[/QUOTE] The only thing that probably damaged Capaldi's health at all was his recreational drug use in the 70's and maybe drinking off and on, but a 55 year old these days is likely healthy as a horse. Patrick Stewart was in his 50's during the latter years of TNG and did fine, and that was probably on a more strenuous filming schedule than Doctor Who. If Ian McNiece is still living and able to film episodes of Doc Martin after all these years with as fat as he is, Capaldi getting too ill to be the Doctor seems a tall order. He'll be fine.
I hope he'll be fine. It'd be nasty after dreaming of being the doctor for his whole life that he has to leave because of health.
Look, the biggest, realest, and pretty much only threat to Capaldi's tenure is how fucking in-demand he is!
I think it is funny that Chris, David, and Matt have essentially warped age perception in our minds that we perceive a 55 year old actor playing the Doctor as hiring an enfeebled grandfather with one foot in the grave. He's 55, not 85. Come on.
I think part of it is this constantly repeated talk about how the work schedule is so terribly monstrous and exhausting. It is when compared to a lot of 9-5 office jobs, but that doesn't stop tens of thousands of people from working far more daunting schedules for film and American television productions.
Although Doctor Who is far less of an ensemble show. The Doctor is in nearly every scene. That alone makes it more demanding that most American shows.
Production is a very different animal there than it is in L.A. American productions are on much tighter timetables, and aren't above throwing money at long overtime hours day in and day out to keep the show on schedule. A 14 hour day is not only unexceptional but for some productions it can be the norm for weeks on end. The production crew has it the hardest in nearly all of these cases anyways, so "the talent" complaining about their workdays never quite rings true to me.
There's a lot of people working jobs that I would wager are tougher than television production. People working long shifts week after week with maybe a glimmer of a week or two off every year.
A nightshirt: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kimberleydadds/10-awesome-pictures-of-peter-capaldi-owning-his-new-doctor-w
I almost never dream about TV shows, not even Doctor Who. But, I had a dream about Capaldi's costume. Dark blue coat with a high but loose collar. I think there was some gold piping on it. Looked modern. In the dream, I was surprised that it wasn't historical. It looked good on him! Now I can't picture him in any other outfit! Mr Awe
Is he still wearing Eleven's classic trousers in this pic? I'd imagine that if he were wearing a Victorian nightie, he'd be wearing something more pyjama-esque, if anything at all. OTOH, maybe it's just whatever Capaldi is wearing to avoid chafing (and freezing) whilst riding a fake horse.. Mark