On the first day of classes some students rolled out of bed 10 minutes before class started, some students wore T-shirts supporting their sorority, and some donned T-shirts supporting their favorite TV show “Doctor Who.”

It makes sense; the start of a new semester is an adventure, and who better to accompany you than the Doctor? The renewed enthusiasm for the show can also be attributed to the season eight premiere that aired Saturday. It was the first full episode for the 12th Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, and 2.2 million viewers tuned in to watch in America alone, no doubt many WSU students among them.

Fans of the show lament the loss of age-appropriate eye candy (Matt Smith) but Capaldi’s age and acting career promises a new and compelling edge to the Doctor’s story.

The modern Doctor has always been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type character. Mostly he is kind and compassionate, but occasionally his age-worn cynicism shows through. Usually the Doctor saves the day through kindness and compassion, by freeing a Star Whale or citing galactic law. But sometimes he kills thousands of Racnoss spider-children.

Capaldi, 56, is the oldest actor to portray the modern Doctor thus far, at least 20 years older than the previous Doctor. However, actor William Hartnell was 55 when he portrayed the Doctor in 1963. Capaldi’s age is only important in that it provides an opportunity to show some of the Doctor’s wear through his physical appearance. Casting an older Doctor could indicate that this is the Doctor who has seen too much death and finally snaps.

Capaldi is also well known for his role as Malcom Tucker on the BBC show “The Thick of It.” He played a rude, foul mouthed and generally angry director of communications to the Prime Minister.

Spoilers! Stop reading now if you don’t want to know anything about the premier.

Peter Capaldi can play mean and unforgiving, and he has already brought some of that to his role as the Doctor.

For instance, the Doctor leaves Clara surrounded by organ-harvesting robots without a sonic screwdriver. It’s also ambiguous as to whether or not the Doctor pushed the episode’s villain to his death.

Though it’s too early to draw any conclusions about Capaldi as the 12^th Doctor, it’s fair to say this season will vary greatly in tone from the previous seasons.

Of the recent Doctors, Matt Smith’s Doctor is comparable Roger Moore’s James Bond (Moore played one of the goofier Bonds in films like “Octopussy”). Matt Smith is the more quirky, comical and lighthearted of the Doctors. He is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Honestly, does a time traveler really need more than one signature hat? Capaldi’s Doctor looks a little more like Daniel Craig’s take on Bond; serious, sophisticated, and fallible.

If you haven’t started watching Doctor Who because it seemed too childish or quirky, this might be the Doctor for you to watch. If you stopped watching because of Smith’s lack of eyebrows, Capaldi has enough eyebrows to make up for the lost time.

The second episode of season 8 titled “Into the Dalek” airs Saturday.