"I think Peter's a brilliant actor. ... I can't wait to see what he does," Neil Gaiman (left) says of the casting of Peter Capaldi as the 12th "Doctor Who" actor.
British phenom Neil Gaiman - novelist, occasional and exceptional "Doctor Who" writer and, more recently,
video game developer - doesn't respond to all the questions on his Tumblr, but when he does, it's rare he doesn't have something fantastic to say.
Last week, in response to "Doctor Who" questions, including about the casting of Peter Capaldi, Gaiman
disclosed a nugget of information in a question about whether a man of color will ever be the Doctor.
"I have no doubt there will be. (I know one black actor who was already offered the part of the Doctor, and who turned it down.) Just as there will be a female Doctor."
But Gaiman
went on to say in another answer that he doesn't think the time is quite right for casting a woman as the Doctor. This from the writer of the episode ("The Doctor's Wife") that proves there's at least one gender-switching Time Lord: the Corsair. But, Gaiman said, "if and when they ever do that, I want them to keep it the biggest secret in the world until we see it happen on our screens."
On Capaldi's age, 55, he said: "I’m glad that we’re getting an older Doctor — we’ve had two puppies, it’s time to see someone older. It’ll change the nature of the relationship with Clara in interesting ways, for a start."
As a Jenna Louise Coleman fan, I'd be happy to see her stick around as a companion beyond the Christmas special, but I have to say I wasn't actually expecting it. As Gaiman said, I'd be curious to see how the nature of the Doctor-companion relationship changes, but I mostly hope Coleman and Capaldi have good chemistry together.
When Billie Piper as Rose Tyler had to start playing off David Tennant during the regeneration between 9 and 10, the show was lucky to find such magic with a new Doctor and a beloved returning companion. It'd be hard to repeat that kind of success, but Clara certainly has won over enough hearts that it should be easy for her to capture two more in Capaldi's Doctor.
Of course, that would mean one of these Doctors (Matt Smith's 11th, John Hurt's ? or Capaldi's 12th) is going to have to figure out a way to restore Miss Oswald after she turned herself into Clara confetti. With the 50th anniversary and Christmas special still months away, it's a long wait for answers.
What do you think about Capaldi's casting or the future of Clara as his companion?
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