Doctor Who Series 8

[Dolorous Gabe]

Wow! I thought that was appallingly bad! The dialogue was woeful!

I always thought Matt Smith was destroying it but maybe his dreadful acting was just hiding the terrible writing!

The entire episode was painful. Doubt I'll be watching anymore.

Sorry for the rant. Needed to vent! People seemed to enjoy Matt Smith's scene destroying performance so perhaps they'll enjoy this too.

For the record, I am a Doctor Who fan but haven't liked it since Tennant's stint ended. I think the writer changed and I just didn't take to the new one, and couldn't stand Smith!

[sj4iy]

I really liked that episode. I'm not perfectly adjusted to Capaldi being the Doctor, but I think he was excellent. The cameo got me good, I'll admit to shedding a few tears there. It had some clunky parts to it (I don't think the Paternoster Gang added anything at all to the episode), but I loved the callbacks to The Girl in the Fireplace and The Fires of Pompeii. And I loved how this Doctor is very straightforward to Clara, and basically apologizes to her for leading her on. And I really loved the question about how much is really left of him if he's been replaced over and over and over again. And I think, finally, Clara got to really shine, instead of being over-shone. All in all, a pretty good start and I'm definitely excited now.

[Garett Hornwood]

My first reactions to Deep Breath is a lot of characters don't understand the dynamics of their relationships with one another, not just Clara and the Doctor.

Obviously this is a regeneration episode so getting a real handle on Capaldi's Doctor won't happen until Episode 2, but the Doctor figuring himself out is different from when Tennant or Smith took over but that's a good thing. "Chronologically" Smith's Doctor had that face for a very long time and he wasn't expecting a whole new cycle of regenerations, so having the Doctor take a majority of the episode (including the crazy alley talk that the homeless guy didn't want to be apart of) all felt natural.

I agree with an earlier statement that Clara was allowed to shine. I think by having a longer episode it allowed them time to explore both situations as well as interact with one another really starting at the restaurant/ship. I personally would have liked to see more of Clara verbal confrontation with Vestra though I can use my imagination for some of it. I think the Smith cameo was a nice touch at the right moment.

Other aspects of the episode, I thought how Vestra and Jenny viewed their relationship with one another was a nice addition to the episode because it showed that Clara (and the fans) aren't the only ones who can't figure out what to make of their relationship with the Doctor. I might be making a lot more than was actually meant by the inclusion of that little subplot but these are my first thoughts on the episode. Strax being Strax was always good for a laugh. The opening of the TARDIS being coughed up by a T-Rex was a memorable way to make an entrance.

The ending with Missy announcing that that the repair bot had entered Heaven is a direct reference to the title of the season finale, so we the first clues to the season arc. Now it just remains on how well they build it up because unfortunately throughout Moffat's tenure the season arcs have been frustrating at best or just plain bad (Season 6's arc was a train wreck when looking at it whole) which I felt was a disservice to Matt Smith.

I'm going to watch the episode again on Tuesday and see how much I change my mind on the second view.

[felice]

The focus on Clara having trouble adapting to the new Doctor was a bit odd. For any other companion it would make sense, but this is the Impossible Girl. "He always looks different. But I always know it's him... Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And always, there's the Doctor. Always I'm running to save the Doctor again and again and again... I saw all of you. Eleven faces, all of them you. You're the eleventh Doctor." While her memory of being inside the Doctor's timestream is sketchy, it's not entirely lost, and it was followed up by a proper adventure with Ten and War which she has no reason to forget.

[mormont]

Yeah, that's true, but I think the issue was her adjusting to the loss of 'her' Doctor, and this older guy replacing him. It's one thing knowing that the Doctor has been other people in the past (while the person he is now, the person she first knew, is still very much there): it's totally another knowing that he's been replaced, and figuring out how this new Doctor feels about you (and how you feel about him).

I think the episode was OK. Not blown away by it, to be honest, but it gets a solid 6/10.

[Arataniello]

I enjoyed it, and thought there were some great lines from the Doctor, many of which seemed to contain flashes of Malcolm Tucker in them - real menace and threat. TBH I could have done without quite so much Vastra, Jenny and Strax, although i enjoyed the scene between Clara and Vastra about veils and faces.

I am not getting my hopes up about the mysterious lady at the end - past season arcs/mysteries have been generally anti-climactic after enormous hypes.

[scotcat]

I enjoyed Deep Breath much more than I thought I would.

I'll admit to not being thrilled that Capaldi had been cast, but I'd mellowed and by the time last night rolled around I was feeling cautiously optimistic about the episode. If I'm 100% honest I felt the episode was a bit longer than strictly necessary, but on the whole I was really quite pleased with the whole thing.

[dog-days]

Really enjoyed the episode. I'd probably give it a 7/10. I watched it on a computer with headphones on, so the difficulties hearing dialogue that some people mentioned didn't affect me.

I quite appreciated the slow pace, though I think it may not last very long to judge by the episode title. It did indeed feel like a deep breath - coming up for air after Smith's rushed finale. But I think the characters benefited from having more time to do things that didn't involve advancing the plot, explaining the plot, or running away from the monster of the week.

