Deep Breath - Take Two Doctor Who Review

Peter Capaldi takes the reins and Steven Moffat tries his hand at a whole new Doctor. Add in the Paternoster Gang, Clara, a callback to a beloved episode, the introduction of the latest mystery box style series arch, and a huge dinosaur and you get Deep Breath. But is it actually any good? Let's talk it out.

✔ SUPPORT ✔

✔ OTHER CHANNELS ✔

✔ SHOP ✔

✔ SOCIAL MEDIA ✔

✔ OTHER PROJECTS ✔

✔ AMAZON WISHLIST ✔

✔ CONTACT ✔
Mail:
Council of Geeks
PO Box 4429
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

[jsnow]

Watching Deep Breath always reminds me not only did the 12th Doctor have a character arc, his hair also did.

[Sailor_Enchantix]

This episode has one of my favorite Madam Vastra quotes, “It dropped a blue box marked ‘police’ out of it’s mouth, your grasp of biology troubles me.”

[TheBlimpFruit]

I think the "you don't see me" line was meant for the viewers as well. We'd just had two handsome, young, romantic Doctors, so for the general public, Capaldi was a bit of a shock at first as we hadn't seen a Doctor like him in NuWho. So I think the call from 11 to Clara was a fantastic little metaphor for the viewers to give Capaldi a chance.

[ryanpollard]

And so, the Capaldi Era begins. For me, the Capaldi Era was the period of Doctor Who I didn't know I wanted until I saw it, and it gave me my joint favourite Doctor alongside Tom Baker. Deep Breath is a highly underrated post-regeneration story, and immediately, Capaldi had me hooked the minute he showed up on screen. Even though David Tennant and Matt Smith were both outstanding in their own right, for me, this was the Doctor I've been longing for since Baker and is my ideal kind of Doctor; steely, crusty, funny, eccentric, and will do the right thing no matter the cost. He gets the most character development out of any of the Modern Era Doctors, and his first series in Series 8 was all about him learning to rediscover who he is, which he eventually does by the end of the finale (which I personally believe was the true story-arc of Series 8). Capaldi and Coleman's chemistry was electric and I remember the scene where she had to hold her breath to avoid the Droids had me on edge the first time I saw it. I agree with the dinosaur thing and I personally found Matt Smith's cameo to be unnecessary in my opinion since it detracts from the new Doctor and only reminds people that Smith has gone. If you're wondering why this particular story was so long, it's probably because it was shown at cinemas (which I did attend), and I imagine they wanted another big event like The Day of the Doctor. Overall, 'Deep Breath is a solid introduction; doesn't beat The Eleventh Hour, but is IMO better than Rose, The Christmas Invasion and The Woman Who Fell To Earth.

[declanring]

The Twelfth Doctor is my absolute favourite. I love him here. It ain't the best opener but I adore Capaldi off the bat

[tylerbailey]

For some reason, Series 8 has really grown on me since it first aired. I used to think this series was sub par overall, but Kill the Moon and In the Forest of the Night are the only two episodes I'd call trash. Stuff like Deep Breath, Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline are modern classics imo. Has anyone else had this experience?

[KayleighBourquin]

Capaldi is easily my favourite Doctor, and I loved him from this very episode onward, he's difficulty with emotion is something I relate to very strongly. And that you pointed "You don't see me, you look at me and you don't see me" struck home for me too, possibly for similar reasons

[evaserration]

