@Amber Watkins
Why would they explain though? Karen is playing a different character lol. Its like Mr Crane in Age of Steel/ Rise of the Cybermen, the actor who played him who I know cos hes married to me mum’s friend was also in an episode in the Classic era Remembrance of the Daleks. Didn’t explain how he was in that episode either

@Patrick
but so was Peter Capaldi, He was playing a completely different character to the doctor whom he is going to play. That is my point, they won’t explain how he was a senator in Pompeii, because he as the doctor never was a senator in Pompeii, just like Amy wasn’t a soothsayer at the same time she was Amy Pond. It is just the BBC using the same actors.
They did the same with Martha (Canary Warf) but they at least explained that one because it was so soon after the episode and she was imprinted clearer in everyone’s minds. Whilst with Peter and Karen, it is a long time since that episode aired for the first time.

I’ve seen a few comments above that are a bit wrong, so I’m going to re-correct some of them.
A few people above think Paul Mcgann is American. He isn’t he’s British.
David Tenant and Peter Capaldi are not the only Scottish actors to be a Doctor, there was also Sylvester McCoy, the 7th.

Now some people are asking how they will explain the Fire of Pompeii etc. Well, it was established in Destiny of the Daleks that some time lords can control what they look like for their next incarnation. For instance when Romana regenerated she chose the form of Princess Astra, who she met in the last episode.
When the fifth doctor regenerated, it was a dangerous one, it nearly killed him, and it was so erratic that not only did it effect the judgement, style etc, of the 6th Doctor, but also unconsciously chose the form of Commander Maxill, a time lord he met in the Ark of Infinity, who was played by Colin Baker a year before he became the Doctor.

Now as for how the 12th Doctor looks like the man from Fire of Pompeii, we can presume the Doctor’s subconscious chooses the form of the man.

As for how Amy Pond looks like a sooth sayer from the episode also, we can presume she might be a ancestor of Amy.
Just like Martha Joanne’s is cousin of a girl from torchwood in episode Army of Ghosts.
Whew! That took me a long time to complete!

@Amber Watkins
Doctor Who ia littered with companions who have also appeared in other roles, right back to William Hartnetll. Also William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Colin Baker have appeared in Doctor Who as other characters .

@Amber Watkins
Tosh being in Series 1 was explained in Torchwood.

I can’t remember which episode, but there was a passing comment that Owen was meant to go to London but Tosh went instead and there was the incident with the Space Pig.

It is interesting that he’ll look in the mirror and see the man he saved in Pompei, but I don’t think they’ll explain it and we’ll probably just have to ignore it.

Just looked it up. It was in the Torchwood episode “Exit Wounds” when Owen and Tosh are talking about their early days working together.

Tosh says she had to pretend to be a medic to cover for Owen, who had a hangover after only working for Torchwood for two weeks.

@JC
I don’t remember that episode, but I may have missed it :-)
I agree with the fact that we will just have to ignore the Fires of Pompeii when witnessing the twelfth doctor

I cant wait for the Christmas episode now! I want to see Capaldi’s doctor in action! I wonder what the name of the episode is going to be… “the fields of trenzalore”? … “the Fall of the Eleventh”?…

@Amber Watkins
Agree’d.
But, McGann was British. =b
The production was American, but McGann is British born and bred.

I think he’ll do a great job. I’m very intrigued to see what he does with the part; it’s like Hamlet, where it’s very much something that the actor changes and makes his own. I liked him in “Fires of Pompeii”, but it was his heartbreaking performance in “Torchwood: Children of Earth” that really showed that he’s an extremely talented actor. I look forward to seeing what he does with the part.

@Calli Arcale
I agree, he was great in Children of Earth.

(Spoilers if somehow, you haven’t seen it).

Frobisher did a lot of bad things on the orders of the government, but you could see he thought he was doing the best for the country, before the Prime Minister turned on him and ordered that he sacrifice his own children.

It was a powerful ending when he requisitioned a gun and killed his whole family and then himself to save them from the horror ahead, whilst the voiceover talked about what a great man he was.

It’s obvious Peter is going to be a different Doctor to ones we’ve had in recent years and that does bring with it a certain aprehension, but I still look forward to seeing what he does with the role next year.

Before that, obviously, we have the 50th Anniversary special with three other Doctors and the Christmas Special before Matt regenerates into Peter.

@Freddy Jones
I did not know that, I just assumed that he was american because it was made by an american company. I have never actually seen it, want to though…

@Amber Watkins
I’m probably gonna get rotten food thrown at me for this but…
I recommend it! It comes under fire from the fandom due to introducing some controversies and having a bit of a wobbly ending, but if you watch it as a sort of self-contained affair it’s got some great moments in. Plus Paul McGann is a fantastic Doctor. If the movie doesn’t do it for you, McGann has done some great work on Big Finish audio dramas too that really serve to validate him as a Doctor in spite of his meagre 45 minute on-screen tenure.

@Freddy Jones
I’ll try and find the movie. I find it hard to come across the movie, but I live in Australia, must be much easier in the UK :-)
Thanks for the recommendation :-)

@Amber Watkins

You can buy it online, It’s also part of the Doctor Who Revisitations Boxset.
Also If you subscribe to Doctor Who DVD Files you get the Doctor Who T.V movie for free, along with other stuff.
I woudnt throw rubbish at you Freddy, I agree with you.
It is a very good episode (or movie, depends on how you look at it.)
One of my favourite, I don’t know why some people gave it negative reviews. Mcgann makes an excellent Doctor, even in Big Finnish audio plays.

Well, I find I have to cough during the bit about being half-human, because I refuse to accept that as canon. And, apparently, so does the BBC, because it’s just been blissfully ignored ever since, tossed in the same bin as the UNIT dating problem. ;-)

I have loved having Matt Smith and David Tennant as the Doctor, but I am thankful that they didn’t make him any younger. One – River would have even more justification that he had the face of a twelve year old, two – the companions would be kidnapping him not the other way ’round. :-)
It will be refreshing having more of a father figure like in the classics instead of a love interest. I found that the Rose based love story got in the way abit in Marthas season…

@joshrr
Thanx for the suggestions I will look it up! :-) :-P ;-D

There is only one thought

since he has been cast

on other sites some people are being so negative

I know it is opion but how can you judge someone is going to be bad before he becomes the doctor

we never learn

personaly i’m gonno to wait afterall I was quick to judge smith and he proved us wrong

there is a saying don’t judge a book by it’s cover

Let the doctor have a chance. Every time there has been people who are unsure, the most significant of these points was when Patrick Troughton came in