Looks like we're getting a third consecutive regeneration at Christmas...
Capaldi Leaving Doctor Who
- Thread starter Allyn Gibson
- Start date
As others have already said, this news is disappointing but unsurprising. Makes sense because it allows Chibnall a completely fresh start.
I've loved what Peter Capaldi has done with the role but I really wish he had better writing to work with. Series 9 was considering better than series 8 but it still a far cry from the best material Matt Smith got (and he had some truly incredible episodes). I still hope series 10 will be strong and it does have a good set of writers working on it.
Still, it feels like Capaldi only just arrived.
So...
Let the speculation begin for The Thirteenth Doctor! I'll drag out the usual suspects that I want: Eddie Izzard and Alexander Siddig.
I've loved what Peter Capaldi has done with the role but I really wish he had better writing to work with. Series 9 was considering better than series 8 but it still a far cry from the best material Matt Smith got (and he had some truly incredible episodes). I still hope series 10 will be strong and it does have a good set of writers working on it.
Still, it feels like Capaldi only just arrived.
That's the first time I've read that before. Where did you read that and what was the possible reasons he wanted to leave so quickly?
I would love this but it won't happen.
So...
Let the speculation begin for The Thirteenth Doctor! I'll drag out the usual suspects that I want: Eddie Izzard and Alexander Siddig.
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Just saw the news that he was leaving.
Crap.
Crap.
Pity. Four proper seasons would have been nice. Still, there have been many good times already.
Another vote for the unlikely McGann. Sure, there's the BF audios, but The Night of the Doctor may be my favourite episode of the Moffat era.
I'd love to see what Capaldi could have done with someone other than Moffat, but there's a certain excitement about getting a new team, too.
I'd love to see what Capaldi could have done with someone other than Moffat, but there's a certain excitement about getting a new team, too.
Fair enough. That's good enough for me. I'm not surprised by the reasoning. Every lead actor since the show has returned has described the filming schedule as exhausting, and considering Capaldi is 58, it must be even more tiring for him.
I think Jenna Coleman leaving did affect Capaldi, too. They got along really well, and I imagine that can make the unpleasant aspects of filming more pleasant. And he said a lot of times that he missed her. It wouldn't surprise me that the physical demands of the role at his age, plus Jenna leaving, plus Moffat leaving, plus the new team coming in...filming series 10 and thinking about series 11 didn't fill him with the same enthusiasm.
It's a shame, it really is. He was just finding his stride. Here's hoping that series 10 is so good that it really makes us miss him.
It's a shame, it really is. He was just finding his stride. Here's hoping that series 10 is so good that it really makes us miss him.
Another good Doctor gone too soon. A shame we won't get to see Chibnall's take on Capaldi's character because I think too many good opportunities were squandered by Moffat's tired rein over the show. Even worse - the regeneration will happen at Christmas, most likely in a single 60 minute episode that aims to capture the season spirit rather than giving the Doctor a proper send off.
As for next Doctor...i'm honestly in the pro male camp. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see where they take it.
As for next Doctor...i'm honestly in the pro male camp. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see where they take it.
I've read the rumour that they are looking to cast a younger, more dashing character in the role. Strictly a rumour but if it's true then the BBC have totally missed the point of the character. Tennant and Smith were two actors who just happened to fit the description of young and dashing when playing the role rather than the role demanding their lead needing sex appeal like James Bond. The Tennant era as a lightning in a bottle period for the show, let it rest. There has never been an issue with casting on the show. Instead, the BBC really should be focusing on the writing.
I say the writing is bad because:
- Moffat's best work is behind him (continues to next point). Of course, even the finest in their trade cannot remain the best at what they do whether it be writing, music or acting. But, it doesn't change the point that his quality as a writer for Doctor Who has diminished. I still love his work on Sherlock
- A lot more retreading of Moffat's most innovative and gripping seem to be occurring of late
- Supporting characters are forgettable. I still love Sally Sparrow.
As for Clara, i'm indifferent to her. I was never crazy about her but I was never irked by her presence. She was definitely a better companion for twelve than she was eleven.
- Moffat's best work is behind him (continues to next point). Of course, even the finest in their trade cannot remain the best at what they do whether it be writing, music or acting. But, it doesn't change the point that his quality as a writer for Doctor Who has diminished. I still love his work on Sherlock
- A lot more retreading of Moffat's most innovative and gripping seem to be occurring of late
- Supporting characters are forgettable. I still love Sally Sparrow.
As for Clara, i'm indifferent to her. I was never crazy about her but I was never irked by her presence. She was definitely a better companion for twelve than she was eleven.
