While we await the return of Doctor Who this autumn, what better way to remind ourselves what a truly top Doc Peter Capaldi has been so far than with the Twelfth Doctor’s Top 12 (see what we did there?) moments.

> Order Season 8 on DVD on Amazon.

> Order Season 8 on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Some are big, some are infinitesimally tiny, but Capaldi has made all these moments his own; each a unique point on the upwards-trending graph of excellence that has been his Doctor.

 

Kidneys! (‘The Time of The Doctor’)

Let’s not overlook where it began. Last Christmas the floppy-haired young man we loved burned away with alarming suddenness (still not a fan of that regeneration), and then there he was: the grey stick-insect magician.

Wild-eyed, unable to fly the TARDIS, and overly-concerned about his kidneys (well, at 2000 years old you should be). These would be just the first of many surprises that the new Doctor had in store for us.

 

Mirror, Mirror… (‘Deep Breath’)

Scrabbling about in a Victorian alley, the freshly-regenerated Doctor stumbles across a tramp (played by Brian Miller, husband to the late Elisabeth Sladen) and then proceeds to harass the poor bloke as he desperately tries to remember where he got his face from.

And then suddenly he realises he’s Scottish. Wonderfully, abrasively Scottish. Which means he can really complain. A privilege he’d abuse plenty in episodes to come.

 

Getting it right (‘Into the Dalek’)

The Doctor’s had more guns pointed at him than he’s had hot dinners (well, who points a hot dinner at someone, eh?) and usually manages to talk his way out of them, but he’s never done it like this before.

As Journey Blue brandishes her pistol at him, he scolds her on the etiquette of asking nicely. ‘No, come on, get it right!’ he snaps, and for once The Doctor manages to be scarier than the person holding the gun.

 

Hard to swallow (‘Into the Dalek’)

In the past The Doctor has tried to save everyone, and often shed a tear when unable to. But throughout Season 8 Twelve would show a distinct antipathy to sentiment whenever someone died.

We saw it in ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’ and in ‘Dark Water’, but it’s the first time when it’s the most shocking, as it seems The Doctor is saving doomed soldier Ross, only to actually be using him to save everyone else’s life. Sure, it’s for the greater good, but damn Doctor, that’s cold.

 

Continued on next page…