Tagged: Peter Capaldi

John Ostrander: Who Are You?

Let’s have our own little adventure in time and space. At the time I’m writing this, the new season of Doctor Who, starring the new guy, Peter Capaldi, has not yet played. By the time you read this, it will have already been on. A bit of the old timey-wimey thing.

If you’re not a viewer of the time traveling import from the BBC (and we Whovians pity your poor benighted souls), Doctor Who is a fifty-year old TV show featuring a madman in a blue box. The madman is also known as The Doctor and the blue box is his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space). The Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and while he looks human, some bits of him aren’t. Such as the ability to regenerate when his physical body is in close danger of dying. It’s not just a reboot; his entire body changes… and so does his personality. It is this ability to change actors every so often that has helped keep the show on the air for fifty years (give or take a hiatus or two).

That’s one of the exciting mysteries about the new season. We’ve only seen bits and pieces of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor but we already know he’ll be very different from his predecessor. Matt Smith was sort of the Robin Williams of Doctors; anything that came into his head came out his mouth. Capaldi is also older than the three prior Doctors, harking back to the first versions of the Doctor. He also appears to be more serious to the point of being grim. I’m very much looking forward to finding out who and what the new Doctor is.

The challenge for each actor playing the Doctor is to find a way to put their own stamp on the character while, at the same time, finding the core of the character, the part that doesn’t change. It’s a challenge not only for the actor but also the writers of the show and it illustrates an important aspect of writing characters in general.

We are, all of us, like a diamond. Turn the stone and the different facets can reveal different aspects. We have many different sides to us and they come out according to the situation or who we are with. You may be different with your friends than with your parents. Guys are one way with their guy friends but if you introduce a female to the mix, they change. The body posture, the voice, the way a guy expresses himself may be way different with a female (especially a new attractive unknown one) than his buddies. I don’t know but I suspect the same is true for women.

What we find to be true in life should be true in our writing. If you are creating a complex character, you have to find their contradictions. A person can be very brave in some aspects and yet very scared in others. They can go from one thing to the other in a heartbeat. Maybe you’ve noticed that some people are really nice until they get behind the wheel of a car where they can turn into flaming assholes. Maybe you’ve been that person. We have heroes within us; we also have villains. That’s why writing a villain can be a lot of fun; you get to let loose that side of you without any real ill effects.

One of the purposes of a supporting character in a story is to bring out this aspect or that aspect of the protagonist. Have you ever noticed how some people bring out the best of you and others bring out the worst? Back in my college days, there was one person I really didn’t like being around. I finally figured out why; he demonstrated aspects of myself that I didn’t like and seeing those traits made me uncomfortable. As a writer, however, that’s all useful.

The thing to remember is that all those aspects are you just as all the past incarnations of the Doctor are the Doctor. As in life, so in our writing. All our characters are an aspect of us. That’s part of the fun of it.

As for me, I can’t wait to see what the newest incarnation of the Doctor is like. Maybe by figuring out Who the Doctor is this time, I may also learn a bit more about Who I am.

 

John Ostrander: To Be A Hero

Doctor Who has aired a new trailer for the upcoming season that starts August 23rd*. You can see it here. It’s our first real glimpse at the new Doctor played by Peter Capaldi and I think it all looks very promising. He’s very different from the past few Doctors. In some ways, he’s more reminiscent of the first one.

Something bugged me, tho. At the end of the trailer, he asks his companion, Clara, if he is a good man. She seems a bit flummoxed by this and answers, “I don’t know.”

My first reaction to the question was “I do. The Doctor is a good man. He’s a hero. He has saved the planet, the galaxy, all of reality about a bazillion times.”

Then I thought about it some more. Do you have to be a good man in order to be a hero? You don’t have to be a good person to be the protagonist; many good stories have been told using someone bad or even evil as the center of the story. Hero, on the other hand, is a different matter, isn’t it? A hero needs to have certain moral values – honor, nobility, courage, self-sacrifice and so on. They may have these qualities from the onset of the story or acquire them along the way. They can rise up as heroes as the story progresses or the qualities they already have can be tested.

The hero is something we might want to emulate. Superman in my youth was a big blue Boy Scout. Even Batman, for all the fact that he dresses more like a villain, was more of a hero in a traditional sense.

Then Marvel came along with its more complicated set of heroes. Spider-Man had a lot of hang-ups. At the same time, they were heroes because they rose to the challenges. They exhibited a certain honor, nobility, and so on.

