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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Doctor Who: Season Premiere Review

Doctor Who returns with a new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, but does the premiere meet our lofty expectations?
If, for whatever reason, you have yet to see the episode, this review will contain a few very mild spoilers in the beginning, and there will be spoiler warnings for anything major. Granted, there is really not much to spoil in the first place.

The episode, "Deep Breath," opens in Victorian England where a massive T-Rex appears in the middle of London where the threesome of Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax are at the scene with some futuristic tech to stop the beast. Then, the T-Rex coughs up a blue box, and outcomes the Doctor, albeit extremely confused and somewhat amnesiatic. Like his incredibly brief appearance in "The Time of the Doctor," Peter Capaldi is mantic, and it takes the first Act of the episode before he comes back to anything that resembles his senses, not that it is a bad thing. Assuming that most viewers have seen the episode, I shall not discuss exact plot details much further.



For the majority of the episode, it is entirely hit or miss. Capaldi himself is rather good being able to play both the mantic and confused Doctor, as well as the cranky old man. For the record, I am a full supporter of Capaldi as the Doctor and for an older Doctor, and I have to say that his scenes are undoubtedly the best part of the episode. His later interactions with Clara are a lot fun with Capaldi's Doctor being a bit of a jerk, in the best way possible.
Capaldi's scene in the alleyway as he realizes that he sounds Scottish and that is face is vaguely familiar somehow is the first scene where Capaldi gets to shine in a few fun and humorous way. For those not in the know, Peter Capaldi appeared in David Tennant's run, in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii," as the man that the Doctor saved from the volcano, so the Doctor recognizing his face is a rather humorous callback for the fans. During the aforementioned scene, Capaldi is finally able to actor more like the Doctor with his senses about him to a degree, and that is when the episode picks up the pace with more of the wacky adventure and problem solving that we have come to expect from Doctor Who. 

 
Before moving to the main bulk of the episode, I need to discuss where the episode ultimately faltered...
EVERYTHING NOT INVOLVING THE DOCTOR! 
This is, unfortunately, the highlight of the dialogue.
A large portion of the episode (around a third) centered around Vastra, Flint, and Strax, which is an unfortunate shortcoming. Even before hearing that Vastra would be a part of the season premiere, one of my main hopes for the new season is that it would distant itself from the previous few seasons with no River Song or Vastra, and this episode has furthered proven my point that Vastra and her crew should be out. Most of the scenes involving the Paternoster Gang played out like a retarded sitcom with dumb jokes, corny dialogue, and general stupidity. Come on Moffat, you are better than this! The banter in Sherlock is witty, clever, and funny, while this was just dumb and painful to watch. The only very slight positive of these scenes is Clara trying to reconcile with the Doctor being different. Even though Eleven thought he would be the last Regeneration, the Doctor should consider giving all of his companions a crash course on Time Lord regeneration for future reference.
  
Moving back to the plot spoilers, after a mysterious ad in the paper about "The Impossible Girl," aka Clara's title, the Doctor and Clara meet at a peculiar restaurant. After some humorous dialogue exchange, the actual plot kicks into overdrive with a reintroduction of sorts to the Clockwork Droids from one of my favorite episodes, The Girl in the Fireplace, which I reviewed here,but instead, it is the S.S. Madame de Pompadour's sister ship, the S.S. Marie Antoinette. Humorously, the Doctor cannot seem to remember where he has seen something like this before. Unfortunately, these new Clockwork Droids are nowhere as creepy as the original ones. Even though Doctor Who is not known for its action, the final showdown with Clockwork Droids could have at least been a little more intense, granted, who actually gives a lizard's tail about the Paternoster Gang anyway?
The Doctor's conversation with the head Clockwork Droid was very well done, particularly Capaldi's performance. However, we still do not have much of a sense of what this new Doctor is going to be like, since some scenes were almost Matt Smith like with the fast dialogue, while others had a darker Eccleston vibe. He also does not have a definitive catchphrase yet either. While none of these are actual problems yet, the previous Doctors were able to define themselves by the end of their first episodes, so we can hope that Capaldi will distinguish himself from the other Doctors in the next few episodes. Despite these small problems with the Doctor, Capaldi has shown some true promise, and he has made me optimistic about the future of his run. 
Towards the end where the Doctor leaves Clara for a time and then finally returns, the Doctor gives an excellent speech about he is not Clara's "boyfriend," and that there will be no flirting, which is a great idea since the last few Doctors have been the opposite in many ways. Ending on a high note, Matt Smith's Doctor calls Clara on the phone with a surprise cameo to reassure her that the current old man is still the Doctor that she knew. 



