Doctor Who: Series Ten Could Be Peter Capaldi’s Last

This is not the sort of news that Doctor Who fans would want on Christmas Eve, but Peter Capaldi is saying that Series Ten could be his last as the Doctor.

Series Nine of Doctor Who was notable not only for the increased quality in the program as a whole, but in the development of the Doctor. Peter Capaldi’s incarnation truly came into his own, a welcome change from Series Eight where it often felt as though the writers were not quite sure of what they had. After all, the more cutting and sarcastic Capaldi was much different than the younger, more personable Doctors before him.

Unfortunately, we may not have much longer to enjoy the Twelfth Doctor. In an interview, Capaldi stated that this could be his final season. It has nothing to do with his love for the show, or his enjoyment of being the Doctor waning, but rather a matter of potentially wanting to explore other avenues that he would otherwise have to bypass due to his role.

"“It’s terrifying. I loveDoctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I do want to do other things. There will come a time when this is over. But I knew that when I started. I was thinking about my regeneration scene from the outset. That’s my terrible melancholic nature. When you accept the job you know there will come a day, inevitably, when you’ll be saying goodbye,” Capaldi said."

Should Capaldi leave after this season, it would be in line with the runs of both David Tennant and Matt Smith. Both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors had three seasons before they regenerated, so Capaldi’s potential departure after this season would not be that much of a surprise.

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If Capaldi does step down as the Doctor after this season, the timing may actually be right for a different reason. Speculation continues to exist as to whether or not this will be Steven Moffat’s final season as the showrunner on Doctor Who. If Moffat does indeed depart, then bringing in a new showrunner and a new Doctor at the same time might make sense, giving the program a bit of a reboot and a different feel overall.

Still, if Capaldi does leave after this season, it does not feel as though three seasons will have passed. Perhaps that is due to Series Eight being virtually wasted when it came to the Twelfth Doctor, but his tenure just does not have that same feel as the others. Heading into what will be the third season for the Twelfth Doctor, it only feels as though we have truly known what he truly is for just this past series.

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It is the nature of Doctor Who where the main character is constantly changing. However, we can hope that peter Capaldi is truly not about to film his final season of Doctor Who, as it seems as though we have only just gotten to know his incarnation.