There has been a lot of speculation about the title sequence to Series 8. Certain changes were inevitable with a new Doctor taking over, but is it more than just a name change and Matt Smith face swap?
Guest contributor Paddy O’Meara, who attended the Deep Breath premiere
, provides some details.
Note: If you consider info on the title sequence a spoiler then please don’t read any further…
… For everyone else click: show
While I managed to avoid any spoilers relating to the script / episode leaks, I chanced upon a fan-made title sequence by Billy Hanshaw on YouTube (embedded below) which numerous comments stated were being used as the basis for the official title sequence.
As it turns out (and I don’t often say this) the YouTube comments were right: this is very recognisably the same idea, but with a number of changes. The clockwork tunnel stuff at the start, and the lovely shot of the TARDIS flying out from the clock face and spinning back into another, remain in the new version. Other than some polish and font changes, it’s almost the same.
It is after this part of the sequence that things change – rather than the quite simplistic tunnel effect we instead get something a little more akin to the previous titles, flying through space and planetary systems. The Seal of Rassilon symbol is also removed.
The other major change is the face. On the original Capaldi’s face appears on a fob-watch, morphing into a smile before spinning into oblivion. I actually rather liked this, but with the new titles we instead have the now-classic Capaldi “angry brow shot” as seen in The Day of the Doctor, flying out at us as the clockwork gives way to space.
Oh, and they’ve changed the theme again as well: unfortunately the whooping and cheering of the Cardiff crowd made this a little harder to accurately describe, but it’s definitely more of an electronic arrangement this time around.
A low-resolution recording of the final titles have since found their way on the net. But tempting as it might be, it is recommended you wait and experience it as it was meant to be intended.
UPDATE: Moffat explains how the title came about: “Our beautiful new title sequence — it’s absolutely stunning — is from an online Doctor Who fan. Billy Hanshaw just decided to make a Doctor Who title sequence and put it up on YouTube. I happened across it and thought it was the only new idea for a Doctor Who title sequence since 1963. We got in touch and decided we were going to do that one.
“I suppose when we talk about Doctor Who fandom online, that’s what we should be talking about. We should be talking about the extraordinary creative response. We give them a show and they give us the show back, sometimes better. That’s cementing. There’s something magical about Doctor Who that makes some of the people actually want to do it.”