To cap things off, we are introduced to a crazy woman, who claims to be the Doctor's girlfriend. Who is she? I have no bloody idea. Here's to hoping that we will end the season with another "Save the Galaxy" because of some behind the scenes villain.
Visually, "Deep Breath" had a more film quality aesthetic with improved lighting and use of shadows. The special effects, while still mediocre at times, are improved as well. Also, the new opening sequence, which was inspired by a fan-made opening, is fantastic! It is quite a lot different than past incarnations with steampunk like clockwork throughout.

Overall: 6.8/10- Despite Capaldi's strong presence as the new Doctor, "Deep Breath" is a disappointingly generic beginning for the new Doctor rife with unfortunately dumb and dull dialogue for the supporting cast. That being said, the visual and thematic direction Capaldi's Doctor is taking gives me hope that we are in for a great season, even if this first episode was held back by lackluster writing.

Please be sure to comment with your thoughts of the episode, and check back tomorrow for my review of the Lego Movie.

Below are reviews by other bloggers, and if you have reviewed it, let me know in the comments and I will add your link. As I continue to review Doctor Who episodes, I will continue to post links to other reviews.
Deep Breath Review by Tegan
Deep Breath Review by Gypsy King
Deep Breath Review by Alyianna Baggins
  
Love this Scene!

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15 comments:

  1. I quite liked the episode, to be honest. Although, I think my favorite part with the Paternoster Gang (apparently I've been misspelling it all this time...) would be when *SPOILERS* they come in to help Clara and The Doctor, with Vastra and Jenny getting the really cool entrance....and then Strax just falls in *End Spoilers* While, yeah, the episode didn't have any 'jumps' to it (like in Girl in the Fireplace. The 'Monster under the Bed' scene STILL makes me jump), I thought the villians were done well, and that it was a nice callback to the past. The scenes with Clara and Twelve I think is what stole the show though, hilarious. The bickering is just perfect, and I really can't wait to see more of their bickering. I loved the cameo, though. I realize some people didn't, but it was nice, and a great callback to how Clara and Eleven first interacted with each other, back in the Bells of Saint John. My favorite, favorite scene (besides the-*spoilers*-'Door, boring. Not me', goes to the window, 'ME!' scene) would be the hugging scene. It's hilarious and sweet at the same time, and I love the callback to the End of the World. As for the Twelfth Doctor, I like him. He's got that Sherlock Holmes-y vibe to him. I like that about 30% of the episode was just Clara being extremely cross at Twelve once they reunited. And cue the bickering.
    Thanks for the link to my review! Excellent review, James, and I hope you enjoy next week's better (which from the pictures they released, is giving me a sort of 'Alien' vibe too it...hmmmm)!
    -Tegan

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    1. p.s. sorry for the long comment....I get carried away when talking about Doctor Who....

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    2. For one, there is absolutely NO reason to be sorry about a long comment. Long comments are the best!

      Yes, that entrance was really cool. Oh yes, that scene in the Girl in the Fireplace is a classic "jump scare" scene.

      Agreed, the Clara and Doctor scenes were the best by far. I am really looking forward to how they progress. Yep, that hugging scene was fantastic! I didn't mention it directly since the post was getting long, but I did include that gif set because I liked it.

      Thank you Tegan! Can't wait for the next episode!

      -James

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  2. Great review! :) I agree, I liked the character orientated parts of the episode, but the plot line was a bit lacking in spots. I really like Twelve and I think he'll be an awesome actor for the doctor- his interactions with Clara definitely sold me on their characters and I look forward to seeing more of them interact(hopefully with better scripts). While I did think Strax had some funny lines, I agree, I think the trio(Vastra, Jenny, and Strax) should no be used as much; we never saw them meet the Doctor so I was never very interested in them, since we never saw their connection to them.

