The Single Biggest Mistake Every Doctor Who Series Has Made
6. Series 8: Misjudging Capaldi’s Introduction
From Ben and Polly all the way through to Rose, every companion who has straddled two Doctors has been sceptical of the new incarnation to begin with. But they always come around eventually.
The one example where the bad feeling didn’t dissipate immediately, and instead continued well into the series, is Series 8.
The Twelfth Doctor is easily the most unlikable since the Sixth (at least, to begin with). And his rocky relationship with Clara in Series 8 is unlike anything else in the revived series, before or since.
On the one hand, the decision to go hard with this uneasy dynamic is commendable, and made for some great character drama. But looking back, making the Twelfth Doctor such a stark contrast to the Eleventh perhaps wasn’t the wisest decision. Average ratings dropping by over a million in Series 9 indicated that something about the Series 8 Doctor didn't quite click with audiences.
Add to this the fact that Matt Smith cameos at the end of his first episode (a device which neatly establishes that the Doctor is still the same person, but ultimately just makes you miss the old guy), and Capaldi’s introduction really didn't do him any favours.