Series 8 will be darker, more like Classic Who

[Starkers]

Maybe, I mean for all it's fairy tale nature, Smith's era was hardly happy and fluffy. People forget Fairy Tales can be pretty darn dark.

I do think you're right though, I expect Capaldi's era to be more strightforward, although as always the proof will be in the watching.

 

[The Wormhole]

Isn't "darker and more like Classic Who" the kind of buzzwords we were hearing before season 5 aired?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

If by darker they mean that bad things and their consequences will actually stick...


Should I be worried about Clara?
After all the new show has never outright killed a companion yet (without coming back one way or the other).

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Isn't "darker and more like Classic Who" the kind of buzzwords we were hearing before season 5 aired?

You weren't supposed to remember that.

 

[davejames]

Isn't "darker and more like Classic Who" the kind of buzzwords we were hearing before season 5 aired?

You weren't supposed to remember that.

I think arguably season 5 onwards was a slight bit darker and more like Classic Who. Obviously it was only by a tiny amount, but I do think Moffat's era came closer to the moody, mysterious feel of the classic show (especially the early black and white episodes) than the more modern and straightforward RTD era.

 

[JoeZhang]

Who can point me to the point where he claims it's 'going to be darker' because he doesn't seem to say that, he says something that can misunderstood that way...

 

[Stevil2001]

Series 5 and 6 were already pretty dark. Almost every episode was set at night.

RTD on darkness, circa 2007: “It does get very dark, series three, as it progresses, and I think there’s a little element of fun missing. I love those final three episodes, but part of me misses a great big Dalek/Cyberman war – the fun of it! I’m sure that fandom was luxuriating in that run of ‘Human Nature’, ‘The Family of Blood’, then ‘Blink’, which was very dark, and then the darkness of bringing back the Master. Fandom might think that’s the way forward… but it’s not. Next year we’ll be pulling back from the darkness. Absolutely. The greatest mistake with TV drama is to presume that darkness=good. And if you’re expecting Doctor Who to head further that way just because of the success of ‘Human Nature’ onwards, that’s not going to happen. Sorry…. we’re starting at Christmas, with a big, fun spectacular, and then the first few episodes next year are going back to the colour and liveliness of ‘Smith and Jones’ and ‘The Shakespeare Code’. More fun! Those are my instincts.”

 

[bigdaddy]

I grew up on Classic Who, and it's not particularly dark for the most part.

Mr Awe

Yeah I don't get this either, I haven't seen a ton of Classic Doctor Who, but I have seen some from the 70s and 80s and I wouldn't call it dark. I call it silly and fun more than I'd ever call it dark.

 

[Sindatur]

There's a bit of darkness in Colin Baker (Strangling Peri, Vengenace on Varos, Attack of the Cybermen) and after McCoy's first seasson he becomes quite dark and manipulative, but, yea, mostly just smatterings before that. Though, even Davison had quite a bit, The Black Guardian and Turlough, Earthshock, Caves of Aandrozani, Teagan's possesion by the Mara)

 

[Sci]

I mean, whether you're talking DW TOS or current DW, Doctor Who is rarely truly dark. When it does get dark, it usually does so in particular episodes, but then offsets that later on. E.g., "Vincent and the Doctor"'s ending is heartbreaking, but it's offset by "The Lodger" a week later. "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time, Parts One and Two" are dark, but they're offset by "The Eleventh Hour," "The Beast Below," and "Victory of the Daleks." Etc.

Really, Doctor Who by definition can only get so dark. It remains, after all, a family show with a core target audience of 8-year-olds. Even when it gets dark -- "Dalek," "Human Nature/The Family of Blood," etc. -- it has to find ways to moderate that darkness, to present it in a manner that's emotionally safe for its target audience to assimilate. You're never gonna see Doctor Who go the route of Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under or The Sopranos.

 

[Sindatur]

I mean, whether you're talking DW TOS or current DW, Doctor Who is rarely truly dark. When it does get dark, it usually does so in particular episodes, but then offsets that later on. E.g., "Vincent and the Doctor"'s ending is heartbreaking, but it's offset by "The Lodger" a week later. "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time, Parts One and Two" are dark, but they're offset by "The Eleventh Hour," "The Beast Below," and "Victory of the Daleks." Etc.

Really, Doctor Who by definition can only get so dark. It remains, after all, a family show with a core target audience of 8-year-olds. Even when it gets dark -- "Dalek," "Human Nature/The Family of Blood," etc. -- it has to find ways to moderate that darkness, to present it in a manner that's emotionally safe for its target audience to assimilate. You're never gonna see Doctor Who go the route of Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under or The Sopranos.

Yea, Once Upon A Time gets pretty dark, but, they keep it fun. As much as I enjoyed NuBSG, and as Artistically good as I believe it is, I wouldn't want to see that kind of depressing tone of NuBSG introduced to Doctor Who. You can get plenty dark (As I referred to in OUaT), but, keep it fun, don't dwell on it and roll around in the depressing-ness

 

[sidious618]

Old Doctor Who was definitely more violent than the new one, but I don't know if darker is the right word for that.

 

[Starkers]

Gareth Roberts summed it up best. Classic Who could go places in terms of violence and religion that nuWho wouldn’t be able to do, but the modern show has dealt with plenty of things the classic show couldn’t have touched. What Sci says is the great truth of Who, the reason it’s such a successful show is because it can vary so much between light and dark. It can be sad and brooding one week and utterly silly the next and frankly anyone who made it just one or the other all the time would potentially destroy it.

 

[Green Lantern]

Old Doctor Who was definitely more violent than the new one, but I don't know if darker is the right word for that.

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Old Doctor Who was definitely more violent than the new one, but I don't know if darker is the right word for that.

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

Would you say Classic Who is more violent than RTD era Who? I could see that with Moffat but it seemed like lots of people were killed under RTD.

 

[Aldo]

Old Doctor Who was definitely more violent than the new one, but I don't know if darker is the right word for that.

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

I've said it before, but let me just say it again: I'm glad you aren't in charge of Doctor Who.

 

[DWF]

Old Doctor Who was definitely more violent than the new one, but I don't know if darker is the right word for that.

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

Would you say Classic Who is more violent than RTD era Who? I could see that with Moffat but it seemed like lots of people were killed under RTD.

Different eras of the old show were far more violent than RTD's era, there were stories where most of the guest stars were killed off.

 

[Tom]

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

Would you say Classic Who is more violent than RTD era Who? I could see that with Moffat but it seemed like lots of people were killed under RTD.

Different eras of the old show were far more violent than RTD's era, there were stories where most of the guest stars were killed off.

Horror on Fang Rock comes to mind, there are many others.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Good point.

Yeah, I think I'd like it to get more violent too. The violent days of classic who were fun!

Would you say Classic Who is more violent than RTD era Who? I could see that with Moffat but it seemed like lots of people were killed under RTD.

Different eras of the old show were far more violent than RTD's era, there were stories where most of the guest stars were killed off.

I think one could say similar about say 42, Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways or Impossible Planet/Satan Pit but I really need to rewatch some classic Who to say for sure. I've been jonesing a little anyway so that sounds like a good idea.

EDIT: Thinking about it, I could see old Who having more base fodder that would succumb to various threats.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Doctor Who Into Darkness.