My biggest complaints about writing are from series 8, which suffered from a combination of individually bad and tedious stories with boring characters (especially "Robot of Sherwood," "The Caretaker," "Kill the Moon," and "In the Forest of the Dead") and the terrible characterization of Danny Pink. The following series was better but had several cases of missed opportunities with certain ideas, particularly the characterization of Me and the return of Gallifrey.
Clara was only a "problem" for a small minority of vocal internet fans. To say her character is part of the show's recent problems is laughable.
Moffat is tired, that's part of it. Another part was the inconsistent portrayal of the Doctor in Series 8. Yeah, I get the logic behind it, but it didn't work. It turned a lot of casual fans off Capaldi, at a time when you needed people to like him, coming off a hugely-popular Matt Smith.
Series 9, while better than Series 8, felt uneven to me because of the 2-parters. Yeah, I know that longtime fans have geekgasms over multi-part stories, but too often in series 9 you had one part significantly better than the other. And personally, I'm not a fan of multi-part stories unless it's a special event. It also made series 9 feel short. I didn't like that.
I liked Series 9 better than Series 8 overall (and a lot of that was that Capaldi really found his stride). But it still felt like some of the spirit and magic was missing.
But don't take my word for it. I'm one that adored Series 7. Everyone else hates that season because of the Clara story. I love it precisely because I love Clara, AND the fact that we had a great cliffhanger that led into the 50th Anniversary, AND an awesome, emotional Christmas Special.
Moffat is tired, that's part of it. Another part was the inconsistent portrayal of the Doctor in Series 8. Yeah, I get the logic behind it, but it didn't work. It turned a lot of casual fans off Capaldi, at a time when you needed people to like him, coming off a hugely-popular Matt Smith.
Series 9, while better than Series 8, felt uneven to me because of the 2-parters. Yeah, I know that longtime fans have geekgasms over multi-part stories, but too often in series 9 you had one part significantly better than the other. And personally, I'm not a fan of multi-part stories unless it's a special event. It also made series 9 feel short. I didn't like that.
I liked Series 9 better than Series 8 overall (and a lot of that was that Capaldi really found his stride). But it still felt like some of the spirit and magic was missing.
But don't take my word for it. I'm one that adored Series 7. Everyone else hates that season because of the Clara story. I love it precisely because I love Clara, AND the fact that we had a great cliffhanger that led into the 50th Anniversary, AND an awesome, emotional Christmas Special.
That would be my fondest wish, other than rejuvenating Tom Baker and giving him a couple more seasons. Paul McGann was perfect as the Doctor, both in the movie and in "Night of the Doctor."
Oh, yes, we can. I hate the way she was written. I hated the way she yappedamileaminuteandineededsubtitlesto understandwhatthehellshewassaying. And the stories she was in were just so damned STUPID, like the producer thought the audience was made up of children no older than 8.
For some reason, when a companion dies, I expect them to stay decently dead, not get second chance after second chance after second chance. It gets to the point of how it is in soap operas - people shrug off character deaths because the chances are good that the actor will turn up as the dead person's twin or identical cousin, or the death was faked, and there's not much point in investing any emotion in it anymore. If the writer wants the audience to feel sad and maybe cry over a character's death, don't bring them back a week or two later and yell, "Surprise, I lied!".
There may have never been a problem with casting, but they have a serious problem with retaining cast members when they're on board - changing either Doctor or Companion has practically become an annual tradition.
dJE
They're not going to let it rest. The fandom for Who, like Trek and Star Wars, has traditionally been predominantly male. In the case of Who, especially when the show came back in 2005, older middle aged males. Then Tennant comes along, and soon there are the Tennant fan girls. And there's a *lot* of them. It's the first time I've ever seen a fandom once thought of as almost exclusively the domain for nerdy men get overrun by the ladies. Enough to make the BBC take notice.
Smith had a crap ton of fan girls here in the States. Seems like I recall seeing more fan girls when it came to Who, especially when they were showing the stuff on the big screen, than guys. Also, keep in mind, that most fans who discovered Who through the newer iteration are more familiar with the Doctor being younger. The only reason we had an older Doctor was because of Moffat and his nostalgia for Classic Who. Like it or not, I don't think we'll be seeing an older Doctor like Capaldi again.
For myself, I'm less concerned with the Doctor's age these days, than I am with the quality of stories.
Tom Baker and Peter Davison had their share of female fans. Actually, the vast majority of the members of the Tom Baker/Fourth Doctor forum I co-admin are female.
I agree about the quality of stories, though. Things got to the point where I'd miss an episode here and there, and it didn't matter. I didn't even bother watching the Christmas show.
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