Say what you like about the current state of Doctor Who, but you can’t fault Peter Capaldi’s current take as the enigmatic Time Lord on the run. With a face that is home to attack eyebrows and a severe lack of patience for any Christmas carollers, Capaldi’s surly Doctor has been an absolute delight after an era which was dominated by a madman in a blue box in the form of Matt Smith’s particular Gallifreyan.
But few actors last beyond three seasons as the Doctor, and Capaldi’s time may indeed be up next year. That’s according to the British tabloid The Mirror, so while I’d advise taking this with a pinch of salt, I’d also advise applying a Full-Nelson headlock to a 5KG bag of sodium. Right, so here’s the rumour: According to The Mirror sources, merchandise sales are flagging and the BBC wants to inject Doctor Who with a new lease on life when current showrunner Steven Moffatt leaves.
Moffat’s run, according to people who hate Doctor Who the most (the fans), hasn’t been well received lately and he’ll be vacating his job at the end of the next season as Chris “Broadchurch” Chibnall takes over as showrunner. A change in the creative hierarchy that the BBC wants to kick off by ditching both Capaldi and his new companion in favour of a newer and younger team that is reminiscent of the David Tennant run on Doctor Who.
“BBC management wants a return to the format from the David Tennant era, when you had a dashing male lead and young female companion,” The Mirror’s source said.
Merchandising has dropped off sharply in recent years and there is a strong desire to boost the show’s popularity among kids.
Is that the right move? That’s debatable. While Capaldi may be the star of the show, his stories as the Doctor that have been an instance of hit and miss. When you’ve got a character who kicks off his run by defeating an army of rubbish robots from the dawn of time with mere wits playing second fiddle to his own companion, something is kind of not right.
But then again, we’ll see. Capaldi’s Doctor will eventually regenerate once again. It just remains to be seen if the next series is indeed his last. But before that, we’ve still got a Christmas special to get through. Allons-y!
Last Updated: November 17, 2016
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 17, 2016 at 09:48
Is that because they destroyed the London sanctuary?
Original Heretic
November 17, 2016 at 09:50
As much as I love Capaldi as The Doctor, yeah, it’s time to bring another one in.
I just hope that in the next season, they elaborate on that bloody “Listen” episode! One of the coolest episodes ever!
Victor Moolman
November 17, 2016 at 10:18
That episode and “Blink” are the top episodes of Doctor Who in my book.
Can’t wait for some fresh writing staff though, every season tried to be epic and it more or less felt like every season was the same thing just a few changes here and there.
Milesh Bhana
November 17, 2016 at 09:58
a little disappointed by this. Season 9 was very focused on saying goodbye to Clara, and what i loved about the xmas special is that the Clara-storyline was finally over and it was The Doctor being himself.
I loved Clara (Jenna Coleman, yum!), but it become too focused on her. So was looking forward to seeing more Doctor. Hopefully 1 season is enough before we have to say goodbye again.
The D
November 17, 2016 at 10:39
HOW DARE YOU SHE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD RABBLERABBLE
Milesh Bhana
November 17, 2016 at 12:06
“Impossible”!!!
Zoe Hawkins
November 17, 2016 at 12:08
I will be very disappointed – I love Capaldi Who, although Tennant is still my favorite. Still, if they bring in a young, new doctor that’s fine as long as they also bring in Doctor Jack Hotness, too. Actually, I wonder if they would be open to really shaking up the formula – let the doctor finally be a ginger, but a lady, so therefore a red head. And a male companion…
Original Heretic
November 17, 2016 at 12:21
Karen Gillan, then?
When Capaldi first took over and The Doctor had his first look at his new face, he had that whol bit of “I know this face, I know this face, it’s always a face I’ve seen somewhere” etc, obviously referencing the fact that Capaldi had already appeared in Doctor Who before when Tennant and Donna went back to Pompeii.
So then, what would happen if he ends up with the face of a former companion? Could shake things up nicely.