A Young–Old Face: Out with the New and in with the Old in Doctor Who

The announcement in 2013 of Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor added a new dimension to the media coverage surrounding the programme’s fiftieth anniversary. Much of this centred around the fact that, at 55, Capaldi was the same age original Doctor William Hartnell had been when he took on the part. Showrunner Steven Moffat swiftly claimed this as his USP, stating that ‘to emphasise the senior consultant over the medical student for once reminds people that he’s actually a terrifying old beast.’

Dating the Doctor is problematic, his stated age veering between 450 and 953 in the ‘classic’ series, to more than double that today. While he always demonstrably possesses centuries of experience, the apparent age of his physical body has varied wildly, most notably with the casting of Peter Davison, David Tennant and Matt Smith. In the original era, however, the pace of the show was often constrained by its multi-camera studio format, whereas the single camera model of the Davies and Moffat eras has sometimes seen the Doctor functioning more as high-octane action hero then cerebral sage. Capaldi’s arrival therefore raises several questions with regard to age and ageing in Doctor Who, both in terms of characterisation and narrative form. With the Doctor played by younger men for so much of his recent tenure, how has the emergence of a more senior Time Lord impacted on the programme’s status as action adventure? Jon Pertwee, 50 at the start of his term, was arguably the most physical Doctor of all, suggesting age need not be a barrier in this respect. In a direct mirroring of the original series, Capaldi’s first year saw the Doctor accompanied by two teachers from London’s Coal Hill School, Clara Oswald and Danny Pink. To what extent has Danny replicated original companion Ian Chesterton, included to take care of any physical business which Hartnell may not have been equal to? This formula was attempted again in 1974, the character of Harry Sullivan being created before the fourth Doctor’s identity was known; in the event, Tom Baker proved more than capable of handling himself, and Harry’s stay was brief indeed. Which formula does the Twelfth Doctor and Danny’s dynamic most closely resemble? It is notable that educators Clara and Danny are less the mature guides envisaged by the 1963 production team than youthful points of identification for a ‘child’ audience. This function was originally fulfilled by the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan; creating a mould into which many of her adolescent or twentysomething successors were forced. How far has Capaldi’s casting indicated a sea change; out with the new, and in with the old?

Moffat’s re-establishment of the Doctor as a middle-aged hero is a daring move in a televisual era with few such role models, even the quinquagenarian Inspector Morse now having been replaced by his twenty-something counterpart. This chapter will investigate the narrative and performative strategies employed to accommodate this approach, and the impact Capaldi’s arrival has had upon the pace and style of modern Who.