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    1. Thanks! And I agree, the characters bits were great (at least with the Doctor and Clara), but the plot was just kind of lacking. Excellent point! I think you are right as you why we never particularly cared about the trio, because we never saw their first encounter with the Doctor. I actually remember being a bit confused about who they were and what they are doing when they were introduced (I can't remember their first episode).

      -James

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  3. Great review! Thanks so much for linking to mine. :) I, for one, like the Paternoster Gang (especially Strax), but after a certain *cough* scene *cough*, I don't know whether I want to see them again or not.

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    1. Thanks! No problem; glad to do it! And thanks for following my blog with your new account (I guess that is what is happening, because I thought you followed me in the past, but now it is showing more followers)

      -James

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  4. Thanks for the link! As intros go it was the weakest of the new Whos in my opinion and there was too much of Capaldi acting the confused idiot. However, my favourite Doctor, Tom Baker, had a very similar start in Robot back in 1974! I just think that, creatively, it's time for a change - not because Moffat isn't good but because I think we've seen all her has to offer.

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    1. No problem GK. Agreed, definitely the weakest of the new Who introductory episodes. And I think I even agree with you about getting a new creative team. Moffat has done some great stuff (and some not so great stuff), but we do need some change, unless Moffat can actually do something truly different.

      -James

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  5. I have to admit I quite liked this episode...except for all the Paternoster bits. (especially that one scene...ugh) I still find Strax quite funny, though. Especially when he hit Clara with the paper :) I wasn't sure about Twelve at first, but I felt he really got better as the show went on- it reminded me a bit of when Ten was first introduced, actually- where everything was a bit muddled at first but then he came through at the end. And Clara is one of my favorite companions, and I really liked her banter with the new doctor- it's a bit reminiscent of Donna and Ten, although completely different at the same time. Their continued bickering (for lack of a better word, haha) is something I hope to see a lot more of.

    My favorite part was when Eleven called- that was a stroke of genius in my opinion and possibly my favorite part. Really skeptical about the who weird lady at the end there is, though. I just hope this season is a bit cleaner than the last few seasons. I could do without the innuendos that have seemed to plague the Matt Smith era. But still, though this episode certainly wasn't my favorite, I did like the main storyline and it got me more excited for the upcoming season than anything.

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    1. I will agree that Strax was funny, not a fan of the rest of the gang. Glad you enjoyed the episode more than I did though. Good comparison between the different episodes though.

      Agreed! That was probably my favorite part of the episode too (or one of my favorites)! Such a nice sendoff to Smith's run. I am also very exciting for the continuation of the season as well!

      Thank you very much for commenting Hayden!

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  6. Considering many Doctor Who fans seemed to have joined during the Matt Smith era and create quite a large part of the fan base and TV viewership, I figured there was going to be some pandering to them specifically to make sure they kept watching. So I was not surprised that they made Capaldi act like Eleven during the beginning and brought in three very familiar faces to hold "only-Matt-Smith" DW fans by the hand. And *SPOILERS* I feel like that was what was going on with Matt Smith himself appearing in this episode. Other than all this fan-servicing-y type stuff (and I'll mention some of my other quibbles tomorrow when we talk) I loved what I saw in Capaldi's Doctor once he stopped being crazy and I really look forward to getting to know the new Doctor more. Hopefully Moffat brings something new to the table in this season.

    ~Jamie

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    1. You have a point, and I think you are partially right, although those parts were not my problem with the episode. It was more the trio's clunky scenes. Capaldi was Fantastic! though. :)

      -James

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  7. @Everyone: Thanks for all the comments everyone! And for making this one of my more popular posts in recent memory. More Doctor Who reviews are sure to come starting next week.

    -James

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  8. I agree completely. Going into this, I was nervous about Capaldi's Doctor even though I really wanted to like him so I thought I probably would. But those fears were completely unfounded, and he was awesome! And then of course the rest of the episode was rubbish. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't a bit better than some of the later Smith episodes, and I thought they were trying to give the whole show a dramatic makeover....

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One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

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