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Peter Capaldi Unveiled As the New Star of Doctor Who
Dave Knott writes "After months of speculation since Matt Smith announced that he was exiting the long-running British SF show Doctor Who, the BBC has announced the latest actor who will be taking on the titular role. In a live television announcement, with several previous stars on hand, it was revealed that Peter Capaldi will be portraying the newest incarnation of The Doctor. Capaldi is 55 years old, ending a recent trend towards younger Doctors, and had been flagged by bookmakers as the odd-on favourite in recent days, to the extent that they had suspended betting on the issue. He is best known for his role as the foul-mouthed government bureaucrat Malcolm Tucker on the The Thick Of It and has in fact showed up on Doctor Who previously as a guest star. But now Capaldi is set to take his place in the iconic lead role. To help celebrate the 50th anniversary, and the naming of the next Dr. Who, an ice cream shop put up a 35ft straw Dalek sculpture."
Hopefully it will get a bit more sinister, less shouting and running, better arcs. Can't wait till the Christmas Special :)
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
No bitching here. I have no idea who this actor is but he has some gray hair in publicity shots so I'm sold. The ever-younger Doctor was moving ever farther from the role I liked - but then, I'm a big fan of the 3rd Doctor, even if his character was a bit of a jerk from time to time. A 55 year old actor get my benefit of the doubt.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I can't find a mug shot or his rap sheet...
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
IMDB says that in War World Z, he played the character of a Dr. from the W.H.O.
Coincidence?
Don't forget the whining!
Now we have a Doctor Who, who has been a real Doctor Fan for a long time! Best Wishes to all Whovians!
A 55 year old actor get my benefit of the doubt
Strangely enough, Capaldi is about the same age as William Hartnell was when he was the first Doctor. But Hartnell looked a lot older.
"She's furniture with a pulse"
I don't mind younger or older, either is fine with me. The only gripe I can see in my now 15 second old research of the man I have never previously heard of before is that IMDB has some really unflattering photos of him where he looks positively frail. Shortest lived Doctor ever.... regenerates walk to the first set of stairs falls and breaks a hip and 2 days later regenerates because pneumonia is killing him.
Digital is, by definition, imperfect. Analog is the way to go.
Indeed. Whenever I watch The Thick of It, Tucker's character always has me in stitches when he goes off on a sweary rant.
The 3rd Doctor is my second favorite for sure, mainly because of the age (the 1st Doctor being my favorite, since I'm most like him)..
And somebody mod parent up... that is actually a quote from the Malcolm Tucker character... as played by Peter Capaldi... and in that role he's infamous for his swearing. Viewers of a gentle-persuasion should not watch it.
Well, for the actor at least. Remember what happened to his character and his entire family in Torchwood? This helps to redeem that injustice in my mind. I do hope they have an episode where this 12th goes meets with that PM in that Torchwood and gives him some poetic justice.
Could easily go on to become one of the best Dr Who's ever.
The best of Malcolm Tucker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAyazqtQj8
Kinda funny that looking at IMDB, he has credits in World War Z as W.H.O Doctor. As long as he talks slower than Matt Smith, I'll be happy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
Looking forward to more in this vein: Malcolm Tucker on that science fiction film you like.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
If you watched Torchwood he was the government official negotiating with the 456 in Children of Earth (Torchwood Series 3).
I don't love it, but I'll reserve judgment until I see it. I think I mostly don't like the fact that he's already appeared in the series as another character. Sure, Karen Gillan also appeared in a previous episode before becoming Amy Pond, but she was so heavily made up you wouldn't recognize her. They had Eve Myles play different characters, but at least they had a fun little nod to that fact. So maybe it's fine.
I guess I do like the fact that they're going with someone who will probably be darker and less goofy than Smith.
Frail? Wait until you hear the man curse. "The thick of it" is essentially the original bbc show that has since branched out to the US as Veep. It is pretty hilarious and Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker is unforgettable in every sense.
Check out this compilation but be warned of strong language. My favorite quote at 5:20.
