It was nice to see Matt Smith as the Doctor one last time.

Then, as I mentioned above, the dialogue between the Twelfth Doctor after the phone call and Clara’s final acceptance of him as the Doctor was very well done. My heart broke for this Doctor, who just wanted to be recognized and accepted by Clara. The vulnerability of the Doctor in that scene pretty much cemented my opinion of him: Capaldi is going to be great.

The one concern I have as this season continues is just how dark the Doctor will be. We’ve already had the suggestion that he may have pushed the half-faced man out of the escape pod — and that was a rather ominous look they showed on his face afterward. It is evident that the rumors of this Doctor being darker are true, but the question is just how much darker is he? I’m hoping not too dark, as the Doctor is supposed to be a good person.

The other questions this episode left us with are: who is Missy, and what is this place she referred to as Heaven? I’ve heard many theories about Missy’s identity, ranging from the Master to the Rani to an earlier incarnation of River Song to Romana or even, possibly, a dark Clara who merged with the Great Intelligence after splitting off in the Doctor’s time stream. All these theories seem interesting, and I’m not sure which would be most plausible. I would love if Missy were some character from the Doctor’s past that we have not yet met in the new series; the Master would also be an interesting option.

One thing I do know is that “Heaven” is also the same garden Amy was trapped in when she was quarantined in “The Girl Who Waited.” If this were any other series, I could say that was just a coincidence and a reused set piece, but given that Steven Moffat wrote this episode, I’m having trouble believing that.

Overall, I thought this episode was enjoyable and a great introduction to the new Doctor. I can’t wait to see what the interaction between the Doctor and Clara will be like moving forward, and how the dynamic between them changes. I have a feeling Clara will have to keep a closer eye on this Doctor, as well as watch out for herself more often than she is accustomed to.

What are your thoughts on the Twelfth Doctor?

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As Doctors cycle through, so do fans’ emotions

“Everything’s got to end sometime; otherwise nothing would ever get started.”
“We’re all just stories in the end.”
— The Doctor

In the spring of 2008, I finally took a coworker’s advice and began watching episodes of a British science fiction series some readers may have heard of called Doctor Who. I started from the beginning of the 2005 relaunch, which ended a 16-year drought of regular Doctor Who programming. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and once I started watching the show, I didn’t understand how you could base a show around a single character, let the audience grow attached to that character, then change him just like that, as the show had done eight times already.

It didn’t take long for me to be completely hooked on the adventures of the Ninth Doctor and his companion, Rose. I would come home from work at 11 p.m. or later and not be able to go to sleep until I had watched at least one, most likely two, episodes. Christopher Eccleston was fantastic, and even though I knew he would only be in the first series (as those wacky Brits call “seasons”), I loved his portrayal of the Doctor and didn’t want to see him go. I was in tears by the end of the finale, “The Parting of the Ways.”

I had heard that Eccleston’s successor, David Tennant (whom I hadn’t yet connected to Harry Potter), was even more brilliant, but I didn’t see how that was possible. Tennant won me over by the end of “The Christmas Invasion,” the annual Christmas special (those Brits again) that served as the Tenth Doctor’s premiere. Once series 2 got underway with “New Earth,” I knew he would be my Doctor. It seemed as though he was born to play this role; he made being the Doctor seem so natural and effortless.

During Tennant’s time as the Doctor, we saw many companions come and go; losing Rose and Donna were the hardest for me. I had finally caught up to the American viewings on the Sci-Fi Channel (before its ridiculous name change) and was able to watch the series 4 finale with the rest of the United States (at least, with those who hadn’t downloaded and watched it already).

And then came the confirmation of news I thought I never wanted to hear: Tennant was leaving Doctor Who. First, I was in denial; then, I was heartbroken. He was my Doctor. He couldn’t leave. I couldn’t say goodbye.

I held off watching both parts of “The End of Time” for several weeks because I just wasn’t ready to accept that, by the end, the Tenth Doctor would be gone. And when I finally did watch, the Doctor’s farewell tour was just as difficult as I had imagined. His final words, “I don’t want to go,” echoed what a lot of fans were feeling in that moment.

And then suddenly, in a burst of light, he was gone; replaced by this strange, gangly guy who didn’t look nearly old enough to be the Doctor.

I loved Tennant so much in the role that I thought I would never be able to warm up to Matt Smith, but I’ve learned that there’s this funny thing that happens when you’re a fan of Doctor Who and a Doctor you love regenerates. In the beginning, there’s this feeling of trepidation and concern that the new actor won’t be up to performing the role as well as those who have gone before. You were so enamored with the previous Doctor that you really don’t want to see him go. Then, suddenly, one day you realize the Doctor hasn’t changed at all — at least not really. While his face is different and some aspects of his personality may seem new, he is still, deep down, the same Doctor he always has been. You really do love the new Doctor just as much as the old.

Smith kind of snuck up on me. It took me a little longer to warm to him than it did with Tennant (nearly two years longer), and I don’t even know when it was that I really started to love him. I just remember watching a repeat of Smith’s first Christmas special, “A Christmas Carol,” before his second, “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe,” aired and realizing that he really was an excellent Doctor. Tennant would always be my Doctor, but Smith now held a special place in my heart as well.

Even before I realized how much I loved his Doctor, Smith continually impressed me with how well he was able to capture the age of the Doctor; despite being the youngest actor to play the role, he really made you believe he was the oldest. He brought a lot of energy and charm to the role as well as a lot of depth and emotion. He introduced us to the Girl Who Waited, the Last Centurion, and the Impossible Girl — and let’s not forget Craig and Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All. He fought the Silence, Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, and so many more. He married River Song and saved her parents’ marriage. And he won over millions of fans every step of the way.

And now he’s gone.

Sure, he technically left back at Christmas, when we witnessed the Eleventh Doctor‘s regeneration into the Twelfth Doctor. But it didn’t seem real at that point. It would be months until I actually had to watch the new Doctor, so I could pretend for just a little while longer that Eleven was still having adventures with Clara in the TARDIS. However, when series 8 premieres in just over 48 hours, that delusion will be over, and I really will have to accept that Smith is no longer the Doctor.

The hardest part of being a fan of Doctor Who is knowing you will be saying goodbye to actors you love over and over again. But at the same time, this is also a unique and wonderful aspect of the show. While it’s heartbreaking to think that soon I’ll be watching a completely new Doctor, it’ll be exciting to see what Peter Capaldi brings to the role and in what ways he is different-from-yet-the-same-as the old Doctor.

As much as I hated seeing Smith go, I’m really looking forward to meeting Capaldi’s Doctor. I’m not quite as apprehensive as I was in the past; I think I’ve finally accepted that this is how the show works: a never-ending cycle of meeting new characters, accepting them, and loving them, then having to say goodbye. And it really does work; if any other show tried to completely reinvent itself every few years, it would fall apart, but Doctor Who has sustained the practice for more than 50 years.

On top of meeting a new Doctor as the next chapter opens Saturday, we’ll also be starting the process of saying goodbye to his current companion, Clara, as rumors began circulating earlier this week that the 2014 Christmas special will likely be her last episode. Saying goodbye is always hard, but we get to meet new people and the story continues, it doesn’t have to end just because one person’s time in the TARDIS is over.

I, for one, can’t wait to see how the journey continues Saturday night.