Jenna Coleman as Clara and Peter Capaldi as the Doctor
The season premiere of Doctor Who premiered tonight, introducing new Doctor Peter Capaldi, and I know in this house we definitely had a few tears (mostly mine – towards the end). FYI Peter Capaldi previously appeared on an episode of Doctor Who, during David Tennant’s run. He also played John Frobisher on Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Capaldi in Fires of Pompeii
So on to the episode! We had the Paternoster Gang: Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny Flint and Strax as well as a dinosaur, a few Sherlock Holmes references and a mystery lady! Oh my. Here are some of my thoughts after my first viewing and a half. I won’t explain exactly what happened in this episode and I certainly won’t spoil the surprises. I will just keep to general terms with a few (out of context) quotes thrown in.
· Steven Moffat said this doctor would be different from the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors as played by David Tennant and Matt Smith. “He’s a much more difficult to control madman than he was before. We’re going back to that sort of Doctor, someone who is a bit off the leash.” Peter Capaldi seemed to agree. “This Doctor is a little less user friendly. I think somewhere in the regenerative process I think his social skills have become a little blunted.” And I agree. This Doctor is noticeably older and seems to permanently have a bit of a frown going on. How many times did he smile in this episode? Did he smile at all? I’ll have to go back and check because I can’t think of any right away. He certainly seems much more “alien” than Tennant and Smith.
· As a bridge to the new Doctor, the use of Vastra, Jenny and Strax along with Clara was brilliant. Vastra accepted the new Doctor right off which was supposed to help us do the same. We’ve been through a lot with Madame Vastra and I think we’ve come to trust her judgment a bit, haven’t we?
· There were plenty of funny moments and lines. Even if this new Doctor is going to be less light hearted, Moffat is not forgetting the laughs. Calling Clara the “asking questions one” sounded like a classic “Matt Smith’s Doctor” type of line. And the new Doctor telling the dinosaur “I’m not flirting by the way” and thinking Clara was Handles (a cyberman head) was funny because the Doctor was so serious.
· Clara’s story arc in this episode mirrors Rose Tyler’s when the Ninth Doctor became the Tenth Doctor. This makes absolute sense. A companion who didn’t struggle at least a little bit with the regeneration of his or her doctor would not be believable at all.
· I’m thrilled to see that Moffat and the show are addressing a few questions Whovians have had. How will the show address the fact that Capaldi’s face has been on Doctor Who before? The Doctor’s discussion with the tramp (about his face) sounds like we’ll get an answer to that. The identity of the mystery lady who gave Clara that “help line” phone number way back when has bugged a lot of people, myself included. It looks like we might be getting an answer to that as well. I know who I’m hoping the mystery lady will turn out to be but I can’t see how Moffat can make that happen. Then again, I’m not Moffat and who really knows what he can think up?
· On “The Ultimate Time Lord” (hosted by the Fifth Doctor Peter Davison) which aired last week during Doctor Who takeover week on BBC America, Moffat discussed the Doctor and his ability (or lack thereof) to make wise choices. “The Doctor flings himself out a window and works out what to do about it on the way down.” Without giving away any “spoilers”, certain actions of his in this episode support that definition.
· What happened between “Kidneys! I’ve got new kidneys! I don’t like the color” and “Hush”?? I hope we find out. Nosy Whovians want to know!
· “You’ve redecorated. I don’t like it.” And “I think there should be more round things on the wall. I used to have a lot of round things. I wonder where I put them.” I loved it. But then who doesn’t love the round things? And I think I’m digging the new TARDIS interior!
So what did you think about “Deep Breath”? What are your thoughts on Capaldi’s initial appearance? Let me know.
My English Obsession 