‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Series 8 Summary

2 Replies

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

For Peter Capaldi’s first season as the Twelfth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’, the journey for his character is established in the question he asks his companion Clara Oswald in ‘Into the Dalek’ – “Am I a good man?” Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series does explore that in establishing who Twelve is. 🙂

Sadly, in my humble opinion, Series 8 is quite a flawed season in developing the Twelfth Doctor’s character, especially in his relationship with Clara. Whilst Peter Capaldi delivers some good performances as the Twelfth Doctor, he isn’t aided by how Steven Moffat writes some of the stories.

Clara suffers in this regard too. Whilst Jenna Coleman is a lovely actress and delivers good performances in Series 8, there’s no denying the inconsistent character development Clara goes through. It’s a shame, as I liked how she was developed in Series 7 and the 50th anniversary specials.

The romantic relationship Clara forms with Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink has been enjoyable. Whilst it’s a shame that Clara didn’t end up happily ever after with Danny by the time ‘Dark Water’/’Death In Heaven’ came along, I like how the episodes explored their relationship at times. 🙂

The introduction of Michelle Gomez as Missy in Series 8 is a disappointment for me. Whilst I appreciate there are Missy fans out there, I would have handled the introduction of a female Master differently by making her more threatening and have her ditch that Mary Poppins outfit completely.

There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the transmission of Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series in late 2014, especially when Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman promoted the season in their World Tour. Somehow, I don’t feel that buzz and excitement is reflected so much in the season itself.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂

2 thoughts on “‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Series 8 Summary”

  1. scifimike70's avatarscifimike70

    I had my own personal reasons for liking Michelle as Missy. But just as classic Doctor Who quality weakened after its 20th Anniversary, and after the magic of the new Star Trek shows began to fail after Trek’s 30th Anniversary, Season 8 of the modern Who was yet another sign of how the great demands to keep show going after such a high point may not be so easily met. Capaldi’s Doctor in specific stories would eventually grow on me and the lovely Jenna Coleman as Clara was still very watchable. But the Whoniversal magic became most challenged at this point for the modern Who and fans like myself would continuing choosing to tune in for their own reasons. Thank you, Tim, for your summary and Happy Halloween. 🎃

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
    1. Tim Bradley's avatarTim Bradley Post author

      Hi scifimike,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. If you’re into Michelle Gomez as Missy, good for you! I can’t adhere to that viewpoint, but clearly there’s something about Missy that people love about her which I personally can’t get into. Interesting how you find Series 8 to the beginning of another downward turn in ‘Doctor Who’s history. I can’t say Peter Capaldi’s era of ‘Doctor Who’ is dreadful since there were good things to take away from it as well as bad. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman certainly shined as the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. But when comparing my enjoyment of the Fifth, Tenth and Thirteenth Doctor eras to Twelve’s, saying that ‘I don’t enjoy it in the same way as those eras’ is an understatement.

      Thanks. Hope you’re enjoying your Halloween. My parents and I are currently enjoying the ‘Casper’ film on Blu-ray.

      Best wishes,

      Tim 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.