Doctor Who - The Revival: Series 8 Recap

Series 8 has been the best series in some time. The most consistent series from beginning to end since possibly David Tennant's debut year.  I haven't found any year to be a complete failure, but both Series 3 and 5 have lulls in the middle with bad or forgettable episodes (despite strong openings and closings). Series 4 had had a bad end and Series 6 was pretty strong overall, but it's more serialized use of arcs hurt the more standalone episodes and made the character development seem shoddy.  Series 7 and the subsequent specials lacked cohesion and character development...but this was exactly what the show has needed. A shot in the arm that had strong episodes throughout (despite a rather lackluster Robin Hood episode), and managed to mix exciting and unique story ideas with tons of Character development, which has been admittedly lacking throughout the Moffat era...particularly in Series 7. 

Capaldi proves to be perfectly cast as the Doctor, feeling like he is the man we have always known, but entirely unique at the same time.  Unlike her debut half-season, Clara finally gets character development and proves to be much more than just a rapid fire mouth with little under the surface.  The relationship between Clara and this version of the Doctor gave such much room for character development of both characters...and her relationship with Danny gave us a look at other sides of her. Like Series 1, this was more of the companion's story, with the Doctor being more ground, darker, and mysterious than he had been under Tennant and Smith's tenures. Clara was clearly the focus of many episodes, but I rather liked that...her relationship to this new man helped define her character, and it helped define him.

The season also managed to handle a running arc in much the way that RTD had done in his tenure, and Moffat had only done in his first year in the role of Showrunner. I liked getting snippets of Missy in episodes before she finally met the Doctor and revealed herself to be the Master.  It felt nice, like a return to form. The experiment with the split seasons and the more serialized stories didn't always work, and so having a full season, with a mysterious arc to follow was great to have back.

Also happily returning was the character development, which seemed to get lost in the shuffle during the bulk of Smith's tenure.  Character development had been one of the main innovations that RTD had brought to the show in 2005. But Moffat tended to write more plot driven stories, and while that was unique and fun in it's own way...it caused some issues in Series 6 and the lack of character development was certainly an albatross around the neck of Series 7.  The first episodes with Amy and Rory struggle the characters seem like they had already run their course with no real development...and the subsequent episodes with Clara focused less on who she was asa person and more on who she was a mystery. This season rectified that by giving Clara a job, a life, a love interest, and a reason why she is travelling with the Doctor.

This season was filled with solid episodes, some truly great ones, and about one dud.  The themes, the character development, the style, the scripts, and acting all really came together this year...and it felt like this show is in good hands.  I wonder how much life Moffat really does have left in him on Who...could he really maintain this level of quality for another year or two?  It seems a new Doctor has rejuvenated him, but it seemed like he could have been struggling near the end of Smith's tenure to keep things fresh.  Whether he stays much longer or decides to move on, I hope Capaldi is with us for a while yet, as he is great in the role.

A tremendous season, one that has bounced the show back to form and given us yet another fresh take on the show after 51 years.  Now we just have to wait a few months to see how Moffat manages to work Santa Claus in without it becoming to ridiculous!

NEXT TIME: Memory Monsters