The anti-hero seems more in tune with modern society. He or she is the protagonist of the story but not the moral center. Typically, they are in it for themselves and what they can gain or they are simply tossed around by life and not masters of their own fate. Kafka’s Joseph K in The Trial is an anti-hero because his choices simply do not matter. He is a victim and cannot change his own fate.

I tend to write more towards the anti-hero side of the scale. I like the moral complexity they present; it interests me as a writer. Even a good person will struggle to find the right thing to do in a given situation. J.K. Rowling in one of the Harry Potter books has her character Dumbledore say that the time is coming when people will have to choose between what is right and what is easy. There’s always a cost involved to do what is right.

Can you be a hero without also being a good man or woman, at least to some degree? I don’t think so. It may be difficult for the character to make the “right choice” but they need to have somewhere inside of them a degree of courage, empathy, honor and so on. George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life has to struggle with his frustration and sense of helplessness. He lashes out in anger towards the climax of the movie against people he loves. Yet even in his deepest despair, he will jump off a bridge to save what he thinks is a drowning man.

So, is the Doctor a good man? He certainly is a hero and, whatever his failings, he is a good man. The fact that he asks the question makes him a good man; a bad man wouldn’t care.

* Also coming to a handful of movie theaters, probably not near you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To See Or Not To See, That Is The Question

  • News
  • July 16, 2014

DWtitles

So, as you may have heard, first the scripts from the first five episodes, and then a work print of the actual first episode of Doctor Who leaked last week.  And those fans with access to the internet (also known as “all fans”) all felt like Pandora, wondering whether or not they should take just a peek…

Now for a moment, let’s play conspiracy theory.  Back when Titanic was in the planning stages, it was largely predicted it’d be a colossal failure that would make Heaven’s Gate seem like a boutique release.  But then Harry Knowles got an anonymous tip (from what was certain from Cameron’s office) that there was to be a preview screening in the Twin Cities.He immediately sent out the word, and made sure the screen was packed with his readers.  And lo and behonl, the reviews came back glowing, and just like that the buzz did a reversal.  Contrariwise, we’ve been hearing stories that all the rumors concerning the Batman V. Superman movie have all been from a fake script, written by Kevin Smith, and deliberately leaked to throw people off the scent.

In short, people know how to manipulate the fans to get them ginned up about whatever they like.  So what are the odds that this work print, missing (sorry, allegedly missing) most of the effects, in black and white, and with no new credits, was leaked out there do give the dedicated fans a look at Peter Capaldi’s portrayal of The Doctor, but in a rudimentary form that it’ll only whet their whistles to see the final version on August 23rd?  Not likely…but not quite impossible.

The fans who sought out the print are doing a good job of keeping quiet, as the BBC has requested.  And those who have asked to hear more don’t really want to know what happens in the story.  The real question that everyone wants an answer to is, “Is it good?”  More specifically, “Is HE good?”  Because the various interviews Moffat has given, talking about how the show needs “an edge” and needed a change, had a lot of fans worried that the show might change so radically that it wouldn’t be fun anymore.  They feared an older Doctor might remove some of the energy of the show.  They don’t want to have anything spoiled, they just want to know “Is he good?”

So…is he good?

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“Doctor Who” rumored to feature fan-made credits

  • News
  • July 15, 2014

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Or so claims Bleeding Cool.

Apparently the credits included in the leaked Doctor Who scripts (you’ve heard about those, yes? More on those later) say the new credits are by “BBC Wales Graphics based on original idea by Billy Hanshaw”.

Billy Hanshaw posted these credits some months back, which caused many clothes to become stained.

If this is true, it’s an amazingly cool thing for the BBC to admit that a fan inspired them (well, he’s a professional in media, but he is a DW fan), and more importantly, to provide credit.

It’s not the first time that’s happened in the new series.  A good bit of the plot of Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel came from a Big Finish Audio adventure, “Spare Parts” by Marc Platt.  Showrunner Russell T Davies got Platt a writer’s fee, and he received a “Thanks to” credit in the episode.

We shall see in August how true this is – The premiere episode will be touring the world with the Who crew, including visits to New York City, South Korea, and Rio de Janeiro.

Welcoming Peter Capaldi

peter-capaldi-doctor-who-9338210“And his name is The Doctor. He has saved your lives so many times and you never even knew he was there. He never stops. He never stays. He never asks to be thanked. But I’ve seen him, I know him… I love him… And I know what he can do.” – Freema Ageyman as companion Martha Jones

My geek is in overdrive.

