The Twelfth Doctor Lands in Manhattan!
I wrote this post nearly one week ago, but I wanted to wait until the new series of Doctor Who premiered to post it. Didn't want to risk any spoilers!
Some of you may or may not have known that there was a "Doctor Who World Tour." To quote the official website: "Seven cities. Five continents. One Doctor. Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Steven Moffat to circumnavigate the earth for fan events and publicity appearances in another unique first for the British show." Basically, from August 7th ~ August 19th, the Doctor (Capaldi) and his companion (Coleman) went around the world to promote the newest installment of this beloved British sci-fi series. The tickets disappeared almost instantaneously and the amount of fans it drew, was insane! Although tickets were nearly impossible to purchase, my father and I were one of the few lucky ones to purchase tickets to the New York stop of the "Doctor Who World Tour."
For those who are unfamiliar with this AMAZING BBC program, I've copied this concise summary from Wikipedia: "Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The program me depicts the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord --- a time-traveling humanoid alien. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling space ship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963, when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right wrongs." The show is absolutely brilliant and I'm totally hooked.
My favorite Doctor, the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), and his companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).
You can also see the TARDIS spinning in the background
The show originally ran from 1963 ~ 1989, then in 2005, the show was revived and is about to premiere it's 8th NEW series. You may be wondering, "how can a show run for that long?" Well, it's quite genius in fact. The Doctor is an alien, therefore, he doesn't just die like a normal person. Whenever it's time to change the actor playing the Doctor, the Doctor simply regenerates. Same character, different face. So brilliant! Here is the trailer for the 50th Anniversary special, which aired this past November. In this clip, you get a sense of Doctor Who's history.
The twelve faces of "the Doctor"
Back in June 2013, when it was announced that Matt Smith (the 11th doctor) was leaving the show everyone started buzzing trying to figure out who would take over. That all ended in August of 2013, when it was announced that veteran BBC actor Peter Capaldi would be joining Doctor Who as the 12th Doctor. I was totally over the moon since I'm a big Capaldi fan. The new series looks so fantastic and I'm excited to watch!
Jenna Coleman (Clara) and Peter Capaldi (the 12th Doctor)
Peter Capaldi has starred in many wonderful British television programs. The second series of The Hour, The Musketeers, Torchwood, The Devil's Whore, Fortysomething, and much much more. Of all of his roles, my favorite Peter Capaldi character is Malcom Tucker from the show, The Thick of It. In this political satire, Capaldi plays Malcolm Tucker, a foul mouthed and foul tempered spin doctor. Malcolm is described as having "the physical demeanor and the political instincts of a velociraptor" (The Guardian) and "Iago with a Blackberry" (The Spectator). Basically, he is so amazing and I adore him. Here is one of my favorite Malcolm Tucker clips.
Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker
Anyway, enough background information. Back to the Doctor Who event. This was massive. I couldn't believe just HOW MANY people were in attendance! As my father and I approached the Ziegfeld Theater, we were astonished to see the line literally wrap around the block! There must have been nearly 100 people (if not more) on the line! Dad and I arrived at around 6:30 pm, but I estimate that people had been waiting on line since the morning! In fact, I later learned that the first people in line started queuing at 12:30 AM, the day of the event!
I did not realize this until we arrived, but this event wasn't just a Q&A with Steven Moffat, Peter Capaldi, and Jenna Coleman, but it was the US premiere of the first episode of Season 8. I had August 23rd circled in my calendar, since I knew that's when Peter Capaldi would be making his appearance as "The Doctor", but instead, I got a super sneak preview! By now, the episode, called "Deep Breath" has aired, so there are no spoilers --- but I won't say much, in case some of you didn't see it. What I will say is that the episode was AMAZING! I loved every second and I thought Peter Capaldi was fantastic as the Doctor. Can't wait to watch the rest of the series.
The press eagerly await the arrival of Steven Moffat, Jenna Coleman, and Peter Capaldi
Dad and I eagerly awaited for the arrival of Steven Moffat, Jenna Coleman, and Peter Capaldi. We got chatting with fellow "Whovians" and we were so excited when we received our special "Doctor Who" guest passes.
After waiting for about 30 minutes on line, the moment finally came! The stars arrived in a vintage New York City taxi. When the taxi pulled up and the doors opened, the crowds went INSANE. I was nearly blinded by all of the flashing cameras and I almost went deaf from all of the screaming!
Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman arriving at the Ziegfeld Theater
(sorry the picture is so blurry! Took these on my iPhone)
There was also a cyberman walking the "blue" carpet
There he is, the 12th Doctor!
Steven Moffat, Jenna Coleman, and Peter Capaldi spent a fair amount of time on the blue carpet, chatting with both fans and the press. So many cameras and screaming fans!
Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi chatting with the press
Capaldi and Coleman greeting their fans across the street
Getting into the theater was a mad dash. As soon as the doors opened, dad and I made sure that we were amongst the first fans to enter the theater! We were lucky enough to get very good seats in the orchestra section. It took about 30 minutes for the theater to fill up and I was so shocked to see how packed the theater was. There was such an amazing energy emanating from the crowed. Everyone was so excited and happy. There were people with sonic screwdrivers, dressed as Doctor Who characters, and decked out in Doctor Who merchandise.
It was an amazing feeling to know that I was part of a select fortunate few who got to see the US premiere of the new series of Doctor Who one week before it aired on television. Capaldi's debut episode "Deep Breath" was brilliant, witty, and well done. In true Steven Moffat form, the plot was interesting and the script was very well written. I thought Capaldi's performance as the Doctor was wonderful! He definitely brought his own edge to the character, but I did see hints of Malcolm Tucker. I can't wait to watch the rest of the series!
Coleman and Capaldi in "Deep Breath"
After watching "Deep Breath", there was a Q&A session with Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Steven Moffat. The Q&A was hosted by Chris Hardwick, from The Nerdist. It was a lot of fun. They talked about the new series, how Capaldi got the role, transitioning from Matt Smith, etc…
Once the panel discussion was done, there was an audience Q&A. I ran to the microphone as quickly as I could. There were a few people in front of me, but I managed to ask Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat my burning question. As I mentioned previously, I absolutely love Capaldi's character, Malcolm Tucker. I asked whether there would ever be a situation where the 12th Doctor and Malcolm Tucker would cross paths. Capaldi smiled and told me that since Doctor Who is a family oriented show, Malcolm's "vigor" may not be appropriate. He indicated that his days of playing Malcolm Tucker were behind him, however, he and Moffat did bounce off some pretty cool ideas. Perhaps a future comic relief special? (I hope so!)
What an amazing evening! I got to watch the premiere episode a week before is airs worldwide, a got to chat with Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat, and I got to indulge with a super nerdy evening with my dad. I will always look back on this evening with a grin.
Comments
Post a Comment