Monday 5 August 2013

The 12th Doctor revealed...

… and he's British, white and male. Scots, in point of fact. Ho hum, better luck next time or maybe the time after that (anyone who seriously believes the BBC will allow a throwaway line written in 1976 to cancel one of their most popular series can go sit in the corner and play with their crayons).

Anyway, Peter Capaldi. I have to admit I haven't watched The Thick Of It but friends I usually trust about these things tell me it was good. I did go into HMV this afternoon looking for a copy but, in the words of the charming young woman on the checkout, “Some other Doctor Who fans got here first, honey.”. What I do have, of course, is his previous Doctor Who appearance: The Fires Of Pompeii.

(As an aside, I think The Fires Of Pompeii now has the highest density of future Doctor Who regulars playing other parts. It's got the Twelfth Doctor as a senator, Amy Pond as a prophetess and Klein from the Big Finish audios as Mrs Senator.)

First impressions? Honestly, I was pretty much sold on the idea the moment Capaldi's Senator lauded the TARDIS as “Modern art!”.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss Matt Smith like nobody's business but the future seems bright. I'm looking forward to the traditional set pieces: the wardrobe scene, convincing Clara he's still the same man; first encounter with the Daleks; first speech about the wonders of the universe.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here, dear Mister Smith has a while to go yet and we still have to sort out the whole John Hurt situation before we move on to the Peter Capaldi era.

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