Beware! Spoilers may be ahead!
As many of us know, Matt Smith, King of the Hipster Nerds, abdicated his thrown as The Doctor in the waning days of 2013. Gone are the days of bow ties, fezzes, and companion flirting among other things.
It was about time.
None of these things were bad things. Bow ties and fezzes are still cool and make wonderful additions to any wardrobe. The hints of romance between The Doctor and his companions humanized the Time Lord. But, it was time for change.
This change has come to us by way of Peter Capaldi. For the first time since the classic series, we have a Doctor that looks and acts his age. We could contest that John Hurt’s appearance in the 50th anniversary special was a testing ground for this and that he marked the return of older actors playing the titular character. This is an important point, but he is really only in one episode and then cameos. Capaldi, on the other hand, is here to stay, at least for a while.
The greatest aspect of bringing Capaldi into the show will be the loss of the David Tennant/Matt Smith bandwagoners. These people joined the fandom because they found the actors to be attractive. While this did help to boost the popularity of the show, it made it difficult to tell who the true fans are. See dorkly.com.
At the same time, this could be an opportunity for the bandwagoners to become real fans. Having the opportunity to see past the eye candy may allow them to truly appreciate the show.
Hand holding, a hint of romance
Another benefit is that there is finally a good dynamic between Clara and The Doctor. When Clara was running around with The 11th Doctor, many fans did not like her. This was partially due to the poor writing within season seven, but also because the hearts of the fans were still with Amy and Rory. Many of these fans felt that The Doctor picked up a new companion too soon and replaced her in his heart before he could truly get over them. There was also some worry that she was just a cheep romantic replacement for the show, but the fans were tire of the romance.
Awkward, unwanted hugging – not a sign of romance.
Now we have two people who do love each other, but not romantically. Instead, The 12th Doctor and Clara are more like very close work associates. This dynamic seems to be working for the both of them.
Capaldi is lending himself well to the new role as well. He plays such a different Doctor than we have seen in the past few years. It will be interesting to see how the character progresses for the remainder of his tenure on the show. Hopefully, they don’t give him a catch phrase, but I would like to see him use his spoon some more.
Blowing a Bit of Smoke 