Moffat Says Doctor Who Series 8 Is No Fairytale, There Will Be Blood Consequences

If you were left feeling a little underwhelmed by the past few series of Doctor Who glossing over its stories’ darker elements with a big, sonic screwdriver-shaped fairy tale brush, this should come as good news: Moffat says series 8 is all about exploring consequences. (I assume he means consequences aside from, “Put Moffat in charge, wind up with ‘The Angels Take Manhattan.'”)

Speaking to SFX about the tonal shift that will accompany Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor, the showrunner said:

I think it feels more serious. One of the watchwords we have this year is there are consequences for choosing to live like this. It’s not a fairytale. If you have people back home, if you run away it’s going to have an effect on them. And it’s not necessarily always going to be lovely. And does the Doctor make you better?

[…]

We want to make it feel that these adventures can hurt…

I’m no big fan of the “gritty reboot” trope, but I wouldn’t mind never again having an entire season where the plot of every episode is, “We/the world/the universe have been saved because this person loves that person ever so much!” So, I’m cautiously optimistic about where this is going. I loved Matt Smith’s Doctor (those storylines weren’t his fault), but I’m ready for something a bit darker.

Moffat also said that Capaldi’s Doctor won’t necessarily be as conscientious about the feelings of others as past Doctors. That also brings some changes for Clara, which sound like a welcome improvement, because how could they not? He said:

From a Doctor she could sort of control, because he had a crush on her, she’s landed with a Doctor who barely registers that she’s a girl. They’re great friends and all that but she has to be his human interface with everybody else.

Hopefully that means she’ll get some breathing room and become a more interesting character. (But it’s still Moffat running the show, so temper your expectations.)

They will retread some old ground, though, with what looks like a recreation of (More potential spoilers below Capaldi’s beguiling gaze.)

Here’s the image from classic Who‘s “The Invasion”:

And here we have pics from the set of the series 8 finale from the official Doctor Who Twitter account and some fans:

#DoctorWho A metal moment revisited… pic.twitter.com/5ZLCDeE9Dm

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) July 19, 2014

Cybermen spotted at St Pauls!! Cant wait to see the new @doctorwhotv!! #DoctorWho #Cybermen #excited pic.twitter.com/swEDlmsqbX

— Rainforest Cafe, UK (@RainforestCafe) July 21, 2014

Extras taking selfies with the Cybermen, while Missy shouts “my boys!” #dwsr pic.twitter.com/ayET2xbNJG — Ryan (@ryanfarrr) July 20, 2014

(via Doctor Who TV and io9)

Previously in the vortex

• Check out the full series 8 trailer
• The whole first episode already leaked
• What if Doctor Who had been American, though?

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