On the whole there's definitely this kind of "thematic inconsequence" in Moffat's Who imo. The characters literally spell out that there's supposed to be a specific "thing" going on, but it more often than not it doesn't amount to much and ends in a whimper. The Doctor being forgotten, the Impossible Girl, a lot about the Doctor and River's relationship, etc. At times you can feel it's being worked in reverse, that it's already decided that the characters need to reach a certain beat, and then when it happens it's not impactful or earned because you were verbally hammered with the idea from the get go without little to actually give weight to said idea.
It's still present, but Series 8 was much better about this. I found that the background work on how they lie was neat, and closing it with that cafe scene conversation in Death in Heaven was much better than having them saying shit like "rule number 1, the Doctor lies!!".
I want series 9 to be more like the Caretaker, Flatline, Mummy. Just characters doing their thing without the script being held back by some supposedly grandiose plan that can't sustain itself. Have emotional weight be earned with events having real consequences for the characters, then leave it up to the viewer to take their own conclusions based on what is presented instead of just talked about.
It's still present, but Series 8 was much better about this. I found that the background work on how they lie was neat, and closing it with that cafe scene conversation in Death in Heaven was much better than having them saying shit like "rule number 1, the Doctor lies!!".
I want series 9 to be more like the Caretaker, Flatline, Mummy. Just characters doing their thing without the script being held back by some supposedly grandiose plan that can't sustain itself. Have emotional weight be earned with events having real consequences for the characters, then leave it up to the viewer to take their own conclusions based on what is presented instead of just talked about.