Doctor Who’s premiere is on August 23rd on BBCAmerica this side of the pond (that’s the premiere date for much of the rest of the world, too) I’ve been hitting BBCAmerica’s website for news and sneak peeks. I’ve binge watched Matt Smith’s last seasons as the Time Lord. I’ve held off doing something else – like raiding the refrigerator or even going to the bathroom – during commercial breaks while watching the channel in case there’s a new teaser. And I switched my ringtone from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to the show’s opening music.

I was one of those who was sincerely pissed off and sincerely mourned the passing of the torch by David Tennant to Matt Smith – Tennant was just so superb (and sexy!) as the Time Lord; he brought so much to the role; humanizing (if you’ll excuse the expression) the alien. I wasn’t ready for him to leave – and as Tennant so brilliantly played his regeneration scene, it was obvious that his Doctor wasn’t ready to leave either. When he said, “I don’t want to go” in “The End of Time – Part 2,” I parroted (along with millions of fans, I’m sure), “I don’t want you to go, either.”

And to be honest, Smith’s premier episode, the one with the “fish and custard,” really didn’t do anything for me; Smith was so different, and the whole “going through this kid’s refrigerator” scene felt forced, not funny. But of course, Matt more than proved himself to me, so much so that I still feel that his Doctor was cheated out of a truly emotional regeneration scene – well, okay, Karen Gillian’s cameo as Amelia Pond (“Raggedy Man, good night.”) was brilliant and definitely teared me up, but overall too much time was wasted on destroying the Daleks…again snnnnore. Smith – and the fans he brought in, fans who made the show a truly worldwide phenomenon – deserved so much more.

But I did love Peter Capaldi’s first words (“Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?”) and Jenna Coleman’s – as companion Clara Oswald – horrified “what the fuck?!” look.

I didn’t know that much about Peter Capaldi – not that it bothered me, because I didn’t know Tennant or Smith either before their respective runs as the Time Lord. Well, let me rephrase that. It was more one of those “I know I know Peter Capaldi, but from where?” type of deals. Meaning that I didn’t recognize him as the actor who played the British Home Secretary John Forbisher in Torchwood: Children Of Earth. I didn’t realize that was he playing Caecilius in the Doctor Who season 4 episode, “The Fires of Pompei.” And it took a Google search to discover that he had been in one of my favorite films, 1983’s Local Hero, which starred Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert. But I have been watching and mucho appreciating him as Cardinal Richelieu in this summer’s The Musketeers on BBCAmerica (Sundays at 9:00 P.M). In fact I think he’s brilliant in the role, and it’s whetted my appetite for his debut as the 12th (13th?) Gallifreyan.

So I’m ready to love Peter Capaldi, if no other reason that I don’t want the show to go away, to be cancelled, to end.

But I don’t know how the younger fans, most of who came in with Matt Smith’s Doctor, will react to him. Will the show lose that part of its fan base? My niece Isabel’s first words about Mr. Capaldi after seeing him for those few moments as the end of “The Time of the Doctor” were quote “He’s so old!” unquote.

Isabel will be fourteen in August.

I remember Mike Gold saying to me once, “Everybody loves their first Doctor best.” Or something like that. And it’s true. My first Gallifreyan was Tom Baker (I thrilled and tingled when he made a cameo appearance at the end of “The Name of the Doctor.”) My first companion was Elisabeth Sladen. (I loved her return as Sarah Jane Smith during Tennant’s run, and how she immediately recognized him despite his changed appearance,) It took me a long time to “catch on” to Jon Pertwee, who, although he came before Baker, was my second Doctor. (It took me even longer to get hip to a new companion – not until Billie Piper. That’s a long time.)

So I get it, Iz. Matt Smith was your first Doctor. And he was cute and funny and resourceful. You’ll always have a special place in your Whovian heart for him. You’ll naturally feel some resentment to Capaldi for daring to take the controls of the TARDIS.

But remember, Iz, without regeneration, you and me, and a whole generation or two, would never have even met the Doctor, never would have traveled in the TARDIS, never would have known Sarah Jane Smith or Rose Tyler or Amy Pond and Rory Williams, never would have known the Daleks or the Cyberman or The Master.

And remember, Iz, like I told you that day, and as I reiterated here, I didn’t like Matt Smith at first. But I grew to love him.

So, Iz, give Peter Capaldi a chance.

I will.

 

This just in: Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi is the sweetest man ever

No man stands so tall as when he stoops to ask a child dressed as a Dalek if he can be The Doctor.

