Moffat's Series 8 Preview (SFX)
CD93
Posts: 13,939 Forum Member
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Ripped from GB - don't believe it's online.
SFX Covers
SFX Covers
Deep Breath: "It's a huge introductory show. What if your best friend was somebody else? It's really about Clara trying to cope with that - and whether or not she even likes who he is, mixed in with a truly terrifying monster."
2. "We've done a really good Dalek one by saying they're nasty. It's actually quite a gritty Dalek adventure. We go without question into the most dangerous place in the universe - the last place the Doctor should be, and you will know that by the end of the pre-titles."
3. It's the Doctor meets Robin Hood. And it's about being a hero. The Doctor's going through a period of his life where he's worrying about whether he counts as a good man. It's very, very funny. Everything you want in a good Robin Hood is going to be there."
4. "A complete departure for me in terms of writing Doctor Who. A tiny guest cast, no CGI. It's the story of a date and the Doctor having what appears to be a mild nervous breakdown. There's a little germ of Coupling in it. It's actually quite a scary one. I sometimes wonder: "What does the Doctor do when there's nothing going on? Does he go and find something to poke a stick at?" Of course he must. Essentially it's downtime for the Doctor. But don't worry, it involves a monster."
5. "It's like a heist movie done with Doctor Who. It's got a cracking monster in it, one of Neill Gorton's finest creations. And Keeley Hawes."
6. "An absolute hoot of an episode with some surprisingly serious bits in it. If you did know somebody like the Doctor and you did think it was okay to slip away with him, what effect would that have on your life? What would that do to the people around you? I sit and watch this one to cheer myself up. I suppose it's not unlike The Lodger in certain respects."
7. "Proper drama. With monsters and all the Doctor Who stuff that you could want. It's probably quite a big statement of where we are now with the show. This might be where you can argue that the new approach is, for the first time, seen uncluttered by any of the old approach. It's very strong. And there's a callback to a past episode. Sort of. You'll see."
8. "Brilliant script. Brilliant idea for a monster. It looks stunning in a very glamorous way. And it has Foxes singing. There's a callback to something from Matt's first series. Sometimes I play a long game. And sometimes I just think "We never actually tied that off...shall we just go and sort that now?" Usually because I think it would be incredibly funny. I like the idea that the Doctor takes that long. "Yes, I'll be there in a moment..." Several years later..."
9. "It's a horror story. It starts off with a very .... idea and becomes really quite frightening by the end. A scary one. A proper scary one with one of our best ever sight gags in it. It runs throughout the episode and the climax of this particular gag, I think, is just glorious. I remember reading it out at the readthrough and everyone was just clapping and cheering at Jamie Mathieson's idea."
10. It's a beautiful script; it's really lyrical and poetic, and boldly so. A fairytale, but not in the sense that I've tended to write a fairytale. Heartfelt, eloquent, quite, quite different. The main visual idea is so clever. I think it's going to be a stunner.
11-12. "The finale. Quite a strong emotional story to this. It's about Clara and the Doctor and the fact that the way they interact might not be healthy for everyone around them. That sounds very bleak but don't worry, there's lots of nonsense in it too. It's high octane action adventure, with Cybermen. And some proper UNIT stuff."
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Comments
Thanks for the link, CD93
The episode I'm most looking forward to is episode 7 (which is the on filmed in Lanzarote I think) followed by episode 4 (I haven't read the script though).
The episode I'm least looking forward to is episode 3. Hopefully the humour won't be too childish and the episode too farcical.
I'm really looking forward to that one, Moffat is at his best when he's just telling a story and not trying to start/end a series with a bang (not to say he's not good at that too.) What he says here makes it sound brilliant, and exactly my kind of episode.
Egyptian Goddess on the Orient Express in Space ?
Absolutely!
Episode 4 sounds really interesting so I'm looking forward to it, but I've only seen one person comment on it and they said it was basically crap and Moffat trying to be clever... but then again they didn't seem to like any of the other scripts.
Glad to hear that other people liked it meaning I may not be disappointed
Considering this is the most amount of episodes in a row we've had since 2010, I think it's just you ;-)
These are just from today!
"Going to be one of the all time great episodes" "Going to be Blink 2.0, finally." "it's phenomenal. That's all." "The general opinion is that this is Moffat's best episode for a long time." "Episode 4 might be the best thing Steven Moffat has ever written for Doctor Who. "
I guess we now pray to Mr. Mackinnon to have such expectations be matched with the direction .
Also from Moffat in SFX:
I think so too! I can see, obviously, that there are plenty of episodes but for some reason it doesn't feel, for me, like there's a full series there. Maybe it's because of the lack of a thirteenth episode.
Also, 2, 7, 9 and 10 also sound amazing
It seems like the second half of series 8 will be one of the strongest so far
Can't wait!
Ooh!
I'm feeling very hopeful for this series. But not too hopeful. Look where that's got us in the past...;-)
Yeah, but all the series sound great from brief synopses. These mean nothing. Could be great could be rubbish, most likely somewhere in between.
That's reassuring. Now I think I may be more excited for Episode 4 than 7
As you say, let's hope the directing delivers. I tend to agree with those who say that Moffat is at his absolute best when he's writing the episodes in the middle of series and not trying to start the series with a bang or bring it to a dramatic close (not saying his finales or openers are bad, mind).
Is episode 4 the one supposedly entitled:
I tend to agree with this which is why I never get really hyped up before a series. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but I don't tend to start a Doctor Who series with the attitude "this is going to be the best series ever". You are far more likely to be disappointed that way.
Too many times have I seen people complain before about how they were so hyped up for an episode then ended up disappointed.
What I will say is that, at the moment I think Series 8 has the potential to be a great series. We've got some good writers, some good directors, a fresh new Doctor, an (almost) full run of episodes and a two-part finale.
What will really make the series for me is its coherence. Even if some of the episodes themselves are mediocre, if it feels like one big narrative with character development and some plot elements spanning the whole series rather than the disjointed "movie of the week" feeling of Series 7, I will be happy. And I'm optimistic. With a solid 12 episode run, things are looking positive.
I'm not sure we'll get a complete change in direction in terms of the storytelling as some people seem to think, but what I am expecting is a return to form, meaning much less of the confused disjointedness of the past few years.
Absolutely, I was hoping that Moffat would have a standalone episode this series just to see what he would do. Sounds intimate. Intimate Moffat is best Moffat IMO.
........don't quote me on that.
I have one niggle with what I have read in that list though
2. "We've done a really good Dalek one by saying they're nasty. It's actually quite a gritty Dalek adventure. We go without question into the most dangerous place in the universe - the last place the Doctor should be, and you will know that by the end of the pre-titles."
This bugs me because they already used that description for trenzalore so to describe something this way again almost feels like Moffat diminishing or hoping you've forgotten past series in favour of the current one.
How about Skaro? I think it's due a return.