So yesterday as the clock ticked away I counted down to 2:00 to watch the big reveal of the new Doctor Who. I felt like a patient waiting for test results. I was legitimately nervous. As I waited while BBC America experienced some technical difficulties that made me want to throw my TV out a window, I held onto a pillow and repeatedly told my mom how much I was going to miss Matt Smith. My mom did not care. I was so worked up in fact that I needed a day to process before blogging about the big news.
Here is the thing though. As I waited in heart pounding anticipation my rational mind told me "It will be fine." I believe in the Doctor. When Matt Smith came on I thought, "No way. No way is this young, kind of doofy looking guy the Doctor. Not my Doctor! You can't replace David!" But you know what? He has been an incredible Doctor. I will miss him with everything inside of me, I have come to love him just as much as David Tennant, and being nearly the same age as Smith has made me really appreciate his performance and ability to stuff 900+ years on a 20 something year old face.
So when the internet guessed correctly and Peter Capaldi walked out on stage as the 12th Doctor, I was extremely please. Just looking at Capaldi, I could see the Doctor. No, he won't be the lithe jello-like, constantly moving, extremely physical Doctor that Matt Smith has been. I see Capaldi being a more cerebral Doctor, and that is in part to do with his age, which seems to be the biggest complaint I have read about his casting. But here's the thing, he is not the first "older Doctor." The first Doctor was the exact same age as Capaldi when the show started (though he looked much older due to illness). Jon Pertwee, one of the most popular Doctors was also in his 50s when he took on the role and he karate chopped his way through foes! Patrick Troughton was in his late forties when he sported his bowl cut and hopped on the TARDIS.
What I am most interested in is seeing Capaldi's relationship with Clara. Let's be honest, Clara was never really the 11th Doctor's companion, she was the 11th Doctor's challenge. Amy and Rory were the 11th Doctor's companions. Clara will really be taking on her companion role with the newest regeneration and I think she will be known more for being the 12th Doctor's companion. I always felt that her relationship with Smith was oddly awkward and somewhat strained, due in part to the fact that the Doctor was more curious about who or what Clara was. Now that he knows the truth about this girl who saved his lives, he will be able to settle into a relationship with her closer to that of other Doctor/Companion relationships. It will be interesting to see how her character shapes to fit in with Capaldi's Doctor.
No matter what anybody says, I think Capaldi is an excellent fit and I look forward to saying hello to a new regeneration as I tearfully say goodbye to an old one. On a side note, I ran into an old companion this weekend and had a minor mental meltdown on the streets of Manhattan, the city that killed him off the show. That's right folks, I saw Rory aka Arthur Darvill coming out of his performance in Once as I walked out of seeing Kinky Boots. Needless to say I had I geeked out hard and may have pushed a girl out of the way to take a picture.
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