Doctor Who Fan Art By None Other Than Peter Capaldi
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Last year, when the BBC and Doctor Who announced Peter Capaldi as the twelfth incarnation of the venerable Time Lord, there was quite a stir among fans of the long-running space and time adventure. We got our first glimpse of the new Doctor in December in the Christmas special, “Time of the Doctor.” Regardless of you take on Capaldi and his rendering of the beloved character, one thing is certain, the man is a huge fan of Doctor Who. How big? Well, we stumbled across some Doctor Who fan art, by none other than Peter Capaldi, from 1976.
Io9 found this image, which first appeared in the May, 1976 edition of the Doctor Who International Fan Club Magazine. I’m not entirely certain what it is supposed to show, but it looks to be the Doctor’s preferred method of time and space travel, the TARDIS, hanging out in some rugged mountains, most likely on some remote alien world. Then again, he could be hanging out in the Himalayas with a crew of Yetis. I wouldn’t put it past him.
This issue of the fan club magazine also includes an article written by the younger version of Capaldi. He uses a few paragraphs to muse on the graphic design elements of the opening credits and how they have become a vital piece of the ritual of watching the show to himself and many other Whovians. Given his long-time fandom, casting Capaldi in the role begins to make more and more sense. That and he’s pretty fantastic. Myself, I’m partial to his epic and inventive use of swearing from his role on The Thick of It and In the Loop.
Fans have only had a small taste of Capaldi’s Doctor—we don’t even have a good idea of his personal style, since last we saw he was still dressed like Matt Smith’s version—but he’s currently hard at work filming season eight. This outing should prove to be an interesting endeavor. Not only is this a chance to get to know Capaldi’s Time Lord, the first two chapters of the 13-episode season are being directed by Ben Wheatley.
Wheatley is most known for his 2011, genre-bending horror film Kill List, but he’s also responsible for last year’s dark—we’re talking pitch freakin’ black—road trip comedy Sightseers. His A Field in England drops in the States soon, and is a psychedelic journey of 17th century soldiers as the reality of their world breaks down while they’re on a mission. Next on his plate is an adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s domestic dystopian novel High Rise, about an apartment complex that devours itself in a sort of internal civil war. Another long-time fan, Wheatley has such sharp, unique, not to mention twisted view and sense of the humor, that it is going to be super interesting to see what he does with Doctor Who. The idea of Wheatley and Capaldi in cahoots is exciting to say the least.
Season eight of Doctor Who airs later this year.