Loved the alley scene. Apparently the tramp is played by the husband of the late Elisabeth Sladen. Plus the back-and-forth between the Doctor and Clara at the restaurant was enjoyable, and rather Thick-Of-It-esque. A bit Ollie and Glen. Would like to see more in that vein.

I really liked Clara as Oswin in The Asylum of the Daleks, and I'm glad she's at last being given some interesting stuff to do again - like being left to negotiate with Clockwork Guy, and having more non-Doctor scenes. I hope the writers keep it up.

I have a bit of a crush on Capaldi, so I don't really feel like I can judge the quality of his performance awfully well. I was just sitting there happily like a guinea pig with concussion. But I think the show will benefit from the shift to a less cuddly Doctor.

It looks - from what we've seen so far - as if he's being made into a much more physically active lead than any of the last three. Smith had a lot of manic energy, but that afair was mostly manifested via his speech and body language, bar the motorbike riding. Twelve has jumped off a roof, ridden a horse and jumped off a bridge in one episode. I've never seen Three, but wasn't that kind of schtick part of his tenure?

Slightly worried about the woman at the end. She's already showing signs of being a Moffat woman. (Flirtatious, man-obsessed, French courtesan template). I remember that a critic once described children in Charles Dickens as being "Dickens's dwarfs" because of the general deformity of their characterisation. I'm starting to think that a similar term is needed for Moffat's female characters. Woffats? Moffipots? Wish he would watch something like Legend of Korra S3 to learn how it's done.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

Loved it. I think that if PCapaldi is able to keep his energy and pace he will be one of the best Doctors. Now some random thoughts and comments:

Vastra said that the youthful faces were Doctor’s veil in order to be acceptable. Now I know that this will sound silly but could he had chosen an older face because now he doesn’t need a veil anymore? Because his own guilt about the TW was the reason he needed the veil and now that he knows that he has saved Gallifrey he doesn’t needed anymore?

Clara and the Doctor was like Waldorf and Statler.

About the freaking Missy Lady; A friend of mine said that she is the Master but I am thinking something more sinister like Rani, I hope not, or Romana. Please? *JQC crosses her fingers*

Now the Heaven thing, doesn’t this look awfully like the place where Doctor left OldAmy to die? Could this be the place of the last 2 episodes?

I loved how they handle the “older face” issue. I felt like Clara was the fandom who were whining about the age and they basically told “Doctor is not your boyfriend” so bugger off.

Did I mention how much I loved PCapaldi? He reminded me so much of the classic Doctors when he wasn’t just a pretty boy who could be shipped with every woman near him. I loved his dissapointment when Clara wasn't able to seeh im without seeing him.

I have a bad feeling about the watch he gave to take the coat. I think that there will be much more interested in the future and he will spend some time looking for it. Maybe it will lead him to Gallifrey?

If we remember what the Doctor said at the ending of the 50th anniversary, he understood where he was going and like anyone else he was going home. But now he said that he doesn’t expect to go to *Promise land*, could this mean that he doesn’t expect to find Gallifrey?

I loved the Easter eggs but also; Doctor is taking up the case?

Is the "A lot of muscular young men doing sport." what I am thinking that it is?

Since the rumour that MSmith will apear at the first episode proved right, could it mean that the other two rumours about Clara leaving after Christmas and a GoTish villain be right too? I cerstainly hope so.

Overall I loved the episode. The last two first episodes were really good (Eleventh Hour and Deep Breath) in contrast with "The Christmas invasion" a pretty terrible first episode imnsho. I think that this was my fav after "Robot".

/random rant.

[sj4iy]

Overall I loved the episode. The last two first episodes were really good (Eleventh Hour and Deep Breath) in contrast with "The Christmas invasion" I pretty terrible first episode imnsho. I think that this was my fav after "Robot".

I completely agree. My husband and I were like "oh no, he passed out- don't be another 'Christmas Invasion' where we only get to see the Doctor do anything the last few minutes". But thankfully, it wasn't. And I found that I liked the episode much more the second time around, it didn't feel as disjointed as the first time for whatever reason.

[Werthead]

Interesting. The show felt a bit more relaxed and more willing to work on character interplay, particularly amongst the Paternoster gang and between them and Clara and the Doctor. There was also a feeling that things were less manic and the solution was pulled a little less out of thin air. The ambiguity in the Doctor was also handled much better than I was expecting. The ongoing mystery seems relatively restrained for once, although I'm getting sick of this need for a season-long arc every year. Just do without them for a while, not everything has to be connected to some bigger plan.

I liked the fact they acknowleged the fact that Capaldi has appeared on Who before (apparently the explanation is an idea from Russell T. Davies), although I suspect they'll just ignore his Torchwood appearance. Also, some nice call backs to the Pompadour episode. The "round things" gag might get a bit dull if they keep reusing it though, and I think it was a bit boring to bring in the Eleventh Doctor's catchphrase (unless it's to highlight the fact that the Twelfth doesn't appear to have one).

