Next to nobody can fail to notice that in amongst the 'Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor!' hype, those who've seen him in an entirely different guise (The Thick Of It's foul-mouthed government Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker to be precise) have been wondering if there'll be undercurrents of the sweariest man to darken Westminster's door. A question at the recent fan Q&A session in Cardiff following a screening of Deep Breath offered the chance of a definitive answer. So, to begin, lets give the floor over to the man behind both Tucker & the Twelfth Doctor.
"There’s a certain acid wit he might show. Obviously no bad language. I think Malcolm would be incredibly envious that his alter ego (me) had got this gig. But yes, there’s a little. It’s not misplaced in a show like Doctor Who."A fair answer, you'll most likely agree, going by his initial appearance as the piece de resistance of The Time Of The Doctor! We'd already seen those piercing eyes in this newest Doctor's cameo as part of the flotilla of TARDISes helping to freeze Gallifrey in time ( each of course ably piloted by a past incarnation in response to the initial efforts of the War, Tenth & Eleventh Doctors at the conclusion of The Day Of The Doctor). So we might be in for an intense ride..........
No wonder colleagues & enemies alike of Tucker's feared him, eh? The swearing might have to go by the wayside, but there are several characteristics of his which might fit the Doctor like a glove. We've looked at the eyes- windows ' into darkness' as he himself puts it. Fair play. We've seen that before...
Enough to put the fear of God into even the steeliest of Daleks! You can't fail to see more than a little intensity there. But look also at how both Malcolm & the Doctor interact with others. Capaldi's style of movement & tone of voice also help to suggest a certain dominance. There's a case for saying he won't exactly be afraid to lord it over both Clara & his many foes when he feels the need to. Whether he'll depart with lines like this ( listen for the last two words) after he's defeated whichever menace happens to pester him & his beloved human race we don't know...
Perhaps they're saving those words for his regeneration, whether that comes as a surprise at the end of Series 8 as some are speculating, or later.
Seasoned Thick Of It viewers will note with interest that Tucker is willing to do almost literally anything to get what he wants- forcing his predecessor to resign after telling the press of the resignation having neglected to tell the poor sap of his plan perhaps his grandest scheme. Could the Doctor plumb similar depths in order to achieve his own desired results? After all he's done so before ( if you've not yet had the pleasure of watching the Seventh Doctor in action, his era comes recommended).
Throw in a little of the First's flintiness...
...& possibly a little of the Third's ' man of action' attitude alongside traces of Malcolm & we could be in for quite something.
In fact some have already had a bash at combining the two! Take a look at this...
Which of his companions will fill the ' Ollie Reeder' role, though? Interestingly enough, Chris Addison ( the man who played him) is appearing in the Series 8 finale, titled Dark Water/Death In Heaven. How the Doctor interacts with him given that he's worked with Capaldi previously, going so far as to champion his old mate as a potentially brilliant Doctor & in the process showing off his fan credentials, could be quite something to behold.
"I thought Matt Smith was terrific, I loved David Tennant, Chris Eccleston, they’ve all been great, since it came back. But what I really have missed… is the mercurial, unknowable, frightening side of the Doctor. We haven’t had the Doctor where you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m safe with this person’. Peter will give it that… He’ll be this time round’s Tom Baker, the one that everybody thinks of."A ringing endorsement there from Addison! But there's more-
"I never quite felt that any of the ones we’ve seen since 2005 could be imperious. That’s a note that’s missing from the scale. Peter will bring that back. I’m beyond excited. It’s all I can do not to drive down to Cardiff."It doesn't end there, though. Addison was himself linked to the role of the Doctor ( admittedly at long odds) before his old cast-mate was announced as the Twelfth incarnation! Appearing on Mock The Week, he donned a Fourth Doctor-ish hat & scarf to address the question of whether he would be the next man to pilot the TARDIS...
Amazingly the man who did get it was pretty much convinced he'd fluffed his chance, though. In a joint interview with Steven Moffat, he told the head writer
"The funny thing I didn’t tell you is that I thought when we did it that was a disaster. I thought I’d done it so badly and I was so - to use a popular phrase - out of the loop. But I’d enjoyed the experience so much that I thought, if that’s as far as it goes, that’s worth it."Thankfully Peter Capaldi was very much 'in the loop'.
The countdown to Deep Breath is in full swing. 3 Days until the era of the Twelfth Doctor begins...
