Initial Thoughts on Peter Capaldi



I was meaning to write this review a long time ago, before I left for South Africa. Seeing as now that attempt is dead and gone by now, I thought maybe I wouldn’t do the post explaining my initial thoughts on Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor.

However, I was having a little bit of Doctor Who withdrawals and I thought I’d splurge a little bit and buy the 8th season premiere. I remember it being a good enough episode and I needed some new Doctor Who. Upon re-watching it, I remembered the reasons why I wanted to do a semi review but more of an initial thoughts on Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.

I remember when I first watched it, it was a breath of fresh air. I had been holding myself over with lesser shows like Once Upon a Time to wait for the new episode. To me the show, even on its 8th season just continues to get better and better. The dialogue is witty, its creative, the effects were good. Back then my review of the show was really good.

Watching it a couple times since, I may have over sensationalized the episode. I felt it had a little bit too much focus on Mistress Vastra and Strax and those guys. I heard rumors a while back that there might be a chance of a spin off with those three. I really hope not.

But despite a couple things I may have overlooked the first time, the episode is still good. It does look like Steven Moffat and them are trying to reinvent the show, keep it fresh, while still keeping that same charm as it were that the show has.

But I want to write more on Peter Capaldi taking up the mantle of The Doctor. I also want to talk a little bit about Clara and a couple things from the episode that I thought were clever, but the majority of it will be my thoughts on Peter Capaldi.
           
If there’s one word that’s been repeated over and over with Peter Capaldi, its that he’s dark. He’s not the cuddly Matt Smith or the charmingly quirky David Tenant, he’s dark. And I don’t think I really understood that until I saw the season premiere. Its not the first time the Doctor has killed someone, its not the first time the Doctor has been serious or been threatening to the bad guys. But it’s the first time that the Doctor has been scary.

 Christopher Eccelston had his moment in Dalek where he had such disdain for the Daleks that he just wanted to destroy them. David Tenant had his moments where you knew he would stop at nothing to save his friends. Matt Smith… well Matt Smith just seemed in control, not scary, in control. Capaldi is just uncomfortably scary sometimes. Put aside the fact that he more than likely killed the robot at the end of the episode, put aside the fact that TARDIS looks a lot darker and mysterious than it did before, lets just look at the part where Peter Capaldi is talking to the drunk/homeless guy in the alley. He’s just going through an internal conversation outwardly, its not anything we haven’t seen in a Doctor Who episode before, the Doctor vocally calculating things. But the difference comes in his tone and his actions. He’s scary, he’s intimidating.

But oddly enough, he’s feeble. Maybe feeble isn’t the totally right word but vulnerable is definitely a right word. So many times, Capaldi spends the episode looking and sounding like an insane homeless man, saying things that don’t quite make sense. Now a lot of it has to do with the regeneration process. I’m sure the Doctor won’t always have the confused old man vibe about him that he held in this episode. But a lot of the just down right strangeness of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor I believe will stay. There’s a great scene where he’s pointing out that the main Droid has replaced his parts so many
times that there’s nothing of the original left. He’s replaced his faces that he can’t even remember where he got the one he has on now. And then he lifts up a plate to provide a mirror for the robot. But you also see the Doctor looking at his reflection. Once again, it’s Moffat talking directly to the audience. He’s saying that Capaldi is so different and brings something totally new to Doctor Who.

I think the scene that gave me the word feeble earlier was the end. The Doctor has spent the entire episode basically being a little of an asshole, calling humans pudding brains, scarring the shit out of an old man, leaving Clara (which I will get to), possibly killing a robot, and then there’s just this weakness in Capaldi’s eyes. He actually does look scared, unsure, and vulnerable in front of Clara.

To me this Doctor reminds me of a scary Scottish version of Doctor Emmit Brown from Back to the Future. 

He's just out there and obscure that its sometimes hard to follow where his train of thought is because
he's so brilliant. But again, it would be like if Doc Brown had more dark moments, was a little more brilliant and was Scottish. I don't think him and Peter Capaldi's Doctor would be that different.

But now I want to talk about Clara.