There’s lots of cool moments in  this video of Doctor Who filming at Mermaid Quay, like the first scenes by new recurring castmember Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink.

But right at the end, there’s is a moment of new Doctor Peter Capaldi talking with a little girl who came all the way from Aberdeen to see the shoot.  While security tried to get him to keep moving, he took the time (along with signing endless autographs) to make her feel better about what is surely her first case of New Doctor Angst.

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I’m not crying; I’m smiling so hard the corners of my mouth are squeezing my tear ducts…

Doctor Who cast share their thoughts on “The Time of the Doctor”

  • News
  • December 25, 2013

bosj8c2-5255859With Matt Smith’s final episode (well, until the hundredth anniversary, anyway) imminent, the cast (and showrunner Steven Moffat) sat down to talk about their thoughts about the Christmas adventure.  Guest Orla Brady (Tasha Lem) also discusses her experience with the show, and her experience with new Doctor, Peter Capaldi.  Read on for the juicy details.

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Watch the EXTENDED Doctor Who Christmas trailer

  • News
  • December 18, 2013

tumblr_mxppnp25pg1qka8b1o1_500-1267879Yes, I know, they already released a trailer for The Time of the Doctor, but this is the BBC, they run on the tears of their viewers.

This new trailers features a look at Clara‘s family, more villains in action, and the return of an old acquaintance of The Doctor that we’ve never met.

Also…how do you only have a phone OUTSIDE the TARDIS?  That’s shoddy design, that.

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Watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas episode trailer

  • News
  • December 11, 2013

under-strict-embargo-until-00-01-on-11-december-2013-gmtdoctor-who-xmas-special-2013The Time of the Doctor, this year’s Christmas special, and the final episode to star Matt Smith, has only become more tantalizing not that the BBC has released its first trailer.

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Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat And His Major Headlines!

  • News
  • August 23, 2013

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat

It’s a bit like the tale of the blind men and the elephant. An interview with Steven Moffat at the AdLib Comedy event in Edinburgh covered a plethora of topics on Doctor Who, and even one or two about Sherlock. And each response got its own headline in different corners on the Internet.

Some trumpeted that after an extended period of campaigning, Moffat has acknowledged the desire of Hobbit director Peter Jackson to helm an episode of the series. Jackson has famously claimed that he’d do the work for free, accepting only a Dalek as payment. “So we’ll give him a Dalek and he’ll direct an episode,” the showrunner said, going so far as to say that doing the episode in Jackson’s native New Zealand was “entirely possible.” Not exactly an official announcement, but quite a tantalizing maybe.

Some seized on his non-confirmational response when he was asked about whether or not JK Rowling was writing a story for the Doctor’s 50th anniversary event. His reply was a wry ” I can’t confirm that…right now.” Neil Gaiman was also rumored to be taking part in the anniversary story series, but as there’s only a couple more Doctors left, time seems to be running out for both to take part.

Steven also touched on a number of points concerning the continuity of the show as well. He absolutely closed the door on a return of the Time Lords, declaring them “dead in my mind. They died.” He also verified that the 12-regeneration limit is still in action, suggesting we’ll see it play a role very soon on the show. Depending on how John Hurt’s mysterious “other Doctor” is explained (or explained away), Peter Capaldi may well be playing a Doctor after his 12th, and normally last, regeneration.

While No More Time lords also means no return for Time Lady Romana, it does not shut the door on “The Doctor’s Daughter” Jenny, from the episode of the same name. He said that door was still open.

After so many Scots on the show, including two Doctors (McCoy and Tennant) some cheered the news that Peter Capaldi may well be keeping his Scottish accent when playing the Time Lord. “I’d be very surprised if he didn’t”, said Moffat, which isn’t quite a yes, but pretty damn close.

When asked about Sherlock’s survival, he made it clear that like Douglas Adams’ explanation of how to fly, it all comes down to how Sherlock avoided the ground. “He’s got to interrupt his fall before he hits the pavement”

More than anything else, two points must be kept in mind concerning all of these news tidbits.

One, the event was dedicated to comedy and wit, and it’s entirely possible that Steven was being flippant and glib in the spirit of the evening, and his comments must be taken as at least potentially tongue-in-cheek.

Two, and far more important…The Moffat Lies! He’s already said he’s been “Lying through his teeth” over the details of the anniversary special, likely in a vain and desperate desire to keep some surprises for the viewing public.  He’s not above simply making something up to get a response.

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