Today, I have a beautifully crafted guest article from BritishCynicism, a good friend of mine. Check his site – here.
Top 5 reasons to be excited about Peter Capaldi becoming the new doctor
I am a huge doctor who fan. Like literally massive. I’ve been watching it for far too long, and have been caring about its characters for even longer (don’t ask how it works), and so now I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on the whole thing; It’s good points, it’s bad points and its points that we’d rather leave alone in the corner to think about what it’s done (COUGH COUGH Dinosaurs on a spaceship).
Now, I have to admit, I did get pretty damn teary when Matt Smith said his final goodbyes at Christmas, and have been recovering very slowly ever since, but it’s come to the point now where I’m starting to see the positives of this whole situation by looking forward and smiling rather than looking back and hideously weeping and screaming in some sort of weird combination resembling half of the cinema after having to sit through happy feet 2 four times over non-stop. Peter Capaldi has already received some hate since being named as the new doctor, as you would probably expect, but here I am today to tell you that it’s not all that bad, and give you 5 good reasons why Peter Capaldi is a good casting choice as the last of the Time Lords.
- He’s older
Despite how many people see this as a major issue concerning the casting, Capaldi’s age ironically allows him to breath fresh new life into the role, and allows a whole different view on the Doctor to be formed now that we have someone who looks closer to the real age of the Doctor, rather than the baby-faced Smith and less-baby-faced-but-still-more-baby-faced-than-Capaldi Tennant. Having this older figure means that his age is more believable and his ravage from time and space and most of the time central Cardiff can actually be shown rather than just imagined. It takes the focus away from jumping about and running around and puts it more on the emotional portrayal of the Doctor himself and you know, his face, which will be nice to see as its something new for the NuWho generation. Hopefully the ‘Run’ line won’t be changed to ‘pout’ though.
- He’s, you know, a good actor
Peter Capaldi is arguably one of the best TV britsh actors out there, comedy wise anyways, and has received large amounts of praise for his role as Malcolm Tucker in ‘The Thick of It’ and its subsequent film In the Loop, as well as his countless other roles in British TV including Doctor Who and Torchwood. Now, I’m not the best at all this, but I think that means that he’s a pretty good actor, if he’s managed to get this far without appearing in a 1980’s remake or a CGI film about a small boys lifelong dream to become the first pilot with a detachable neck. If this is true, then surely, it’s a good thing that there’s a good actor gracing the audiences of Doctor Who, and we should be embracing this rather than telling him to go ‘do one’ followed up by the customary two fingers at each one of his now broken hearts.
- He’s a big fan of the show
In case you didn’t know by now, Peter Capaldi is actually a huge fan of the show, and has been since he was a child, just like most of the people watching at home, so if anyone wants him to do well in this role, it’s him. He’s been wanting this role since he was a child, and so hopefully, he’ll be doing his best to do it some justice at least, and considering he probably should know the show inside out by now, who’s to say that he can’t? The fact that he’s a fan combined with his good acting skills means that he’ll be able to bring something we haven’t seen for a while to a very old role, and I don’t know about you but I’m excited for it, because I know that the role couldn’t be in much better hands. Except for an actual time lord. That’d be pretty cool. But budget cuts screwed that one I guess.
- No more Doctor-Human romance
Let’s be honest, over the past few years, the doctor has been getting around. Quite a lot. I don’t have a problem with it, god no, especially not with Clara now leading the line, but I feel that now might just be the time for the Doctor to step away from the bedroom department, but his screwdriver back in his trousers and focus on actually saving his people rather than playing tonsil-tennis with some random girl from Croydon who gets captured every episode. Peter Capaldi, being substantially older than Clara, should hopefully step away from all this (without the BBC crossing some serious lines) and so hopefully this will allow both the Doctor and Clara’s characters to develop in different directions rather than just companions with benefits, which, in my humble opinion, will be a nice change from the usual romance we’re used to.
- He’s playing the Doctor
Since Peter Capaldi is playing the part we all love, I think that maybe just a little bit of support would be nice for the new part of the show. The character himself hasn’t changed, just the actor, and so it’s not too much of a massive change, especially considering the calibre of actor. Also, the new actor means that the whole dynamic of the show can change for the better, exploring new avenues of stories, emotions, actors and enemies which weren’t easy to do in Smith’s slightly more lively reign as the Doctor. And that is exciting, no matter how you look it. And I’ll damn well tut at anyone who says otherwise.
Peter Capaldi, I welcome you with open arms, and everyone else should too.
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