So the Doctor is more mature, but so is the way the new season is shot, with longer scenes, a slower pace, and more emphasis on conversation and characterization. Speaking at the premiere in London, Steven Moffat, the showrunner, said it was about time he updated the tone. “There was a danger we were getting faster every year and soon the episodes would be over in four minutes—and I thought we have to do something else,” he said.
In choosing Capaldi, who made his name as the foul-mouthed and furious Scottish spin doctor in The Thick of It and In the Loop, Moffat also added gravitas. “I sort of realized we couldn’t just go for another Matt Smith-type. We didn’t want another quirky young man with interesting hair. People would start styling their hair in improbable ways in the hope of being cast,” he said.
David Tennant, the Doctor before Smith, was another Scot but he adopted an English accent for the role. The new man has made no such adjustment. “I’ve gone Scottish!” he declares on screen. “That’s good, I can complain about things.”
Capaldi says he never considered changing his voice. “He’s had an English accent for years so the idea that he doesn’t have an accent is ridiculous,” he said.
For Clara (Jenna Coleman), the new Doctor’s abrasive character, and face, comes as something of a shock after she often had the upper hand over Smith. “From the moment Peter turns up she realizes she’s in terrible trouble,” Moffat explained.
