With its August start date fast approaching, the slow drip feed of news on Doctor Who series eight is intensifying. Yet for all the anticipation surrounding it, maddeningly little is really known about Peter Capaldis first season. Those scraps that the production team have thrown us, like the Twelfth Doctors costume and the announcement that Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England) will be directing Capaldis inaugural outings, have been well received. But what if thats not enough? What if, when it comes to our screens, series eight is a little less than stellar? Impossible, you might think! And youd probably be right. For the sake of argument, however, here are ten ways the production team might screw things up:
10. Can Peter Capaldi Really Live Up To Expectations?
Honestly, the answer is probably yes. Hes one of our best actors, even in complete dross like The Musketeers. Whats more, he loves Doctor Who to an almost embarrassing extent. The chances of him fumbling his dream job are practically nil. If anything might count against him, its that this is now a young mans show- produced at such a breakneck speed, it nearly exhausted the youthful likes of David Tennant and Matt Smith. Lets not forget either the backlash from the younger end of the fanbase when Capaldi was cast. The idea that a 55 year old man could make for a believable Doctor has somehow become marginally unlikely. It will be interesting to see the adjustments Moffat makes in order to sell his newly aged protagonist. On the other end of the scale, the hardcore- the types who frequent message boards and own all versions of The Five Doctors on VHS and DVD- have already begun to speculate what combination of past Doctors the Twelfth will reference. Much of the reasoning goes that because he wears a similar jacket, hell be a bit like Pertwee. Or because he looks mental, hell be like Tom Baker. What do these fans do if Capaldi ends up nothing like any of them? Obviously they complain. So as good as Pete may well (almost certainly) be, hes going to struggle to please everyone.