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Doctor Who AND THE SUAVE superhero
The Doctor’s awesome new ally in this year’s Christmas special is a throwback to the superhero movie’s golden age, says Peter Capaldi
He used to be a huge fan of the superhero movie, but Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi says he’s fed up with them taking themselves so seriously. It’s time to put the fun and romance back into the genre, he says, and what better way to do that than to have a handsome, suave and witty superhero at the heart of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special?
‘Superheroes tend to be a grim lot nowadays,’ grumbles Peter. ‘What I liked about the script for our Christmas episode, The Return Of Doctor Mysterio, was the way it captured that light comedy touch that existed in the early
Superman movies with
Christopher Reeve. It’s a throwback to the days when superheroes were ironic, funny and clever. Back then Superman had a deliberate naivety which was very attractive.’
In the same way that Superman is really Clark Kent and Batman is really Bruce Wayne, the superhero Doctor Who gets to meet is both human and superhuman. His name is Grant but when he puts on his costume, Zorro-style mask and black boots, he becomes The Ghost, scourge of New York’s baddies.
We first meet The Ghost hovering outside the 100th floor of a New York skyscraper, ready to burst in and rescue the Doctor, Daily Chronicle reporter Lucy Fletcher, and Nardole, the humanoid-cyborg played by Matt Lucas who first appeared in last year’s Christmas special. They’re in New York confronting the threat of aliens intent on swapping people’s brains, but right now they’re being threatened by a gun-toting executive from Harmony Shoal: Science Research Associates, a vast global organisation.
The Ghost merely clicks his fingers and a huge pane of bombproof glass shatters. From there, he bats off a volley of bullets from the villain before picking him up and throwing him across the floor.
‘The Ghost is like the original Superman, the nerd who created an alter ego in order to be the guy he couldn’t be,’ says Justin Chatwin, the 34-yearold Canadian actor who played Tom Cruise’s son in War Of The Worlds and now takes on the dual role of Grant and The Ghost. ‘His entry into the Doctor Who story is dramatic, but we also see a more vulnerable side to him later. I hope viewers like him.’
Charity Wakefield, best known as Mary Boleyn in the BBC’s Wolf Hall, plays Lucy the journalist. Were it not for the fact that actress Pearl Mackie has been announced as the Doctor’s new companion Bill, there might be speculation that Charity is to be his new sidekick. As it is, she’s happy just to be part of the festive special. ‘Getting the part was like receiving a very early Christmas present,’ beams Charity. ’And it was a real bonus to be in Doctor Who without being hidden beneath an alien outfit. What surprised me about the script was the huge superhero theme to it. I didn’t think TV shows could be that ambitious.’
The Return Of Doctor Mysterio doesn’t quite mark the departure of Steven Moffat, the show’s writer and producer. He’s got one more series and next year’s Christmas special before he hands over to Broadchurch’s Chris Chibnall. But he was determined to put a superhero into an episode while he still could.
‘I like their daft superpowers because they’re fundamentally silly,’ says Steven. ‘You can’t take them too seriously and the Superman movies didn’t, which is what made them so great. The cool part is how you deal with the superpowers and I hope we’ve done so with joyful levity in our Christmas special.’
And if you’re wondering who the mysterious Doctor Mysterio is, you’ll have to tune in to find out!
Doctor Who is on Christmas Day at 5.45pm on BBC1.