# Peter Capaldi to leave Doctor Who **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642 "2017-01-31T05:05:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/21 "2017-01-31T18:01:42Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Judi Dench? No way is she going to be available. Might as well hope for Maggie Smith; I can see her McGonagall as a Doctor. I’m not sure you understand the allure, the prestige, of playing the Doctor. But Dench and Smith are old. Both are in their 80s. I can see them doing an episode or two, like Derek Jacobi, but not a whole season. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/22 "2017-01-31T18:02:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I hope they don’t go with a woman or minority ethnic actor. Unless it’s Idris Elba of course. > The whole Ghostbusters debacle last year should have taught everyone a lesson; if you are going to change the ethnicity or gender of the main character, then you need an excellent actor/actress to pull it off, otherwise it looks like a gimmick. > > Elba could do it in his sleep. Which actress could and is a realistic choice? Someone upthread mentioned Hayley Atwell, who seems beyond reproach. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/23 "2017-01-31T18:13:27Z")
I have liked Capaldi but a lot of the episodes are weakly written, and I am sick to death of Clara - if her last episode was the 50th or one after I would have liked her, but she’s been on too long. Hopefully his last season will be better without her Mary Sueing all over the place. I would love to see a female doctor with a competent male companion - not early Mickey or the snap-head-hole guy, but someone like Rory. And not someone who is over-the-top super like Clara or The Doctor’s One True Love like Rose either. Also whenever they get a new show runner it would be nice if they could tone back the ‘het-mono-married-kids is the true path in life’ theme, it’s really been done to death. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/24 "2017-01-31T18:30:00Z")
I’m not hard-over on any of the potential candidates, but I do wish we’d see a redheaded regeneration, just to satisfy the Doctor’s long-standing desire to be a ginger for once. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/25 "2017-01-31T18:55:25Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Someone upthread mentioned Hayley Atwell, who seems beyond reproach. Two cancelled shows within 13 months. I am a fan, but can she pull it of? Though FTR, I am fully for Idris Elba, #TeamIdris ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/26 "2017-01-31T19:05:17Z")
I vote for Georgia Elizabeth Tennant (nee Moffett). She’s already played Jenny, the 10th Dr Who’s daughter (and is currently married to him in the real world). She’s the real world daughter of the 5th Dr Who. She died in her episode, regenerated, and flew away in a rocket/plane. She was well received by the fans, and the character of Jenny solves the problem of how many times the Dr. can regenerate. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/27 "2017-01-31T19:32:08Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I vote for Georgia Elizabeth Tennant (nee Moffett). She’s already played Jenny, the 10th Dr Who’s daughter (and is currently married to him in the real world). She’s the real world daughter of the 5th Dr Who. She died in her episode, regenerated, and flew away in a rocket/plane. > > She was well received by the fans, and the character of Jenny solves the problem of how many times the Dr. can regenerate. At least, I’d like the Doctor to find out that she regenerated. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/28 "2017-01-31T19:50:22Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Two cancelled shows within 13 months. I am a fan, but can she pull it of? I guess I’d looked at it the other way around: that they asked her to carry a show with an American accent _because_ she got that second season as a British-accented protagonist amidst, y’know, sci-fi trappings and exposition-heavy dialogue and a little light comedy and the occasional hand-to-hand combat scene. (That said: if _her_ track record of late makes you raise an eyebrow, what the heck did Matt Smith’s CV do to your eyebrows back when he got tapped for the role?) ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/29 "2017-01-31T20:01:14Z")
I don’t follow DW nearly as much as I used to (got started around 1983; dropped off pretty much around the time McGann took over the role), but did they ever “reset” the Doctor’s regenerations in any way? The next Doctor is the 12th regeneration, and that’s all a Time Lord normally gets. There are ways to “reset” - the High Council offered The Master a new set of regenerations in The Five Doctors, IIRC - but I don’t think it has been applied, at least not to The Doctor. Then again, if The Master can keep living after 12 regenerations by occupying other bodies, I suppose The Doctor could do the same thing - just don’t turn it into some variation of Quantum Leap. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/30 "2017-01-31T20:04:55Z")
Aren’t there only 13 incarnations of the Doctor, and Capaldi is 12, meaning There Can Be Only One? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/31 "2017-01-31T20:12:59Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I don’t follow DW nearly as much as I used to (got started around 1983; dropped off pretty much around the time McGann took over the role), but did they ever “reset” the Doctor’s regenerations in any way? The next Doctor is the 12th regeneration, and that’s all a Time Lord normally gets. You’re missing at least one regeneration in your count ;). But yes, the regeneration limit has been addressed in New Who. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/32 "2017-01-31T20:13:39Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Aren’t there only 13 incarnations of the Doctor, and Capaldi is 12, meaning There Can Be Only One? He’s the 12th doctor, but the 14th regeneration. The Time Masters gave the 11th more regenerations. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/33 "2017-01-31T20:19:51Z")
I wonder if they can get CCH Pounder to leave “NCIS: New Orleans” after this season. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/34 "2017-01-31T20:29:39Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I wonder if they can get CCH Pounder to leave “NCIS: New Orleans” after this season. Heh, an inspired choice. She’d be great, plus she was born in British Guiana. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/35 "2017-01-31T20:37:49Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I’m not hard-over on any of the potential candidates, but I do wish we’d see a redheaded regeneration, just to satisfy the Doctor’s long-standing desire to be a ginger for once. Why not pull in the big guns? Kenneth Branagh. BBC, I Dare You …! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/36 "2017-01-31T20:58:09Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Why not pull in the big guns? “What I do have, are a very particular set of skills – skills I have acquired over a very long career. No, longer than that.” ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/37 "2017-01-31T21:27:45Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I don’t follow DW nearly as much as I used to (got started around 1983; dropped off pretty much around the time McGann took over the role), but did they ever “reset” the Doctor’s regenerations in any way? The next Doctor is the 12th regeneration, and that’s all a Time Lord normally gets. Capaldi is actually the 13th regeneration - he’s the 12th doctor, but the War Doctor (between 8 and 9, the one who fought in the Time War) used a regeneration but didn’t call himself The Doctor, and the 10th Doctor (Tennant) used an extra regeneration at one point in the series without changing doctors. > [@](#): > > There are ways to “reset” - the High Council offered The Master a new set of regenerations in The Five Doctors, IIRC - but I don’t think it has been applied, at least not to The Doctor. They did this in Matt Smith’s final episode. Personally I think it would be better if the limit was just a custom or something imposed by the council that the doctor just chooses to ignore, but the show didn’t go that way. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/38 "2017-01-31T21:29:10Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > He’s the 12th doctor, but the 14th regeneration. The Time Masters gave the 11th more regenerations. 13th regeneration, the first doctor just grew up, he didn’t use a regeneration to start. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/39 "2017-02-01T03:48:06Z")
Another vote for not-another-White-guy. We’ve had the old ones the young ones the manic one the angsty one and on … enough. No question the person would have to a great actor and have an inspired take. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642/40 "2017-02-01T03:54:44Z")
I don’t think the Doctor should be anyone who’s already famous, like Idris Elba or David Mitchell or Catherine Tate. I think Peter Capaldi was too famous (although he was great, I love him as The Doctor!) and it didn’t end up well. Being The Doctor should totally, totally typecast and pigeon-hole an actor! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-capaldi-to-leave-doctor-who/778642.md?page=3)