So after two blink-and-you’ll-miss-them teasers, the BBC finally released an actual trailer for season eight of Doctor Who. At just a little over a minute, the trailer tantalizes and leaves no doubt that it’s definitely going to be a Stephan-Moffat-trope heavy season.
Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara.
While we all wait for August 23rd to roll around, we thought we’d quickly go through the 15 moments in the trailer that scream ‘Moffat is here!” to us, as a way to pass the time and also to reassure us all that the man behind the Doctor is still wildly playing at our heartstrings:
1. The TARDIS on fire. While the TARDIS malfunctioning has always been a running convention for all of the Doctors, Moffat especially seems to like doing horrible things to it, blowing up its control room, having the Doctor leave the e-brake on, making weird plant-life grow all over it. So the first full shot (minus the close-up of a handle and some weird Space-Mountain tunnel lights) is, of course, the TARDIS on fire.
2. A young flirty-smart woman who is both trouble and savior. Yup, right on cue, after the TARDIS blows up, it’s a close up of Clara Oswald, looking at first serious and then surprised/scared.
3. Scared about what, you ask? Well, Moffat has never been afraid to go for the gusto in terms of bad guys (though his best episodes, in our opinion, are the ones were he constrains himself to one–like “Blink,” which was the first episode to feature the angels and still the scariest thing to watch alone pretty much ever). For season eight, Moffat isn’t holding himself back. First up, Daleks! Nice whomp-whomp sound combined with a close up on a Dalek eye stalk.
4. The ominous and prophetic sounding sound byte, that, when parsed, is usually just a common sense statement. There’s usually three or four in a Moffat trailer, and here’s the first. The Dalak, saying : “Life returns” along with a:
5. Shot of the new inside of the TARDIS. It looks…clean. Crisp. A lot more blue and more glowing buttons then we had before.
6. And now we need someone who’s close to the Doctor to worry about him. And, yup, there’s Clara, all by herself, walking through some very blue hallway, in profile, while she muses: “I don’t think I know who the Doctor is anymore.” OF COURSE NOT. He’s a NEW doctor. Sheesh.
7. If all goes according to previous trailers, right about now we’ll…yup. There it is: The Doctor in some agonizing/mortally dangerous moment, striking a completely unrealistic but HIGHLY dramatic poise.
8. What’s next? Well, tradition has it that it should be another ominous and oddly prophetic sounding phrase from an old enemy. And, yup, check. The same Dalek, saying (over the image above, natch): “Life fails.” Which when you think about it is sort of a Captain Obvious statement but ok, we’ll go with it.
9. Halfway through and we haven’t seen the TARDIS flying and/or landing–oh, no, here it is. Which means we all know what’s next, right? That’s right, it’s time for the:
10. High angle shot of the Doctor, either looking up or just in the act of looking up at the camera.
11: Which wouldn’t be complete without a Doctor-logue (which is what we call the monologues the Doctor embarks on when he’s trying to outtalk or bravado his way out of something), and sure enough, there’s Capaldi, saying: “I am the Doctor. I have lived for more than 2000 years–
Wait, wait, wait. What? We interrupt this list for a ‘wtf?’ More than 2000 years?? Wasn’t he just like, 800? Where did the 1200 years come from, Moffat?? Where?? We know he was on Trenzalore for awhile, but 1200 years?? Really? Really?
UPDATE: Thanks to our lovely readers, the age question has been answered. Thank you!
Ok, back to our normally scheduled list-acle.
11.5. “I’ve made many mistakes. Isn’t it time I fix them?” At which point we need a quick glimpse of our companion with the Doctor, and whatever his new suit-of-choice will be, and there it is. Very severe, this Capaldi suit.
12. Now the companion needs to ask a leading question so that the Doctor can be portentous…yup, yup, there it is “Where are going?” she asks, giving the Doctor the perfect in for his next line: “Into darkness.” Oh, oh, very good, very dramatic.
13. Now we need a super fast series of shots where at least half of them will make us laugh and the other half will make us giddy with excitement while also showcasing old friends and enemies. And yup, cut to Vastra, teasing the Doctor almost nonchalantly and then it’s: daleks, glowy blue tunnel, dinosaurs in London, Cybermen (sort of) looking things, the Doctor on a horse, Clara looking scared, zero-gravity in the TARDIS, lots of Daleks and a spinning out of control TARDIS and what’s next?
14. Well, classic Moffat would be quiet statement by the Doctor to remind us how tortured and tormented he really is, how hard it is for him to be a ‘good man’ (see “A Good Man Goes To War” for a well-done but essentially two hour riff on this). But surely he’ll do something–nope. Nope. There it is. A gazing out into the distance Doctor cuts to a slightly hopeless Doctor, sitting next to Clara, asking: “Am I a good man?” to which every fan girl in the world went “YES.” (it was like a million souls all forgot Matt Smith at once, and then…nothing). Of course Clara, as a Moffat saucy, sexy, smart but not too-smart companion, will have to say the saucy, sexy, smart but not too-smart answer, which is:
15. “I don’t know.” Because the crux of Moffat’s Doctor is a conflicted and wounded Doctor, isn’t it?
There isn’t even a second of footage to shed some light on the mysterious new character, Danny Pink, who will be played by Samuel Anderson and (apparently?? maybe??) will be joining the Doctor and Clara on their travels. Way to keep us in suspense, Moffat!
All that being said, we’re very (very very very very very) excited to see what a not Matt-Smith Doctor will look like, though if the trailer is any judge, it’ll be Moffat-y.
What did you think? Watch the trailer below and let us know in the comments!