Absolutely agree with every word.
I think that, in years to come, Capaldi's era will be viewed as a huge missed opportunity. They had a fantastic choice as the Doctor, then undermined his entire era, firstly by focusing on Clara Who, then seeming undecided about how he should portray the character, using the gimmicks you outlined. And then taking a year away from him, the poor sod.
The episodes, as always, were filled with oh so funny quips and smart alec comments in the face of danger, undermining any sense of jeopardy.
And he will not even get a decent dramatic send off, regenerating in the Christmas special.
There is no way that it will be a dark, Androzani-like adventure for him where he is battling against terrible personal odds to save one person or anything like that. No, it will be a seasonal biscuit barrel full of cute quips and he will just change at the end of it in a not too dramatic way, because people don't want anything too heavy on Christmas day while they are digesting their grub.
And I also think he was pushed, or at least encouraged to go. He was just not daft enough to do a Colin Baker and run to the Sun newspaper, telling all.
Poor Peter.
Hopefully Big Finish will serve him better.
