Doctor Who: 10 Essential Changes To Make With Peter Capaldi's Doctor

By Matt Dunn /

Geronimo!... Allons-y!... Fan-tastic!... Bow ties are cool... Fez's are cool... wibbly-wobbly / timey-wimey... you know how it goes. Last weekend, nearly 13 million viewers in the UK and millions of others watching at exactly the same time in more than 90 countries around the world witnessed John Hurt - aka the War Doctor - make a scathing assessment of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in The Day Of The Doctor: "do you have to talk like children?". It was a much needed and long overdue observation. Assuming you've avoided a sense of humour by-pass and not had your inner laugh track excised completely, you can probably cope with the kiddy-speak. It's mildly amusing, maybe even funny... once or twice. Here and there. Every now and again. But as repeated memes throughout the entire tenure of one or more Doctors? It's all a bit silly, really. One way and another, it's been quite the jolly romp since New Year's Day 2010 when the Eleventh Doctor first appeared, all squeaky voiced and "still not ginger". In lots of ways Matt Smith's portrayal has been hugely enjoyable, even more so recently. But the last seven series have also been littered with innumerable story and characterisation elements that could be immediately consigned to the past without any detrimental impact whatsoever. The introduction of an older actor to the role presents Moffat and Co. with the perfect opportunity to reassess some of the recurring themes and general silliness evident since 2005 and which has been especially conspicuous over recent years. It's four months since Peter Capaldi's appointment as the Twelfth Doctor and, with all the hoopla of the 50th Anniversary still ringing in our ears and Christmas Day less than a month away, the possibilities are ever more appealing. Here, then, are ten changes that should come into effect as from the next Doctor's first episode.