Unless you hate excellent special effects, wonderful plotlines, and dynamic personalities, you will find season 8 of Doctor Who well worth your time.

The special effects in season 8 are spectacular, even to a critic’s eye. This is obvious from the first episode, which includes a dinosaur crushing London, along with other special effect miracles. The dinosaur (a Tyrannosaurus Rex, of course) is very realistic. This episode, “Deep Breath”, also includes humanoid robots and cyborgs, which are excellently done. Even the soundtrack was better than expected. Another episode that is applauded for its special effects is “Flatline”. “Flatline” (I am trying not to reveal too much), which includes creatures that live in two dimensions, named the “Boneless” by the Doctor, is perfect in every aspect. Also in “Flatline”, people are disappearing from the inside of locked apartments. The special effects in those scenes leave you shivering.

Though there are haters, the plotlines in season 8 are wonderfully done. There are so many great episodes,  it is hard to choose which are the best. My personal favorite will always be “Time Heist”, in which the Doctor and Clara must rob the Bank of Karabraxos, a supposedly impenetrable bank, with no memories of how they got there in the first place. Also, it is protected by the Teller, a creature that can sense if you are guilty, and can hold you immobile while it scans your brain for plans, then will proceed to turn your brain to soup. “Time Heist” is quite well written, with a shocking twist at the end, which I will not reveal. Another is “Mummy on the Orient Express,” which includes a wonderful twisting plot that has a replica of the Orient Express flying through space, a mysterious mummy called the Foretold, and a computer named Gus.  The Foretold can only be seen by its victims, and once the victims see the Foretold, they have 66 seconds to live. Both “Time Heist” and “Mummy on the Orient Express” are thrilling and well acted, two of the many excellent traits of  Season 8 of Doctor Who.

The main characters (the Doctor and Clara Oswald) in season eight of Doctor Who are very well written. The 12th Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, has a very dynamic personality. I must warn viewers that he seems insane in “Deep Breath,” which, at one point, leads to a very interesting conversation about a coat between a man on the street and the crazed Doctor. After “Deep Breath”, however, the Doctor is not nearly as insane, just a bit startling at times. Also, the 12th Doctor seems to have lost his understanding of the concept of age, which makes for some hilarious exchanges. Throughout the season, the 12th Doctor shows many different angles, making him a very interesting character, though with a few faults. Clara Oswald, the Doctor’s “companion,” gets complicated, showing different sides to her, differing from season 7, part 2. One of the main factors is the introduction of Danny Pink, a former soldier and a new Math teacher at Coal Hill, the school Clara teaches at. Danny Pink throws Clara’s delicate balance between her life with the Doctor and her everyday life completely off, causing a few breakdowns, showing a different side of Clara we haven't seen before. Clara Oswald in season 8 portrays emotions better with much more depth than in season 7, part 2.

Season 8 of Doctor Who may be the best season yet. It has everything you could wish for: brilliant special effects, excellent plot lines with hints that leave you begging for more, and dynamic and complex characters.