Doctor Why Bother?

Dear readers,

This letter is all about how much I like the latest incarnation of the Doctor and Series 8 as a whole. This is also an open letter to my big brother and to anyone who found themselves falling a little out of love with the show last year, just as he did. This is an attempt to win him – and them – back.

Now, my bro LOVED Doctor Who (you should have seen his face when we went to the Exhibition together), but he just didn’t click with the Twelfth Doctor. Not one little bit. We would email each other at the end of each new episode. My messages were effusive and full of wonder about where the series would go next, but his seemed a little disconnected and non-committal. As the series went on, he eventually admitted that he was trying really hard to like it, but he just didn’t. Some of the episodes he even came close to switching off half way through!

I won’t go into all the reasons as to why, you’ll have to wait for his letter to find out those, instead I intend to use this platform to raise five points about Series 8 which I hope will bring him (and anyone else who’s wavering) back into the TARDIS-loving fold. Or at least persuade them to take another look.

1. Peter Capaldi

Let’s start with what is perhaps the hardest sell of all. For my brother, Matt Smith just is HIS Doctor, and it was hard for him to accept this new guy. Well, let me outline to him and to you why I like Peter so much: Having already marvelled over Peter’s previous roles in The Thick of It, The Hour, and The Musketeers amongst others, I already knew that he was a superb actor and that we were in for a treat; Peter is a massive fan of the show. Committed enough as a child to write letters to the Radio Times about it, and when Peter was unveiled as the new Doctor live on TV, he was clearly chuffed at realizing a lifelong ambition. And what can I say about his furious eyebrow cameo in The Day of the Doctor?

I was fortunate enough to get Peter’s autograph and say a quick “good luck” to him on the day of the Series 8 World Premiere in Cardiff last August. He was clearly blown away by the sheer number of fans in attendance that day, he had time for everyone and signed as many autographs as possible, posing for hundreds of photographs too. What a nice guy! I was sold from that day really – Peter Capaldi had already become MY Doctor.

2. Matt Smith approves

Further evidence that Peter is a really decent chap and appreciates the fans is the moment which was reported last May, when he took time out from filming to comfort a five-year old fan who was distressed by the 11th Doctor’s regeneration. Peter crouched down next to this little girl and scrolled through the photographs on his phone until he found a group shot of him, Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman together on the set of the TARDIS.

“Matt was really nice to me, as Jenna was too” he told her, “They were both very welcoming to me when I came into the TARDIS. Matt said to me to look after Doctor Who and he gave me his watch that he wears, and he said that, in his own way, he was happy that it was me that was coming in. So I will do my very best to be as much fun and as friendly as he is.” Brilliant, eh? There’s some “Dad skills” right there.

3. Listen

Obviously there are more reasons to actually love a series, apart from the generous character of the lead actor. In this point, I’m going to talk about the best episode of the series: Listen. Steven Moffat may be using up pretty much every one of his childhood fears in the course of his writing, yet once again there are enough surprises in this episode to make it hugely atmospheric and enjoyable. When even the eminent Professor Brian Cox admits to being a bit scared by the ‘bed spread apparition’ then you know you’re on to a winner.

And from out of nowhere this great episode links to the War Doctor and drops some major revelations about the Doctor’s origin. And we’re still not even sure if there were any monsters in this one at all – Blimey! Listen is also the first episode of Doctor Who which my wife has actually sat and watched, because I raved about it so much, since The Horror of Fang Rock in 1977. A high accolade indeed!

4. The scripts

One of the things that my brother really loved about Series 1 to 7 was the sheer amount of notable dialogue. From “I’m the Doctor. Run for your life!” all the way up to “I don’t want to go” there was a real abundance of memorable and infinitely quotable lines (my brother and I can’t get through a conversation these days without one of us tapping our noses and saying “who knows?” in tribute to Tom Baker’s cameo in The Day of the Doctor). But in this point I’m going to argue that the Series 8 scripts are just as good as any which came before. Below are some of my favorite quotes, examples  which instantly bring back the who, why and when? of their usage:

• “Fantastic idea for a movie. Terrible idea for a proctologist. Are you going to miniaturize me?”
• “Clara, my Clara. I have chosen well.”
• “This is it. The darkest day. The blackest hour. Chin up, Shoulders back. Let’s see what we’re made of, you and I.”
• “Tell me what you knew, Doctor, or I’ll smack you so hard you’ll regenerate.”
• “Question – why do we talk out loud even when we know we’re alone? Conjecture –because we know we’re not.”
• “These are attack eyebrows! You can take bottle tops off with these!”

There are so many more I could have added, and as we move into the second series with Peter at the helm, the writers will better find this Doctor’s “voice” and we can be sure of some epic exchanges in the future. Just imagine what will be said when the Doctor meets the rest of the Time Lords! (Fingers crossed anyway!)

5. The Doctor

From the moment he emerged from the TARDIS in Victorian London, and promptly fainted, to the events which lead him to being appointed President of the Earth, I absolutely loved the Twelfth Doctor.

One of the notable things about Deep Breath that has always stayed with me is a sense that this new Doctor is a little bit dangerous. Most telling of all was the moment where he watched the Half-Face man fall to his death at the end of the episode. For a moment his eyes flicker, and then they snap wide open, and he looks right down the camera at you. The question he is asking is: What do you think? Did he jump or did I push him? The look is startling and utterly inscrutable. Yes, this character has been around for over 50 years on our TVs, but here’s a stark reminder that we really don’t know anything about him – and that’s new and exciting.

So there you have it. I hope you – and especially my brother – can perhaps now look at Series 8 and the 12th Doctor afresh. I have no greater wish than that he can enjoy the current show as much as I do. It’s worth mentioning that the original draft of this letter had no fewer than 12 points, covering such diverse elements as Douglas Mackinnon’s directional style, the Missy storyline, and Peter Capaldi’s hair, so believe me when I say this really only scratches the surface of why I love Series 8.

With some tantalizing threads to pick up later this year – including the fate of Missy, the significance of the Doctor’s ‘new’ face, and the search for Gallifrey – all I can say is: Bring on Series 9!

Thanks for reading,

Jon Meek.