One of the criticisms of Steven Moffats writing has been that his story arcs are too heavy and take precedence at the expense of individual episodes. The standalone stories are considered to suffer while more thought and effort are put into the arc-heavy episodes. While this isnt always necessarily the case (though it certainly applies to Series 6), it seems that Moffat has taken this onboard by significantly dialling back the weight of this years story arc. Stating in an interview that the episodes will be 90% standalone, Moffat appears to have gone back to basics with this years story arc and it will most likely be a set of subtle arc words or images like the "Bad Wolf" messages being threaded through Series 1. Though, judging by the 90% standalone comment, it's more likely the Series 8 arc will be closer to Series 5's cracks in the universe. A running theme that was more obvious than the Bad Wolf messages but only occasionally had an impact on individual episodes. So far, Moffat has kept his lips firmly sealed on what the arc might be but a strong contender is that its somehow connected to the Gatekeeper Of The Nethersphere and her role in the finale. Either that or hes managing to pull off another huge surprise like Jenna Colemans appearance in Asylum Of The Daleks.
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.
