8X01 "Deep Breath" Grading/Discussion)(SPOILERS!)

[Skellington]

I liked the somewhat sombre and laid-back tone of this opener, though it could have done with being ten or fifteen minutes shorter. It looked expensive, and kudos to the director and crew for keeping it convincing.

There was much to like about it. We may be done with motormouth Doctors for a while, but this new incarnation of the show seems to have its own style of wit. Loved the scene with the homeless man; humour, intrigue and menace all in one scene, and very well-shot too. Capaldi doesn't even try to compete with Matt Smith, but that's not to say that he won't own the role just as Smith did. Looking forward to more of this new, perhaps edgier, flavour.

Will need to experience the title sequence and theme tune again before deciding, but on first impression I find them both to be superior to the ones with which the Smith era was originally lumbered. They evoke a sense of weirdness and mystery, which seems appropriate for the show's new direction. Kind of got a sense of Pertwee's later title sequence from the graphics, too.

Anyway, four out of five. A very robust opener despite some misgivings.

 

[Orac Zen]

I've not long watched the re-run and my impressions are much the same as they were when I watched it (early) this morning: I'm indifferent to it. Nothing about it grabbed and kept my attention, but then again nothing outright repelled me either. It was just there.

A few random thoughts:

* Capaldi made a decent first impression and it's one of the few times I've actually liked Clara (despite the oddity of her struggling with the regeneration).

* didn't mind the visuals of the new titles and the first part of the theme. Don't like the second part of the new theme a bit.

* I'm completely over Strax at this point. The "boy" / ongoing ignorance shtick is just ridiculous now.

* really, really liked the bit about the long scarf looking stupid.

* I agree with those who've said they found it overlong. The giant dinosaur looked snazzy enough but getting on with the story would've been better.

I'll more than likely keep watching but while I'm not voting that way, I do miss Matt Smith. Still, early days.

I like how people attack Moffat's style as being nonsense when RTD did the same crap and only worse. Drives me nuts.

At least RTD's stories were enjoyable.

Oh, wait. Were you serious? To each their own, I suppose.

 

[chelly]

I liked the episode, not sure what I think of the new opener. That is just odd but I will get used to it. Clara, that just went on too long. I want to like her but she was a little annoying with the issues with the regeneration.

I like the new doctor. I am sure we will get more of what type of doctor he will be in future episodes. The new Tardifs interior is really nice to.

The Missy Person: I am not sure why everyone is taking her word for it that the doctor is her boyfriend. I wonder if maybe she is the Rani She will be an interesting Villain this year I think.

I still like Moffet's era better than RTD's.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Ugh, again with the eras. I liked RTD's better, but I am still watching Moffat's, so clearly he's not nearly as bad as he's been made out to be.

 

[Relayer1]

I like how people attack Moffat's style as being nonsense when RTD did the same crap and only worse. Drives me nuts.

At least RTD's stories were enjoyable.

No. RTD did a great job btinging the show back, but he's a horrible sci-fi writer - and he wrote almost all of the bad episodes.

Moff's run hasn't been perect, but it's head and shoulders better...

 

[Saul]

I voted Scottish! only because I loved how the episode trolled people bothered by Capaldi's age (what?), and did several pretty powerful scenes around this and related subjects. I want more!

It came across to me that Moffat was trying to hard to calm people's fears over the age thing. He made it a bigger thing than it needed to be. I think he should have completely ignored it and to hell with what people think but addressing it the way he did made it seem like it was a problem and that didn't sit well with me.

 

[ATimson]

So was that a snippet of the new Doctor's theme we heard when he was in his room in the nightgown? It was pretty cool, but a lot peppier than I would have expected for Capaldi's Doctor.

It sounded to me like a variation on "I Am The Doctor", rather than something new.

 

[tomalak301]

It seemed like Doctor Who in the States got more popular in the Matt Smith Era (You now have pre and post shows with Chris Hardwick for one) so maybe this was to make the US fans happy and I appreciated it.

I was under the impression that it was popular in the US when Tom Baker was the Doctor...

It was. There were Doctor Who conventions, just like there were Star Trek conventions, and a lot of years it was the Whovians PBS had to thank for a noticeable chunk of their donations. Heaven forbid the classic era should ever get credit for being popular in North America.

As for this new episode: I'll have to rewatch it, since I fell asleep partway through.

Where there theatrical events, pre or post shows, doctor who specials, or a one hour special identifying who the new Doctor was during the Classic Doctor era? No. The classic era probably was popular, but not as popular as the show is now in its current state.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I like how people attack Moffat's style as being nonsense when RTD did the same crap and only worse. Drives me nuts.

