The Twelfth Time Lord

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

BBC Television announced the new Dr. Who yesterday.  The twelfth time lord is 55-year-old Scotsman, Peter Capaldi, whose acting credits go back more than thirty years.  Capaldi will assume command of the Tardis beginning with the next season.

Dr. Who is legendary in television science fiction programming, even predating the equally legendary Star Trek by three years and outlasting it by over forty.  The original episode of Dr. Who,  "An Unearthly Child." was broadcast on November 23^rd, 1963, one day after the assassination of President Kennedy.  The show’s premier was actually delayed briefly due to a special news announcement regarding the assassination.

For those not familiar with the show, the central character is “The Doctor” or “Dr. Who" – a time lord who travels through time and space to handle unique situations.   The Doctor’s mode of travel is a blue police box called the Tardis which is much larger on the inside than it is on the outside.  The Tardis is, of course, every bit as high tech as Captain Kirk’s Enterprise.  The big, blue police box takes Dr. Who and his friends on some grand adventures.

Mr. Capaldi’s predecessors at the helm of the Tardis were, in order:  William Hartwell, Patrick Troughton, John Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith.  I have watched the series, off and on, since the days of Tom Baker, and my personal favorite time lord during that period was Shakespearean actor, David Tennant.

Interestingly, Peter Capaldi recently played a WHO (World Health Organization) doctor in the movie, World War Z.

Several other actors of note have played Dr. Who during segments of the show's episodes or in other venues.  Some of those include Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Grant, Joanna Lumley (“Patsy” of Absolutely Fabulous), and John Hurt.

Prince Georgie isn’t the only Brit with a distinguished lineage!

Welcome to the elite group, Mr. Capaldi.  Keep an eye on those Daleks – we wouldn’t want them to “exterminate” you!