Moffat on the Past and the Future

With  'WorldScreen' getting the Mighty Moff to talk Who the interview-frenzy continues and they are contributing some rather interesting reading material.  Here are some snippets. 

On Moffat's first year as Who's headwriter:

I remember thinking, if these two things screw up, I’m finished! [...] This could be a really terrible year. I could crash Doctor Who and screw up Sherlock Holmes and if I’d just shot Daniel Craig in the face I’d have ended all of British culture. But it didn't work out that way.

On what Mattt Smith has brought to the role:

The last thing anybody thought when we cast the 26-year-old was that what we’d get is a return to the eccentric old boffin that he is at heart, the hipster boffin.

 On casting the new Doctor:

At the end of the day the objective is to convince the nation that somehow, despite the apocalyptic change, it really is the same person.

There are also some Sherlock bits, like  how he and Mark Gatiss came up with the idea and how updating it felt like a natural process.

Then we get a comment on the changing nature of watching TV schedule-free:

Your bookcase doesn't tell you when you can read. Why should your television tell you when you can watch? We’re heading towards the world of the download, and that’s a good thing. It will favor quality, I believe.

And, last but not least, why he thinks Who to be the most perfect  TV show ever envented:

It is the show you can’t kill. [...] It is dependent on no individual. You give it your all for the years that you do it and when you leave it won’t even notice [...] Not only can you recast the Doctor, you can create a Doctor who is appropriate for the times. He can always be modern. He can always be new. It’s an ancient tradition and yet it’s a brand-new iteration of that tradition. So it feels old and new at the same time.

But go on, and read the whole stuff, even though some of the statements may appear familiar to you, especially when you've been following Comic Con. However, some of the background-information has been utterly new to me, and there's a chance it will be new to you too. 

Peter Capaldi's Letter to His Younger Self

Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present Peter Capaldi letter to his younger self. Now, that he's about to have a time machine, he'll be even one of those few lucky ones who'll be able to deliver it...

It's a lovely piece of reading on how, as a kid, he wasn't exactly happy about being a geek

I wish I’d known that one day the geek would inherit the Earth. When I was 16, geeks hadn’t been invented, so being tall and skinny, into horror movies and sci-fi and unable to play football simply made me the go-to guy for the sociopaths.

He also reveals his thoughts on the 'neutral' language actors are required to speak, and that he'd tell his younger self to worry less, as it's a waste of time, and to embrace being different. Which is actually an advice which goes for all of us.

Moffat on Why We Didn't Get a Female Doctor

Yesterday 'The Telegraph' was running an article in which they where citing Moffat describing why he did not choose an actress as the 12th Doctor: 

I didn’t feel enough people wanted it [...] Oddly enough, most people who said they were dead against it were women.

I for my part am glad that Peter Capaldi is not a Petra Capaldi, however, I can't help feeling a bit disappointed about Moffat not mentioning to have any other reasons than peer-pressure. I mean, the Doctor has been a guy for 1000 plus years. Why should I change that, or even want to change that? It has become part of his identity. Sure, some may think it to be fun and the audience could cope. But could he? Could the stories? Wouldn't that be the famous jump over the shark? 

Changing his gender is not necessary, not story-wise and even not gender-policy-wise. For isn't the basic idea of emancipation that there is no difference between men and women, both of them have theoretically the same abilities, the same potential? So why should it be better to make him a her?

I simply fail to come up with a compelling reason. Maybe one day someone will. But I hope, for the sake of the fans and the show, that it will be a good one.

Moffat on His Choice

To many fans, especially those who weren't spoiled by the leaks, Moffat casting Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor came as a surprise. Well, I do not know about you and your friends but if someone would have made a poll among my circle of friends, their guess would have been a less experienced actor. 

However, it's certainly not only them, but all Whovians who are keen on the story behind Moffat's choice, and fortunately 'DigitalSpy' makes sure we get served. 

