Warbler said:
*sigh* I miss the old days when he was just the hero timelord fighting the villian/monster of the week.
Have to say that as a casual watcher and non-fan I agree. There's something oddly atonal about the concept and the way it's currently being presented. Much as I usually support it, I'm not sure Doctor Who is meant for truly serialized storytelling in this fashion.
FanFiltration's point about the music supports my theory on the tone clash, actually. I gathered with some friends for the premiere of this last episode and lost interest midway through, opting to hang out with the other skeptics outside. When we heard the score at times through the windows, it was like they were watching some big epic movie. I'm not sure Doctor Who fits that at all. If anything, I'd say it should be scored like theater cues - coming in or fading out as appropriate to get people's attention, but never omnipresent underscoring the way it is in the show currently.
Then again, I may just have issues with the fact that budget limitations keep the show from properly conveying "epic." My suspension of disbelief wouldn't be as hard to maintain if the tone matched the low-quality of certain visual effects. Though I will say, I enjoyed what I saw of Capaldi as the Doctor. I will probably tune in from time to time.