Peter Capaldi

Look At What They Make You Give

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One of the many assets of Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity (spoilers ahead) is Clive Owen’s character, called the Professor. Like Jason Bourne, the Professor’s one of the Treadstone program’s assassins, a laconic piece of work who says nary a syllable until he finally catches up with his quarry. And once Bourne has gunned him down, he uses his dying words to reflect on the terrible bond they share:

Look at us. Look at what they make you give.

Bourne himself will repeat those words in The Bourne Ultimatum. It’s a commentary on the way Treadstone has leached the good from them both, in the name of a supposed higher purpose.

And after seeing the latest Doctor Who, the road from the Professor to the Doctor might not be as far as you’d think. Or hope.

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It’s Complicated, But Does It Really Have To Be THAT Complicated?

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One of the many things that’s made Series 8 of Doctor Who so different from past seasons is the nature of the arc that informs the stories. In past years (especially since Steven Moffat became showrunner), those arcs were plot-driven, grounded in twists and turns and reveals of mixed justification and mixed success.

But this season, the arc is almost entirely character-driven. It’s about relationships. It’s about Clara’s relationship with the Doctor. In a way I’m not sure the show has really attempted before, Doctor Who is exploring what it means to travel with the Doctor. And it’s exploring that relationship from both sides.

And so, it’s not altogether surprising that the last two episodes have effectively changed the status to “It’s Complicated.”

But it’s still great viewing.

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Growing Up With A Space Dad

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We’re halfway through Series 8 of Doctor Who, and I’m beginning to think that this season is as much about Steven Moffat learning from his mistakes as it is about the Doctor learning from his.

This last week’s episode is a perfect case in point. “The Caretaker” explores a theme Moffat covered just last season in “The Power of Three”: what it’s like to try to live an ordinary life when the Doctor’s in it. But that episode never quite succeeded, while this one succeeds quite well.

The difference?

Consequences.

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Listen Closely…

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One of the great hopes I had for series 8 of Doctor Who was that we’d see the show step back from its plot-heavy storytelling of recent seasons, and focus more on exploring the characters. With a new Doctor (and especially with THAT actor playing him), I hoped Steven Moffat would seize the great opportunity before him: the opportunity to craft stories that are less about what the Doctor does, and more about who he is.

But I thought it too much to hope for an episode as inspired as “Listen.”

Maybe I should have aimed a little higher…

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Why I’m A Sucker For Unlikely-Hero Narratives

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When it comes to Doctor Who, sometimes silliness is a bug, and sometimes it’s a feature.

It’s important to keep that in mind when you’re talking about this week’s episode. “Robot of Sherwood” is a mostly ridiculous story, but it’s so by design. On its surface, it’s little more than an excuse to have fun with the tropes of both Robin Hood and the Doctor.

And I pretty much loved it.
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Whoever Fights Daleks…

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It probably goes without saying (so of course I’m saying it anyway) that you really can’t have Doctor Who without the Daleks.

Created by Terry Nation, the Doctor’s most famous enemy was introduced in the first few weeks of the show’s existence, and (as legend has it) quickly sent younger viewers scrambling behind the sofa. Since then, nearly every Doctor has had to contend with them onscreen, and every showrunner has had to figure out how to keep them as frightening as they were in that very first encounter.

With the latest episode, Steven Moffat and Phil Ford have attempted that feat by introducing them to someone just as frightening…

…the Doctor.

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The Three Twelfth Doctors

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“There will be plenty of time to wax rhapsodic about Peter Capaldi and his Doctor in the coming weeks, but I think it’s safe to say that he’s dazzling right out of the gate; also forceful, aggressive, and dangerous… This new Doctor runs such a gamut of emotional states and attitudes throughout the course of the 80 minutes, it isn’t so much confusing, as it is a sight to behold. You genuinely never know what he’s going to do next.”
– Ross Ruediger

Except for Ross, you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone more excited than me at the thought of Peter Capaldi taking on the most iconic role in sci-fi as Doctor Who. Capaldi’s that rare kind of actor who can elevate a scene, or an entire film, just by his mere presence (consider his previous signature role in The Thick of It, or his brief but powerful turn in World War Z). To have an actor of his brilliance as The Doctor was just better than I could hope for.

Somehow, in his first full appearance, he managed to exceed even those high expectations, with a performance at once familiar and new, at once comforting and daring. And in three incredible scenes, he became the Doctor in ways I’d never expected.
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Peace They Lack: An Appreciation of Local Hero

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The thing I’ve noticed about my Favorite “Forgotten” Films series isn’t that most readers actually remember the films I’m writing about (the series began when I realized that everyone I know seems to recall these films, hence the use of quotation marks).  It’s that nobody is surprised I love them.  I’m not sure whether that’s a comment on how great these films are or on how well you really know me, though I appreciate it as a compliment either way.

That in mind, I’m fairly sure today’s entry will maintain the streak, as the film in question occupies a special place in a lot of hearts beyond my own… Continue reading →