Peter Capaldi’s Doctor

Netflix has added season 8 of the revived Doctor Who, the one with Peter Capaldi has the Doctor. My wife and I had enjoyed the revived Doctor Who but lost track somewhere around Matt Smith’s second or third season. I did get a chance to see “Day of the Doctor” and “Time of the Doctor,” also on Netflix, and I was well aware of the hand-over from media.

I have to say that I quite like the Peter Capaldi Doctor. I have enjoyed all the actors who have undertaken the role in the revived series, and I don’t know yet where I would place Capaldi. I have a feeling he’s going to become one of my favourites. Right now, I would have to say Christopher Eccleston’s short-lived, cynical and dangerous Doctor has been my favourite – though that might be because he’s the one who returned me to Doctor Who. I grew up watching re-runs on TV Ontario of the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker Doctors, and Capaldi seems to be a throwback to these.

I also like that the Doctor is now questioning his effect on the universe. In the first four episodes, he’s questioning if he is a good man. He also tinges cynicism and prickliness with a certain immaturity – kind of a hybrid of Pertwee and Baker. I’m digging this interpretation so far. It’s also nice that the sexual tension that marked so much of David Tennant’s and Matt Smith’s runs is gone. It’s not that those were bad storylines, but that has been done, so let’s try something else.

All in all, I’m very happy with the new Doctor and the stories so far in season 8. I hope BBC keeps making these and Netflix keeps licencing them.

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