New New New New New New New New New New New Doctor!

[andraste]

Peter Capaldi! Who seems like an excellent choice. (Although I guess this means a recast for Cardinal Richelieu in The Musketeers? Hard to imagine him doing both.)

I mean, twelve white blokes in a row is disappointing, but it's nice to see that we're going from the youngest Doctor ever to someone who's as old as William Hartnell. Any shift away from 'skinny brunette bloke with experimental hairdo' is a relief at this stage. (I adore both Ten and Eleven, but the show needs someone easily distinguishable from both at first glance or it risks getting in a rut.)

Also, I am slightly weirded out that we will now have two Doctors with the same first name. That had started to feel like a rule. (I know we had two Bakers, but still.)

Comments

[selenak]

You know, I totally understand people who are disappointed on the "another white male" front, but they who complain on account of Peter Capaldi's teeth (I kid you not) or because he's not young or deny his acting power awesomeness are just plain wrong on the internet. Also sadly the casting announcement seems to have led to a resurrection of Children of Earth hate, which, bah.

But seriously. Even deniers of Children of Earth greatness should be able to see that Peter Capaldi did scene after scene of essentially one man speaking to a big glass tank and made those tense and suspenseful and riveting? That he took a character who is that most disliked thing, a bureaucrat sanctioning horrors, and made one care?

[andraste]

There are three groups of people who are grating on my nerves at the moment.

1) The ones who are actively smug about Capaldi being another white man. The 'casting a woman or a POC would be POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD!' brigade live to fight another day, unfortunately. I guess we'll have to sit through all that again when it eventually comes time to look fort Thirteen. (So not for a while, I hope.)

2) The 'OMG he's old and ugly!' fangirls. Unsurprisingly they're mostly young and mostly on Tumblr. On one level they're sort of hilarious, because this displays such staggering disregard for the history of the part. Have they never even seen pictures of, for example, Jon Pertwee? (Three is lovely, but young and hot he isn't.)

3) The 'all Peter Capaldi can play is Scots who say 'fuck' all the time' contingent. Because ... really? Even if you've never seen Torchwood or Local Hero or Neverwhere or, well, a large proportion of Capaldi's filmography, surely The Fires of Pompeii alone proves that this isn't so? There seems to be a lot of overlap with people who hated the first few episodes of Torchwood so much they refuse to watch Children of Earth. Grrrr.

Hating on Children of Earth is one of my hot buttons in this fandom - every time someone starts in on a rant about it, I have to take my hands off the keyboard to stop myself ranting back. And I think Capaldi gave the best performance among a series of great performances - it's an incredibly difficult part, and he makes Frobisher so human and three-dimensional.

[evilfuzzydoom]

But... he's like a wrinkly Ten. I see no problem here?

Also, putting a pin here on sneaking suspicion that he might be the best Doctor of New Who.

I'm optimistic today for some reason.

[andraste]

But... he's like a wrinkly Ten. I see no problem here?

It is a mystery. Or more proof that many people on tumblr are thirteen and have no taste.

Also, putting a pin here on sneaking suspicion that he might be the best Doctor of New Who.

I adore both Ten and Eleven and still think this is entirely possible. As great as they are, Capaldi has had decades more practice at acting.