Gosh, thanks. That must be why the other ships call me Meatfucker -- GCU Grey Area (Eccentric)
Let the Bitching.......
commence!
I was hoping for a woman Dr. (Yes, "Dr." Yes, I'm abbreviating it! So there!) along the lines of Dr. Donna - maybe even have Catherine Tate some how turn into the Dr. (:-P).
Or This guy - Yeah, the Operative from Serenity.
Spoilers!
I was hoping for a woman this time. Would make for some great antics.
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
Aye, he'll be a great Doctor...
;)
" D'ye fucking ken who ye're dealing with here? Nae ? Well I'm the fucking Doctor ye alien shite, now get the fuck outta mah sight or I'll beat ye like a red-headed step-bairn ! "
( With apologies to Irvine Welsh )
Oh, and maybe move the time slot for the show to 11pm
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Okay, he is, now, best known for the Malcolm Tucker role but I remember him better in other roles; the Angel Islington in a BBC adaption of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (although that show was really stolen by Paterson Joseph's Marquis De Carabas) and as Uncle Rory in the TV adaption of Iain Bank's Crow Road.
And it's kind of nice that the Doctor is portrayed by an actor older than me again. That hasn't happened for a while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAyazqtQj8&t=2m41s
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
He was already in an episode of Doctor Who!
I think people have come to respect that choices for the role of the Doctor are pretty much always excellent and second-guessing and pre-judging is useless. I say this as someone that loved Christopher Eccleston and didn't want to like Tennant. Then absolutely adored Tennant's portrayal and was definitely not going to accept the young goofy looking Matt Smith character... and then find myself sad to see Matt Smith go.
Doctor Who is all about the doctor and his companions. They have to be likeable, interesting, compelling. They're the entire point of the show and they realize this - they always choose pretty damn well, even if all of us watching approach every change with skepticism and distrust.
Personally, I'm really excited about Capaldi, even though I have no idea who he is. He looks like someone I won't mind seeing on screen for dozens of hours and I appreciate that they aren't just constantly skewing young. They didn't need to go older for older's sake, but I am really glad they are making a choice other than "twelve year old girls won't watch if we don't make it a semi-cute barely pubescent actor". Variety is the spice of the Doctor. I think I'm going to enjoy this incarnation. Good on them.
The Doctor is still going to be the Doctor. He'll just have the appearance of a dirty old man.
Capaldi's Glaswegian, not Boston Irish. Don't know why you went with an American dialect rather than something fae Glesca.
Rough translation into Barras Glaswegian -- "Haw, d'ye fuckin' ken who yer fuckin' dealin' way here? Well Ah'm th'fuckin' Doaktur ye bastardin' wee alien ba'heid, noo get fuckin' oota my fuckin' sight afore ah fuckin' stick th' fuckin' heid in ye!"
I'm rather excited to see an "older" Doctor. I've grown weary of the "sexual tension" between the Doctor and his recent assistants. Donna Noble was glorious as she/the Doctor so violently opposed to it..
I'm glad to see an older Doctor. Matt Smith and David Tennant did brilliant work, but the next Doctor needed to be a step in a different direction.(Personally, I was hoping for a female Doctor, but I'm more than happy with the choice of Peter Capaldi.
He was pretty prominent in a season of torchwood (season three, children of men, on netflix and worth watching that season alone ). Same fake universe as doctor who even.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
No bitching from me. He actually seems a good choice after they hit rock bottom with the last doctor and definitely fits in well with what I think the doctor should be.
"We've fucking time-travelled, yes?"
http://youtu.be/JjAyazqtQj8
"We are through the looking glass now, folks. Fuck me."
I might actually start watching Doctor Who if Peter Capaldi's going to be the new Doctor.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Smith was probably the most Troughton-like of all the Doctors since Troughton.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
that this is just a hoax to get the heat off from revealing who the new Doctor is so they created this program to announce the favourite? Then at Christmas the new Doctor is someone that we haven't heard of?
he brings a bit of Malcom Tucker from The Thick of it to the role.... imagine the potential lines such as....
