Once again, its time for Doctor Who to lose a lot of its baggage and set off in a different direction. Since everything in Matt Smiths tenure was resolved, theres little point in going back to it and Series 8 will attempt to wipe the slate clean. While Clara and other recurring characters will still have a home during the Peter Capaldi years, Steven Moffat has revealed that the aim is to disconnect from the previous Doctors, and to create new stories from the bottom up. He has also announced that the programme's tone is set to shift, with the dark fairytale vibe of the Matt Smith era being phased out in favour of exploring the consequences of living life like the Doctor. In particular, the idea that a character can't keep living the Doctor's life because of how much it negatively affects their loved ones. This is a sizeable but pretty logical change of direction, and should help Capaldi establish himself more rather than him being tied down by the trappings of the Eleventh Doctor. As well as this, Capaldi has noted that Series 8 will also have the intent of adding a lot more gravity to the programme in general, with a more sombre tone and longer dramatic scenes. At the moment this all might seem a bit grim and like Christopher Nolan is running things but fear not. As Capaldi himself says Well still blow a lot of s**t up. Thats important. Because no matter how much Doctor Who reinvents itself, some things are never going to change. That's the beauty of Doctor Who and why, despite the raft of changes that will be happening in a fortnight, Series 8 is just the next step of a legacy fifty-one years in the making. Have we missed something? Any new information to share? Let us know in the comments section below...
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
