Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Ben Wheatley
The Story: When the doctor arrives in Victorian London he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions.
The Verdict: Let’s be honest, a new Doctor is the trickiest change for all with abundant questions comprising ‘Will he be funny/smart/quick/ginger?‘ but most prominently…. ‘Will I like him?’
That last question in this 80-minute opener titled ‘Deep Breath’ is particularly interesting because Clara (Jenna Coleman) spends the episode testing her own character and giving one of her best Doctor Who performances to date. In essence she’s not only pushed and pulled knowingly by the physical differences but also by how abstractly she’s treated, almost like she’s no longer there. As Clara demands to know why this new person is so old and who this new face is, her sense of loss turns towards grief but she’s still willing to try and find a way to help him, eventually. It’s a perfect reflection of how the audience feels as we move from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi.
With Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor, Clara was along for a ride and looked after – in the only way the Doctor can half keep an eye on you – but this impossible girl is longer the chosen one, she’s initially a new face for the 12th Doctor to learn and Clara can’t understand why. Like so many assistants going through this moment once before, she’s confused and lost.
After we open Deep Breath in Victorian-London, we discover that a sad T-Rex stalks the city and is lonely. We know this because the Doctor speaks Dinosaur, obviously. As the episode progresses, we jump between seemingly random spontaneous combustion stories and the Doctor trying to remember where he’s seen his own face before. As fire stalks the unknown, it’s feels like there’s a ‘Fires of Pompeii’ link due but you also wonder if Moffat is leading us somewhere else.
This opener is utterly clever and a real shift in terms of pace, alongside suggestions of ageism and identity which are dealt with accordingly. You don’t realise how long it’s been since we had this style, with purposeful prose and longer scenes of people just talking. It’s both rejuvenating and still mysterious, with a Gothic touch that’s unexpectedly refreshing.
Ben Wheatley, of SIGHTSEERS and KILL LIST, directs and brings his exciting darkness along but it’s not over-whelming, there’s still very much the essence of Doctor Who as we learn with the 12th together. There will be comparisons to the earlier days with a serious-nature but there’s still plenty of excitement, humour and ‘attack eyebrows!’
It’s important to note that Deep Breath is about discovery and less about plot but (a big but that I cannot deny) the solidity of this opener far excels your standard Whovian affair. It’s contained, a little brutal, there’s ground-breaking relationships blossoming and a feisty Doctor with definite opinion because after all, even during a change, there’s still a two-hearted alien waiting to show us how clever he is.
The title relates to the episode in a ‘Blink’ sense and we get a new-look at an evil human-like race (Half-Face) that echoes our first encounters with the 9th, 10th and 11th which could relate to a simple metaphor for the Doctor and his disguises. Their clockwork nature is quite beautifully done with creaky cogs, it’s really eerie with a really shocking outcome. Overall, I think this is one of the strongest opening episodes in the new series of Doctor Who since it began again in 2005. The eccentricity still exists but there’s a deeper mystery beginning to bubble, alongside an unusual ending that subtly laces in another string of surprise.
I can’t wait to see what’s next and believe we’re in for one of the strongest seasons in terms of script and inventiveness in a long, long time. The 12th hour is here. It’s dark, exciting and heading towards the dawn of a new beginning.
Best Bit(s): Clara and The Doctor’s conversation in the restaurant is wonderful. It’s full of honesty, confusion, discussion and a whole new moment in Who history. There’s also a hugely brave twist in THAT finale moment with a well-known face returning and it brings tears and happiness in the same instant. I loved it and felt it fit the moment perfectly and for all the right reasons.
Best Line(s):
The Doctor: What’s more important than your egomania?
Clara: Nothing’s more important than my egomania!
The Doctor: You actually just said that!
Clara: …Never mention it again….
Or maybe:
The Doctor: “I am Scottish, I can really complain about things.”
[usr=4] THN’s Doctor Who Series 8 Blog returns next Saturday. You might also like to have a read of our ‘Doctor Who: The Darker Dimension‘.
