As Christmas came and went, Whovians said farewell to Matt Smith on BBC’s hit show, Doctor Who. Smith, who portrayed the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, had been on the show for three seasons. On August 4, the network announced that Scottish actor Peter Capaldi would play the twelfth form of the Doctor. Capaldi is no stranger to the Doctor Who world; he portrayed Caecilius in the season four episode “The Fires of Pompeii.”
Capaldi made his debut as the twelfth doctor in the Christmas special The Time of the Doctor where the Smith-to-Capaldi regeneration was an incredibly jerky motion and the fastest ever. Jokes about the regeneration began to emerge with comments on Facebook including: “I hate it when I sneeze so hard that I turn into Peter Capaldi.” Some people are saying that Capaldi is too old. This statement upset many hardcore Whovians seeing as the first Doctor, William Hartnell, was the same age as Capaldi. Even the War Doctor, John Hurt, was older than Capaldi, yet people had no problem with his age. Matt Smith, at the age of 27, was the youngest actor to play the Doctor, and people complained about that too. Even at his young age, he found his way into everyone’s hearts and people seemed to forget about his age.
Whovians, for the most part, seem pretty pleased with the casting choice. Once Peter Capaldi spurted out “KIDNEYS! I’ve got new kidneys! I don’t like the color,” he was welcomed warmly into whovians’ hearts worldwide. He then proceeded to say that he didn’t know how to fly his time-and-space machine, the T.A.R.D.I.S.(Time and Relative Dimension in Space), which would allow him to explore new worlds as well as different time periods. The episode ended there and it won’t return until September. Filming for season 8 began on January 6, yet no one seems to know what Capaldi will wear. Christopher Eccleston had his leather jacket, David Tennant had his “sandshoes,” and Matt Smith had his “cool” bowtie. Whovians anxiously await more news regarding Capaldi’s doctor, the season 8 premiere, and maybe a new fashion fad.
