‘Doctor Who’ season 8: A few more details on premiere date, Peter Capaldi, more

Have you started to let the end of the Matt Smith era on “Doctor Who” sink in? It may be a difficult thing to do, but as was the theme of the very end of the Christmas special yesterday, change is inevitable.

Peter Capaldi has already made his first two appearances on the show, at least if you count the split-second cameo in the 50th Anniversary Special. So now, where does he go from here? Outside of learning to fly the Tardis and piecing together everything about his life that he may or may not remember, there are new adventures to film!

When it comes to the premiere date, it’s better that you anticipate the show starting in September rather than August 2014, which at one point was the rumored start time. There are 13 episodes that will air, which is a pretty nice chunk of The Doctor to get after spending so much time without new episodes these days. (Instead, we’ve gotten two specials sandwiched by months upon months of waiting.)

Another bit of evidence as to a possible September / early October premiere is the claim that the show will air its entire eighth season consecutively, and not split it up into blocks. If you want to get in all of the episodes prior to the start of the Christmas Special in 2014, the middle of October is the latest you can start the series without airing any installments back to back or on other nights of the week. Note that is all speculation based on information that is out there, and given that filming has not even began yet (though readings have taken place), things can change. The first scenes will be shot next month, and Ben Wheatley will be directing the Steven Moffat-penned premiere.