Capaldi Fall

I’ll be honest – when Peter Capaldi was first announced as the Twelfth Doctor, my immediate reaction was “hmmm.” I wasn’t ecstatic, horrified, on pins and needles, or awash with skepticism. I was merely intrigued. “Hmmm, interesting.” “Hmmm, that could work.” “Hmmm, this will shake things up a bit.”

The more I thought about it, though, the more this seemed like perfect casting. I hadn’t seen Peter Capaldi (hereafter referred to as PC, just cuz) in many roles, but each one had made me sit up and take notice. I knew he could play humor, drama, anger, and pathos. I knew he had energy in spades. I’d been hoping for an older Doctor to take Matt Smith’s torch, and PC seemed brimming with potential.

In the fan-frenzy that followed the announcement, I found my way to one Whovian’s amusing creation: Malcolm Tucker IS Dr Who! Blending Who clips with snippets of PC’s incredibly foul-mouthed spin doctor character from The Thick of It made for some good old-fashioned absurdity, and it was just the kick I needed to finally start watching The Thick of It.

I’d been aware of it. I’d seen In the Loop when it first came out, and I’d heard that it was based on a TV show, but I’d just never got around to it. However, I figured that the Malcolm/Doctor dissonance would be a lot weirder if I watched The Thick of It for the first time after seeing him as the Doctor, and that video was too much fun to pass up.

Well, a week-and-a-half later, I’d devoured The Thick of It and realized that PC was definitely one to watch. With the first glimpse of the Twelfth Doctor several months away, I’ve decided to spend the interval acquainting myself with PC’s filmography. And, since I’m neurotically ordered and enjoy meaningless projects, I’ve decided to resurrect this old blog and use it to document my experiences during… Capaldi Fall!

In the coming months, you’ll find a (hopefully daily) update reviewing a PC film, TV episode, or short. Enjoy my entirely inexpert opinions, and we’ll count down the days until Christmas together!

(Note: since I mainlined The Thick of It over a short period of time, a lot of the episodes and their choice bits blend together in my head. As such, I won’t start reviewing it or In the Loop yet – better to save them and revisit at my leisure, to keep things hilarious once I’ve worked my way down to bit roles.)

Let’s get started, shall we?