Personally, I think Clara has gotten a little bit of a bad rep. She came in after Amy Pond. How the hell do you replace Amy Pond?

Jenna Coleman is stunningly gorgeous. She has this simplicity and girl like features that make her like Alice in Wonderland that just exacerbates the Doctor's topsy turviness, even when it was Matt Smith.

But the first episode puts her in such a weird place. Sure there was chemistry between her and Matt Smith but I always felt like it was misplaced or put aside just because their time together was so short. And then suddenly in this episode, Matt Smith is her boyfriend? It was just confusing. And its not surprising that she's confused and a little upset when he regenerates. But they're trying to establish Clara as Peter Capaldi's companion, or perhaps they're trying to establish Capaldi as Clara's Doctor, doesn't matter. He's just an asshole to her. There's the whole calling her an ego maniac and actually making her a character which I love but it just seemed random. And then the Doctor says something like its moments like this where I miss Amy.

The Hell Moffat?!?!?

We know Amy Pond went two and a half seasons! We know you have a steaming chubby for Karen Gillan! But fucking A man! Let Amy go!

I've done my review on The Time Of The Doctor. I've had my rant on how I felt Clara was just pushed aside to say goodbye... again to Amy Pond.

Its time to accept Clara as the companion now! The reason some fans can't accept her is because you haven't accepted her yet!

Get your shit together Moffat!

The thing I will say about this episode is that there was at least a little bit of an attempt to give some closure between Matt Smith's Doctor and Clara.

While I would say it was a little weird to have him come in again and not just let Peter Capaldi "saunter off" as it were with the role, it was a good good bye that I didn't feel Matt Smith actually gave to Clara in The Time of the Doctor.

But going back to the point at hand.

The reason I've talked about Clara so much is because I see a potential for more development for the Doctor then I've seen in a long time and its mainly because I think there's more of a romantic chemistry between Peter Capaldi's Doctor and Clara Oswald than any companion has ever had with the Doctor before.

Call it weird if you like, but think about it. Clara and 11 had such a strange relationship because they looked as though they could be a couple. As they say in the premiere, he was basically her boyfriend. Furthermore, Peter Capaldi says something just heartbreaking at the end. He says, "Clara I'm not your boyfriend." Clara responds, "I never thought you were." The Doctor says, "I didn't say it was your mistake."

That is heart wrenching. Obviously the Doctor had some kind of feelings for her and now he knows that not only is he an old man with a face he doesn't like and eye brows that are so cross they could form their own independent state of being cross, he know nows that Clara never saw him like that in the first place. The Doctor is basically friend zoned in this episode. I think that is a brilliant underlying story arc.

As much as he gives her shit, calls her an ego maniac, insults her, he needs her more than she needs him. In the second episode (sorry I couldn't resist) he says, Clara you're my assistant, she replies, I'm not your assistant, you're one of my hobbies.

Its a little sad because I feel like this relationship is just going to get better and better, and its going to make the Doctor a better and better character and then... Jenna Coleman is leaving Doctor Who at the end of the series?

Now as far as I've heard, I think this is still a rumor. I really really hope its not true. I have a feeling that Clara is going to hit her stride in this season and its only going to get better and better. Give her at least another half season before you ax her off. There's already enough change going on with the Doctor, why cut this development short?

I swear to god Moffat, you are testing my patience lately!

So overall, I really do like Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. I really like the direction the show is taking and I'm hoping it just gets better and better. I think the fact that he's older, he's a little coarse, and there's an edge to the show that I think its needed for a while, Doctor Who is no doubt going to continue to be awesome.

I'm hoping I can do a more complete analysis of the character in the future but those are my thoughts on the Doctor as of right now. I want to know your thoughts though? Its going to be a while before I get caught up but I can promise you I will go as fast as possible. Don't give anything away. But what are you initial thoughts? Comment and discuss below.

I'll leave you with this. Cracked finally did a video on Doctor Who. While I don't agree with... a lot of it, I think it does have some funny points and brings the argument that maybe its time to retire Doctor Who... like that will ever happen. Enjoy!