"What the fuck is this omnishambles? a defensive line? IT'S A CLUSTERFUCK OF GARGANTUAN PROPORTIONS!.. now sort it out before i stretch out your fuckign scrotum and use it as a trampoline you dog wanking fuck stick!"
i know it won't happen* but it's a lovely thought!
*he said as much in an interview
I don't mind younger or older, either is fine with me. The only gripe I can see in my now 15 second old research of the man I have never previously heard of before is that IMDB has some really unflattering photos of him where he looks positively frail. Shortest lived Doctor ever.... regenerates walk to the first set of stairs falls and breaks a hip and 2 days later regenerates because pneumonia is killing him.
I'd say he's perfect for the role of the 13th Doctor...the final Doctor.
Battlemaster--Game with friends in medival realms
Under Davies and Moffat Doctor Who has been dominated by the Welsh and the Scots. Two nations filled with an overwhelming love for England.
Peter Capaldi is credited on IMDB as follows:
Assuming, of course, that either his resurrection by River Song didn't reset the clock or that he was telling the truth about the number of regenerations when he said 13. And apparently the 13th doctor will go through over 25 TARDIS console changes if he is the last.
Let the Bitching.......
commence!
No bitching here. He's one of the finest actors on British television.
I'm imagining a Doctor that curses like a sailor and doesn't get all mopey or surprised when he gets pissed off at his enemies. I will probably be disappointed however.
To quote a friend of mine in nearly every second tweet: #dirtyoldmanisdirty
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
I probably disliked Smith the most, ahead of time. It only took one or two episodes before I totally bought into his portrayal, though. It didn't hurt that Amy Pond was such a fucking fantastic compliment to him, either. He also balanced the darkness and weight with the giddy excited thrill of a kid just right.
I'm really going to be curious to see if the n ew doctor is going to be pretty much just dark and cold or if he's still going to have that flamboyant streak of fun and love for mankind.
I also hope they don't get *too* far up their own ass with the whole story-arc. I've liked the long arcs they've woven in with the "new" seasons over the last half dozen years, starting with Bad Wolf -- but the show is often at its best when its him and friend escaping Kandyman and such. :)
It isn't certain that timelords can change gender. There has been no cannon established suggesting that they can change gender or race, as far as I know. It would also be incredibly difficult to do just right, so that you avoid seeming to pandering or like you're doing it as a ratings stunt, because "now we have to have a black woman and next time an asian man" and so on. I don't disagree that it could be interesting, but I think it is a major risk. Especially when you consider how concerned people are simply going from one white british guy to another white british guy.
Of course, if they could really nail it -- make it something you care about and that feels legitimate and honest -- I would be game.
it has only been two regenerations in a row where the actor playing the doctor starts at a younger age than his predecessor. Twice in a row is not a trend.
This was the second time that has occurred in descending order (Pertwee-Baker-Davison, Eccleston-Tennant-Smith), and it has happened once in accenting order (Davison-Baker-McCoy)
At 2:42 you can see the scene that got him the job: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAyazqtQj8&t=2m42s
The Doctor's Wife, regarding another time lord, The Corsair.
"The Corsair took on different sexes throughout many incarnations. The Doctor noted that when the Corsair was female, 'she was a bad girl.'"
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Corsair
You mean him routinely being an asshole? Sorry, but when someone plays a jerk in almost every role, I stop believing that it's the role and start believing it's the actor. THAT is why I'm against Capaldi - not because he's old, frail looking, etc but because everything I've ever seen him in, he was such a colossal dick that I just wanted to punch him in the face the entire time.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
I'd imagine that they'll just go all gooey about how "distinguished" he looks, companions and all, as much as we might like to think we'll get a break from all the flirting.
This announcement was made as the producers had admitted it would be impossible to keep the identity of the new Doctor quiet until November. The real new Doctor will be unveiled at the time of regeneration.
Does anyone else find it hilarious that in the movie World War Z, he had a role where he was billed as a W. H. O. doctor?
You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
And swatting people with manilla folders.
