[Article: Doctor Who] Doctor, why? Actor's exit puzzles fans

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From the New Zealand Herald newspaper (3 February, 2017) ...

Doctor, why? Actor's exit puzzles fans
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When Peter Capaldi revealed this week that he would be
leaving Doctor Who after the next series, it came as a
surprise to many fans. "I've never worked the same job
for three years, and I feel like now is the right time
to move on," he told BBC Radio 2.

Capaldi's portrayal of the character has been met with
widespread acclaim from the critics - so why is he
quitting a job he so clearly loved? Here are some
possible reasons:

* The show's ratings were falling
During Capaldi's time on the show, its overnight
ratings have fallen considerably: only 6.1 million
people tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the
last Christmas special, while the David Tennant-era
episodes were regularly drawing more than 10 million
live viewers.

The rise in online catch-up viewing is partly
responsible, and this is undoubtedly the case with a
show like Doctor Who, that skews towards a younger
demographic; consolidated viewing figures for the
show tend to be much higher.

But there's another number that matters just as much
to the BBC: the Audience Appreciation Index, or AI,
a score out of 100 which measures viewers' enjoyment.
If a cult sci-fi show is drawing a smaller audience,
but that audience adores it more than ever, the
public service broadcaster can justifiably call it a
success. Sadly, this isn't the case for Doctor Who.

In recent years, the average AI for a BBC or ITV
drama has been in the mid-80s. But in the last series
Doctor Who's AI dipped below 80 for the first time
since 2005 with 'Sleep No More', a particularly knotty
episode written by Stephen Moffat's Sherlock
co-creator Mark Gatiss.

As the viewing figures had already begun to decline in
the previous Doctor Matt Smith's final series, it
would make more sense to lay any blame at Moffat's
door, rather than Capaldi's.


* He'd been ready to leave for along time
Was Capaldi's resignation really a shock to anyone?
The Sun has claimed he: said he would be staying in
the role "for a long time," misquoting an interview
the actor gave to The Andrew Marr Show in December.

Referring to fans who recognise him on the street,
Capaldi mused, "I won't be [The Doctor] forever. There
will be a day when people don't come to say hello."
Asked when that day would be, he replied: "Oh, not for
a long time, I hope."

In the context of the interview, he was referring more
to how long public recognition would last, rather than
commenting on his future in the role.

In fact, the supposed U-turn follows several other
interviews in which the actor sounded far less certain
about his tenure in the Tardis. Back in 2015, ahead of
that year's Christmas special, he told the Telegraph:
"This could be my final year - it's terrifying. I love
Doctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I
do want to do other things."

Now aged 58, Capaldi was the oldest to take up the
role since the first Doctor, William Hartnell (setting
aside John Hurt's one-off cameo). Capaldi may simply
feel exhausted with the job.


* Steven Moffat is leaving so Capaldi has to follow him
It's possible that Capaldi would have been written out
anyway, when long-serving showrunner Steven Moffat
leaves after the next series. The new Doctor Who chief,
Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, will undoubtedly be
keen to put his own stamp on the show. The simplest way
to do this would be to introduce a new Doctor - and
some fans have been hoping to see his Broadchurch
colleague Olivia Colman in the role.

Even if Chibnall were happy to work with Capaldi, he
would still want to mark a clear divide from the
Moffat-era of Doctor Who - which, like his work on
Sherlock, has been criticised over-convoluted writing.


* He wanted to avoid typecasting
When Capaldi took up the role, he was in a very
different position to David Tennant and Matt Smith.
Unlike the younger actors, he already had a
career-defining role under his belt, as foul-mouthed
spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci's
political satire The Thick of It.

Stepping into the Tardis was a smart career move for
Capaldi, allowing him to dispel the ghost of Malcolm,
and demonstrate his range as an actor. But staying too
long would risk replacing one obvious source of
typecasting with another.


* He was fed up with the BBC
In the past, Capaldi has accused the broadcaster of
taking Doctor Who for granted, blaming the show's
falling ratings on poor scheduling. In the last series,
the show was moved from its family-friendly teatime
slot, Shunted around the timetables to suit the Strictly
live shows, and frequently finished post-watershed.

"It's not being looked after," he complained last year.
"I think maybe their eye was taken off the ball, or the
show was seen as a thing they could just push around.
It's not. It's a special thing." It's unlikely poor
timetabling alone was enough to make Capaldi, quit, but
it's indicative of a wider problem: by prioritising
Strictly, and aiming for easy reality TV ratings, the
BBC accidentally damaged a 50-yea old institution.


- Telegraph Group Ltd