Doctor Who: No Apologies from Peter Capaldi About the Twelfth Doctor… and Rightfully So
By David Hill
Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is quite different than anything that has been seen in some time on Doctor Who, but he is not making any apologies for his character.
For some viewers, the Twelfth Doctor still takes some getting used to. We had quite a run of the younger, more charismatic Doctors in David Tennant and Matt Smith, making Peter Capaldi’s incarnation quite distinct. Even now, as he heads into his third season on Doctor Who, his Doctor is still considered a bit rough by some fans of the show.
That difference is, in particular, notable in the reactions of the younger fans. Having been brought into the program by Tennant and Smith, seeing the more cutting and sarcastic Twelfth Doctor still is a bit of a culture shock. Add in the fact that Capaldi is older, and that transformation has led to some of those fans pining for the return of particular previous incarnations.
However, do not expect Capaldi to apologize for the way that his character is perceived. In fact, he has fought back against those assertions, explaining that the Doctor with whom he grew up was not a young man. His Doctor, as he stated, appeals more to the adult fans, as they cut their teeth on the same Doctors that he did.
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It is an explanation that makes a great deal of sense. The Twelfth Doctor is, in a lot of ways, a throwback to the earlier incarnations. There have been various nods to the early days of the show, with references and even little parts of the wardrobe invoking memories of the earlier Doctors.
Having a personality to go along with the look is only common sense. This Doctor is not concerned with niceties; instead, he is seeking to protect those in his care in any way he can. If those attempts, and his methods, rub people the wrong way, so be it. The feelings of others is not his concern; saving them and their planet from rampaging hordes and deadly enemies is far more important. This brings to mind Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor. He and the Twelfth are aligned in this regard.
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