Long before he became the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi was a diehard Doctor Who fan—so he knows his stuff when it comes to talking about why the show has worked so well for over 50 years. But this new nugget of Capaldian wisdom is maybe one of the best things we’ve ever heard said about the show.
Speaking to the Radio Times for a new interview ahead of the show’s upcoming Christmas special, Capaldi was asked about the general feeling that Doctor Who has gotten too complex for its younger audience recently. His response ended up summing up the beauty of Doctor Who:
The thing about Doctor Who is the constitution of the audience. It covers a huge age range, so you have to entertain little kids and you have to entertain hipsters and students, and middle-aged men who should know better. So sometimes there is a kind of metaphysical and intellectual aspect to it, which is more to the fore than other times. But generally we just blow up monsters.
Fantastic. He continued on a bit:
There are some moments when you feel, that’s a little bit silly, or that’s a bit mawkish or whatever, but then you realise, that’s for children. You would be a fool not to play to them, because it’s their show.
Which I think is the only bit I’d argue with: because as someone who’s distinctly no longer a child, I also love the bit where they blow up monsters.
[Radio Times via Doctor Who News]