With season 8 of “Doctor Who” premiering tonight (WHOO!) There is a pretty big question looming that the casting of Peter Capaldi in the role of the 12th Doctor has raised. Beyond the fact the show has always been about creating more questions than answering ones, I mean it is even in the fucking title, but still, when you cast an actor who has already appeared in the core show once, and the spin-off “Torchword” as well. It adds a ton of issues to already wibbly-wobbly plot.
So let’s dice this up a bit, shall we?
Capaldi has previously appeared in season four of the core series in an episode titled “The Fires of Pompeii.” There are no hints in the episode that this is the 12th Doctor, time travelling. If it was himself, he would have known it was volcano day, just had the 10th did and he would have known who the 10th was and who Donna was (unless some mind-wipeness happened as in the season 3 episode “Human Nature” but I doubt the same plot device would be used twice. Moffat is not that lazy.”
Capaldi appeared again in “Torchwood” as a character called John Frobisher. Once again, see similar train of through in previous paragraph.
Moffat says that Russell T. Davies has an explanation (a dull one at that) for the Torchwood and Pompeii appearances saying that Frobisher is possibly a descendant of the family the 10th Doctor saved.
But that still doesn’t explain why both characters are identical to the 12 Doctor. So, it looks like they may have to get creative (or ignore it completely…)
There is also the question about who is coming to challenge the 12th Doctor this time around? The teasers have been hinting at a return of Davros or Dalek Caan and an angrier Doctor then we have ever seen before but Moffat has said this season will not have an over arching storyline that connects each episode like before. This Doctor does not appear to be a “good man” like Matt Smith’s portrayal but something totally and completely different. And Capaldi’s face shows it in every promo we have seen thus far.
Hopefully we get some questions answered tonight even though it will just leave us with more new ones unanswered per usual.
