Doctor That Guy

Holy shit, a white guy? I know
Peter, we're all shocked.

In a stunning move, the BBC announced yesterday that Scottish actor Peter Capaldi will play the Doctor's next incarnation. This marks the first time since always that the Doctor has been played by a white male. Sigh. Ok, but for real, Capaldi does seem like a smart choice. He's been on Doctor Who and Torchwood before and look at him, he just looks like someone who should play the Doctor, but still, I guess was kind of hoping that the BBC would be a little more creative and maybe cast a woman or a someone who isn't white.

Poppycock, you say? Not at all, it's already been established that Timelords aren't limited to regenerating into someone who looks like them. One of River Song's incarnations was black and while regenerating, the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) briefly thought he might have turned into a girl so as far as the rules of regeneration go, any casting choice is on the table.

Ok, almost any casting choice.

Tobey Maguire played Spider-Man?
Did they even make talkies back then?

The Doctor is now on his 12th and penultimate life, (or possibly not, if this bullshit is to be believed), so if ever there was a time to open up the casting pool, you'd think it would be now. At first glance, Capaldi might seem like an unimaginative choice, but when you think about it, casting a 55-year old to replace a 30-year old is actually taking a pretty big risk. I mean, we live in a world where Tobey Maguire is apparently too elderly to play Spider-Man. In a way, the BBC is almost being kind of edgy...or at least as edgy as you can be casting another white guy.

Above: The Doctor, miniaturized, and
 piloting a full-sized robot that looks exactly
 like him while wearing a cowboy hat. 

It could be that casting an older actor like Capaldi is a sign that the writers are going to take the series in a little more mature direction. Sure, Matt Smith's episodes were great, but let's face it, the show has gotten a little high on its own sense of mad-cap whimsy (see right). It's pure speculation on my part that casting an older Doctor might mean a change in tone for the new series, but I just can't see episodes like Dinosaurs on a Spaceship or that one with the evil snowmen thing working with a grown-up 50-something playing the Doctor.

I suppose in many ways picking a new Doctor has got to be like choosing the new Pope, because no matter who you go with there's always going to be someone who thinks you've missed an opportunity to shake things up. Yeah, I would have loved it if the BBC went with a female Doctor or with Richard Ayoade (Moss from The IT Crowd, sweet mother of Lloth that would have been amazing), but I am cautiously optimistic.

"For all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: It might have been!"

-American Poet John Greenleaf Whittler,
probably talking about how they
didn't cast Moss as the Doctor