I watched Dr. Who as a child in 1963, but essentially missed the next 10 Dr. Who’s till I reconnected with David Tennant when BBC America began showing the sci-fi show, and became a full fledged fanatic with the 11th Who, the great Matt Smith who played the regenerating Doc from 2009 – 2013.
Briefly: Dr. Who is the last Time Lord, he travels through time in a telephone box time machine called the Tardis and regenerates into a new body every time he comes close to dying, which means the show isn’t tied to a star but it might be tied to a show runner Stephen Moffat.
Anyway, Smith has had himself regenerated into an actor I love, Peter Capaldi, the wonderful Scottish actor who appeared in “Local Hero” in the 1980s. So I am sorry to report he does nothing for me in the two hour opening episode of the new Dr. Who who story, a mish mosh of rejuvenation, dinosaurs, the lizard Sherlock Holmes lesbian couple in Victorian England, a cyborg who wants to be human and finally companion Clara, the “impossible girl” Jenna Coleman.
I find Jenna Coleman astoundingly irritating and Capaldi almost her equal and I was discussing the show with a none who fan who seemed to think it wasn’t remotely clever and while I don’t entirely agree, there was a lot of work to be done, it certainly wasn’t charming at all. The soliloquie handed out defiantly to the Lizard was not remotely close to being fun and speaking fast isn’t necessary speaking smart. It sure ain’t here.
Also, everybody including Capaldi keeps saying how he will need time to become the Doctor. well, really I thing 90 minutes into the fucking episode is long enough. Shakespeare nails down hamlet in the first act, why can’t capaldi nail Who? I’m not inthe business of sitting around waiting for actors to realize their jobs.
For all the daring do of switching the young Smith with the 26 years older Capaldi, the problem isn’t age, the problem is charm offensive and weirdness -when you don’t like the Doctor or his companion, maybe it is time to take a break from the series? Next week is a Daleks story, so the week after that should tell the story.
Grade: C+
