Where Might The Show Go Next?
Series 8 is as much the next chapter for the entire show as it is the Twelfth Doctor. The aforementioned hunt for Gallifrey will certainly form an ongoing arc, I imagine much like the Silence / Trenzalore in Matt Smith's tenure. But what else? For a start, we are going to be faced with a very different Doctor. Possibly one with the gruffness of Hartnell and the superiority of Pertwee. As interesting a choice as Peter Capaldi is, we don't know exactly what traits he will bring the titular role. Okay, so he can't remember how to fly the Tardis but how else might he react? Particularly that unlike the Eleventh Doctor, he has a whole new lease of life. Furthermore, how will he react to Clara? She is no longer his impossible girl. Instead she has proven time and time again that she has been a valuable ally both at Trenzalore and the Time War itself. Not forgetting the whole saving every version of the Doctor from the machinations of the Great Intelligence. More so, they had a best mate relationship with a touch of flirty; I think that dynamic may change with a new older, possibly angrier Doctor. The great thing is that Clara has proven to be an excellent companion over the last few adventures (pretty much every time Moffat wrote for her).A few months back I wrote about all the
new possibilities for Clara. Now that her mystery is solved, there are plenty of opportunities for her to continue on as a great companion. As to what else we might expect? Well it has been confirmed that we're getting a 12-episode series 8 without breaks (hooray!) and the usual Christmas special in 2014. As to the direction it might take, well M0ffat has announced "So now we've got to actually get a bit raw at it and do it in a different direction. It happens on every show you get good at it and 'good at it' is the enemy in the end." Two / multi-parters perhaps? (Possibilities of an opening two-parter seem likely and I certainly miss cliffhangers) More zygons? (Moffat also teased that he would like to pick up where they left off in The Day Of The Doctor). The cybermen seem to be building up to becoming an unstoppable force - I'd certainly be interested to see if they get back to the menace they were back in Troughton's era. The Master perhaps? I suspect given that the events of The End Of Time seemed to immediately precede the 50th special and he might be the enemy to return alongside the Timelords. We're getting the Paternoster gang back. Yay! And I'd be really interested to see how Alex Kingston's River Song interacts with Peter Capaldi's Doctor. The truth is, the possibilities for Doctor Who post-50th are boundless. And I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see where the show goes next. Click on the next page for the conclusion of my four-part retrospective...