Now that we know who will be playing the next Doctor, what do you think will change? I feel the tone of the show will change the most drastically since the beginning of NuWho. I suspect they will downplay the Doctors whimsical, funny nature quite a lot. He will probably be a much more brooding, no nonsense Doctor. I actually can see him as beeing pretty strict, sullen and sometimes harsh. I bet Clara will have to "work on him" for most of his first season to get him to mellow a bit. Don´t feel this is going to be a "long" incarnation. Two seasons maybe.
I'd be fine with the changes you hypothesized. If for no other reason than it's time for a bit of a change in feel of the doctor. As much as I enjoyed the Tennant and Smith runs (and to a lesser extent Eccleston's). I'd worry that the extremely manic, "nutty professor" schtick might be getting a bit repetitive if it continues with Capaldi's doctor.
At the end of the day people expected Eccleston to be darker and more serious than he actually was, so I still expect some whimsy in Capaldi's Doctor (and would he be the Doctor without it?). I imagine he will be less manic, but until we see how he takes the role who can say.
Lots of bare chested Venusian jiu-jitsu? Imagine nunchucks built out of old sonic screw drivers. And baby oil, lots of baby oil..
Even though it's a big symbol of the show, and even though I love it to death, I actually hope they get rid of the sonic screwdriver. I'm kind of over it.
What's going to change? Malcolm Tucker/Doctor Who mashup videos on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Blf073f2Lc I hope Peter Capaldi being cast is a way for Moffat to change the tone of his current Dr. Who from the fairy-tale/fantasy vibe of the Smith era to something else.
I can only assume we'll be getting a more serious and mature Doctor now. Much as I love all the Doctors it will be a nice change.
Wasn't it around Davison that they got rid of it the first time? Something about it being too much of a crutch. They had no idea. I wouldn't mind it being used a lot less for every single thing imaginable.
The sonic is too merchandizable. It sells. If anything we will see more of its red setting, with a new toy version for sale with red...
So, older guy travelling the universe with young tottie. Hmm, can't see it m'self. Older tottie, maybe.
Yes, JNT got rid of it in The Visititation and it didn't return until the Doctor Who movie. I also want it to disappear but it sells to well as merchandise for the BBC, so alas it's not going anywhere.
Capaldi can play anything, there is no way to know what kind of Doctor he's going to be. That being said, my bet is on an abrasive curmudgeon type, a Gregory House Doctor.
I'd like the sonic cane to return. The thing is, Capaldi is a fan of the show, so he might stay on longer than two series. He'll probably stay for three years, so as long as there's none of this split series nonsense, we can expect a full three series from him. But yeah, I doubt he'll stick around as long as Smith or tenant did. In the end, Tennant stuck around for about 4-5 years, if Capaldi did that, he'd be knocking on 60. Age would be another problem for Capaldi had, Tennant and Smith were youthful, so they probably had more energy to commit to the show, and if 30 year old Matt Smith said he was knackered from the show, god knows how Capaldi will feel. I just hope he doesn't go for the same reason Hartnel did. I also get the feeling Clara will leave at the end of series 8, or at least early to mid series 9. And I doubt she'll be a very good match for Capaldi's doctor.
Maybe they will add an additional companion that´s better suited for Capaldi and phase Clara out by mid season 8?
I think River Song will be much more suited for Capaldi's twelfth doctor than Smith's eleventh doctor. Especially seeing Capaldi's around the same age as River.
The future Doctor that River describes in SiTL/FotD would seemingly fit this older doctor better than Smith's doctor. One other thing that I hope changes is the females companions falling in love with the Doctor. Now maybe he will be more of a paternal type like the first 3 Doctors. They may have also picked an older doctor to better convey the fact that doctor is getting close to the end of his life, if they adhere to the 13 incarnation lifecycle. I would like to think that is the Doctor is starting to run out of regeneration energy that he can not regenerate as youthful as he has the past 2 doctors.
Unless she gets a new character arc, I don´t see Clara staying for that much longer for some reason. She actually might switch roles with River, River becoming a constant companion and Clara an "off and on"-companion that appears when circumstances are very difficult because of her "impossible girl" nature.