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The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of , the protagonist of the
programme . He is portrayed by Scottish actor . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a ,
from a race known as the . When the Doctor is critically injured, he can
his body, and in doing so gain a new physical appearance, and with it a dist this plot mechanism has allowed the Doctor to be portrayed by a series of actors over the decades since the programme's inception in 1963. Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor is spiky, brusque, contemplative, and pragmatic character who conceals his emotions in the course of making tough and sometimes ruthless decisions.
Capaldi made his first, very brief appearance as the Doctor in the show's fiftieth anniversary special "" (2013), as one of the thirteen incarnations of the Doctor who are summoned to save
from destruction. Capaldi's first full appearance was at the end of the 2013 Christmas special "". He is accompanied in the
portrays the Twelfth Doctor
, who played the , announced his departure from Doctor Who on 1 June 2013. Prior to the announcing of Capaldi as the next Doctor, there was extensive media speculation on the subject. On 3 August 2013, bookmakers
suspended betting when Capaldi became the
to be cast. Capaldi's casting was revealed on 4 August during a live broadcast on , titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. The live show was watched by an average of 6.27 million in the UK, and was also simulcast in the United States, Canada and Australia.
While Capaldi was the first choice for the role, other actors were also approached in case Capaldi should turn the offer down. , who was an early favourite following the announcement of Matt Smith's departure, said that he had been approached with a view to assessing whether he would be interested in playing the Doctor, with his name remaining as a potential contender until just before the live BBC broadcast.
Doctor Who head writer and executive producer
said that Capaldi "briefly flicked through [his] mind" while casting the Eleventh Doctor, but that he dismissed the idea, thinking he was not right for the part at the time. , the BBC's drama commissioner, said that Capaldi was suggested months before the August revelation and that a secret audition was held at Moffat's home. Capaldi prepared for the audition by downloading old Doctor Who scripts from the Internet and practising in front of a mirror. He discovered he had been given the part during filming for '
after missing a call from his agent, Capaldi rang back to be greeted with "Hello, Doctor!" At 55 years old when originally cast, Capaldi was only a few months younger than
(the ) was, when he was cast in the role, and will be the oldest actor since Hartnell to star in the show. Moffat felt that an older actor would work best following the youngest actor, as it would both provide a change and lessen comparisons. He commented, "I can absolutely believe that the strange old-young Matt Smith will turn into the strange young-old Peter Capaldi."
Capaldi has previously appeared playing other roles in the Doctor Who franchise. He portrayed
in the 2008 episode "" and
in , the 2009 serial of the Doctor Who spin-off . Moffat has stated that he plans on explaining over time why there are three characters in the
with his predecessor
had once explained to him a theory for the first two, and upon Capaldi's casting assured Moffat that the explanation would still work. This situation was alluded to in "Deep Breath", when a confused Doctor is reminded of Caecilius when he examines his face in a mirror. Capaldi's casting marks the second time an actor has previously appeared in the series and then been cast as an incarnation of the Doctor, the first being .
Capaldi briefly appears in the 50th anniversary special. Moffat stated that it was his "plan from the start" that all the Doctors would fly in to save Gallifrey, and he knew there would be a new one at that time. He wrote it before knowing who would be cast. Capaldi filmed his appearance on 3 October 2013, long after principal photography for the special had ended, and the same day he filmed his debut scene for "The Time of the Doctor".
Capaldi kept his native Scottish accent for the role. Speaking on his decision, he said he did it so he could feel closer to the character. A handful of tweets were reported in September 2014 in which it was claimed that some viewers struggled to understand Capaldi. A speech coach and linguistics expert both suggested that any problems with understanding Capaldi had more to do with delivery than accent.
The Twelfth Doctor's outfit consists of a signature dark blue short -style coat with a red lining, dark blue trousers, a long collared white shirt buttoned to the top with no tie, a navy cardigan or waistcoat, and brogue boots. His shirt varies from episode to episode, with a navy shirt, a dark purple shirt and a black shirt with white polka dots appearing, as well as a black holey jumper, all being worn under his coat. In "", the Doctor describes his costume as "hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with magician."
The look was created by Doctor Who costume designer Howard Burden who wanted to strip the Doctor back to the bare basics. His design was described as "No frills, no scarfs, no messing, just 100% rebel Time Lord." Capaldi said that the costume took a long time to find. The reason he settled on his final costume was because, “I think it’s quite a hard look. I always wanted him to be in black — I always just saw the Doctor in dark colours. Not tweed," in reference to his immediate predecessor's original costume. "Matt’s a really young cool guy — he can wear anything, but I wanted to strip it back and be very stark.” He also described it as "back to basics." Moffat described the look as "A stick-insect sort of thing". He also said that Clara calls him "a grey-haired stick-insect at one point". Capaldi also stated that he chose the Twelfth Doctor's costume so fans of the show who enjoy cosplay could easily emulate it without going to great expense.
Capaldi has said that his Doctor is "more alien than he's been in a while." He has stated that unlike his previous two incarnations who cared about humans and tried to understand them, this incarnation "doesn’t quite understand human beings or really care very much about their approval.” Jenna Coleman said of this Doctor, "He’s more removed, you can't quite access him in the same way", referring to the way you could with the more friendly accessible previous incarnation. Capaldi also specifically requested that the Doctor will not flirt with his companion the way his previous incarnation did. He has also been described as a "total adrenaline junkie". Steven Moffat has said of this Doctor, "He's a much fiercer, madder, less reliable Doctor". "He’s not as immediately approachable and he’s not necessarily looking for your approval, when he says ‘Wait here, I’ll be back’, you’re not absolutely convinced... what he’s not doing is reassuring you very much.”
said that Capaldi's Doctor was "sort of ,
style...it’s someone who’s not immediately going to be your best friend and can be quite abrupt and rude.” Moffat added to this analysis of the character by saying, “He has a tremendous ability with throwaway humor and a lot of it is around the fact that sometimes he is terribly rude. I think kids will think he is the rude Doctor [...] You might want to cuddle him but he really will resist.” It has been said that part of the Doctor's personality will share “a certain acid wit” of , the role Peter Capaldi is most famous for, "specifically the attitude, the wisecracks and the energy...he can be edgy, volatile and dangerous". Capaldi has stated that all of the previous actors who had played the Doctor were channeled in his portrayal and that his particular influences were Hartnell, Pertwee and . He has been described as an "older, fiercer, trickier Doctor".
