The Doctor Has a New Face

PHOTO CREDITS: OFFICIAL POSTER

BY MITCHELL WILBUR

As the newest season of Doctor Who comes around, it brings many changes to the show, most notably the role of the Doctor. This season debuts Peter Capaldi as the 12^th incarnation of a different, darker Doctor, compared to last season’s Matt Smith. Capaldi had appeared in Doctor Who before becoming the Doctor. Two years after his appearance, Tennant announced that he was leaving the show and Capaldi was being considered for the role of the Doctor. He auditioned for the role once he knew he was being considered and eventually the role was given to a much younger Smith. In 2013, Smith said that he was leaving the show and the first person considered for the role was Capaldi, so they had him audition once again for the role. For a couple of months he knew that he was going to be the Doctor and kept it to himself until the BBC One special called Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor aired on August 4, 2013.

When Capaldi was announced as the new Doctor there was a lot of speculation pertaining to if he was the right actor and if he even had the right mentality to play such a rigorous role in the series. People who looked at his acting career (which includes major roles in World War Z and The Thick of It) noticed just how much he brought to the table. Capaldi turned out to be a “veteran” actor because of his long acting history that stretches back to 1982. In that time, he has played many different roles thus giving him a wide range of personalities to draw from in order to play any character.

In creating the new Doctor, the series took another route. Instead of having a Doctor with an English accent, they let Capaldi keep his Irish one (which was addressed in a funny moment in the first episode) and they chose him to be a darker, meaner, and more sarcastic character. With a year passed and the news sunken in, the new season started and many people tuned in to see how Capaldi would do portraying the Doctor. I believe that he did an absolutely amazing job in the first episode, “Deep Breath”.

So far, I am really enjoying the Doctor and the new approach on his time travel expeditions. It’s funny and the writing is amazing. For this season, I hope there will be great story-telling and acting but as for next season, I’m not sure because of some unfortunate contract issues. Capaldi is only signed up for 13 episodes (one season) and could possibly sign for other seasons, but it’s not set in stone. There could be the possibility of seeing a new Doctor in the future and Capaldi could be a one season wonder or he could possibly re-sign and continue on his adventures as the Doctor for the time given. Although the roles are very different with the young and energetic Doctor’s like Smith and Tennant, the older, darker, and angrier Irish Capaldi version of the Doctor seems to be intriguing for all those who enjoy the show.