“Everything ends, and it’s always sad, But everything thing begins again and that’s always happy” - Doctor Who
This Christmas we bid a sad farewell to the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi as he regenerated into the first ever female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.
I admit, when I first heard that Peter was going to be playing the Doctor I thought “Why him? He’s a bit, well, old isn’t he?” Thankfully I was proven well wrong after his first few episodes. His interpretation brought the character to life in whole new way. Even though he was older than the previous generations he brought the same level of energy and intensity to the role (gotta love those brows!). He was slightly mad and did bring a crazy grandpa vibe to the role, but that is what I loved about him. He did a magnificent job and that is what makes him MY Doctor.
There is no doubt that Peter has had a lot harder of a job convincing people that he was indeed right for the role. His was a great mixture of previous Doctors - Four's stubbornness, Eleven's quirkiness, Nine's toughness.
Peter’s Doctor in his ninth season is like an almost complete transformation - gone is the awkward grandpa and in comes in a grungier ‘hip’ Doctor. He's rocking some slick shades, and he's even playing the guitar. This is a very random spectacle but also seems to fit in perfectly well with his character. In real life, Capaldi is a skilled musician, so everything you see and hear in the show is 100 percent real. It also makes sense that he'd be good at shredding, seeing as he's over 2,000 years old and ought to have learned some instrument in that time. I could’ve watch Peter just do a whole episode of him rocking out!
His humour also set him apart. If you were a space alien whose brain capacity far exceeds all others wouldn’t you be a abit of a smart ass about it too? (If you haven’t already, you really do need to check out Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It - he is lot more foul-mouthed so please be careful).
Adding to all this is the fact that Peter was somewhat of an obsessed Whovian growing up. He even wrote a letter to the Radio Times several times about the show thanking them for the exposure they've given to the show.
image courtesy of amercianviewofbritishscientfiction.com
The Doctor is constantly forced to face difficult decisions. To fight or not to fight? That is the question. But when it comes to Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, making the tough decisions is part of his M.O. The Twelfth Doctor does what needs to be done. It still pains him, but he hides it. He weighs out the positives and negatives, and he doesn't hesitate, because he knows that if he does hesitate, he risks more lives than are being sacrificed. He perfectly embodies the "Well, somebody's gotta do it" title, and he's accepted this part of himself — even though people (even his own companions) question his actions.
He hates wars - and this was especially convincing in the episode "The Zygon Inversion," where he literally saves the day by talking about how horrible war is.
Here are just some of Peter’s best moments as The Doctor:
Oh, and here is a pic of me meeting the great man himself when he came to New Zealand a few years ago (best night of my life).
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