The Next Doctor

In case you missed it, the Internet exploded yesterday. I saw some stuff about the Whovian universe voting in a new pope, and that describes it pretty well.

The BBC had a stroke of genius in announcing it live, on TV, simulcast across the globe. My sister and I tuned in with much excitement and bouncing in our seats. Who would it be? Would they go young again, or older?

Older, it turns out. Peter Capaldi is the next Doctor, and we'll meet him in the Christmas episode when Matt Smith regenerates. I've only seen him in the Fires of Pompeii episode, and in Torchwood: Children of Earth. I go into it having no idea what his acting chops are like, so he's practically an unknown to me.

Which leads me to a whole 'nother thing. I'm American, and Doctor Who has never been huge here. Until the last four years. David Tennant (my first Doctor) brought the show to the US with smashing success, and Matt Smith took it to heights of popularity I don't think anyone expected. It was only for the last two seasons that BBC America showed it here on the same day it aired in the UK. Before that the only option was the channel formerly known as The SciFi Channel. And as all original Farscape fans know they're not exactly good at telling viewers when a show is going to air.

I'd never watched it before my dad bought a new TV for the living room and finally got a Netflix streaming account. The first six seasons were available for streaming, and we inhaled them. And I do mean inhaled. The first episode I watched all the way through was a Tennant episode. I'm not Rose's biggest fan, but her departure makes me bawl every time I watch it.

What's been interesting to watch online is all the people who are upset about the casting choice. There are a lot of young fans in the US, and I wouldn't exactly call them Whovians either. They're Tennant fans, or Smith fans, with no idea where all the show has been and no appreciation for it being the longest science fiction show in the history of history. It's a little saddening to see people upset about Capaldi being "too old", and "they should have brought Tennant back because nobody else can possibly be the Doctor".

Really? REALLY??? I want to shake some of these people and tell them to watch the Doctors Revisited specials on BBC America. Each Doctor is unique and brings something special and all his own to the character. Yes, Tennant is my first, but I like Troughton and Baker too. Matt used #2, Patrick Troughton, as his inspiration for his Doctor. Having now seen some of the Troughton episodes I totally see the similarities.

I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but I trust Moffat. I trust him to make the right casting decision and choose the right Doctor to take over in the direction the show is headed. We have no idea what's going to happen in the 50th special, except the Doctor is going to be facing part of whatever he's been running from since 1963.

Whovians: Trust Moffat. I know that's hard, but trust Moffat. Despite the fact that if he walked into a bar twith George R.R. Martin and Joss Whedon every character you've ever loved will die, trust him.