Having known Capaldi from his previous who appearances then The Thick of It, I was already primed for the idea of grumpy 'Malcolm Tucker Doctor', THAT I was looking forward to.
For me the veil wasn't just about his age, but the darkness, the pragmatism and the ruthlessness that we have already seen in previous Doctors but it's usually shown in glimpses under a normally affable exterior. Here though with 12, it's this aspect that's at the forefront of his personality. It's the delivery of the line "I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you. I thought you'd appreciate a drink first, I know I would." that sealed the deal for me. As well as his response to the Half-Faced Man's statement that's not human - "Neither am I". Here, unlike Malcolm Tucker F-Bomb shout rants, The Twelfth Doctor had that low, measured growl masking unimaginable fury that was far more terrifying.
But then at the end when he lets his guard down and asks Clara to just see him, having had his previous self tell her how scared he was because in his current form he knew he couldn't. Again going back to using the baggage of Malcolm Tucker to great effect, it was shock to see him so vulnerable So aside from where his eventual arc went, for me that was enough of a showcase of what we're gonna get from this Doctor.

[freyjarichardson]

I kinda love this episode, I don't watch it all that often coz oh boy is it long but I do have fun watching it. And the phone call from eleven just broke me. Still does. Just absolutely breaks me. it was my favourite doctor going "give this guy a chance" and I'm so glad I listened coz twelve is my second favourite.

[Domino]

"Seeing the doctor a little more nakedly" - think Clara saw little more than that last episode 😂

[roguebritgravy]

Who frowned me this face?
A Roman guy you saved from complete obliteration. I thought you'd have the costume ready. I think they were doing a colin baker inspired vibe where he was becoming more like the doctor and he had to fight to be the doctor he could be.

[thefragrantwookiee]

"Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time" is one of my favourite Who lines (mostly due to Capaldi's delivery - he's my favourite too).

[BeautifulDisaster]

I'm really looking forward to these reviews as I get to re-live Capaldi's era, which although I think probably had some of the roughest moments episode wise, 12 had such an amazing character arc and also became my doctor. So yeah, this is going to be fun :D

[koivunen]

From what I've seen from Moffat, I sometimes get this feeling that he thinks he's smarter than everyone and thinks he needs to explain so much so the laypeople in the audience can keep up. When in reality the stories would work better without the explanation (see Vestra and her veil).

[nightowl]

Peter's my favourite too!

I rewatched Deep Breath just yesterday, and I liked it a lot more. The last 45 minutes straight is all great stuff, but Christ that first act drags. Cut it down to an hour, and it's brilliant - those first 30 minutes consist basically entirely of (what ought to have been) deleted scenes.

[MrMaster]

The fact that your jacket lining is blue instead of red frustrates me probably more than it should.

[highvoltage]

I never got the idea that the writing only started declining with Capaldi. Ever since series 6 the writing has been inconsistent. As for this episode it’s alright. It’s no Spearhead from space or The Eleventh hour.

[cisalzlman]

My problem with the Madame Vastra's veil thing is that it feels like Moffat telling the audience how to feel about having older doctor

Instead letting it stand and having good writing and Capaldi's excellent performance show that he was the right choice

[Silverwind]

My headcanon is that Twelve looked older to reflect his first life. When the Doctor first regenerated, he was an old man. Now that the clock has reset, so to speak, he's an old man again.

[Scampr_]

I was really indifferent, bordering on disliking this episode at the time that series 8 first broadcast, but I've also grown to appreciate it a lot more as time has gone by.
It definitely becomes better on a re-watch, as it benefits from the greater context we have about the characters, their journey and not being distracted by all the mysteries and questions posed to us.
I totally agree on the point that Clara was more of a plot device in series 7, and not particularly likeable - she only really became an actual character in The Day of the Doctor, but this episode is where I began to like her, especially given her massively superior chemistry with the 12th doctor compared to the 11th.
I'm looking forward to the rest of your reviews on series 8, since I think its strangely overlooked for how solid it is. I'll admit I did myself at the time, and while I probably would still consider it Capaldi's weakest season, I still like a lot.
The character arc of the Doctor is definitely one of the best things about 12, and the same can be said for Clara too. Their progression over this series is really interesting and a lot more prevalent than I first remembered - all things considered, including the pressure of being a new Doctor's debut episode, Deep Breath does a pretty good job of kicking that off.