Instigator / Pro
nmvarco's avatar
7
nmvarco
1536
rating
19
debates
55.26%
won
Topic
#2039

Peter Capaldi Was The Best Doctor

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
0
Better sources
2
2
Better legibility
1
1
Better conduct
1
1

After 1 vote and with 3 points ahead, the winner is...

nmvarco
Tags
TV
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
2
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
2,500
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
zedvictor4's avatar
4
zedvictor4
1442
rating
22
debates
34.09%
won
Description

BoP is on me.
I believe Peter Capaldi was the best actor to play Doctor Who.
All con has to do is prove that another Doctor was better.
No K’s please, this is a nerdy debate.

Round 1
nmvarco's avatar
nmvarco
Pro
#1
Peter Capaldi Was The Best Actor To Ever Play The Role Of Doctor Who In The BBC Show “Doctor Who”

I. Acting
I believe Peter Capaldi had some of the best acting in the entire show. For example, look at part 1 of the season 9 finale “Heaven Sent.” [1] It’s a lengthy, scary, and twisting solo monologue not only about escaping from a mysterious creature, but also about him facing his fears. He continually quotes the folktale about the bird who chips away his beak at the mountain, and the episode concludes with a stunning montage of him reciting the folktale.

Another great finale is the two-parter “World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls,” [2] which is one of the best Cyberman stories in the history of Doctor Who due to the origin story it tells. There are many great scenes with the Doctor and Bill that show Peter Capaldi’s excellence. It shows off Peter Capaldi’s wit and charm.

II. Character
I also believe the 12th Doctor, who Peter Capaldi played, has some of the best character development in the entire show. In the Season 8 episode “Into The Dalek,” [3] the Doctor struggles with his conscience, asking himself, his protege (Clara), and even a Dalek if he is “a good man.”

In the Season 9 episode “Heaven Sent,” [1] the Doctor must face his fears whether he likes it or not to escape the Veil. and only during this time do we see the true face of the Doctor.

III. Storyline
I believe that series 8, 9, and 10 of Doctor Who have some of the best storylines in the entire show, and these plots are exemplified by Peter Capaldi’s Acting.

Take the season 8 finale “Dark Water/Death in Heaven.” [4] The writing is absolutely superb, and the way it harkens back to the first Cyberman episode (Cybermen marching on St. Peter’s) is absolutely awesome. You have no idea what is happening until the water starts draining out of the tombs and the Master, or Missy, reveals herself. This is just one example of the suspense and action featured during Peter Capaldi’s time as Doctor.

IV. Conclusion
Peter Capaldi was the best Doctor due to his interesting acting, wild personality, and great storylines. He is one of the most complex and layered Doctors, which is why many people like him.

V. Sources
[1] Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 11 “Heaven Sent”
[2] Doctor Who Series 10 Episode 11/12 “World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls”
[3] Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 2 “Into the Dalek”
[4] Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 11/12 “Dark Water/Death in Heaven”

zedvictor4's avatar
zedvictor4
Con
#2


John Devon Roland Pertwee was by far the best Doctor.

He had the best hair and best dress sense by far.

Also, he is relevant to my youth....Which to be honest was the only time that I regularly watched and enjoyed the programme. The filming effects and storylines were relevant to that era of T.V entertainment.

Dr Who is a Kids T.V. programme that is able to attract an audience of Big Kids...For nostalgic reasons or youthful escapism or what, I'm not certain.

Nonetheless post John Pertwee, Dr Who failed to capture my imagination and I now find it somewhat childish and also sub-standard in terms of effects and production.

Hence my own nostalgic preference for John Pertwee.

Maybe my opponents preference for Peter Capaldi is cultured for similar reasons and I expect that given the amount of Dr's to choose from and the lengthy production span of the programme, the appreciation of voters will be similarly subjective and variable.


The format of Dr Who has changed over the years for the very reasons I give above... It has developed from a serious attempt at Science Fiction into a consistently more and more tongue in cheek, almost comedic interpretation of the genre. I believe that John Pertwee and his personal development of the Dr Who character was therefore the most rounded of all the various interpretations.

An ongoing appreciation and enduring memory of John Pertwee and his style of character acting, was undoubtedly instilled in me by his later endearing interpretation of the Worzel Gummidge character....So who's a Big Kid then!

I personally have no similar recollections or fond memories of Peter Capaldi.




Round 2
nmvarco's avatar
nmvarco
Pro
#3
Tom Baker had the best hair and dress but I’m not going to talk about him.

“Substandard effects,” ah yes, CGI will never top the magnificent scenes from “The Green Death.” I believe we can all agree that the effects have gotten better over time (but in my opinion they are sometimes overused). Just look at the view of Gallifrey in “Hell Bent” or the Bank of Karabraxos from “Time Heist.” Even the physical effects have gotten better. Look at the Dalek construction in “The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar,” the Cybermen suits in “Dark Water/Death in Heaven” (although the Gaiman design is not the best, you have to admit the craftsmanship of the suits themselves), and the Tardis over the entire series. 

I do agree that the show has become more tongue and cheek with needlessly low-quality slapstick jokes, and I’m not the biggest fan, but I believe this is where some of the appeal for the new doctors (most notably 10 and 11) and it helps add another side of the Doctor to the show. And when you think about it, slapstick has been around for the entire show’s production. Patrick Troughton was a very energetic and silly Doctor, and the same was for Tom Baker and Peter Davison (although the latter is a bit of a spaz), which spawned numerous incidents of unfunny slapstick humor, but nevertheless it’s good in a way.

This level of slapstick humor was more or less lowered once Capaldi came on the show, as his character was supposed to me a darker, reflective Doctor. I believe that Capaldi had the perfect balance of seriousness and humor which is why I believe he is one of the best doctors.
zedvictor4's avatar
zedvictor4
Con
#4
Well, I would suggest that Jon Pertwee and Tom baker had very similar hair styles, but Tom Bakers scarf and hat and overbearing vocal presentation was just pandering to the 70's generation. I found the bow tie subtlety and doctorial nature of Jon Pertwee's character a far more convincing Time Lord. Similarly the current female incarnation is also pandering to social pressures and really does lose the plot for me. Let's see if Jo Martin can make the character more believable.

In many ways Jon Pertwee and Peter Capaldi were similar, though Capaldi's character was nonetheless embued with the developing over exaggerations of the character, despite his supposed darkness.

The emphasis on outlandish dress and behaviour carried right on through to Number 8, where it could well be argued that Paul McGann's portrayal was a good return to the subtlety and character of the original Doctor's, without the overly dramatic presentation of Capaldi.

Nonetheless as I previously stated, Doctor Who preference is perhaps a generational thing and with 13/14 to choose from, then I think that the jury will be well and truly out on this one.

Interestingly the accolade of best Doctor Who is often awarded  to David Tennant, who for me doesn't even rate in the top ten. So it really is all very a subjective and personal decision at the end of the day.

Jon Pertwee's top for me and Peter Capaldi's top for my opponent...I think that this probably says more about us than it does about Doctor Who.