Peter Capaldi, the Best Doctor, Was Failed By His Episodes

A quick, easy and very good read here:

https://www.inverse.com/article/33402-best-doctor-who-capaldi-regeneration-episodes-smith-tennant

'Most of Capaldi’s episodes felt like remixes of Who’s greatest hits from the 2005 relaunch of the show. This problem has existed since Capaldi’s first episode. Everyone loved the clockwork robots from Moffat’s season two episode “The Girl in the Fireplace.” But, by the time those same robots were rebooted for Capaldi’s debut episode, “Deep Breath,” the oomph of the concept was long gone'.

'And yet, through all of this, Capaldi’s performance as this weary time-travel and good-hearted character was much richer and authentic than his three predecessors.'


Capaldi's era will no doubt, in time, speak volumes of everything wrong with era of NuWho. How such a fine actor has been totally wasted by poor writing and unoriginal ideas.

Just really wish he had would stay for one more series under the new management.

Rick Deckard 2.0 wrote:A quick, easy and very good read here:

https://www.inverse.com/article/33402-best-doctor-who-capaldi-regeneration-episodes-smith-tennant

'Most of Capaldi’s episodes felt like remixes of Who’s greatest hits from the 2005 relaunch of the show. This problem has existed since Capaldi’s first episode. Everyone loved the clockwork robots from Moffat’s season two episode “The Girl in the Fireplace.” But, by the time those same robots were rebooted for Capaldi’s debut episode, “Deep Breath,” the oomph of the concept was long gone'.

'And yet, through all of this, Capaldi’s performance as this weary time-travel and good-hearted character was much richer and authentic than his three predecessors.'


Capaldi's era will no doubt, in time, speak volumes of everything wrong with era of NuWho. How such a fine actor has been totally wasted by poor writing and unoriginal ideas.

Just really wish he had would stay for one more series under the new management.

Statement of the obvious, although nice to see the truth about the show finally being disseminated beyond this forum.

Rick Deckard 2.0 wrote:Everyone loved the clockwork robots from Moffat’s season two episode “The Girl in the Fireplace.”

Did they?

The clockwork droids did'nt even act like the ones from Girl In The Fireplace

Is the writer even aware that Crapoldie has more than three predecessors?

Ian, the writer probably remembered afterwards - "shit, I forgot the John Hurt Doctor!"

I think Peter was well and truly Colin Baker'd with his Doctor. A fine actor with a fine character but his stories, writing and direction were beyond sub-par. It all smacks of what happened to Colin back in the 80s.

Here's hoping he gets a fair shake of the audio stick like Colin did, where the writing for the most part is was better than what he got on TV.

About the only, sorry THE only, good thing about The Doctor's Balls was the performance of Capaldi - and frankly I've sometimes felt he's been dragged down by the general rubbishness of Moffat-era Who.

Mr Seta wrote:I think Peter was well and truly Colin Baker'd

No. Just no. Colon Baker Baker'd himself with his truly horrendous acting, he was not fit to play the part and single-handedly sent the show into a shit-spiral that ultimately led to its cancellation.
Please never compare that bag of errant dog feces with Capaldi ever again.
Thank you

You sir are a total cunt. Baker is fantastic. Want bad acting look at Tennant. Can't even do a decent English accent. Masks it by shouting all the time.

BobDominelliSudbury wrote:

Mr Seta wrote:I think Peter was well and truly Colin Baker'd

No. Just no. Colon Baker Baker'd himself with his truly horrendous acting, he was not fit to play the part and single-handedly sent the show into a shit-spiral that ultimately led to its cancellation.
Please never compare that bag of errant dog feces with Capaldi ever again.
Thank you

Whoa, no way! Colin was brilliant and let down by his stories. Don't take my word for it, listen to the audios where he was given more creative freedom and better stories!

Heck, he was fighting just to get a blue version of his multi-coloured coat passed, you can imagine the script arguments!

I don't even understand the comparison. Season 22 is one of the best seasons of the show ever made. Even series 10 - by far Capaldi's best - doesn't even come within a whisker of it.