Bosom Buddies was a cute show and he was funny as Michael in Newhart, but he's not even British. What are they thinking! I know he has a little sci-fi experience when he played the dad in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids the television series, but I still think they would have done a lot better if they'd gotten someone who had some experience with British television.
Personally, I was hoping for a female Doctor
Please tell me you're joking.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Matt Smith's Doctor has been running around over 200 years in the storyline. He was traveling with Amy and Rory over 10 of their years so much they joked about showing they were noticibly older than their same aged friends.
Ginger?
And on the Eighth Day, Man created God.
"For anyone who wishes the new Doctor was gay, black, or a woman, Capaldi's a good enough actor to play the part as a gay black woman." @sfdebris
I can see you're having a little moment there, but your ranting is kind of irrelevant to Doctor Who and maybe you can go be racist somewhere else.
Ah, hence my apologies to Irvine Welsh - I fucked up my "Scottish" more than I could possibly imagine !
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When someone is always "acting" the same character in every role, I don't view it as acting, I view it as it being their real personality and they merely recite lines that are written. As much as I love Zooey Deschanel, she's not a great actress - she's always the exact same character just saying different lines. Peter Capaldi seems to be the same from everything I've seen him in. Sorry, but I don't want a Doctor that is just a grumpy old guy screaming and cussing at everyone without any heart or emotion other than anger. Sure, it might be funny for a scene or two, but after that it's just destroying the show.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Just because you can't get into it doesn't mean it sucks, just that you have a different taste.
This is the sig that says NI (again)
How about him in previous Doctor Who? In Children of Earth, he's a very different character from Malcolm Tucker: someone who cares about his family and is forced into doing things he personally despises to protect them. Or his character in The Fires of Pompeii?
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Lets hope he can act a bit better than Hartnell - a large portion of his lines were proceeded with what I can only describe as "sniff the fart" acting. Watch a couple of episodes and you will see what i mean.
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Why there's a referal ID in the IMDB URL?
The Time Lords granted The Master a new set of 13 regenerations. There's a lot of implication in on-screen dialog (e.g. The Brain of Morbius) and implicit statements in the Big Finish radio plays that the 13 regenerations is something that's imposed by Time Lord society to prevent stagnation by having some turnover in population. Given that the technology exists and that he's no longer bound by the social obligations of a dead race, there's no reason why he'd continue to be limited to the 13 regenerations.
The only reason for the limit is that if it's unlimited then it makes the character invulnerable. This is why they portray the regeneration as something traumatic and like a death. Making the technology to grant him another 13 something that was difficult (and dangerous) to access would fill this - he can have another 13 any time he wants, but there's a danger that he'll die trying to get them. The other suggestion was to have someone else take over as the main character. I think they wanted River Song, but that probably wouldn't go down too well. I'd like to see them find Susan and have her inherit her grandfather's TARDIS.
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I can't actually think of a notable writer from Glasgow -- Alasdair Gray perhaps? Google Google wikiwiki yup, born in Riddrie and still lives in Glasgow. That's it. The Scottish Socialist Vanguard Science Fiction Writers Party is all on the east coast (Iain M. Banks (RIP), Ken McLeod, Charlie Stross, Hannu Rajaniemi etc.)
Or waving a can of Tennents Export Lager in one hand.
Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations".
Mark Millar, "Kick-Ass".
Alistair MacLean "The Guns of Navarone", "Ice Station Zebra", "Where Eagles Dare", too many others to list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean
-- "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" -- Juvenal
He is a writer and director and has picked up awards for both. He also has an Oscar for best short film which he wrote and directed. His acting range includes both drama and comedy so he ought to be able to keep the DW team on their toes.
A fine choice and someone who really wants the role and willing to sacrifice to get it.
I'm guessing you didn't see Torchwood 'Children of Earth' - Capaldi's character in that is about as far from arsehole as you can get. There's also the Who episode 'The Fires of Pompeii', where again his character's far from an arsehole.
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
I've never understood the worship for Tennant. He played the role permanently looking like a stunned rabbit with his eyeballs about to pop out. That was basically all he did.
