For many viewers, Peter Capaldi will be their first Doctor Who

Tonight’s series 8 premiere of Doctor Who was huge. From a 90-minute premiere, to following up an incredible 50th anniversary, to kicking off the next 50 years of the greatest sci-fi show ever, the episode was the debut of Peter Capaldi taking on the role of the character. After a heated debate on message boards, Twitter, and mass media, the actor was named the Doctor last August. He took the role over from the popular Matt Smith incarnation, who took it on from possibly the most popular (recent) Doctor of David Tennant.

What instantly struck me was that going forward, this will be the first Doctor for every new viewer to the show. Granted, many new fans joined during the 50th Anniversary spectacle last November and the subsequent Matt Smith finale in December. They witnessed the end of the Doctor as we know him.

Until now, they only knew the Doctor in death.

Now, he’s reborn. Now, he’s Peter Capaldi. He’s older. He’s wilier. He’s brand new. All of the new fans that joined to watch the premiere are now learning about the Doctor for the first time, as he is himself. In essence, it was all masterfully executed by Steven Moffat.

I began my Who fandom with Christopher Eccleston, thanks to Netflix and a friend tweeting about the series being something to pick up after Heroes ended. I marathoned the series, catching up to Matt Smith’s debut as the fish fingers and custard obsessed iteration. I was profoundly saddened when Tennant “died”, as I felt as though the hard work I put into the series was thrown away. I soon befriended the Eleventh Doctor, though, and the rest is history. Tennant remains my Doctor because of circumstances, though Eccleston was my first.

I assume many will be going through much of the same experience, but perhaps with Smith in that role. Many others will not be tied to Smith or Tennant or what came before, experiencing the Doctor for the first time and preparing to grow with Capaldi’s version.

What Doctor is “your Doctor”, and which was your first? Are they the same? Are they specifically different? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll read as many as we can on this week’s Lonely TARDIS podcast.