Maybe the most burning question coming to our mind is if Moffat's big plan was to go for an older actor as the Doctor all along. His answer:

I  think it's good that we've got a different age [...] after Matt showed us all how to be a 20s Doctor. I don't know what you would do after that, because he was so perfect. [...] So it makes life easier, I suppose, that Peter is different. But that wasn't the reason.

And, the most important question of all of them; how is the 12th Doctor going to be like? Moffat does not know yet. 

And what will he wear?

Clothes. Anything else would be just really shocking!

The New Tenant of the TARDIS

The die is cast and after a ridiculous life-event we know that Peter Capaldi is the 12th Doctor. As things are at the moment, with Hurt's 'Doctor' increasing the number of the Doctor's completed regenerations, he also may be the last, strictly speaking, canonical Doctor. After all, we're still waiting for the BBC's emergency protocols to become effective and the Mighty Moff coming up with a solution for the 'odd 12 regenerations rule', as RTD used to call it.

So who is the new guy? If his name does not ring a bell to you, then you're either not living in the UK and/or are not familiar with British TV history. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but Capaldi is a legend.

Which is, ironically, the only, really, the only downside I can see in casting him. For nobody will refer to the big Peter Capaldi as “the guy from Doctor Who”. 

Apart from that I'm surprisingly pleased with Moffat's decision, because his choice fulfils my only requirement: I wanted someone who's a fan of the show. And Capaldi is famous for being in love with Doctor Who.

He's also Scottish, which is amusing as now we're having a Scottish showrunner, we had a Scottish actress playing a Scottish companion and this is the 2nd Scottish actor playing the Doctor within... has it been 4 years? I'm not complaining. So the only remaining question is whether he'll be allowed to keep his accent. Would that be fair?

And he's in his mid-50ies. Actually, that's the second, even though rather small, reason why Moffat's choice is a bit surprising. At least, for a change, nobody is complaining about the new guy being too young. And Capaldi looks as if he'd start every day with jogging ten miles, so he'll be certainly able to keep up with all the required running. No worries about that.

But it's somewhat unexpected that Moffat decided against 'playing it safe'. I thought he'd bend to the public pressure and cast someone looking 25. Because, let's face it, some of those people who have been regularly  watching Doctor Who for a few years now have not spent their Saturday afternoon in front of the telly because of the TV show's awesome concept or Moffat's writing abilities. But those, mostly female, viewers wanted to see Matt Smith in a bowtie saving the universe, or whoever needed to be saved that weekend. There will be certainly people watching Doctor Who because of Capaldi. But it makes this decision nevertheless a risk. One worth taking, IMHO, because it serves the story. We like to forget that our favourite 1000plus years old Time Lord is not 25 any more. At the same time Capaldi has already proven to be an excellent actor so I have no doubts that we won't be missing the Doctor's, let's call it bouncy qualities in season 8.

The last remaining question to tackle is his costume. Will the 12th Doctor still think bow ties are cool? And who's for combining them with a pair of blue jeans, which is the only clothing item I cannot remember the Doctor has been ever wearing. Will he go back to the tradition of having a favourite intensifier? Or a catchphrase? Sorry, that's more than just one question. But they are exiting ones.

So, I don't care if Peter Capaldi was not on your personal list, or if there may be other, much better people out there, in your opinion. I don't care because ATM I'm too curious to find out how Moffat will make this work.

Tennant on Coming Back for the Aniversary

Naturally, with the anniversary special being a bit more than three months away, and the recent interview-frenzy being on the brim of developing a life of its own, it was only a question of time for the first David Tennant interview to show up. This time it's 'SFX' is giving us the honour. 

 

Admittedly, some of the questions are pretty predictable, and none of the answers will stir up the fanbase;  like was he surprised to be asked to come back (nope) and they chat about what it was like to share the role of the Doctor on screen.

Of course, also the 'what about a female Doctor'-question comes up and I love his answer:

You are not going to get a quote from me on that. It will come back and bite me on the arse whatever I say!

Refreshingly, that's the least diplomatic answer I've read the past months.