Hanging over everything this year is the fact that it is public knowledge Peter Capaldi is leaving the show. Internet theories abound as to his replacement, theories I have little response to other than to hope the Kris Marshall fans are disappointed when the announcement is finally made. Other theories skitter across the web too, such as the possibility that Capaldi might not last until the end of the season. The first show of the series included a look ahead clip package at the end which showed the Twelfth Doctor in the now classic regeneration pose, something akin to Christ on the cross only with more golden light and no halo.
Tradition tends to insist that the Doctor becomes a brand new version of himself (or herself) in the final show of a season or, more, frequently, at the conclusion of a slightly oversentimental Christmas special. But there is a precedent for replacing a Doctor within the season itself, albeit not an especially encouraging one for older fans. Back in the mid 1980s when another Peter, Mr Davison, had announced he was to step down the role, his replacement came along at the tail end of the penultimate storyline that series, The Caves of Androzani. The season rounded off with The Twin Dilemma, Colin Baker's first full appearance as the Sixth Doctor. Yes THAT Baker, the ridiculous costume one, the portly one, the worst actor of the lot with some of the worst storylines and lowest effects budgets. That went well, then.
In its present form Doctor Who is twelve years old which is pretty good going for any prime time show. Altogether it has been around for fifty four years although of course there was nothing but a wonderful Doctor in a poor TV special to keep us going between 1989 and 2005. The freshness of the Russell T Davies era, the cocksure swagger of the opening couple of seasons under Steven Moffat, these have faded a little yet Capaldi has been given some of the best genuine science fiction stories of all the Doctor's incarnations. As well as a few duffers such as In The Forest Of The Night. Hey, Tenant has Fear Her on his Timelord CV don't forget, and Matt Smith somehow chewed his way through the dialogue of The Power Of Three.
Along with a new Doctor will come a new show runner in Chris Chibnall. He has Who previous: sadly The Power of Three was his work but he was largely responsible for the tour de force power of the first season of spin-off show Torchwood. Apparently he's been doing some detectivey thing with David Tenant in the main role more recently. So how is this season shaping up to hand over to Chibbers (as nobody calls him)?
So far so awesome. The fallibility of The Doctor is not always properly explored but seeing as he's spent two full episodes blind as a bat and was unable to prevent Bill from making a potentially disastrous decision on behalf of the planet at the end of the most recent episode it's fair to say that Capaldi's Doctor will in part be remembered for the times he did not just waltz in and save the day with a wave of his sonic screwdriver (a huge criticism of the Tenant and Smith eras). Uncertainty and vulnerability were an integral part to the role as portrayed by William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton so this might be a chance to re-establish the character as well-meaning but not always triumphant.
Too much failure, however, and you're in Fifth Doctor territory. We forget, given how great a job Matt Smith did of making his youth irrelevant in terms of how we saw the Tenth Doctor, that Davison struggled throughout his tenure to stamp authority on a role previously associated with the brusque bossiness of Jon Pertwee and the maverick genius of Tom Baker. The Thirteenth Doctor will need to hit the ground running and establish themselves as firmly as Smith managed to do on the heels of Tenant or the next series might be the show's last in its current guise.
Which would be a shame as the scope of the premise is, as always, limitless. Alien nutjob with a penchant for doing good owns a space-time travelling device so s/he can literally rock up anywhere, anywhen and anyhow in search of adventure and televisual feast. Bill's story arc is more subtle, perhaps, than the days of Rose or Amy but she's strong, funny and unique. If they decide she should stay to help bed in the next Doctor it can only be a bonus. After all, Clara's main detractors forgot their trolling when she was shown in new lights playing against Capaldi's version of the main character.
Still to come this season we have two versions of The Master/Missy colluding to do whatever vile things they can come up with together and we have Hartnell-era Cybermen returning, possibly to wear Capaldi a little thin and cause his regeneration. I've got a boner the size of all space and time just thinking about it. Haven't you, madam?
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