C+Q - Deep Breath (2014)

Barring one-off specials, I've never been so excited for a new series of Doctor Who. The idea of Gallifrey returning one day is perfect fuel for a long twisting Moffatiavellian plot, having a full uninterrupted run of episodes means there's more room for exploring the cause and effect of decisions, relationships, and general character development, we've got female directors for the first time in years, and most importantly, Malcolm Tucker is the Doctor. There's not a single detail about Series 8 that I don't like the sound of. So, does Deep Breath start us out on the right foot? Short answer: yes. Long answer...

Of course, the main job of this episode right from the beginning is to sell us on the new Doctor. Like many stories before it, this is achieved by having the companion act as the audience proxy, voicing our concerns and asking the questions that we're all thinking about the Doctor's new persona. The issue here is that using Clara as a face for the audience's unease towards the new actor doesn't work in the slightest given that Clara is established to have met all of his previous incarnations, encounters which we know for a fact she can still remember. So why is she suddenly doubting him now? It could be argued that despite meeting every past Doctor, she's never actually had to put up with a regeneration before, so I can understand why she might be a little shaken, but to outright question whether he's still the same person or not just seems out of character. Luckily, in much the same way Clara is used as a stand-in for the casual audience who might be upset by the change, Madame Vastra is here as a stand-in for me, grabbing Clara by the shoulders and shouting, "You idiot! Of course he's still the Doctor! Grow up!" Having a character who's completely unphased by regeneration on hand to voice the opinions of long-term fans is something that hasn't been done before in a regeneration story, and it's SO welcome. I'm glad Moffat brought back the Paternoster Gang if for no other reason than to give us this fresh new angle and illustrate on screen the conflict in fandom; the little angel and devil on either shoulder bickering while we try to make up our minds on whether or not we like the new guy. Still, I can't help but wish some reference was made to Clara's experience with every previous Doctors. This might be the only time a companion with this level of knowledge of the other Doctors gets to witness a regeneration and the opportunity to do something with that isn't used.

Speaking of Clara, she gets a lot of great character building material to work with here, with the stand-out scene being her confrontation with the Half-Faced Man. Despite being scared, she puts on a brave face and is incredibly quick-witted under pressure, a trait she's previously demonstrated in The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, and many others. In the Doctor's absence, she's able to take charge of the situation like she does in Nightmare in Silver. What we see from Clara in Deep Breath aren't new personality traits but they are the first time those personality traits have cohered together into something resembling a fully-rounded character. I really love Clara now that her Impossible Girl arc is done and the show is forced to start treating her as an ordinary person rather than a mystery to be solved (as fun as that mystery is). I hope we continue to see a lot more development for her over the course of the series. This episode gives me a deeper appreciation for Jenna Coleman, who gives an incredible performance, most notably when she's holding her breath to escape the Clockwork Droids. But again, I can't help but see the lack of any reference to her encounters with previous Doctors as a missed opportunity. If the goal here is to give Clara a revamp so she feels more like her own person, referencing an aspect of her backstory that makes her unique is surely a good and meaningful way to do that.

Moving on, The Paternoster gang make a welcome return after many appearances in the Eleventh Doctor's run. After an almost total reboot in The Eleventh Hour, I doubt that Moffat would want to write such a tough script again, so instead of starting from scratch he opted to bring back some familiar faces to ease the transition. Some of the best scenes in Deep Breath are pure dialogue and a big highlight for me is when Vastra is telling Clara why she wears a veil. It's an amazing character moment and a very well-written speech by Moffat where he likens regeneration to the lifting of a veil. Jenny also gets lots to do and it's nice to see scenes of her alone with her wife. Strax is still entirely comic relief, which he does well, but there are still a few little character moments, like when he gives Clara a medical exam, referencing his past as a nurse which hasn't really been brought up since A Good Man Goes to War.

But let's get to what really matters: what do I think about the new Doctor? My initial optimism at his announcement more than a year ago has paid off. It's hard to judge a Doctor's personality while they're still feeling the trauma of regeneration, but towards the end of the episode we got to see a much more stable and in control Twelfth Doctor and he feels very distinct from his predecessors already. When he settles down, he stops talking in long, rambling, thinking-out-loud sentences like Ten and Eleven and instead is much more direct. A moment that stands out for me is the final showdown between the Doctor and the Half-Faced Man, where the Doctor pours two glasses and says, in a completely calm and level-headed way, "I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you. I thought you might appreciate a drink first. I know I would." The Doctor killing his enemies is nothing new but what is new is having a Doctor who admits to it. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors were presented as the most pacifistic due to their more recent memories of the Time War but Ten killed the leader of the Sycorax in his first episode and Eleven made anyone who's ever watched the moon landing kill all Silence on sight. With Twelve, we have a Doctor who will own up to his violence and discuss the ways he'll kill you over a drink. It's an interesting new direction and I hope it continues into future episodes.

Deep Breath introduces a few design changes that I imagine will stick right through to the end of Capaldi’s tenure. First off is the new title sequence which was made in collaboration with Billy Hanshaw. The new opening with its cogs, gears, clockwork vortex, and blue colour scheme looks amazing. It's probably my favourite title sequence except for maybe Tom Baker's first one. The new rendition of the theme is also brilliant. At last we've done away with the string melody in the first few bars that distracted greatly from that iconic bassline. Instead of an orchestra, the new Who theme relies heavily on electronic sounds like the original 1963 intro and it hasn't sounded better in years. Although the console room hasn't been rebuilt, the TARDIS interior has some subtle changes. The cool blue lights have been replaced with a warm orange glow and the upper level is now full of furniture. This new design not only makes the ship look more like an obvious time machine due to the combination of futuristic steel and Victorian wood, but it also gives it a more welcoming atmosphere. It feels more like the Doctor's home than the Doctor's car.

As well as the obvious aesthetic changes, this episode also has a radically different storytelling style from previous years where episodes had been nonstop 'blockbuster' action. This was especially prominent in Series 7, where the writers were literally told to write episodes like movies with over-the-top film poster titles like Dinosaurs on a Spaceship or Asylum of the Daleks. Here however the extended 75-minute run time allows for lots of long dialogue scenes which gives the adventure a more leisurely pace. We're able to really get inside the character's heads and hear what they have to say about the situation at hand. I love this new approach as it allows for a lot of added depth and smaller moments that really bring the characters and the setting to life. Ben Wheatley (who will also be directing Episode 2) does a fantastic job here and there are loads of great storytelling moments done with visuals alone. When the Doctor holds up the mirror to the Half-Faced Man and asks him if he can even remember where he got his face, we see the reverse shot of the Doctor staring into the other side of the mirror followed by his silent reaction as he realises that the same could be said of him. When the Paternoster gang are holding their breath to avoid being detected by the droids, we see Strax struggling to hold his breath before pointing his gun at himself. If Vastra hadn't stopped him, Strax would have committed suicide rather than let his friends die. This is a very well-written script brought to life by very intelligent direction, and I'd love to see Ben Wheatley become a new recurring director for the show.

Overall, Deep Breath is a very promising start to Series 8. Peter Capaldi is brilliant as the Doctor and I look forward to see how his incarnation develops over the course of his hopefully long tenure.