Doctor Who: Deep Breath (2014)

the audience applauded

A Brilliant Conflict

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Blistering performances.

The Doctor lands in Victorian London where a Large dinosaur is on the loose. The Doctor has regenerated into his latest incarnation and is behaving very erratically. On site are the Doctor's Victorian trio, Madam Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Parts are being taken from people, eyes, organs etc, and even the Dinosaur is killed for parts. The Doctor discovers a foe with similar to behaviours to one he'd previously encountered, but there is a darker foe waiting in the wings. I utterly loved Peter Capaldi after this one episode, he has managed to bring a mass of energy and craziness to the role, I found it incredibly infectious. It felt like a true crossover from Classic Who. Interesting conversation with the tramp about his face, possibly a recognition from Pompeii.I also find this the strongest performance from Jenna Coleman too, a brilliant Clara story. The phone call she does brilliantly.I don't mind saving I have grown to utterly love Strax, didn't get the appeal at first, now I love the Victorian trio.I love the Doctor and Clara's scene in the restaurant, it's a really creepy realisation, when they discover the other guests aren't eating.The opening credits took a bit of getting used to, I didn't like them initially but I grew to love them, reminded me of those used in Tom's last series.Love Missy at first sight, wasn't that the Garden from the Girl who waited? It was obvious Missy would be something special.The story itself is truly brilliant. I'm always up for a bit of Victorian drama, and this hits all the right notes, it's a seriously clever, beautiful looking episode. It's also very dark and engaging, such a great opener. 10/10

I really wanted to like the new doctor and I hope with time I will. This however was not the way to introduce him. A heavy handed story with all the wrong elements. Let's start with the weak villains that could have been so cool. We did steam punk robots before and they were scary, these were laughable. I was continually jarred by CGI that was horrific and clunky, case in point the Dinosaur. Then there were the obvious continuity issues throughout the episode. At Demons Run Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax were good fighters. Here, they look pathetic. We even had to have manufactured side drama between Jenny and Vastra just to bloat the run time. The same thing with Strax and Clara. Clara continues to be a weak and wooden character. This troubling trend of one-dimensional assistants has been going on for while though Clara is by fare the worst. I blame the writer(s) and director(s) for this. I really hope this is not an indicator of the quality of the show but I am worried.

Spoilers alert! 9/10 ! What an introduction!! The TARDIS out of a dinosaur and the 3 that help comes along.So how does a dinosaur combusts , and what is a mechanical man doing in 1800 London? Surprise is what Moffat is an expert at! SS MArie Antoinette! Whoops robots that managed to time travel.Maniacs are on the loose.How to stop them? Hopefully put the Doctor in the trap.And don't breathe or the droid will react.All right so these robots murder for spare organic parts.THe Doctor is still going through a regeneration crisis.He could not recall the repair droids gone mad.Worth watching if you are into minor complex plots and surprises.The old Doctor coming back and encouraging Clara to help his new self. What a whooper.After all while in London, Clara was going is this the same person? And the machine getting to Heaven? Hmm.I look forward to next week.

I like Peter Capaldi; he's a terrific actor and he manages to shine even in this lackluster script from Mr. Moffat. Clara turns in one of her best performances yet. The visual effects are better than ever.Yet somehow throughout this whole episode I couldn't shake a terrible case of deja vu. It's not that I don't like Moffat's scripts; some of his episodes are really amazing. I just would be very hard pressed to point to any aspect of this episode and say, "that's new," or "that's thought provoking." Still, if this purpose of the episode was to introduce Twelve, then I guess it was decent enough.I just hope that Moffat and Co. can get their act together to put together some of the best Who ever while they've got the chance with Mr. Capaldi. This kind of run-of-the-mill, rehash writing just won't cut it.