Regeneration is hard..

Whovians around the world right now are mostly likely doing one of three things:

1. Laying on the floor in a fetal position sobbing
2. Running in circles cheering
3. Frantically watching everything with Peter Capaldi in it on Netflix. 

The reason for this is, while we have known that our current Doctor, Matt Smith was going to be leaving the show, we just found out today who is going to replace him, Peter Capaldi. If you have watched Doctor Who, you might recognize him as Caecilius in Fires of Pompeii, or on Torchwood: Children of Earth as John Frobisher. 

NeoWhovians, as in those who have only been watching since the 2005 reboot, often have visceral reactions to a regeneration, grasping desperately to their chosen Doctor (often David Tennant) and refusing to see the good points of any one who DARES try to take on the roll. I myself have been guilty of this at points in my life, namely when ever any Doctor has regenerated. But I pride myself on my ability to get up off the floor, and remember that each actor brings something new to the role, but the Doctor at heart remains unchanged. 

So while I may have initially reacted to the news in a less then joyous manner, I am reminded that Doctor Who is more then the man who plays the role. It's a huge fandom that I am proud to be a part of. It's a story about (if I may steal from Craig Ferguson) the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism. 

Here are just a few actors who have played the Doctor, and there was a general uproar when they took control of the TARDIS, and yet, we all survived, and they were fantastic, and we were sad to see them go. I imagine the same thing will happen when Peter takes the controls, and that's all part of the Doctor Who experience :)

 The 9th Doctor

 The 10th Doctor

 The 11th Doctor

And, announcing, the 12th Doctor!