The timing is cruel. A month before Peter Capaldi’s debut as the Doctor in series eight, he must face off with his predecessor Matt Smith. It’s a battle between the old and the new – in more ways than one. Will this show that fans have already pledged their faith in the older, grizzled Capaldi, or do their loyalties still cling to the younger, fresh-faced Smith?

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As a war-weary Doctor Who fan, I’d have to say my money is on the latter. That, in no way at all, is a premature judgment on Capaldi, who I think has the potential to be one of the most exciting Doctors the show has ever had. It’s more to do with the fact that there’s a cycle Doctor Who fans go through whenever there’s a new regeneration; one where their love of the previous Doctor is still too strong for them to accept anyone else until the new one wins them over. This, I fear, is what will happen.

Whether the same result would happen next year, however, is a whole other matter.

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Picked your side? Cast your votes here

Authors

Stephen Kelly

Stephen Kelly is a freelance culture and science journalist. He oversees BBC Science Focus's Popcorn Science feature, where every month we get an expert to weigh in on the plausibility of a newly released TV show or film. Beyond BBC Science Focus, he has written for such publications as The Guardian, The Telegraph, The I, BBC Culture, Wired, Total Film, Radio Times and Entertainment Weekly. He is a big fan of Studio Ghibli movies, the apparent football team Tottenham Hotspur and writing short biographies in the third person.

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