With huge fanfare, sci-fi fans are well aware that Peter Capaldi makes his first full appearance as the Doctor in tonight’s Season Eight premiere of Doctor Who, Deep Breath. Capaldi is the twelfth actor to portray the iconic immortal alien from Gallifrey who travels through time and space in an old British blue police box.
I had the opportunity the see episode at a press screening when the Doctor Who World Tour landed in NYC last week, which was followed by a Q&A with Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Who EP Steven Moffat. I won’t include any spoilers in this review, most Whovians who have seen the episode at fan screenings during the Tour have adhered to an honor code and kept mum on the meaty details of Capaldi’s first adventure in the TARDIS.
This will be a spoiler free review. So what then I can share? Besides the new Doctor, we’re treated to a new title sequence and the interior of the TARDIS gets a make-over. The plot involves cyborgs, a dinosaur running amok in Victorian London which loops Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny (Catrin Stewart)and Strax (Dan Starkey) into the investigation alongside a dazed Doctor and a conflicted Clara.
As expected, Twelve is an abrasive Doctor. Don’t expect a whimsical scene to immediately win you over similar to the one in Matt Smith’s debut episode The Eleventh Hour between a young Amy Pond and the Doctor as he tested out his new taste pallet. While Deep Breath is predominantly focused on the Doctor getting used to his latest identity and finding his footing, it also plays heavily on how he re-acquaints himself with his much younger companion. He asks her if he is a good man and wonders exactly how his new face was chosen. Clara has enormous issues with the friend she thought she knew, who off the bat barely resembles the young light hearted friend Eleven quickly became in her presence. Let’s not forget the low place Eleven was in when he first met Clara, still mourning the loss of Amy and Rory.
The episode runs nearly 80 minutes, and it feels lengthy. There are no shortages of dialogue exchanges without music or sound design, which when viewed at a screening, without any of even the smallest of distractions when sitting in your living room, gives the episode a very bare bones almost indie aesthetic. It is not an action packed adventure, but a slow burn with the payoff you’ve come to expect from many previous Doctor Who episodes.
Capaldi’s abbrasive Twelve offers a bold different dynamic for the show. Like many others, I was quite pleased with the decision to cast an older actor to succeed Matt Smith, at 26 he was the youngest ever cast in the show’s 50-year history. In the lead-up to this episode, whether it was via the surprise cameo in The Day of the Doctor or the regeneration scene in The Time of the Doctor, we’ve been tipped off that Twelve would be far more no-nonsense than the the previous modern Doctors played by Chris Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith. By the end of Deep Breath, you realize how different the path will be with the moody Capaldi as the helm.
It’s not to say the Doctor has been stripped of any humor. He retains his eccentricities and owns several well placed funny moments. What Capaldi brings in boatloads is a fierce presence. His Doctor is a force to be reckoned with, and by stripping the character of the boyish looks and roguish mannerisms from Tennant and Smith’s stints, this older statesmen Doctor can intimidate with a mere frown and glance.
While not as overtly flashy or fast paced as other season premieres, it also honestly doesn’t come off as an ideal entry point episode for newbies. You appreciate Capaldi’s take knowing the previous versions. A cold introduction to Twelve will come off just as cold, and it becomes Clara’s task to “humanize” the tale. What’s old is new, what’s new is old and it’s a promising first post-regeneration adventure to say the least, and offers a lot of promise to shake up the secure Doctor Who wheelhouse we’ve been comfortable with.
The season eight premiere festivities of Doctor Who start at 8pm on BBC America. Chris Hardwick hosts a 15 minute pre-show at 8pm and After Who Live at 11pm.
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