Season 8 Of ‘Doctor Who’ Is On Netflix & Hulu

In the last ten years, Doctor Who has gone from a nerdy punchline to being a global behemoth. The show has seen two show runners, four leading men, and a carousel of supporting players. In some respects, the science fiction franchise has never been stronger. It’s crossed over into the American mainstream via BBC America; Last season’s premiere pulled in a whopping 2 million viewers stateside.

However, in its native Britain, Doctor Who’s power is waning. Ratings are going down and — as Vanity Fair pointed out last month — fans and critics are divided about the director in which show runner Steven Moffat is taking the classic series. Under his watch, the plot lines have become increasingly convoluted, the cast’s chemistry has waned, and the show has come under fire for being less progressive than when it was shepherded by Queer as Folk scribe Russell T. Davies.

Suffice to say, the last season of Doctor Who was the most polarizing one yet. That’s why it’s so exciting that season eight of Doctor Who is now streaming on Netlfix and Hulu. You can binge-watch it immediately after any other season to compare the changing tone. You can rewatch it from start to finish to see if the complex narrative really does hold up. However, what’s best is you can watch it without the BBC America hype machine bursting in on the story every five minutes or so. (I don’t know about you, but as much as this Whovian loved being able to see Doctor Who the same day as the Brits, the endless pop ups, toy commercials, and T.A.R.D.I.S. iconography that BBC America uses to promote the show actually dampened my enjoyment of it.)

Most importantly, season eight marks a big transition for Doctor Who. David Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors were quirky dreamboats; new Doctor Peter Capaldi was an irascible alien force. It changed the tone of the series and there are suggestions that Moffat plans to soften Capaldi’s take on the time lord next season. Still, that meant that Doctor Who started to veer away from the family friendly vibe it had been developing. The series still had episodes thrumming with campy adventure — HELLO, “ROBOT OF SHERWOOD” — but season eight gave us murderous Victorian automatons, a sexy love story, and some truly grim moments. It was, at times, refreshing.

Now’s the perfect time to stream the whole season (or series) and judge for yourself. Is Doctor Who still the coolest time traveler on TV? Or is he starting to get a wee bit old?

[Stream Season 8 Doctor Who on Netflix]
[Stream Season 8 Doctor Who on Hulu]

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