LOL! I’d watch that version of Doctor Who.
I keep replaying that because “tinker, tailor, soldier, cunt” cracks me up every time I hear it.
Not everybody is happy with the choice it seems…
http://imgur.com/1LKrsRS
Reemul
1964
Yep some real tear jerkers there, made me want to throw up. Bunch of big babies. He is old, hes ugly, he has a funny voice. Lol
I wouldn’t give the Cybermen five minutes against Malcolm.
Life has been nuts for me since April, so I hadn’t watched anything past The Bells of St. John. However, almost hearing the name of Smith’s successor on NPR yesterday (before I snapped the radio off) gave me my motivation.
Briefly, I didn’t hate the second half of the season, but it definitely hinged a lot on Smith’s charm and energy rather than the strength of the writing. Even as a major fanboy, the constant references to past continuity in place of strong plot and storytelling began to wear thin. Ironically, though, I was disappointed in Gaiman’s episode largely because I thought he would finally explain what happened to this universe’s Cybermen (the new design is at least skewing towards the classic look). Here’s also hoping that they give Clara more to do than stand around and act perky (similar to a large portion of Amy’s run being standing around and acting jerky).
As for Capaldi, I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before when he was first revealed on the unveiling show, but I knew instantly that I liked the look of him: Older, angular, a bit, dare I say, alien in appearance. You should never judge a book by its cover (Matt Smith being the primary example), but I have high hopes for a new direction for The Doctor.
“That’s it, I’m done! I’m done.”
FUCKITY-BYE
It’s funny, but that video reminds me that for newer / younger Who fans, Tennant & Smith have largely defined who the Doctor “really” is, in much the same way the classic Doctors did for us old fogeys. For me, Tom Baker is the one “true” Doctor, because he’s the one I grew up with. My local PBS station showed Who episodes on weekends back in the mid-to-late 80s; and serendipitously, it was the Fourth Doctor I saw most frequently. So he is the one against which all other Doctors must be measured. The first time I saw the Fifth, I was shocked by how much younger he was than Fourth. I presume the new generation is having much the same reaction to Capaldi…
I’m in the “wait and see” camp with Capaldi. I have nothing against an older Doctor, being a fan from the Tom Baker days myself, and having enjoyed many of the earlier episodes on PBS way back when. I also have not seen much of Capaldi’s work, but I understand he’s an excellent actor and will likely make a fine Doctor.
That said, unbongwah makes a strong point. Much of the explosion of popularity with Doctor Who in the past few years has been a direct result of the way first David Tennant and then Matt Smith played the role. We’ve had a half decade joyride of a Doctor who is borderline ADHD and bubbling over with joyful enthusiasm most of the time and showing a bit of a diabolical genius dark side when crossed. The whole thing has been “nudge nudge wink wink you’re all in on all the inside jokes and aren’t we having a grand adventure together” while various companions are smitten with his mysterious, mischevious and quirky demeanor. This has all led to a large influx of young viewers, especially young female viewers, that has made the show more popular than ever. Moving to an older, more serious and frankly less attractive (to younger viewers at least) Doctor is going to mess with the viewer demographics, perhaps more than anyone involved in the decision is expecting. It will be interesting to see what happens.
LeeArac
1970
Peter Capaldi is waaaay sexier than Matt Smith. That is all.
(Tho no one on Earth is sexier than David Tennant, ahem.)
Pretty happy that they didn’t just cast another foppy haired boy. That fan trailer above is awesome.
I have liked very little over about the show over the past few years, but Matt Smith was a good doctor - shame he was let down by the writing and overall goofiness the show has embraced. I’d love to see it snap back into something more sensible and coherent, like it did a few times during the classic WHO era after getting very comedic. It’d be nice to actually have a story that didn’t get resolved by some power of love deus ex machina, and for the show to be more than a few wacky characters fawning over each other, with at least some dramatic tension and more intelligent sci-fi stories. Hopefully Capaldi motivates Moffatt to change direction and get back to the type of stories he wrote so effectively for Eccleston and Tennant when he wasn’t the showrunner - at least it should end the romantic companion trend.
I love the complaints of, “How am I supposed to fall in love with this new Doctor?!?” Sweetie, he’s here to save the world, not to be eye-candy for your Saturday night. It seems like some people only like shows because of the possibilities for romantic fantasies or fan fiction. I agree that maybe Capaldi will add an air of…something different to the role. Seriousness? Gravity? Whatever it is, he seems closer to Eccleston than Tennant.
I wonder what she thought of Bill Hartnell :).
UGH WHY DO THEY PUT PEOPLE ON TV THAT I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP WITH?!?!?!
Which only proves that RTD knew what he was doing when introducing those elements with the reboot. As much as it was considered sacrilege by some to show an overtly romantic side to The Doctor, it really did help build the fan base for the show. As much as that target audience may be upset over the new casting, I bet many of them continue watching because they’re already invested.
Of course, what they don’t know is that one of the best things about the show is its ability to change with each regeneration. As I’ve said before, there was almost no difference in the writing (not the performing) of Eccleston and Tennant’s Doctors, and the difference between Tennant and Smith has been mostly subtle. This has the potential to be the first big shake-up of the new age.
I read somewhere that Capaldi is actually older than Hartnell was when he took the role.
I’m really happy with Capaldi and while I would personally love a show that was more serious and mature, and while its easy to mock the reactions of all of those young girls, (I want BBC to update their earlier announcement to clarify that it will actually be Capaldi’s wrinkled old ball sack as the next Doctor, just to see their horror), they kind of sort of have a point. The whole idea of the re-launch was to take a show that had become old and crusty and make it relevant for a new generation. It was also specifically designed as a show that parents could sit down and watch with their teen-aged children, which is exactly how I was introduced to the show and how I enjoy it most. And, while I think it was really meant to appeal to teen-aged boys, specifically, I think the result of Tennant followed by Smith has been an unexpected expansion of the audience to teenage girls, and that’s not a bad thing. (I personally know of three tween girls who enjoy the show, including my step-daughter.)
That having been said, I trust the Moffat and Capaldi enough that I suspect they will win those girls over, given the chance.
I watched the first season of The Thick of It last night and am now even more excited about Capaldi as the Doctor.
Yeah, me too, but honestly, we all know there’s no way he’s going to be any thing like Tucker. It’ll certainly be different from the last couple, but there’s no way they’re going down that road.
Oh I know his Doctor won’t be like Tucker, I’m just talking about the quality of the acting.
Good points all. I understand wanting to appeal to a younger generation, but I was a little annoyed by the “How am I supposed to fall in love with this old guy??” reaction. I hope they can maintain that youth appeal through the writing and the characters, even if the actor himself is on the >gasp< over-fifty side. I’d like to think that a lot of the appeal is the Doctor’s ageless charm and curiosity, and he also has that perpetually-angry side waiting to come out. I really hope people fell in love with the character, not David Tennant’s mop-top and dreamy brown eyes that you can get lost in, where it seems like you’re the only person in the world and he’s looking right into your soul, your very soul, and you don’t ever want to look away…
…Wait, what was I talking about again?
