SPOILERS based on things already revealed in major news articles are discussed within.
Tonight’s Christmas episode of Doctor Who “Twice Upon A Time,” which just finished on BBC One in the U.K. and will be airing tonight on BBC America in the United States, is the swan song for Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. (Technically, he’s a number higher than that, if we could the War Doctor, but let’s just go with that.) Capaldi was a bold casting choice for the series, as he was the first older Doctor the show has had since the series’ original run which ended in 1989.
I can still remember the American Idol-like special that introduced and announced Capaldi’s Doctor to the world; of all the names thrown about for the role, he was the one I was hoping for. I’m pretty sure I even thought to myself that he’d make a great Doctor when seeing him on Torchwood; I had become resigned to the fact, though, that the series would keep giving us Doctors who were “young and hot” so they could pander to the shipper-type viewers, something the original Doctor Who didn’t worry about. Instead of getting “young and hot,” we got older and… hot in his own way?
Like the First Doctor, Capaldi’s Doctor could get grumpy in a way that some like Colin Baker probably wish they could have been able to do. He was a thinker. He cared. A lot. And despite his getting up there in age as a character, he found a way to still be cool, even without the bowties of his predecessor. This was definitely the same man that has been on screen for nearly 55 years, honoring the past while still giving it his own spin.
I admit there were times I fell off from watching Doctor Who in recent years. It wasn’t so much disinterest as it was time limitations; but also, how much can you do with the same stories being told year after year? That’s one reason I am very excited to see where the show goes next, with their most daring choice of Doctor yet. I just wish Bill Potts was around to see her. I will say, though, even if I did fall away, it was never the fault of Peter Capaldi, who always managed to give a brilliant performance.
Those who are worried that a female Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) will “ruin” the show: DON’T. Recall that Michelle Gomez (“Missy”) gave the best performance as an incarnation of the Master that anyone has given since Anthony Ainley. As long as their hearts are the same, the memories, the soul… it’s still the Doctor. Just in a new shell. Doctor Who is going to get a lot of publicity and new eyes watching because of this change, and that ensures the show will continue for many years.
The Doctors we all loved still exist, just as Peter Capaldi’s Doctor will always exist. All of them manage to come back in one way or another, unless it’s Christopher Eccleston we’re talking about, but we should even give him a few years. Maybe it’ll be time to catch those Capaldi episodes that I missed, while I wait to see what this new Doctor will bring. In the end, though, I’m grateful and send my thanks and appreciation to Mr. Capaldi for several years of a job well done.
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