Doctor Who Heads Into Darkness With Villain-Filled First Season 8 Trailer

BBC’s Doctor Who has seen its recent share of internet leaks, none of which have done much to dampen the rampant enthusiasm Whovians are experiencing while awaiting Peter Capaldi’s debut as the Twelfth Doctor. Thankfully, there is official Doctor Who news to get excited about, as the first full-length Season 8 trailer has been jettisoned through time and now appears on your computer or mobile screen, just waiting to make your jaw drop.

Carrying on the same themes as the recent teasers, the trailer drives the idea home that Peter Capaldi’s Doctor isn’t the kind of Time Lord who will run amok, having adventures with no regard for those around him. He’s an older, more mature guy, and he’s “lived for over 2,000 years” and has “made many mistakes” and he wants to correct them. How dark is number twelve? He actually tells companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) that they are headed “into darkness.” It’s all quite glorious, and I found only a small part of me wished that Capaldi would start dropping the F-bombs of hisThe Thick of It days.

Even more glorious? A dinosaur, duh.

Or what about our old friends, the Daleks? (Psst, I know we’re not really friends with them, but I don’t want to piss them off right now.)

We even get to see teases of the great Doctor riding on horseback, a space battle and some new villains (presumably). What else could one ask for, besides this trailer being an actual episode?

Speaking of actual episodes, last week saw a Doctor Who material leak when several Season 8 scripts were made available online due to security problems with the BBC's episode translation efforts. While it was initially reported that full episode files were included with the scripts, it took a few days for the first episode, "Deep Breath," to hit the interwebs. If you've seen it, shame on you, but the BBC is claiming the episode files were all unfinished, so it's quite possible no one has seen the real "Deep Breath" yet. But it won't be long until everyone can see it.

Doctor Who’s Season 8 premiere is coming to BBC America (for us non-BBC people) on Saturday, August 23, with its worldwide simulcast. Get your screwdrivers remote controls ready.

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.