Doctor Who Returns…
Less than a week to go until Season 8 of Doctor Who (that’s Season 34 if you count from the very beginning)! This coming Saturday we’ll see Peter Capaldi make his debut as the Twelfth Doctor. Of course, those who have attended World Premier events have already seen the episode. My brother, for example, was at the premier in Cardiff a few weeks ago, and he assures me the story is awesome and Capaldi is even awesomer. It seems the TARDIS is in safe hands. Should my brother be reading, feel free to elaborate on this assessment in the comments!
Rumors are circulating that this will be Jenna Coleman’s last season (she plays Clara, the Doctor’s companion). Tabloid stories suggest she will be bowing out at Christmas. Naturally, we take such rumors with a pinch of salt until confirmed, but to be honest, a lot of these kinds of stories tend to lean toward truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jenna wants to move on to other things. Doctor Who is such an international phenomenon, it can only promote the careers of its leading actors. Part of Matt Smith’s reasons for moving on was the huge attention he was getting as a result of Who. And I’m sure we’ll soon see current show-runner Steven Moffat step down as bigger opportunities tempt him away. We’ll see about that.
Here’s the list of episode titles for this season, as reported in Doctor Who Magazine:
- Deep Breath by Steven Moffat
- Into the Dalek by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat
- Robot of Sherwood by Mark Gatiss
- Listen by Steven Moffat
- Time Heist by Stephen Thompson and Steven Moffat
- The Caretaker by Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat
- Kill the Moon by Peter Harness
- Mummy on the Orient Express by Jamie Mathieson
- Flatline by Jaime Mathieson
- The Forest of the Night by Frank Cottrell Boyce
- Dark Water by Steven Moffat
- Death in Heaven by Steven Moffat
This will be a full 13-episode season, so it’s possible one of these is the title to a two-parter. We know the finale is a two-parter, so maybe it’ll be “Death in Heaven Part 1” and “Death in Heaven Part 2,” or perhaps the title for episode 13 has yet to be revealed…?
UPDATE: The BBC Blog released the above list, and they indicate that “Dark Water” and “Death in Heaven” are episodes 11 and 12, the two-part finale. This means there are only 12 episodes this season, one shorter than usual. What’s up with that? I don’t know. Perhaps things will become clearer as the year progresses…
“Deep Breath” will be broadcast on Saturday, August 23rd at 7:50 pm on BBC1 (simulcast in Australia on ABC1 on Sunday, August 24th), and at 8:15 pm (ET) on BBC America.
Finally, there will be a new title sequence for the new Doctor. It seems Steven Moffat came across a fan-made sequence on YouTube and liked it so much, he contacted the creator and asked him to collaborate with BBC Wales on the official sequence. Here’s Billy Hanshaw’s original version:
We’ll see the final official version on Saturday.
Are you looking forward to the new season of Doctor Who?
I can’t wait to see Deep Breath and I HAVE TO FREAKING WORK!!! Normally, my day job sees me out of work in time, but due to coworkers wanting days off, I now have to work the late shift. At least I don’t have to wait long. Hopefully, Hulu will have it the next day or I’ll buy the episode on Amazon.
Argg!!! I’m so sorry, Patricia! 🙁 This is where having a DVR is so handy. I hope you get to see it soon after. Though you’ll have to stay offline for a few days to avoid spoilers…!
Ooooh, I really dig that opening!
I’m impressed with it. No wonder Moff wanted to use it! I saw a clip from the Q&A at the New York opening where he talked about all the creative activity Who has generated over the years. He thinks it says a lot about the show that it inspires such imaginative ideas and great work. That clip is just one example.
My relationship with Doctor Who has gotten complicated over the past couple of series. I was a fan of Steven Moffat during RTD’s era and I loved series five but the longer he’s head writer, the less I like him. I wish Peter Capaldi the best of luck as the Doctor. I do think he’ll be a wonderful Twelve. As for series eight, I’m trying very hard not to get my hopes up.
I think the last series was the best since Moffat took over. I agree that his writing hasn’t been as good since he took over as show-runner… but to be fair, it hasn’t been terrible either. Just not as good as we’d come to know under RTD. As for season 8, I have high hopes not because of Moff, or Capaldi, but because it’s Who, and even at its worse, it’s the best reason to own a television. 🙂
I’m looking forward to Saturday! We’ve got tickets booked to go see it in the cinemas because they’re showing the episode in some of them along with a Q and A at the end of it, not live though. I’m still a little sad we won’t be seeing Smith’s Doctor grinning cheekily back at us but I’m excited to see what Capaldi is going to bring.
And that sequence is fantastic! I hope they have Capaldi’s face in the title. It’s so Classic Who and kinda makes the show bring the attention back to the Doctor himself. I do feel the companions take a bit more of the attention than they used to.
Your comment about those titles being “so Classic Who” says it all, I think. That seems to be the direction they’re going with Capaldi, and my brother informs me the first episode confirms that idea. I’m looking forward to seeing how they fit a Classic-style Doctor with NuWho. After all, one of the reasons the Doctor has been more people-friendly for the last 9 years is to help him identify with the audience. Of necessity, we’re going to lose some of that identification if he’s going to be more “alien.”
It’s being shown in cinemas over here, too, though only in select cities. That’s just incredible. This really is a great time to be a Whovian! 🙂