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

Grade "Deep Breath"

  • Scottish!

    Votes: 52 33.3%
  • Good

    Votes: 74 47.4%
  • Average

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • Bad

    Votes: 8 5.1%
  • I miss Matt Smith

    Votes: 5 3.2%

  • Total voters
    156
  • Poll closed .
So I don't think anyone else mentioned this, but on rewatching I noticed that Clara's black sweater is covered in bow-ties...
Infinity symbols, not bow-ties.

Infinity symbols don't generally have squared ends and a dot [knot?] in the center...

IMG_0255_zpse0cdd757.jpg


They sure look like bow-ties to me. :D
 
Regarding Jenny and Vastra, yea, there were several times where Vastra was quite "Misogynistic" towards Jenny, especially when she had Jenny posing, and her follow up comment about it. Not sure about the part of Jenny just pretending to be Vastra's Maid in Public, Vastra has made comments several times, along the lines of "I'm a Lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife", so, although, yea, there is that pretense, Vastra is quite open about their marriage, which, considering the era, is quite impressive and open-minded.

It did seem odd that Vastra treated Jenny more as a plaything rather than a partner. I'm not sure if Moffat intended to rebalance their relationship in that way or if he thought that complaints about being just a maid or the posing scene were only intended to be funny.

It felt to me more like she was just playfully messing with her. As people in marriages often do.

I'm not sure that any of that is intended. With some more thought, I can't help worrying that it's just Moffat's usual insensitivity with writing women characters, and he doesn't realise the way those lines could be negatively interpreted by the audience.

.
 
Just a short thought or two here about the show...

First and foremost, I liked it.. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I really liked it.. The rest of the family is still trying to come to terms with it, but in fairness, I have been a Who fan since 1983 and they are all relative newcomers..

I think Clara's reaction was spot on... Yes, she knew about the regenerations, and yes, she had helped the Doctors of the past... But she didn't really know them.. They weren't "her" Doctors... 11 was hers... As close to a boyfriend as you can get... A companion if nothing else... She, in her own way, loved him and now, faced with a new face and new personality, finds herself unprepared for what may or may not come.

I thought the torch passing from MS to PC was almost a parting gift to the fans that are relatively new to the series; those who came on board during the 11th's tenure... There is a pretty good chance that some of those who became fans with Smith, may not know how to deal with such a drastic change and this was a way to not just reassure Clara, but also reassure these fans that it's ok... He's still the Doctor...

Un-needed? Probably so... But look at the American version's intro with Amy narrating about how she and the Doctor travel through time, etc etc... For us tried and true fans, it was un-necessary and honestly, irritating... But for new fans or people just tuning in with no pre-conceived notions, it was probably a good way to introduce it.

I look forward with anticipation and like what I see so far...
 
So am I the only not really understanding what the controversy is about the Doctor possibly pushing the cyborg to it's death? Assuming of course that that's what he did.

I realize this is Doctor Who, and the Doctor admirably tries to respect and see the value in every creature/robot/monster he comes into contact with... but we're still talking about a robot that has cruelly killed and harvested the parts from thousands of people over millions of years, and who was currently controlling several other robots that were moments away from killing his friends down below.

It might be against the Doctor's basic programming to kill, but I think there are certain exceptions when such a thing is totally justified. And this would definitely be one of them-- especially when the thing being killed is just a cold, calculating robot that only seemed to have the barest hint of a soul.
 
I don't know if this has been mentioned or not but can someone explain why Clara is giving Peter Capaldi's Doctor such a hard time after she interacted directly with three other Doctors in the episode "Day of the Doctor", especially with John Hurt's War Doctor being older looking than Capaldi's Doctor.
 
So am I the only not really understanding what the controversy is about the Doctor possibly pushing the cyborg to it's death? Assuming of course that that's what he did.

I realize this is Doctor Who, and the Doctor admirably tries to respect and see the value in every creature/robot/monster he comes into contact with... but we're still talking about a robot that has cruelly killed and harvested the parts from thousands of people over millions of years, and who was currently controlling several other robots that were moments away from killing his friends down below.

It might be against the Doctor's basic programming to kill, but I think there are certain exceptions when such a thing is totally justified. And this would definitely be one of them-- especially when the thing being killed is just a cold, calculating robot that only seemed to have the barest hint of a soul.

