A Farewell to Doctors

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This has been a rough patch for Whovians with the death of John Hurt on January 25^th, 2017 and now the departure of Peter Capaldi after this upcoming season of “Doctor Who”.

Both men played wonderful doctors – John Hurt’s War Doctor questioned his regenerations in “The Day of the Doctor” special. Peter Capaldi followed Matt Smith’s Doctor with an older, brooding gentleman who always tried to learn more about himself. While we only saw John Hurt’s War Doctor for this special (and a brief appearance in the Matt Smith episode prior to the special), his appearance alone was enough to make us wonder about the Doctor. Where did this War Doctor fit in? How did he endure the Gallifreyian War? Did he really have a mid life crisis?

Along with playing the War Doctor, John Hurt also took on the role of Ollivander from the “Harry Potter” movies, he played himself in “Space Balls”, provided the voice of Aragorn from “Lord of the Rings”, and gave voice to the Horned King from “The Black Cauldron”.  He also lent his voice to the Dragon from the series “Merlin”, starred in “V for Vendetta” as Chancellor Sutler, and played Trevor ‘Broom’ Bruttenholm in “Hellboy”.

John Hurt was an eclectic actor who was the youngest of his siblings in Derbyshire, England.  Despite showing little initiative and solitude as a child, he was guided into art. However, his admiration for acting took hold and pursued the field after failing to receive a scholarship in art. John Hurt embraced television and with it exposed his acting capabilities to an extreme level.

Peter Capaldi’s acting abilities bear the same extremity, especially when portraying the Doctor. His cynicism, his slowly warming heart, and his nail biting bluntness have created a unique Doctor. Albeit, there were a slew of comedic moments from him most met with sarcasm and a witty tone which is something that will be missed as he takes his leave of the Doctor.

Peter will be departing from “Doctor Who” at the end of 2017 with the Christmas special as his final performance. When the BBC asked Capaldi if they could renew his contract for the show, Capaldi declined and claimed that it was time to move onto different things.  While this appears to be a common reason for Doctors to retire, it is understandable. As much as we adore the actors who play the Doctor, at some point they want something more than running around chasing aliens, befriending companions, and travelling through all of time and space. It’s time for a change and a new regeneration for Peter Capaldi.

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So tell me, did you enjoy the John Hurt’s War Doctor or Peter Capaldi’s Doctor more?

Welcome to the Tardis, Pearl Mackie

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Pearl Mackie is the Doctor’s new companion for the future of “Doctor Who”.

Pearl Mackie is a native Londoner who is an acting tutor for children and starred in “Doctors” (a British soap opera) and is currently in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at the National Theatre.  She has also performed in “Svengali” (a British film) and a music video for the band, Years & Years. As an accomplished dancer and actress, Mackie is excited for what the Doctor has in store for her.

Described as a combination of maturity and immaturity, Mackie takes on the role of knowing barely anything about the Doctor. This is a drastic contrast when compared to the last companion, Clara Oswald, who knew everything about the Doctor given her role in his lives. Mackie also emerges as the first non-white companion in approximately eight years with the last colored companion being Martha Jones (Freema Ageyman).

As for Capaldi, he was more than happy to welcome Mackie to the set. In fact, he even requested that the next companion to be a woman because he didn’t “want a bloke, because [Capaldi was] frightened that they’ll give him all the action and [he]’ll be standing around spouting scientific gobbledygook”. The notion of an inquisitive, enthusiastic young lady alongside the Doctor is refreshing to Capaldi and believes the combination works.

So far we’ve only seen a brief clip of her and the Doctor being pursued by a Dalek. Her name in the show will be Bill and she will appear in the series starting next year, after the Christmas special.

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So tell me, what do you think of the new companion?

Capaldi's Keeping Us Company

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False alarm: Capaldi will NOT be leaving “Doctor Who”.

So yes, like me, you can all take a relieving deep breath.

The article I referenced in my last entry was a tabloid which tends to distort rumors. Frankly, I had no idea that article was a tabloid and was merely writing with my own anger at the notion of losing Capaldi. Capaldi is possibly one of my favorite Doctors next to Hartnell, Tennant, Smith, Eccleston, and Troughton.

Now granted, Capaldi has said that this could be his final year while Moffat told us that Capaldi is going nowhere. For now, nothing is set in stone other than Moffat’s departure. Capaldi’s expected leave is a rumor and even then, we can only take rumors with a grain of salt.

Personally, I don’t imagine Capaldi leaving us so soon. After all, the man was president of a “Doctor Who” fanclub in his youth and even wrote fan letters regarding the show. He has adored the program since he was a child – why would he leave something that he only spent approximately three years on? It would probably be the shortest run of a Doctor ever next to the War Doctor. Capaldi’s even signed on for another three seasons and I cannot imagine why he would suddenly want to leave especially with that in mind. Yes, Capaldi wants to do other things in life, but is he willing to leave a role he’s loved for years and played for only a short amount of time?

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So tell me, what do you think Capaldi will do?

Take Care, Capaldi!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Along with Moffat leaving “Doctor Who” this year, Peter Capaldi will resign his role in 2017.

Capaldi believes this decision is for the best because he wants Chibnall (“Doctor Who”’s new showrunner in 2018) to choose a new Doctor. Capaldi’s contract covered him for the 2017 series, ensuring that he would continue to be the Doctor. However, he claims he wants to do other things in life and do more than just be known as the Doctor.

This notion is understandable – Christopher Eccleston was the same way, but after leaving his role as the Doctor he was typecast as such. It became difficult for him to find work without being known as the Doctor and while most people would appreciate this, for him it became a rough challenge. He even claimed that his role in “Thor: The Dark World” was his biggest break that he had received in a long time. Let’s hope Capaldi doesn’t suffer the same fate even though he has been in other pictures so far.

However, it’s terrible to see Capaldi go. I feel as though fans were just starting to enjoy him and now he’s leaving like footsteps on the sand. He was a gritty doctor who never stopped learning about himself, what he can do, and his purpose for existence. He was rough, but caring and dark. It was something we haven’t seen in a while. It was a new who to say the least, but regardless I can only hope that the next Doctor will be just as good if not better.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, are you sad to see Capaldi leave?