Doctor Who: 11 Previous Stories That The Peter Capaldi Era Should Learn From

By Mikey Heinrich /

10. Power Of The Daleks

It's been said more than a couple of times before, but recasting William Hartnell with such a completely different actor and allowing him to give such a completely different performance as the character was an incredibly brave thing to do. It was courageous almost to the point of suicidal, and as broadcast television gets even more risk averse it only appears braver as time goes on. It's difficult to imagine, 47 years on, what a shock that first episode of Power of the Daleks must have been. A legion of viewers were comfortable in the knowledge that The Doctor was William Hartnell, and they suddenly disabused of that notion. The production team should be just as brave today. Show us how different you can make things. Make the small percentage of the fan-base that believes that Doctor Who can only be what it was under Matt Smith and David Tennant complain. Push the boundaries and make us all think again, 'Can they actually do that?' Peter Capaldi - do not be afraid to be as different as you need to be.