Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor Who and that’s official. The 55 year old actor was ushered in to role with great fanfare on a special BBC 1 show (broadcast simultaneously on BBC America) simply but ingeniously called Doctor Who. Perhaps the name of the special show wasn’t too much of a surprise but did you see the choice of Peter Capaldi coming? Well, the betting shops certainly did, having closed bets on the actor a while ago.
Capaldi is well known to both British audiences and those over the world for his role as spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the political comedy series,
In the Loop. What is more, he is a lifelong fan of the show.
I guess I don’t have to admit that here at Kuriositas we got it wrong. Our list of possible new Doctors included all of the actors above and more. We thought we were in with a chance with Adrian Lester and Damien Maloney but perhaps the others were a little far-fetched!
Whether you love the choice or loathe it (for whatever reason) it is, perhaps, for the best to wait (something of an irony when it comes to a show about time travel) and see what they make of the role. It may be that they slip, fully formed in to place or it could be that they take a few episodes to settle in to the part – and for us to be accustomed to Capldi as the new face of Doctor Who. He certainly has a lot to live up to in terms of his predecessors.
So, here for you is one of Capaldi's more unusual performances and if you have ever felt dissatisfied by the portion size in restaurants where you eat you may enjoy this. Perhaps you should even take a leaf out of the book of this unhappy patron. Or perhaps not – things can get a little extreme sometimes when it comes to food.
This very funny short film was written and directed by Sean Gray. BAFTA-winner Capaldi stars alongside Alex Macqueen (
The Hide) and Neil Edmond (
Alan Partridge's Mid Morning Matters).
Back to this evening... Allowing an actor time to ‘wear’ a character is important. Perhaps having a half hour special was a little bit too much of a palaver in this respect – anticipation will probably now be at an all-time high when their Timelord tenure begins. I’m not sure how fair that is to any actor taking on probably the greatest challenge of their career to date.
Yet the way that the BBC flogged the impending announcement for the week up to this Sunday was nothing short of remarkable. It is sign, I guess, that they are taking the fans seriously (much more so than in the show’s first incarnation).
Next time, maybe, they could make a whole series out of it, much like the talent shows that pick wannabe actors for roles in the West End?
Twenty hapless British (got to be, old chap, sorry) character actors (all of whom will have made an appearance at some point in the Harry Potter cycle) could be presented on a weekly basis to a global TV audience. This would be a first, rather than keeping it confined to a single country and the audience could all vote on which to fling off and who to keep (getting a little ‘Bad Wolf’ here..). It’s doable – after all tonight’s life show was broadcast simultaneously not only by BBC 1 and BBC America but by ABC1 in Australia and Space in Canada.
The actors would have to do special tasks each week: can they work the Tardis controls realistically? Can they go from madcap to uber serious in a flash? Can they get the timey-wimey malarkey to sound convincing?
As each unlucky ‘Doctor’ leaves the show, they could be ‘killed off’ by one of the series’ numerous adversaries (above are some of the actors we thought might be chosen). Then, after the actors have been whittled down to a smaller number they could perhaps film whole scenes from the show’s past (or made up ones, whatever!) so the audience can judge who is the best. The winner gets the prize (beginning to sound a little like Highlander now) and a minimum three year stay in Cardiff. I’m not going to make a joke about that.
Of course, this time, the ‘winner’ was announced without a public competition. It remains to be seen how Capaldi does in the role of the Doctor – only time (as it were) will tell.
I personally think Peter Capaldi is an inspired choice. Above is the (multiple) portrait of Capaldi by artist Daniel Fooks - to show you some of the expressions we might grow to love!
So, that’s that. Capaldi will be first seen on the show in this year’s Christmas Special. Let us know, in the meantime, what you think of today’s news!