1. Vislor Turlough is the closest to a GoTish character (in that it is not certain if he is a villain)...unless you are taking about actors, then you have a few that were on Classic Who(like the guy below) and a lot that were on New Who. Adric is the one I remember dying for the Dr., but there is one much earlier that did too.

That was a reference to companion deaths, I think. The old show did it three times, with Katrina and Sara Kingdom (in The Daleks' Masterplan in 1965) and much later with Adric (in Earthshock in 1981). Arguably also with the robot Kamelion (in Planet of Fire in 1984) but Kamelion was barely in the show and only appeared in two stories.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I just read that many viewers noticed that the face 12 wears when he saves Clara looks awfully similar to Matt Smith. Here are the screenshots and I read it here.

I completely agree. My husband and I were like "oh no, he passed out- don't be another 'Christmas Invasion' where we only get to see the Doctor do anything the last few minutes". But thankfully, it wasn't. And I found that I liked the episode much more the second time around, it didn't feel as disjointed as the first time for whatever reason.

It wasn't only the passing out it was that the episode was so bad, I mean really bad, I mean "Boom Town" bad.

[sj4iy]

It wasn't only the passing out it was that the episode was so bad, I mean really bad, I mean "Boom Town" bad.

Oh yeah, I really didn't like the episode. The spinning killer Christmas tree was possibly one of the stupidest things I've seen on Doctor Who.

Of course, it still doesn't touch "Love and Monsters" for the ultimate level of badness.

[The Kingmaker]

So, here is the thing: 1 2

Also the fact that Apalapucia was a paradise planet... Red herring or real deal?

I didn't like the episode much tbh. It felt like 45 min episode + 30 mins of random jokes instead of a proper 75 mins episode. I'd love much more Doctor dialogue/monologue instead of Paternosters -_-

[Born Yesterday]

So, here is the thing: 1 2

Also the fact that Apalapucia was a paradise planet... Red herring or real deal?

Since it's the exact same set, I'd say it's the real deal. But it's possible that the place is unimportant, and what matters most is Missy.

In fact, I very much hope the place is unimportant, and just a reference to a previous episode. The last thing I want is to see is older Amy running around. The Girl Who Waited was one of my favorite episodes, and Moffat has a tendency to ruin everything when he recycles old material...

[Battle Kitten]

I fell asleep half way through. I don't know...I just haven't been able to warm up to Clara. And the unresolved sexual tension thing was irksome.

[Starkess]

Finally got to see it. I don't get BBCA so I had to shell out to watch the season on Google. And I can't watch it until a day after it airs. Oh well!

I really liked it. I was excited about Capaldi. While I liked Matt Smith, I wasn't as invested in him as the Doctor as with David Tennant, so I didn't mind the shift. Plus didn't the Doctor go from being 900ish to 2000ish all as Smith? Over half of his life with one face! Time for a change, yikes.

I am not familiar with Capaldi from other stuff so it was easy for him to slip into the Doctor role for me. Loved the alley scene, that poor tramp was so confused and kept trying to get away! I also liked the head-on dealing with the Clara/Doctor relationship. It is weird for me that he said that he is the one who mistook himself for her boyfriend, when I think of 11 as being married to River Song and never really got the Clara/Doctor ship. But glad they've got it all straightened out.

I liked seeing Jenny take on a bit more of a role in the Paternoster gang. I always felt bad that she had to be so subservient to her wife--I know the role is for the public but they maintain it all the time and it always seemed a bit shitty to Jenny for me. And Strax! Love.

This was the first time I think Clara has ever been interesting to me. She usually feels like a bland placeholder, a companion who is just there so the Doctor has someone to grandstand to/rescue/try to impress. But she actually had some depth and agency in this episode. Amazing!

I have no idea what the stuff at the end was about. I did have a thought that maybe it was somehow a River Song in the library post-regeneration weirdness. But I don't think they will go there--I am curious to see what will happen.

I liked the not seeing if the Doctor pushed or the clockwork man jumped. And I really liked the Doctor's growing realization that he faces the same constantly-replaced conundrum. Although hopefully he doesn't follow that path too far because then there'd be no more show and we can't have that!

All in all, I thought it was a great start to a new season/Doctor and I am looking forward to next week!

ETA:

Is the "A lot of muscular young men doing sport." what I am thinking that it is?

"At least, it could be sport." :lol: Yes! :leer:

[drawkcabi]

New to the Doctor Who fan verse because it's just been so daunting, but between the wiki, SF Debris, and BBC America I'm actually getting a handle on this sf goliath.

Has anyone posted this yet in a Dr. Who thread?

Fun Doctor references plus a swipe at MOS. How can I not love this?

[Ulthosian Stark]

God I loved that premier. Love how dark its heading, love the creepy stalker entity thing, love the new relationship but hated Clara's initial reaction. Fix him?! I had a woah bitch moment

[Arkash]

Matt Smith is and will always be my Doctor, that's a fact.

But damn, Peter Capaldi was amazing and will rock his run, no doubt ! Deep Breath was a great episode full of great moments, but as far as new Doctors introductions go, it doesnt top the glorious "Eleventh Hour".

But, well, the trio Eleven, Amy, Rory was my kick !