At least RTD's stories were enjoyable.

No. RTD did a great job btinging the show back, but he's a horrible sci-fi writer - and he wrote almost all of the bad episodes.

I think he wrote almost all the mediocre episodes rather than the bad ones. Of course, he wrote about half the episodes so that makes sense. Fear Her, Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, and the Lazarus Experiment are generally put among the worst. On the other hand, I quite like Gridlock, Midnight, and Turn Left. And while his finals were never great, I can't put them among the worst.

RTD always seemed to write like whatever popped into his head is what went on the screen and then wrote until he finished the story. It was never bad, but it usually ended poorly. The Next Doctor is a good example - ending with a crazy stupid Victorian robot. But even Love and Monsters is usually only criticized for its ending not the entire episode. I think people like the sort of Lower Decks exploration of how the Doctor affected ordinary people's lives.

I agree that he deserves more credit for bringing the show back than for his individual episodes, but I also think he deserves more credit as a writer than you're giving him. Of course, taste is subjective. I think Moffatt has written better stories both individually and as show-runner, but I also recognize that that's just like my opinion, man.

 

[DWF]

At least RTD's stories were enjoyable.

No. RTD did a great job btinging the show back, but he's a horrible sci-fi writer - and he wrote almost all of the bad episodes.

I think he wrote almost all the mediocre episodes rather than the bad ones. Of course, he wrote about half the episodes so that makes sense. Fear Her, Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, and the Lazarus Experiment are generally put among the worst.

Helen Raynor wrote the Dalek two parter and Stephen Greenhorn wrote The Lazarus Experiment.

 

[ElimGarak.93-99]

I liked the episode and also liked the new intro.

Here are some interesting facts about this episode:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1tXbppJ9sYJPD1SBlkhlCwM/fact-file-deep-breath

 

[Kelthaz]

I like how people attack Moffat's style as being nonsense when RTD did the same crap and only worse. Drives me nuts.

RTD usually ended his stories in nonsense, but his beginnings and middles tended to be quite good. And his smaller episodes, where he didn't go crazy with giant robots or end of the universe stories, like "Midnight" were fantastic. Although, I don't care much for RTD either. I prefer the classic style.

 

[Squiggy]

FYI: The intro

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-yZI9fpBYo[/yt]

and what it was based on

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXOBHnWiinY[/yt]

 

[PorthosShadow]

I don't know why some people are confused as to Clara's reaction to this regeneration. Obviously she has a sense of what a regeneration consists of but it's not unlike when someone you know dies for the first time. Of course most people would have a concept of death and loss prior to losing someone but when it actually happens then it suddenly becomes real. I think that's all this was, her best friend suddenly went away and she was having a difficult time dealing with the loss.

 

[tomalak301]

FYI: The intro

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-yZI9fpBYo[/yt]

and what it was based on

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXOBHnWiinY[/yt]

I think I like the second one more than the first. Don't entirely like the higher pitched tone of the theme.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I think the original concept flows better because the music is not accelerated so much to what we are used to. if you slow down the official intro it would probably be better.

 

[Squiggy]

The official intro was sped up to get around BBC's copywrite. The aired version is slightly slower.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

No. RTD did a great job btinging the show back, but he's a horrible sci-fi writer - and he wrote almost all of the bad episodes.

I think he wrote almost all the mediocre episodes rather than the bad ones. Of course, he wrote about half the episodes so that makes sense. Fear Her, Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, and the Lazarus Experiment are generally put among the worst.

Helen Raynor wrote the Dalek two parter and Stephen Greenhorn wrote The Lazarus Experiment.

Every single one of those episodes I listed was by someone other than RTD. I was responding to the claim that he wrote almost all of the bad episodes.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Enjoyable post-regeneration episode with Peter Capaldi making a great impression as The Twelfth Doctor. I agree with others that the dinosaur part was unnecessary to the overall story, but there were some fun moments from like The Doctor talking dinosaur and "Oh! You have a dinosaur, too!"

I really like the new title sequence but I'll admit it is a bit cartoon-y. The clock face section and Capaldi's face are the best bits. Not sure how I feel about the new music.

The new TARDIS console is wonderful and is probably my favorite of the new series simply because of the bookshelves.

* really, really liked the bit about the long scarf looking stupid.

Of course you did.

 

[chelly]

I have to say one thing about the names in the new opening, they are much easier to read and don't totally blend into the background. I will miss all the colors but I think the new opening will grow on me.