The Barclays Premier League is underway, sure, but Peter Capaldi–as the new Dr. Who–is bigger news than even Chelsea and Liverpool this Saturday. The choice of Capaldi to replace 31-year-old Matt Smith worried many fans. Capaldi is 25 years older than Smith–and would obviously bring a different feel to the cherished British character. (The original Dr. Who ran on the BBC from 1963 to 1989.) But Capaldi was a smash with critics in his first outing. The Telegraph‘s Michael Hogan said Capaldi “crackled with fierce intelligence” and was a welcome throwback to the Time Lord’s roots.
Euan Ferguson at the Guardian had perhaps the most unusual way of complimenting Capaldi’s performance, writing that the actor “absolutely failed to nail the character completely, and for that we should be immensely heartened, given how much good it bodes for the rest…” Commenters tended to agree, though there were some who thought Who had a formulaic quality: “Oh look, it’s a middle aged, ‘enigmatic man’ with a selection of nubile youngsters at his beck and call,” KnollyKnollington wrote in the Guardian comments. “Could only be a BBC production.” If you want to judge for yourself and see all the ways you can watch Dr. Who in the US, check out BBC America.
