Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 1 - Deep Breath - Review

Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart & Dan Starkey

Written By: Steven Moffat

Directed By: Ben Wheatley

 

For the first time in nine years, Doctor Who is making a very significant change in direction concerning the Doctor's personality. While the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors were all unique and each actor brought something new to the role, the new 12th Doctor is easily the most different. More spiky and withdrawn than his predecessors, Peter Capaldi's new 12th Doctor is much less "user-friendly" and introduces us to a darker side to the Doctor. This change in direction for the Doctor is something I've been looking forward to since Peter Capaldi was announced in the role, and as far as Deep Breath is concerned, my expectations are so far being met.

 

Deep Breath kicks off with a bang when a T-Rex finds its way into Victorian London, and vomits up the TARDIS. Out of the TARDIS comes the newly-regenerated Doctor and Clara, where they meet their old friends, Vastra, Jenny and Strax. When the Doctor collapses from the effects of his regeneration, the gang take him back to their house to rest and recover. On the road to recovery, the Doctor rushes back to the Thames when the dinosaur that brought him to 19th Century London is burnt alive. When the Doctor goes off on his own to investigate, it's up to Clara and the Paternoster Row Gang to find him again and find out who reduced a T-Rex to ashes.

 

Of course, what makes Deep Breath so significant is the fact that this is the new Doctor's opening story. Steven Moffat is usually quite good at opening a new series, and If you ask me, Deep Breath is another great series debut. Peter Capaldi's new Doctor is already on his way to becoming one of my favourites, despite only making a single appearance so far. Unlike the previous three Doctors, twelve is definitely alien and much darker. For me, a darker Doctor is often a better Doctor, and Peter Capaldi just thrives in this role. Already Peter Capaldi is proving himself in the role, especially in the scene where he asks the Half-Face Man where he got his face from, whilst silently wondering the same thing about himself. It's a great, smartly directed and understated scene.

 

Deep Breath largely follows Clara and the Paternoster Row Gang as they go investigating in London to find out who could burn a T-Rex in the Thames and why, and whether or not the case is connected to a string of "spontaneous combustions". This is a really engaging plot and doesn't allow the new Doctor any sort of rest. Unfortunately, one of my problems with this story is that is simply too long. Being around 75 minutes long, this is one of the longest episodes of Doctor Who since the show returned, but it didn't need to be. Several scenes feel drawn-out and longer than they really needed to be, such as Strax's medical examination and the early scene of Clara and Vastra discussing the new Doctor. Then again, both scenes were poorly written and the latter scene made no sense anyway. Thankfully, scenes like this rarely show up, and the rest of the time, it's well-written and enjoyable.

 

The new Doctor's debut is balanced well with some effective, villains, namely the Half-Face Man and his droids. The Half-Face Man in particular makes for some great design-work that genuinely made me wonder how some of his scenes were filmed. I love the fact that we can see a mix of clockwork components and natural body parts ticking away on the left half of his face and it looks really eerie. Peter Ferdinando is wonderful as the Half-Face Man, with all of the nuances and facial expressions being on-point. It's an unfortunate but unavoidable shame for him that he was overshadowed by the introduction of the new Doctor. Of course, at the climax of the episode, the Doctor and the Half-Face Man have a final confrontation, high in the London skies. The final scene with Doctor and the Half-Face Man is certainly one of my favourites. I'm also really glad the episode never fully explained how the Half-Face Man met his demise, as it leaves the audience to ponder on an important question.

While we might have a new Doctor, Clara isn't going anywhere, and she's back to join the new Doctor. In Series 7, Clara's character was desperately underdeveloped and given no personality other than being feisty and labelled "The Impossible Girl". Well now, Clara is thankfully free of this story-arc, and its already having terrific effects on the character. We are finally getting to see Jenna Coleman bring Clara to life thanks to some much better writing. Throughout the episode, Clara frequently uses her initiative and plays an important role. Clara is also put into some significant danger, such as having stay alive in a room full of Clockwork Robots by holding her breath. This scene is really one of the scariest and most tense scenes that Steven Moffat has written in a good while.

 

Unfortunately, this episode sees the return of the Paternoster Row Gang. While I do love the three characters, by this point, they are being used far too often. Up to now, their most recent appearance was in The Name Of The Doctor, but come on, that was only three episodes ago! While I understand that they are here to ease the transition between Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, they are really being over-used and are in need of break, as they risk making the Doctor's universe seem even smaller. Even some of Strax's jokes are repeated from The Snowmen, and while hilarious the first time, they don't have the same impact here. Now, two of the three characters even brought Doctor Who into the headlines - namely the same-sex kiss. Now, the only problem that I had with the kiss was that it felt forced into the script. But even so, it's been established in previous episodes that Vastra and Jenny are married, so I really don't understand the big fuss being made here. I'm more amazed that a same-sex kiss was deemed inappropriate for younger audiences (which it really isn't), while the episode had a scene in which the Half-Face Man uses a pair of tweezers to pull a man's eyes out, albeit off-screen.

 

Accompanying the new Doctor is a new opening intro and theme music. While I do quite like the homage to a more 1980s-style theme tune, I'm already missing the previous intro that accompanied the second half of Series 7. That intro kicked the show off with a bang, and perked people up before the episode properly began, with its colourful, vibrant style. However, this new intro, while not exactly bad and I have grown on it, isn't anywhere near the standards of the first one, and I really wish the previous intro was here to accompany the new Doctor.

 

As the end of the episode drew to a close, we were also given two unexpected surprises. The first being the 11th Doctor's phone call to Clara, just before his regeneration. Personally, I'm in two minds about Matt Smith's appearance. On the one hand, his appearance could be bad for younger viewers who may or may not have just accepted the new Doctor, only for the previous Doctor, who they may be more attached to, suddenly to reappear. On the other hand, I do like this cameo appearance, as it's almost like eleven is giving his approval of twelve taking over at the TARDIS. As the Doctor and Clara go to get coffee, Missy or the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere, makes for another surprise appearance. As this point, I don't really have anything to say about the character as we learned very little, but I look forward to seeing how this will unfold.

 

To sum up, Deep Breath is another fantastic opener from Steven Moffat, on par with openers such as The Eleventh Hour. Peter Capaldi is fast becoming one of my favourite Doctors after just one appearance, the plot is engaging throughout, Peter Ferdinando is fantastic and Clara's actually being given a personality this time around. However, I hope this is the last time we see the Paternoster Gang as they are in need a long break after so many appearances.

 

Deep Breath



8/10