It's a question all fans new to Doctor Who fans ask and some longtime fans still think about: what's the Doctor's name? While many newcomers or those out of the loop incorrectly refer to him as "Doctor Who," even loyal fans are only somewhat right in their correction that his name is the Doctor. After all, "the Doctor" is a title, which presents the age-old question of what is his real name. Peter Capaldi gave an explanation to this question recently:
I also know his real name. It's not pronounceable to humans. It's a frequency that can only be heard of people with good heart.
To date, that's one of the best answers someone connected with Doctor Who has given to the question. It's far better than Matt Smith's answer from long ago that it was "Drasicanawhocius" or some long name similar that is easily abbreviated by saying "Doctor Who." It's also more interesting than the some diehard fans' explanations that the Doctor's name is actually a rather hard-to-pronounce set of Latin letters to varying powers. Given that, Peter Capaldi's response to Radio 2's Access All Areas (via Digital Spy) should win as it gels with the awesomeness of the Doctor and doesn't risk the spraining of the tongue muscle trying to pronounce.
While he has some very interesting ideas regarding the Doctor's name, Peter Capaldi also holds an opinion that may sound like hot take to many Doctor Who fans. In fact, it may trigger some of those fans fans who have battled to keep those outside the fan community from referring to him in a certain way. Capaldi may indeed ruffle some feathers with this statement:
We can get into a fight about whether he's called The Doctor, or Doctor Who. The reason I call him Doctor Who is because when you're in the street, people don't shout out, 'There's The Doctor!' They go, 'Hey, Doctor Who!' That's his street name. His street name is Doctor Who.
Regardless of his name, Peter Capaldi will say farewell to the character during Doctor Who's Christmas special on BBC America Monday, December 25 at 9:00 p.m. ET. For a look at what else is due to premiere in the final days of 2017, head on over to our fall premiere guide. Those with their eye on the future and a curiousity of when the best shows of the fall will return will find what they need at our midseason premiere guide. Anyone curious as to which shows were dropped this past year can find out at our cancellation guide. If streaming is more your style, we have a handy Netflix premiere guide for the new year. There may be quite a long hiatus before the next season of Doctor Who (with an exciting new Doctor), so you may want to find some new series to check out.