BobDominelliSudbury wrote:

Mr Seta wrote:I think Peter was well and truly Colin Baker'd

No. Just no. Colon Baker Baker'd himself with his truly horrendous acting, he was not fit to play the part and single-handedly sent the show into a shit-spiral that ultimately led to its cancellation.
Please never compare that bag of errant dog feces with Capaldi ever again.
Thank you

Welcome back Toilet man! Missed your trolling, even though I love Colin its hilarious.

iank wrote:I don't even understand the comparison. Season 22 is one of the best seasons of the show ever made. Even series 10 - by far Capaldi's best - doesn't even come within a whisker of it.

Well I can see what they mean in that it can't be denied despite the undeniable quality of some of his stories that Colin in a lot of ways was the most wasted Doctor of Classic Who.

His costume was awful, also the fact that he didn't even want it is telling since all the previous Docs picked theirs out. Furthermore his entire second season is taken up by one story that's polarising at best, so all he has is one season. Now I agree its a good season, but again obviously compared to say Pertwee or even just Hartnell its hard not to see him as wasted potential.

However you are right nothing in Colin's era, including the very worst of Trial is as bad as the dregs of Capaldi's time and really none of the few good stories in Capaldi's time come close to Colin's best.

One thing I don't like is the way that people involved in Old Who like Terrance Dicks always slate JNT as having killed it, but kiss up to the new who producers. Okay I get it Terrance Dicks didn't like JNT as a person or his era, but come on!

Look at how JNT treated the icons from your era Uncle Tewwy and then look at how Moff did and tell me which one was really not fit for purpose?

Where'd you get that from? Last time I heard, Dicks didn't think much to New Who either!

iank wrote:Where'd you get that from? Last time I heard, Dicks didn't think much to New Who either!

I saw him visiting the set recently with other old who alumi like Eric Saward and talking to Moffat.

Also I have never heard him say anything bad about New Who. You got any links? I must admit I can't imagine he likes the Cyber Brig.

He and Barry Letts openly said they found the stories lacked story, were too fast paced and that the stories relied on special effects and jargon rather than actual plot.

Even Terrence Dicks New Who novel was better than any RTD script.

Genkimonk wrote:He and Barry Letts openly said they found the stories lacked story, were too fast paced and that the stories relied on special effects and jargon rather than actual plot.

Indeed. If he was visiting the set, I imagine he was just being polite. You don't go into someone else's house and start shitting on the floor.

Funnily enough Ian, a friend of mine sadly became the victim of such behaviour - tho I don't think it was who-related!

You don't know, maybe they just had a natural reaction to seeing a poster of 10/Rose!

I'm paraphrasing an excellent article here, one I find nails the abomination that was the 6th Doctor:

Colin Baker was an excruciating failure as DW, routinely ranked dead last in fan polls and widely considered the start of the careening path to cancellation a few years later.

The best that can be said for it is that the idea behind the Sixth Doctor's unlikeable character wasn't terrible; but the actual presentation was not just terrible, but toxic.
JNT gives us an extreme Doctor, in the way that Rob Liefeld comics, Poochie from the Simpsons, and Mountain Dew Code Red are extreme: A crude version of the good stuff that equates being louder with being more awesome.
The obnoxiousness of the Doctor's personality might have worked better if they hired someone who could actually act, but all the audience got was horrible OTT pantomiming flaring nostrils.

Written by a loser, agreed with by one.

BobDominelliSudbury wrote:

Colin Baker was an excruciating failure as DW, routinely ranked dead last in fan polls and widely considered the start of the careening path to cancellation a few years later.

The best that can be said for it is that the idea behind the Sixth Doctor's unlikeable character wasn't terrible; but the actual presentation was not just terrible, but toxic.
JNT gives us an extreme Doctor, in the way that Rob Liefeld comics, Poochie from the Simpsons, and Mountain Dew Code Red are extreme: A crude version of the good stuff that equates being louder with being more awesome.
The obnoxiousness of the Doctor's personality might have worked better if they hired someone who could actually act, but all the audience got was horrible OTT pantomiming flaring nostrils.

That's the whole point though. You weren't meant to like him at first. You were meant to see over the course of his run how the brashness and obnoxiousness was just a front of his real character. For obvious reasons, he never got that chance to expand on it, which is what he did in the Audios.

The only arguments I've ever seen leveled at Colin Baker's Doctor is 'HURR DURR HE WAS TOO SHOUTY AND MEAN AND HIS COSTUME WAS TOO BRIGHT AND HE WAS OVER THE TOP'.

Come on, you're better than that.

He's not, you know.

iank wrote:He's not, you know.

Worth a shot, in any case.