Deep Breath

It's far too early to draw any conclusions as to how Peter Capaldi and the writers will define the Twelfth Doctor -- but that isn't going to stop me or any fan of the series.

First, the episode is pretty much of a corker. With a new, weird opening sequence, we start out with a story involving a dinosaur, the Paternoster Gang and cyborgs in the Victorian Era. Most of the fun lies in figuring out who the new Doctor is.

Of course, all the Doctors are variations on the basic character laid down half a century ago by William Hartnell. Even so, there is enormous room for variation and the better episodes have taken advantage of the actors' strengths. Capaldi's predecessor, Matt Smith, was brilliant at playing an alien so bizarre that he did not understand how weird he seemed to humans. The comedy would frequently overwhelm the stories. Capaldi is equally adept at comedy, but he is not playing the clown that Matt Smith does. When he babbles, you can hear the confusion that he feels. If show-runner Steven Moffat and Capaldi mean to go on in this way, then we have not just a regenerated Doctor to look forward to; we have a regenerated show.

Well that was an excellent and fun episode of Doctor Who. I tend to like the ones that are set in historic English settings and I find that trio of characters in London, the reptilian woman, the human woman and the potato like fellow, to be very entertaining.

I've been doing a bit of browsing the web for other perspectives on this Doctor Who and I see that some people like to criticise the script writing of Stephen Moffat. I have not seen every Doctor Who episode by a long way, however I have seen others written by Stephen Moffat and his script writing is excellent as it was in this Deep Breath episode. Stephen Moffat seems to be particularly good at story design. He also sets up rather fine situations. I don't wish to be specific because I prefer not to include any spoilers, however the conclusion to the main drama in this episode really was beautifully done, leaving a great ambiguity about the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi.

Peter Capaldi looked to me like a first class Doctor Who. I did like Matt Smith and Tenant but to me Peter Capaldi is the real deal. The first Doctor Who I remember is Pertwee and as a child I loved Tom Baker. However I lost interest in the series after Tom Baker left as I became an older teenager. It was a joy to watch Peter Capaldi in his new role. He is a bit mysterious and dark which I really like. He is so capable, he is able to do the comedy but maintain this slight darkness.

There was one thing which I didn't like about the episode which was the mechanism used to reconcile Clara with the new Doctor near the end. I haven't described it because I don't want to include spoilers. I think Clara should have decided to go with this new strange Doctor all on her own, I think there should have been a scene where she weighed it up, and on balance decided she would join him in his journeying through space and time.

All in all a great episode. Moffat is a great writer and Capaldi is looking like he will be a great Doctor.

Deep Breath stars the newly regenerated Doctor, Peter Capaldi. This episode will be important for the sole purpose of introducing us to him and evidently, there has been lots of change.

But did these changed work?

They worked remarkably.

Peter Capaldi not only brings new depths to the Doctor, but brings back Classic Doctor Who traits. He reminds me a lot of Tom Baker or sometimes Jon Pertwee. His rough attitude with his companions is quite new for those who haven't watched Classic Who, but fans from way back will love it. The New Doctor brings back the mysterious and serious Doctor which was proved to be shown in the episode. Attitudes and Traits aside, The New Doctor is fantastic and all the fan girls who still miss Tennant and Smith will love Capaldi in this episode. As for Clara, she has become more interesting beside Capaldi, as she misses Matt Smith's Doctor and has to cope with him from now on. But, NO. That episode fixes it with a heart warming ending which will touch the hearts of any Doctor Who fan new or old. Clara with Capaldi's Doctor is quite entertaining to watch Capaldi is like a Father Figure now to Clara just like the previous Doctors as they were to their previous companions. The Paternoster Gang were entertaining as well. The Villains for this episode were not the best, but for an episode centered on the new Doctor, I guess you could say, it was well done.

In the end, Capaldi is a serious, meaner and sometimes rude character. He will bring the Doctor in to new heights and will not be afraid to drop the bow tie and tie, the childishness and the looks. And did I mention how his Scottish accent was great in this episode?

With a Fantasitc Doctor, Entertaining moments with him and Clara, a heartwarming ending and an Overall great introduction to Peter Capaldi.

I'll be marking my calendar for the next episodes already.

Verdict: 8.9/10

Peter Capaldi certainly starts his era on a high note with "Deep Breath"! While the new Doctor's personality hasn't been fully defined yet, he's still a joy to watch and is a wonderfully sharp change from Matt Smith's kinder and more welcoming Doctor. Capaldi brings a vibe of unpredictability to the role that shrouds this new Doctor in a veil of mystery. How far will he go? Where does he cross the line? I don't know and I can't wait to see how his role develops!

Jenna Coleman absolutely shines in this episode as Clara Oswald. In fact, this episode is as much Clara's as it is the Doctor's. Clara's reactions to the new Doctor and the situations she finds herself in feel very believable. Her conflicted feelings about the Doctor's change bring an emotional punch to the episode and she really starts to come into her own as one of the best companions the show could ask for. As with Capaldi's Doctor, I can't wait to see how Jenna's Clara continues to develop!

I've always loved the Paternoster Gang and it was a delight to see them make a reappearance for Capaldi's debut episode. All of them get a fitting amount of screen time as well as flat out awesome moments of action and dialogue.

The main villains of the episode, not to give anything away, are intimidating and very interesting. They also act as a very nice reference to a previous episode (and I won't say any more than that).

Overall, "Deep Breath" is just a great start for the Twelfth Doctor's era with nice emotional moments, welcome development for its characters, and several interesting surprises.

It wasn't perfect, but Deep Breath was a fantastic return for Doctor Who tonight. Following a series that offered more disappointment than wonder, I really feel Doctor Who could be heading in the right direction for the first time since the fifth season's opener back in 2010. Peter Capaldi is nothing short of an absolute triumph. We're still only getting to know his incarnation, but he gave a near faultless performance as a lost Doctor who knows less about himself than he does the people the around him. From his delightful pyjama-wearing horse- riding, to his more sinister moments in the episode's crescendo, he nailed every scene with ease. Matt Smith, for me, won't be an easy act to follow, but Capaldi is certainly on the right tracks.

Also, as surprising as it is satisfying, Clara finally became a character this evening, rather than a mere plot point to allow an episode to cheat its way to a close. She's still considerably weaker than other companions we've been treated to, but this feels like a fresh start for her. Coleman, too, gave a terrific performance. As for the plot? This is where the episode struggled. 75 minutes was far too long anyway (60 would've been perfect), and nothing really happened for the first half an hour. It gave the characters some calm time to talk, but the pacing fell apart early on and struggled to pick itself back up again. That said, the "Deep Breath" sequence was terrifically executed, and the T-Rex was beautifully animated, if fairly irrelevant to the plot.

But when we're being introduced to a new Doctor, plot must come second. Moffat balanced plot and character fairly well throughout the episode, there was just too much filler in a story that didn't need to be as long as it was. The actual standalone plot of the episode wound up as the most uninteresting thing here, but when Capaldi was such a great presence on-screen, that can hardly be criticized. I was hoping for a simpler, yet darker, more assured series of Doctor Who, and if Deep Breath is anything to go by, they may well have done just that.