We're going to cover a few Who-things now, so keep up.
First up, Mr. Capaldi. I personally like the choice. He seems like he's got some great range and I'm excited to see the Doctor not be a young guy for the first time since the 2005 relaunch. I also think it'll push Moffat into some better writing because he won't be able to hit a block and then say, "Okay Matt, jump around and act crazy to kill some time." Not a knock to either one (I adore Eleven), but it seemed the longer Smith was around, the more Moffat used his energy as a crutch to take up run-time. Additionally, one of the strongest parts of the Tennant-Tate year was the fact that there was zero romantic tension, something that New-Who has leaned on a bit too much. In fairness, Eleven and Clara have largely avoided that, but I think we can be sure that 55-yr old Capaldi and 27-yr old Coleman won't be pulling the TARDIS over to do any smooching.
But it's not a woman/minority! I know, that's really the news here. Another white guy. Personally, I wasn't in favor of a woman, just because I'm a guy, and I like identifying with the Doctor as a guy. I know that's unfair and there's plenty of female Whovians who would love the opportunity to identify with a female Doctor, and their opinions are no less valid. But that's how it worked out this time (and all the other times I guess. Maybe some day). That said, there were two or three black actors I was really in favor of, which in-and-of-itself is a sentence I hate. I really would just rather say, there were other actors I was in favor of, but the nature of the thing is that everyone was really hung up on what the race was going to be. So there it is. There was also a Tom Hiddleston that I was really in favor of, but we can't all get what we want, can we?
If you're curious, my ideal Doctors were as follows
- Tom Hiddleston
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Benedict Cumberbatch (Total pipe-dream, I'm aware. Doesn't make the idea any less awesome.)
- Idris Elba (Who rumor has it, may have actually turned down the role.)
Finally, the numbering. We did a lot of talking about the Twelfth Doctor. In fact the BBC promoted it that way, with their groan-worthy "Clock striking Twelve" campaign. All of the rumors about John Hurt's Doctor however, and even the dialog in his initial appearance (with Eleven recognizing him), suggest that he is a past Incarnation of the Doctor. Most rumors point to him being the new Nine. Eight is the only Doctor we never see regenerate into his next incarnation, so that's really the only place he could be wedged in. Likewise, we never see the beginning of Eccleston's Doctor. So Hurt would be the new nine, Eccleston the new Ten, Tennant the new Eleven, Smith - Twelve, and Capaldi - 13. Alternatively, He could be the 1st Doctor, before he began calling himself 'The Doctor'. Either way, renumbering is required, unless they don't go in either of those directions. Which would put us right up against the old 12 regenerations rule. Obviously they aren't going to end the show after 13 Doctors (whether Capaldi is truly the 12th or slides to 13 after the 50th), but the canon is against them. They can either choose to ignore it and continue on (which would upset a lot of fans), simply change the rule (which would upset a lot of fans), or have the Doctor acquire some more regenerations (which would upset a lot of fans). Your move, BBC.
Some Notes: 1. For those who don't know, the old rule is that Time Lords have 12 regenerations each, so 13 Incarnations. There's been a few story lines about The Master using up all of his and getting some more, so there is precedent for extending that. 2. I understand wanting to announce Capaldi officially before the secret got out, but now I have to wait until November for anything Who-related and that's just cruel. 3. I would love if Capaldi sported this killer facial hair on Doctor Who.