Why I Love The Twelfth Doctor
Mark McCullough on Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.
In 2013 incumbent Doctor Matt Smith announced that he was hanging up his TARDIS keys and moving on to pastures anew. Whilst this understandably broke the hearts of lots of fans, it left the show with a gap to fill. More than that it gave the casting team a dilemma, how do you replace a presence like Smith? It’s not an easy preposition. The answer as it turned out was to replace a young relatively unestablished actor, with an older actor who is regarded as one of the top actors of his generation.
When the Eleventh Doctor became the Twelfth, Capaldi made his debut as the Doctor, but not his debut in the Whoniverse. It does sadden me to say that I really don’t enjoy Capaldi’s first scene as the Doctor. My reasons for this being the fact that to comment on the colour of your kidneys is not just random, it’s impossible and the fact I struggled to actually make out what he was saying. Understandable then that I was slightly worried about his incarnation of the Doctor. Little did I know that the Twelfth Doctor was about to become my favourite take on the Doctor.
“No Sir, all thirteen” – Androgar (The Day of the Doctor)
They say first impressions are everything, so lucky for me that The Time of the Doctor wasn’t actually Capaldi’s Doctor’s first onscreen appearance. His cameo role in The Day of the Doctor is the scene which actually holds that honour. Albeit that scene didn’t actually feature any words, but it didn’t need to. You can tell a lot about someone from their eyes, and the Doctor’s case was no exception. It’s funny that in retrospect, those fierce eyes told us all we needed to know about the Doctor that was about to grace our screens.
“She cares so I don’t have to” – The Twelfth Doctor (Into the Dalek)
The Twelfth Doctor was a radical change from his predecessor, adopting a less caring and more hostile nature. This coincided perfectly with the arc of the series about whether he was a good man or not. The question was first posed in his full debut episode, Deep Breath, via his actions with regards to the Half-Faced Man. In fact an argument could be made that it was raised before that in his treatment of Clara, however you may choose to dismiss that as post-regenerative behaviour only.
Given that it persisted into the next episode however, this would seem unlikely. Into the Dalek featured what could arguably be called one of the Doctor’s darkest moments where he not only allows someone to die, but speeds it up to allow the rest of them to escape. His serious side is explored further by contrasting him with Robin Hood in the massively underrated Robot of Sherwood. Then in Listen, Time Heist and The Caretaker, again mostly through his interactions with characters, particularly his reaction to Danny Pink and his unexplained apparent hatred of soldiers. (Whilst the narrative does not offer an explanation, it has been theorised by fans that it is due to his past, particularly the circumstance prior to his last regeneration).
“You walk our Earth, Doctor, you breathe our air. You make us your friend, and that is your moon too. And you can damn well help us when we need it.” – Clara Oswald (Kill the Moon)
With the potential for conflict simmering all season, Kill the Moon proved to be the boiling point for the Doctor’s relationship with Clara. In terms of New Who, this was a first, a companion becoming so angry with the Doctor that they left him. As with anything of this nature it is only natural that the fandom will be divided upon who they side with, but that’s not something I want to get into here. What is for certain though is that this type of scenario offered something extremely unique and had lasting consequences for both characters involved, although perhaps not long enough to be as effective as it could have been.
“Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? Stop it with the eyes. Don’t do that with the eyes. How do you do that anyway? It’s like they inflate.” – The Twelfth Doctor (Dark Water)
Ultimately this proved to be the turning point for the Doctor as he began to mellow and show his vulnerable side to Clara. I can’t help but feel that the imagery of the veil from Deep Breath was intended to be a descriptor of the Doctor’s behaviour up until now. When he finally lifts this veil in Mummy on the Orient Express, the actual reason for doing so is so very Doctor, proof to anyone who doubted him, that is still the same man, but a slightly hardened version.
In the next episode, the Doctor only plays a small role as Clara takes centre stage. Flatline is interesting because it uses Clara to analyse the Doctor’s mind set allowing the audience to experience his thought process through a character we can emphasise with better. This is hugely effective and is cemented by Capaldi’s own “I am the Doctor” moment when he beats the boneless.
His relationship with his companion has been a defining aspect of this Doctor’s tenure so far, and it is evident that there is still a lot more to come. Their relationship in the finale and the Christmas special was somewhat overshadowed both by excellent narratives and the mystery surrounding Clara’s future. However now that the focus is back solely on out TARDIS duo, things can only get better. And they were already pretty darn good as they were.
“I don’t remember ‘Doctor Who’ not being part of my life, and it became a part of growing up, along with The Beatles, National Health spectacles, and fog. And it runs deep. It’s in my DNA.” – Peter Capaldi
There really only was one choice for the Twelfth Doctor, and I am delighted that Peter is as a regular part the show, especially as he is a fan himself. He has already proved himself worthy both onscreen and in his actions off it through multiple kind gestures to fellow fans. Despite his take on the Doctor being my favourite to date, this was the hardest Why I Love article to write to date. The obvious reason is that his Doctor is still developing, so I don’t have a full picture to analyse him yet. I think the best compliment that can be offered is that I hope I never have the opportunity to do so, because right now I can’t ever imagine anyone else as the Doctor. So all that remains now is to wish Mr. Capaldi a wonderful day and another happy and healthy year. It really is an honour to have him on our favourite show.
