Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi as the Punk Doctor
By David Hill
Each of the Doctors has his own unique persona. The Eleventh Doctor was a goofy, happy fellow, while his preceding incarnation, the Tenth Doctor, was more of a brooding sort. The Ninth Doctor was a man of action, ready to take on all comers. The Twelfth Doctor, meanwhile, really did not have his specific feel. Yes, it has been great to see the flashbacks to previous lives on Doctor Who, but what made this Doctor truly unique?
A part of that issue may be that the Twelfth Doctor truly did not know who he was for virtually all of Series Eight. Aside from being, as some would say, the pilot season for the Clara Oswald Chronicles, the season revolved around the Doctor and his attempts to find himself once again. Yes, he was a throwback and channeled the incarnations of Classic Doctor Who, but who was the Twelfth Doctor himself?
This season, we have our answer. The sarcastic, cutting personality is still there, but the Twelfth Doctor is more than that now. Just as the Fourth Doctor had his scarf, the Fifth had his strange obsession with celery and the Eleventh had a love for the fez and bowtie, the Twelfth Doctor has his iconic items. Not only does he have his sonic sunglasses, but he has something else – his guitar.
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While the guitar may not be ever present for the Doctor, it certainly fits this incarnation. Likewise, it pays homage to Peter Capaldi’s days before becoming a successful actor, with a nod to his time as the guitarist/frontman of the punk group Dreamboys. The Doctor who has given so many nods to his predecessors has a nod to his own past.
In this nod to Capaldi, we finally have the identity to the Twelfth Doctor – the punk Doctor. That guitar could come out at any moment, be it in an “axe battle” or in the opening scene where Capaldi plays the Doctor Who theme while breaking down the fourth wall. His edginess, temperament, and general personality speak to this image, and it is one that he certainly thrives within.
The Twelfth Doctor has his own identity now as the punk rock Doctor. It is certainly refreshing to see him comfortable in his own skin after the difficulties of Series Eight.