Series 8 is finally upon us, and it heralds the triumphant appearance of a new Doctor. Despite the new face, it's still obvious that number 12 is the same man we've all come to know and love over the last 50 years. One of the highlights of a regeneration episode is to see what the new incarnation is like, what his likes and dislikes are, but at the same time waiting for that one defining moment where is no doubt in mind that the essence of the Doctor hasn't changed at all. This is crucial when introducing a new Doctor, but when it's played correctly, the audience comes to love his new self for being the same but also different. The Twelfth Doctor's introduction in Deep Breath is a prime example of this principle. He was new; he was muddled; he was undeniably Scottish€”but by the end of the episode, there was no doubt he was still the Doctor, just with a different personality. It's normal for a new Doctor to develop a new set of quirks after a regeneration, and the Twelfth Doctor was definitely no exception. And, as it should be, these new quirks just serve to endear him to us all the more. Here, then, are 12 reasons to love the Twelfth Doctor.
12. His Scottishness
Peter Capaldi is the third Scottish actor to take on the role of the Doctor. Unlike Sylvester McCoy and David Tennant's portrayals, though, Capaldi's Doctor will be capitalizing on the culture swap, and already he appears to love every minute of it. In Deep Breath, he declared, "I can complain about things!" after discovering that he had "gone Scottish." And he clearly revels in how his new accent sounds, convinced in his immediate post-regenerative state that Clara and Jenny sounded too English. The Doctor's Scottish accent does sound impressive, but there is also a new air of menace about it as well. He sounds darker and more ominous when delivering threats, and you can't help but be convinced that he will follow through on them. It's reminiscent of the Tenth Doctor's stark declaration of, "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man" in his debut story The Christmas Invasion, but it's more than just the new voice. The Doctor has a new fire in his soul and is definitely more independent, not thinking twice about dashing off to investigate the dinosaur's death without telling his friends where he'll be or leaving Clara in Victorian England without telling her where he's gone on when he'll be back. Twelve's new Scottish persona is certainly a novelty, and it will be interesting to see if/how it factors into subsequent episodes.
Paula Luther hails from Pennsylvania and has been an avid Whovian since 2008. She enjoys writing (obviously), reading, dancing, video editing, and building websites. She has also self-published two books on Amazon, "Bart the Bard" and "Android Mae and Other Stories".
