For over a year now, when we first learned that Matt Smith would soon be leaving Doctor Who and that Scottish actor Peter Capaldi would be his replacement, fans have been waiting to see a new Doctor in action. With the Series Eight premiere episode Deep Breath, that wish has been granted. So does Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor live up to expectations and what about the episode itself?
Much of the attention being focused on the episode was in regards to Capaldi's new Doctor. What would this older Doctor be like? Would fans and the public accept him after the two younger Doctors that proceeded him? If Deep Breath is anything to judge by, any worries were unfounded. Capaldi's Doctor does something essential for any successful Doctor: calling back to the old while also being something new as well. There's a strong sense of familiarity to this Doctor who, with his occasional irascibility and physicality, brings to mind Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor in particular. There's also a cerebral quality to him as well but also a darker edge at times, with a sense of uncertainty regarding how far this Doctor might go. Despite that darker edge, there is still a warm and friendly side to this Doctor as well. What the episode presents us with isn't just the beginning of Capaldi's Doctor but the sheer range he has as well.
Jenna Coleman's Clara, having been freed from the "impossible girl" element that so dominated the character during Series Seven, is given quite a bit of development in this single episode. Clara firmly becomes the audience identification figure here with her uncertainty and questioned faith in the Doctor presumably reflecting that of the audience. Coleman and Capaldi share some excellent chemistry together that indicates a friendship that gradually builds between them and will presumably continue to do as this season progresses. Elsewhere, Deep Breath might well be the episode where Coleman really comes into her own as Clara as demonstrated by her confrontation with the Half-Face Man about two-thirds of the way through the episode. As a result, this might well be Coleman and Clara's best episode to date.
The supporting cast is strong as well. The Paternoster Gang of Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny (Catrin Stewart), and Strax (Dan Starkey) makes a welcomed return with Strax continuing with his obligatory scene stealing. Peter Ferdinando's Half-Face Man, the episode's villain, is wonderfully sinister and menacing while also finding sympathy towards the episode's end as well. Rounding off the supporting cast for mostly comedic purposes are Paul Hickey's Inspector Gregson, Tony Way's Alf and Brian Miller (the actor husband of the late Elisabeth Sladen) in a delightful scene as a tramp that the Doctor encounters.
What about the rest of the episode though? Well of particular note is the excellent direction of Ben Wheatley who brings strong sense of atmosphere and tension to some of the best scenes and moments of the episode. There's of course the strong sense of period settings and costumes which is a hallmark of the BBC. The score from Murray Gold introduces some new musical themes for the new Doctor as well as a new arrangement of the show's iconic theme tune of which I for one am still undecided about (though the new credit sequence it accompanies is perhaps the best we've had since the show returned nearly a decade ago). So in terms of production values then, the episode is fairly strong as well.
What the episode builds from though is the script by show-runner Steven Moffat. Having already deftly handled Matt Smith's debut in The Eleventh Hour, Moffat does things differently here. While of course handling the introduction of the new Doctor, it also tries to be a fairly traditional Doctor Who story as well. The results on the whole are fantastic with some wonderful scenes, often between just the Doctor and Clara effectively having to become friends all over again (something meant perhaps to be symbolic of the show's audience with the series itself). The episode contains some nice ties back to the show's past both in its dialogue (with one moment calling back to the exit and entrance of two iconic Doctors four decades ago) and in terms of plot elements as well. Where the script, and by extension the episode itself, falters a bit is in striking the balance between the introduction, the scenes that tie into that and the more traditional plot with does mean that the episode is at times oddly paced. On the whole though, Moffat's script works though it isn't his best or worst by means.
So while perhaps being a more traditional story does mean that isn't as original or as brilliant as some previous Doctor entrances, Deep Breath stands up rather nicely. Capaldi's Doctor hits the ground running, Clara gets a new direction, the supporting cast is good while the production values and script support the entire production on the whole. Twelve's hour has come and the clock is running...
Much of the attention being focused on the episode was in regards to Capaldi's new Doctor. What would this older Doctor be like? Would fans and the public accept him after the two younger Doctors that proceeded him? If Deep Breath is anything to judge by, any worries were unfounded. Capaldi's Doctor does something essential for any successful Doctor: calling back to the old while also being something new as well. There's a strong sense of familiarity to this Doctor who, with his occasional irascibility and physicality, brings to mind Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor in particular. There's also a cerebral quality to him as well but also a darker edge at times, with a sense of uncertainty regarding how far this Doctor might go. Despite that darker edge, there is still a warm and friendly side to this Doctor as well. What the episode presents us with isn't just the beginning of Capaldi's Doctor but the sheer range he has as well.
Jenna Coleman's Clara, having been freed from the "impossible girl" element that so dominated the character during Series Seven, is given quite a bit of development in this single episode. Clara firmly becomes the audience identification figure here with her uncertainty and questioned faith in the Doctor presumably reflecting that of the audience. Coleman and Capaldi share some excellent chemistry together that indicates a friendship that gradually builds between them and will presumably continue to do as this season progresses. Elsewhere, Deep Breath might well be the episode where Coleman really comes into her own as Clara as demonstrated by her confrontation with the Half-Face Man about two-thirds of the way through the episode. As a result, this might well be Coleman and Clara's best episode to date.
The supporting cast is strong as well. The Paternoster Gang of Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny (Catrin Stewart), and Strax (Dan Starkey) makes a welcomed return with Strax continuing with his obligatory scene stealing. Peter Ferdinando's Half-Face Man, the episode's villain, is wonderfully sinister and menacing while also finding sympathy towards the episode's end as well. Rounding off the supporting cast for mostly comedic purposes are Paul Hickey's Inspector Gregson, Tony Way's Alf and Brian Miller (the actor husband of the late Elisabeth Sladen) in a delightful scene as a tramp that the Doctor encounters.
What about the rest of the episode though? Well of particular note is the excellent direction of Ben Wheatley who brings strong sense of atmosphere and tension to some of the best scenes and moments of the episode. There's of course the strong sense of period settings and costumes which is a hallmark of the BBC. The score from Murray Gold introduces some new musical themes for the new Doctor as well as a new arrangement of the show's iconic theme tune of which I for one am still undecided about (though the new credit sequence it accompanies is perhaps the best we've had since the show returned nearly a decade ago). So in terms of production values then, the episode is fairly strong as well.
What the episode builds from though is the script by show-runner Steven Moffat. Having already deftly handled Matt Smith's debut in The Eleventh Hour, Moffat does things differently here. While of course handling the introduction of the new Doctor, it also tries to be a fairly traditional Doctor Who story as well. The results on the whole are fantastic with some wonderful scenes, often between just the Doctor and Clara effectively having to become friends all over again (something meant perhaps to be symbolic of the show's audience with the series itself). The episode contains some nice ties back to the show's past both in its dialogue (with one moment calling back to the exit and entrance of two iconic Doctors four decades ago) and in terms of plot elements as well. Where the script, and by extension the episode itself, falters a bit is in striking the balance between the introduction, the scenes that tie into that and the more traditional plot with does mean that the episode is at times oddly paced. On the whole though, Moffat's script works though it isn't his best or worst by means.
So while perhaps being a more traditional story does mean that isn't as original or as brilliant as some previous Doctor entrances, Deep Breath stands up rather nicely. Capaldi's Doctor hits the ground running, Clara gets a new direction, the supporting cast is good while the production values and script support the entire production on the whole. Twelve's hour has come and the clock is running...