Doctor Who

[ElCuervoMuerto]

I believe io9 mentioned Laura Pulver (Irene Alder in "Sherlock") as a possible female Doctor. From then on out the is in my favorite list to take over the Doctor, either male or female.

While I realistically don't expect them to do a female Doctor (although the way Moffat writes it may just happen since he did mention Time Lords swapping genders previously), I at the very lest want a non-white Doctor. Or at least a ginger for Pete's sakes.

[The Dark Knight]

Choose people on their merit, not to fulfil 'something that hasn't been done before'.

Sure, obviously whoever is picked for the role should be a capable performer but why shouldn't that be a woman or a black actor?  Also, I don't see why Doctor Who's gender is anymore sacrosanct than the character's race or age.

I feel as though it'd come off as a token gimmick, no matter what.

[BatmAngelus]

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor!
http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/post/57349765887/its-official-peter-capaldi-is-the-next-doctor

Capaldi is 55, the age that Hartnell was when he took on the role.  For the first time in the series reboot, The Doctor will be a middle-aged actor.

This is also the second time that a Doctor has been cast from an actor who previously appeared on the show.  Capaldi was the patriarch of the Roman family in The Fires of Pompeii (which also had Karen Gillan) and played Frobisher on Torchwood.

[johnnygobbs]

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor!
http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/post/57349765887/its-official-peter-capaldi-is-the-next-doctor

Capaldi is 55, the age that Hartnell was when he took on the role.  For the first time in the series reboot, The Doctor will be a middle-aged actor.

This is also the second time that a Doctor has been cast from an actor who previously appeared on the show.  Capaldi was the patriarch of the Roman family in The Fires of Pompeii (which also had Karen Gillan) and played Frobisher on Torchwood.

This has got to be the worst kept secret in show business.  The bookies' money has been on Capaldi for days.

Personally, I'm pleased with the choice (although I must confess I'm an extremely casual viewer of the show).  To use a cliché he 'was born for the role'.  He has the right blend of quirkiness, aloof intelligence, mystery and edge.  Anyone who's see him as Malcolm Tucker in 'The Thick of it' and 'In the Loop' will know that this is a Doctor one should easily mess with.

I do hope we'll one day see a black or female or hey, a black female Doctor but lack of 'boundary-pushing' aside this is a great choice.

[The Dark Knight]

Very pleased with this casting. An older Doctor again is refreshing.

If it was a woman I would've turned my back on the show.

[johnnygobbs]

Very pleased with this casting. An older Doctor again is refreshing.

If it was a woman I would've turned my back on the show.

I'm glad we've got an older Doctor again too.  Perhaps us oldies can relate to the character a bit better now.    But I don't get why people have a problem with the Doctor being a woman.  Women can be doctors or Doctors too you know. 

[The Dark Knight]

I seriously would have turned my back on the show. I would have hated it. After having 11 people of a certain template, all of a sudden having a woman show up would be off.

It's largely just the entitled PC brigade beating the drum for it "because it hasn't happened before" screaming equality slogans. To them I say get over it. I hate it when politics and all that crap enters into entertainment.

I can understand how colors feels when non-Superman fans complain about aspects of the character.

Anyway, the BBC had sense and ignored that 'movement'. Welcome to the show Peter.

[johnnygobbs]

I seriously would have turned my back on the show. I would have hated it. After having 11 people of a certain template, all of a sudden having a woman show up would be off.

It's largely just the entitled PC brigade beating the drum for it "because it hasn't happened before" screaming equality slogans. To them I say get over it. I hate it when politics and all that crap enters into entertainment.

I can understand how colors feels when non-Superman fans complain about aspects of the character.

Anyway, the BBC had sense and ignored that 'movement'. Welcome to the show Peter.

I generally respect and roughly agree with 99% of your opinions Dark Knight so I hate to risk burning my bridges with you over this but I just don't get why a female Doctor would be such an issue.  The Doctor is an extra-terrestrial being that can surely assume any human form it likes.  Why that has to be a white man I don't know.  I'm not especially fussed about whether there will ever be a female Doctor or not but I do think the possibility should always be left open.  I simply see no reason why the character can't be a woman or why that would even upset the dynamic of the programme.  Besides the great thing about Doctor Who is that the character always regenerates after a few series anyway so even if you don't care for one particular Doctor, and I haven't liked all of them, another one will show up a couple of years later.

[BatmAngelus]

While I don't feel the same way as Dark Knight (I'd be interested to see the show explore different ground with a female Doctor), I'm annoyed that some of the backlash to the Capaldi casting is simply that he's not female or a different skin color.

I feel like the next James Bond will get similar flack if Daniel Craig is replaced by another white English actor, as opposed to someone like Idris Elba.  Would I be open to a black James Bond?  Of course.  But I'm not going to cry foul if it goes to another traditional actor, especially if that guy is good.

This kind of criticism simply isn't fair to the guy who won the part, who, in this case, is a critically acclaimed, award-winning thesp and, like David Tennant, grew up as a massive Whovian himself. 

He even met Jon Pertwee when he was young.  Heck, if Smith was inspired by Troughton, it's a possibility that Capaldi will be inspired by Pertwee.  I can definitely see Capaldi as a more serious, authoritative Doctor, not to mention that his dynamic with Clara (due to the age difference) will likely be more like the Classic Doctors' mentor/paternal dynamic with their companions, as opposed to the more romantic take that's been in play since the series reboot.

I've got to say that while I'm sad that Smith is leaving (and he's my current favorite), I'm definitely excited to see what Capaldi will bring to the role.  Even this introductory clip gets me pumped to see what he can do:

[johnnygobbs]

There's already a backlash BatmAngelus?  I realise that Capaldi's casting had been heavily rumoured for the last three days or so but surely it's too soon after the official announcement for a 'backlash'...ahhh, the internet...

Anyway, like you I'd be open to a black Doctor Who or black James Bond and I hope there's always a possibility of it happening but it the casting should never be about breaking barriers simply for the sake of doing so.  When casting is as perfect as Capaldi playing Doctor Who it seems churlish to complain.  Above all the casting should be about finding the right person for the role at a given time.  My understanding of Doctor Who is that he (or she  ) isn't a character particularly defined by their gender or race since they are after all an extra-terrestrial.  For me the ideal Doctor Who actor, regardless of physical identity should be someone who can project a certain quirkiness, authority, intensity and mystery, and immense intelligence.  As far as identity goes I believe there is but one requirement and that is that the Doctor be from the British Isles (although if Scotland decides to vote for independence he might not necessarily be from the United Kingdom), the Doctor being a particularly British institution.  Whether that Brit is male/female, black/white/other, gay/straight, short/tall, fat/thin (although it does help that they are rather athletic and sprightly as far as the action scenes go so short and fat is perhaps not ideal) is not really that important IMHO.

Anyway, the final point is Peter Capaldi is arguably the best possible choice for the role at this given time (although I'm actually rather surprised he wasn't cast the last two times).  It's almost a 'no-brainer' as far as casting.