One rule: The Doctor lies.
I have seen them. Apparently you didn't pay attention to them if you thought he was nice in those episodes.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
You must watch Curse of the Fatal Death to convince yourself. Lumley would have been a great Doctor.
Adam Smith was a professor at Glasgow University, but he came from, and went back to, Fife.
(And, of course, John Barrowman, AKA Captain Jack, is a Glaswegian.)
Being set up to fail by your boss = total shithead. Glad you cleared that up for me /sarcasm
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
What a douche! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbklg4UwEs
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Wow you really didn't pay attention. He was more than willing to go along with it, he only got cold feet when he found out that his kids would be sacrificed too. The he murdered his kids and his wife before shooting himself.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Obviously there's no convincing you - you only look for the negative. That, and you think being typecast means your personality must match. That must mean Alan Rickman is relaxing in his villain's lair, plotting how to take over the world.
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
I look at the facts. I can't help he's always played bad characters who are angry and love to shout. It has nothing to do with the "type" of role, it's how the character is portrayed. Alan Rickman may have played many villains, but they were all quite different and unique. That's because Alan Rickman is a fantastic actor. I've yet to see any variation in the personality of Capaldi's characters - which is what I clearly stated from the very beginning. THAT is why I'm disappointed in Capaldi - because his previous work does not show any talent at portraying different characters, he merely portrays the same character saying different lines in different locations.
If they wanted a 50-something year old Scottish man, they should have chosen Robert Carlyle - he's proven himself to be capable of a range of emotions and personalities.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Does anyone else find it hilarious that in the movie World War Z, he had a role where he was billed as a W. H. O. doctor?
Doctor What?!
also, "aaaahhh, bloody giveaway!"
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Ah, the heady mix of an ageing actor and live to air broadcasting.
Some of the episodes, he says a line wrong, then corrects himself.
When someone is always "acting" the same character in every role, I don't view it as acting, I view it as it being their real personality and they merely recite lines that are written.
There's the difference between a good actor and a star. The good actor brings a different performance to every role. The star has a particular way of being that people like to see, and he'll do that virtually every time. And the stars get orders of magnitude more money for what they do.
Not to mention the fact that a time travelling immortal would eventually become every person in the universe, then compose all mass of the universe then...
He has to die some time!
"The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
Of course there will. We just need to wait for the announcement of who's playing the new Malcolm Tucker. I reckon it'll be a woman!
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Also that he (AC) sucks.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Doctor Who is all about the doctor and his companions... they always choose pretty damn well
*ahem* Bonnie Langford *ahem* ;)
Okay, she was given a bloody awful character, but I can't help thinking that anyone else would have been better at the time.
That said, both the character and the actress have greatly redeemed themselves in the Big Finish audios. Much less squeaky and actually gets to show some intelligence.
They didn't need to go older for older's sake, but I am really glad they are making a choice other than "twelve year old girls won't watch if we don't make it a semi-cute barely pubescent actor".
As Solphie Aldred pointed out, it's the companion(s) who is the viewer's window into the Doctor's world. Twelve year olds weren't watching it for Christopher Eccleston rugged looks in 2005 - they were watching because Billie Piper was there for them to share her adventure (and for the boys, to gawk at her norks).
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
yes he did (this is DR Who yah know)
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See the different? Yeah, I didn't throw an unnecessary apostrophe in there like a goddam thalidomide moron flapping its flippers, unable to comprehend the most basic tenets of the English language.
Says the AC who missed the distinction between adjective ('different') and noun ('difference'). Unless you're Conan The Librarian, there's probably no reason to waste your berserker rage over a typo. Lighten up, Francis.
In his whole face!
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
There's always The Doctor's Daughter ...
Fair play; you're right, lazy Googling on my part.. He wrote "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" in Glasgow, but was back in Fife by the time he wrote"The Wealth of Nations". I think I'm good on the other two, though.
-- "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" -- Juvenal
Oh, I can only hope this is true. Complete with a gun range, with Bruce Willis and Daniel Radcliffe's faces on targets down range.