Twelfth Doctor
Twelfth Doctor
Doctor: The Twelfth Doctor
Companions: Clara Oswald, Madame Vastra, Courtney Woods, River Song, Nardole, Bill Potts
For my mind, at least from what I’ve seen, the Twelfth Doctor’s era was the best in show history. Peter Capaldi’s incredible charisma combined with genre-defying stories create an unmissable era.
The Review
Here’s the scores for the stories
The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar: 10/10
Under The Lake/Before The Flood: 10/10
Flatline: 9.8/10
The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion: 9.8/10
The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived: 9.5/10
Dark Water/Death in Heaven: 9.5/10
Deep Breath: 9.5/10
Kill the Moon: 9.5/10
World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls: 9.35/10
The Eaters of Light: 9.3/10
Robot of Sherwood: 9.3/10
Extremis: 9/10
Sleep No More: 9/10
Mummy on the Orient Express: 9/10
Husbands of River Song: 9/10
Face The Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent: 9/10
Smile: 9/10
The Pyramid at the End of the World: 8.9/10
Oxygen: 8.8/10
Listen: 8.7/10
The Return of Doctor Mysterio: 8.5/10
The Pilot: 8/10
Last Christmas: 7.5/10
Into the Dalek: 7.5/10
In the Forest of the Night: 7/10
Thin Ice: 6.75/10
Twice Upon a Time: 6.5/10
The Caretaker: 6.3/10
Time Heist: 6/10
The Lie of the Land: 5.75/10
The first thing I’m struck with are the the scores that seem just wrong now. Deep Breath is something I’m hirer on than others, but 9.5 is just too high. Despite being a 9, Mummy on the Orient Express is simply too low! Last Christmas is not that bad, I don’t know what kind of mood I was in on Christmas 2014 to give it that score. But with all things averaging out, the score of the Capaldi era is going to be accurate. Talking about genre-defying stories, one needs look no farther than the Listen/Heaven Sent/Extremis trilogy of breaking the conventions of the show. That kind of experimental storytelling often worked. And when Doctor Who went to its meat and potatoes, such as the base under siege Under the Lake/Before the Flood it absolutely delivered. The least successful attempt in the Capaldi era was The Lie of the Land which is a textbook anticlimax.
Now, let’s talk about the companions. Some hate her, others love her, and I certainly do, it’s Clara Oswald. Smart, resourceful, deeply flawed, I really related to Clara as somebody who always tries to be in charge and be resourceful, but those things are also her greatest weaknesses. Her deep relationship with the Doctor leading to her undoing was expertly done. And for all of you negative people out there whining about ‘no consequences!’, Doctor Who is a show about hope. Always. Except for Donna. And people hated that, so there’s no winning for the writers either way. Next up we had Nardole, who started unmemorable and ended a completely hilarious mysterious, kind, almost con-man by the end of Series 10. Extremely memorable. And despite the show occasionally going too far to point out her exist, Bill Potts was a great character. She was what every good companion should be: dedicated to the cause of the good, and enchanted with wonder.
Now of course, the Doctor himself. I loved Capaldi the moment we saw his eyebrows, and he never disappointed. His prickly early personality was a bit aimless at first, but in the back half of Series 8 was expertly written, especially in Dark Water. His gradual mellowing along with his growing out of his wonderful mess of hair was an incredible character arc. It happened because the Doctor was scared, closed off, unsure of himself. The turning point was Death in Heaven, where he became vulnerable and opened himself up, and truly embraced who he was. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and being true to yourself is something that can help everybody, and I relate so much to Capaldi’s journey. By The Doctor Falls, the Doctor had gone from a man scared of himself, to as complete a person as you could ask for, opening himself to others, and fighting ceaselessly for good. I don’t blame him for not wanting to leave this incarnation, because in universe and out, it was as perfect as it was going to get. Whittaker will be great, but when I think of the Doctor, he’ll always be Peter Capaldi.
Now, his best moments.
5. “Everything ends and it’s always sad. But everything begins again, and that’s always happy. Be happy.” This line in The Return of Doctor Mysterio is some of the best life advice you could ever get. It’s okay to be sad, but the ending of something is always a new beginning for another. Celebrate it.
4. “So there’s this man. He has a time machine.” The complete fourth-wall shattering in the opening to Before the Flood is incredible. A perfect monologue, impeccably delivered, ending with the one-off rock-out version of the theme song. Rock on!
3. “I do it because it’s right! Because it’s decent!” & “I am the Doctor. The original.” The Twelfth Doctor’s speech to the Masters and his death scene in The Doctor Falls are just perfect. I tear up a bit every time he tries to get the Masters to his side, and his epic jumping through the trees, blowing up Cybermen, and facing them down is perfect.
2. “Never trust a hug. It’s just a way to hide your face.” The heartbreaking cafe scene in Death in Heaven is a punch in the gut in every way. Capaldi sacrificing his relationship with Clara so she can live her life is sad and beautiful. Seeing him punch the TARDIS console and slip and cry when he can’t find Gallifrey again is an acting masterclass.
1. “I can remember it all. Every time. And you’ll still be gone.” The entirety of Heaven Sent, which is without a doubt the best episode of Doctor Who. A one-man show by Capaldi, the Doctor solves a torture chamber designed just for him, by deciding he’d rather break the rules and die billions of times than tell the truth to the Time Lords, all so he can go and save Clara. It is incredible, beautiful, shocking, memorable, horrifying, awe-inspiring, everything. Such incredible television we shall rarely ever see again.
From Christmas 2013 to Christmas 2017, Peter Capaldi graced our screens as the Twelfth Doctor. In the first episode, Clara hugs him and he reacts nervously, saying he’s not a hugging person, sporting short great hair. In his final episode, he warmly hugs Bill and Nardole, his long grey locks billowing in the wind. It’s a journey of a lifetime, and I was honored to be along for the ride.
8.525/10 Peter Capaldi: the best
Reviewing Doctor Who from Start to Finish 