In spite of his darker personality, Capaldi has said that the Doctor is still, "funny, joyful, passionate, emphatic, and fearless." While Jenna Coleman added that this time, the Doctor is more "enigmatic, mysterious, complex, worn, and unmannered," when compared to his immediate two predecessors. Steven Moffat joked that he's, "more Scottish than last time."
The Twelfth Doctor makes a first (and uncredited) appearance in the programme's fiftieth anniversary special, "" (2013), when thirteen incarnations of the Doctor unite to save his home planet of
from destruction during the . At first,
in Gallifrey's war room spot twelve blue
approaching and encircling the planet. This count is then corrected to thirteen, and Capaldi's hands, eyes, and forehead are fleetingly shown. He then makes his full debut at the end of the next episode, "", after the , about to die from old age, is given a new regeneration cycle from the Time Lords, who remain hidden in a .
premiere "" (2014), the Doctor arrives in Victorian London, where he recovers from the stress of his regeneration, initially under the care of the . After uncovering potential alien presence in London, the Doctor goes on the run as a homeless person for some time. He and Clara are reunited by a third party, and realize that this third party has been conspiring to bring the two of them together for some time. The Doctor helps Clara overcome her reservations about his new personality and older physical appearance, and they begin adventuring once more. Over the course of the series, the Doctor's callousness strained his relation to Clara as she is conflicted over keeping her continued travelling a secret from her boyfriend, Danny (). But in the 2-part Series 8 finale, ""/"", the Doctor attempts to helps Clara find Danny after he died. But it results with the Doctor learning that his archnemesis , now in the form of woman calling herself Missy (), orchestrated his past life's meeting with Clara and has been the one making sure the two continue to travel together. Furthermore, Missy has been reanimating the dead as
as part of a plan to tempt the Doctor into giving in to his vices by providing him with an army to conquer the universe with. By then, finally understanding what sort of person he is now, the Doctor has the partially cyber-converted Danny sacrifice himself to save the world. As a final victory for Missy, when her attempt to have the Doctor kill her is thwarted, the Doctor is mislead to believe that Gallifrey has returned to its old coordinates. After the chain of events happened between them, believing that Danny came back, the Doctor parted ways with Clara two weeks later. However, the Doctor ends up having a surprise visitor in Santa Claus.
Peter Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor has been met with critical acclaim. Following the broadcast of his , Euan Ferguson of
called his performance "wise and thoughtful", while Richard Beech of
agreed that Capaldi displayed "all the hallmarks of a great Doctor". Michael Hogan of
felt that Capaldi's portrayal "crackled with fierce intelligence and nervous energy".
The Doctor Who Team. . BBC.
. BBC. 4 August 2013.
Lazarus, Susanna (12 March 2013). . .
(1 June 2013). . BBC.
Sources that refer to the extensive media speculation about the identity of the Twelfth Doctor include:
(3 June 2013). . . BBC.
Boyle, Simon (3 June 2013). . .
Tilly, Chris (4 June 2013). . IGN.
Stevens, Christopher (2 June 2013). . .
Westbrook, Caroline (2 June 2013). . .
Prior, Vicki (26 June 2013). . .
Associated writers (3 June 2013). . . Blogger.
Gough, Deborah (3 August 2013). . .
. BBC. 4 August 2013.
Glanfield, Tim (5 August 2013). . Radio Times.
. doctorwho.tv. 17 October 2013.
Masters, Tim (5 August 2013). . BBC.
Lazarus, S Jones, Paul (5 August 2013). . .
Jones, Paul (30 September 2013). . .
Wilkins, Alasdair (24 August 2014). . .
Jeffrey, Morgan (25 November 2013). . .
Cook, Benjamin (January 2014). "The Clock Strikes Twelve".
() (469): 19.
Halina Watts (30 December 2014). . .
Alice Vincent (22 August 2014). . .
Ann Lee (30 December 2014). . .
Zeba Blay (21 August 2014). . .
Mark Jefferies (8 August 2014). . .
. Dailymail.co.uk.
The Doctor Who Team. . BBC.
. Doctor Who TV. 27 July 2014.
Antonia Molloy (1 August 2014). . The Independent.
Holmes, Jonathan (). . .
. Doctor Who TV. .
@CultBoxTV. . CultBox.
. Doctor Who TV. 21 July 2014.
. Den of Geek. 1 August 2014.
Methven, Nicola. . Mirror.co.uk.
Smith, Mikey. . Mirror.co.uk.
Methven, Nicola. . Mirror.co.uk.
Trenholm, Rich. . CNET.
Steven Moffat, , Marcus Wilson (23 November 2013). "". . BBC.
. Doctor Who TV. 27 June 2014.
Ferguson, Euan (23 August 2014). . . .
from the original on 23 August 2014.
Beech, Richard (23 August 2014). . . .
from the original on 23 August 2014.
Hogan, Michael (23 August 2014). . . .
from the original on 23 August 2014.
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