Peter Capaldi thinks the big appeal to Doctor Who is death, but is that true?

Former Doctor Who lead Peter Capaldi spoke out on what he thinks is the universal appeal of Doctor Who for fans. He says it’s death, but maybe that’s not all there is to it.

Of all the running themes in the Doctor Who universe, who would have thought the theme of death would have the most universal appeal? It’s a bit drab, considering all the fun stuff that happens in between, but that’s what twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi thinks.

Capaldi appeared in James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction TV series, and, fittingly, spoke about Doctor Who on the show’s episode on time travel. While talking about how the idea of creating a regenerating character came about, he dropped his controversial opinion about what he thought was the show’s appeal.

In a clip with all of Capaldi’s parts (hat tip to Syfy for finding it), Capaldi says: “People always ask me what it is about the show that appeals so broadly. The answer I would like to give, and which I’m discouraged from giving because it is not useful in the promotion of a brand, is that it’s about death.”

He’s right in that sense. There’s nothing happy about promoting his character as someone who’s going to die… and then come back. But that wasn’t all he had to say on the matter:

“It has a very, very powerful death motif in it which is that the central character dies,” Capaldi continued. “I think that is one of its most potent mysteries because somewhere in that people see that that’s what happens in life. You have loved ones and then they go, but you must carry on.”

In a way, we can see where he’s coming from. Death is one of the most universal appeals on our planet, right next to life and breathing. But just because that’s a running theme in the show, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the thread that pulls everyone together.

The show, at least in the new era, draws first and foremost on the appeal of adventure and friendship. Ideally, we’d all have friends who we can escape with and tag along with for our great adventures. But even if we didn’t have that, we always had the Doctor and his companions to join instead.

Think about the time we went along for one of Rose Tyler’s first adventures to watch the end of the world, down to the tear-jerking moment where she was left alone on the beach sorely missing the tenth Doctor. That emotion shows we really do love these characters, and we grow alongside them. So when it’s time for them go or they die, it only becomes bittersweet because we loved them so much.

Sure, each regeneration brings about its own bit of heightened emotions. But that emotion is rooted in friendship, almost as if we were one of those companions in the T.A.R.D.I.S. with them the whole time.

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So while Capaldi might be onto something about the whole death thing, it’s only one root cause that makes Doctor Who so great. But in all honesty, it’s the Sarah Janes, the Marthas and the Amy Ponds that really make the show what it is.

Of course, the companions and their friendship aren’t the only things that make Doctor Who so universal. What’s the best part of Doctor Who for you?