Haunting the Web Since 1999
Can’t wait! Even if us Yanks have ruined the phrase “into darkness for the time being, y’all had me at Capaldi. I really hope he and Moffat, et al follow through on the darker Doctor they’ve hinted at. The kids have grown up — no more Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. I’d say it’s time for some proper adult Doctoring, in the manner of old.
Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor has chosen his duds and, as the comparison above by Tom Spilsbury illustrates, he’s gone pretty Pertwee — which is fine by me. As far as my favorite Doctors go, Jon Pertwee is a close second to Tom Baker. Anyway, very crisp, clean lines. I like it.
Also I neglected to post this earlier, but here’s Moffat on where the show is going with Twelve: “The last two Doctors have been brilliant, and have been your ‘good boyfriend’ Doctors. But the Doctor isn’t always like that. There is the sort of Tom Baker, Christopher Eccleston end of the spectrum, where he is mad and dangerous and difficult…We need the kick-up-the-arse Doctor, in a way, to frighten you and make you think, oh, it’s a different show again.” Yes, please.
Also in recent Who news, Steven Moffat offers up another anniversary minisode (tho’ it’s not nearly as cool as McGann’s recent return) and Io9 has ranked every televised Who story from best to worst. (Along the same lines, if you’re a Whovian of any sort, you should definitely be checking out Cryptonaut-in-Exile’s extensive Doctor Who Index.)
And if you disagree with that latter assessment, BBC also offered up An Adventure in Space and Time for the Hartnell-minded and Peter Davison’s very wry The Five-ish Doctors for 5, 6, and 7 fans. All in all, very well-played, and now I’m very much looking forward to Dr. Capaldi. Here’s to the next fifty, Doctor.
Get out the crane, regeneration time again: Who is it this time? After four years in the bowtie, Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith is calling it quits “It’s been an honor to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls.”
I had doubts about his casting at first, but I have to say, Smith really nailed the part these past few years. When the show was not at its best — and, let’s face it, the quality’s been patchier than anticipated thus far in the Moffatt era — it was almost always the writing who let this Doctor down, not the reverse. He’s right up there at the top of my list with Baker and Pertwee.
Of course, this means we’ll see an all-new 12th incarnation at the end of this year’s Christmas special. (Or is it 13th? Only John Hurt knows.) Given that the usual high-profile and/or out-of-the-box choices — Idris Elba, Bill Nighy, David Morrissey, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Helen Mirren — turned out to be wrong last time around (although all of those would be intriguing choices), I’ll start the bidding with…Paul Kaye?
Update: Cryptonaut offers a few other options. Olivia Williams ftw.
Update: Still a mite campy for my tastes, but you can see good, creepy ideas by Moffat — the secret room, the floating eyeball, Prisoner Zero’s disguises — all over the show. And Matt Smith is certifiably great — The guy was born to play the Doctor. I’m definitely looking forward to this season.
Well, given the whole regeneration thing, it had to happen at some point: In the year 2010, I’m now older than the Doctor. As David Tennant bids his US farewell tonight (reports are it’s another badly overstuffed Russell Davies number, but we’ll see), the era of Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith kicks off with this BBC teaser.
Hmmm…Seems alright so far — sort of a cross between Tennant and Peter Davison. In any case, I have faith in new showrunner Stephen Moffatt. Speaking of which, it looks like Alex Kingston is back, and Carey Mulligan may have to take a break from megastardom to help the Doctor with those stone angels again.
Update: The new trailer, frame-by-frame.
