So, Peter Capaldi has finally arrived as the new Doctor Who, making a promising (though fleeting) appearance at the end of a rather indulgent (and dire) Christmas Doctor Who special. I do hope Mr. Capaldi brings the tired series back to some quality story-lines, and less of the puerile, narcissistic, self-referential navel-gazing of recent years. (Or, in the words of Elvis Presley, the series needs “A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action.”) Capaldi certainly has the pedigree to deliver this, as he is already an Oscar-winning film director and writer, who picked up an Academy Award for his fabulous short Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life in 1995.

Capaldi’s film features Franz Kafka (wonderfully played by Richard E. Grant) suffering a frustrating bout of writer’s block, as he works on the opening line to his story Metamorphosis:

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”

Brilliantly imagined, with superb supporting performances from Ken Stott, Elaine Collins and Phyllis Logan, this is a perfectly enjoyable winter treat.
 

Capaldi, unmistakeable, bottom left, and Craig Ferguson top right
 
55-year-old native Glaswegian Peter Capaldi is Doctor Who number twelve! While Tom Baker will always be my first Doctor (you never forget your first!), Capaldi could definitely be in the running for the coolest Doctor.

After moving to Edinburgh in 1980, Peter Capaldi fronted a Scottish punk band called The Dreamboys (with The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson on drums, no less). It’s all very overdriven and shambolic (with a crudeness emphasized by a cheap record player and probably wonky vinyl), but check out the (totally catchy) tunes below, “Outer Limits,” “Shall We Dance,” and “Bela Lugosi’s Birthday.” It can be a bit like The Damned one minute, with echoes of The Jesus and Mary Chain the next- all bodes well for the next Doctor!
 

 
Via Noisey

 
Even if you’re not a Doctor Who fan, you have probably by now, been reminded at least 100 times today alone that Peter Capaldi has been cast as the new Doctor. The news is on every goddamned website and blog, so I won’t bore you with it.

What I will show you though, is a fabulous fanmade trailer featuring Peter Capaldi in his career-making role as the political “fixer” “Malcolm Tucker” from The Thick of It recast as a rather foul-mouthed Doctor.

It works, IMO. It works great!

 
Below, a Malcolm Tucker “best of” compilation from The Thick of It:

 
This is an excellent short film, Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life, written and directed by the immensely talented Peter Capaldi. It stars Richard E. Grant, Elaine Collins, Phyllis Logan, Cripin Letts and Ken Stott, and is a comedy about Kafka’s frustrations in writing Metamorphosis - with a little nod towards the work of Frank Capra. This was a deserved Oscar winner back in 1995, for best short film, and Capaldi is now better known for his foul-mouthed Maloclm Tucker form The Thick of It. One hopes he will return to writing and directing soon.
 

 
The rest of ‘Franz Kafka…’ plus the best of Capaldi as the foul mouthed Malcolm Tucker - NSFW, after the jump….