It's definitely not against the Doctor's programming to kill, he usually does it as a last resort:

http://youtu.be/WUKwPPfgf8c
 
I think besides the previously-mentioned "Not her Doctor" factor, she probably assumed that Hurt had been the Doctor for a long time and that's why he was old. The change from young to old is what seems to have confused her.


...and I don't think we'll know whether he pushed the robot or it jumped until the end of the season -- or next, knowing Moffat. :lol:
 
Were these robots actually supposed to be the same ones from The Girl in the Fireplace? Some people have been saying they are, but besides a few slight design similarities, they don't seem that similar. I just assumed it was another set of clockwork robots, its not like Doctor Who would be unwilling to do something like that. Even considering the fact that they've been harvesting humans, they just don't seem all that similar to the robots the 10th Doctor met.

Same kind of robots from a sister ship. They have, however, been rebuilding and repairing themselves with with human parts, hence the differences.

Capaldi was great. The joke implying Clara was into gay porn was surprising and funny. Otherwise average.
 
You guys are cracking me up with this gay porn thing. When Strax talked of muscular men playing at sport, the last thing I thought these were men playing sport with each other. Lol

I think it's more like she was fantasizing about different hunky guys doing stuff to her.
 
Were these robots actually supposed to be the same ones from The Girl in the Fireplace? Some people have been saying they are, but besides a few slight design similarities, they don't seem that similar. I just assumed it was another set of clockwork robots, its not like Doctor Who would be unwilling to do something like that. Even considering the fact that they've been harvesting humans, they just don't seem all that similar to the robots the 10th Doctor met.

They were explicitly said to be the sister ship.

The reason the robots looked different is all elements biological and mechanical had been replaced over and over again over the centuries. That was also explicitly said in the episode.
 
So am I the only not really understanding what the controversy is about the Doctor possibly pushing the cyborg to it's death? Assuming of course that that's what he did.

I realize this is Doctor Who, and the Doctor admirably tries to respect and see the value in every creature/robot/monster he comes into contact with... but we're still talking about a robot that has cruelly killed and harvested the parts from thousands of people over millions of years, and who was currently controlling several other robots that were moments away from killing his friends down below.

It might be against the Doctor's basic programming to kill, but I think there are certain exceptions when such a thing is totally justified. And this would definitely be one of them-- especially when the thing being killed is just a cold, calculating robot that only seemed to have the barest hint of a soul.

Agreed. :techman: But I think this was a case where the scripted intent of the scene flew over people's heads. The implication Moffat was going for (and he's hinted as much elsewhere) is that something has gone very wrong with the Doctor's 'basic programming,' and getting that new regenerative cycle had something to do with it. And this new dark side of the Doctor is gonna become more and more evident as the season goes on, finally pushing Clara past the breaking point. Think Six's story arc...in reverse.

You guys are cracking me up with this gay porn thing. When Strax talked of muscular men playing at sport, the last thing I thought these were men playing sport with each other. Lol

I think it's more like she was fantasizing about different hunky guys doing stuff to her.

Strax can't tell boys & girls apart, remember? He keeps calling Clara a boy! :rofl: And didn't the Dalek version of Clara say she'd gone through an, ahem, 'phase' at one point?

Of course, this being Clara, any of the three options (all-boys, all-girls, boys/girl) fit her character just fine. :evil:
 
Yeah I'm hoping that's true, and that Moffat really does plan to explore and make use of the fact that this is an entirely new regeneration cycle.

Because watching this first episode, you could almost get the impression that everything was business as usual, and that it was just another typical regeneration that goes a little bit haywire at first. And I'm really hoping that's not the case.
 
I figured Vastra was letting her sense of species superiority slip through a bit with Jenny. Possibly she was not even consciously aware of it. After all, the Silurians and the Sea Devils developed sapience millions of years before we "stupid apes" (to use the 9th Doctor's flustered description). If (more likely when) those characters are brought back, it would be interesting to have Jenny "call out" Vastra about her behavior.

Sincerely,

Bill
 
I think besides the previously-mentioned "Not her Doctor" factor, she probably assumed that Hurt had been the Doctor for a long time and that's why he was old. The change from young to old is what seems to have confused her.

This is correct. Vastra tries to explain this to her when she makes the comment about how the doctor has been roaming the universe for thousands of years, seen stars die. Vastra was trying to explain to Clara that the Doctor is really old and that his physical appearance means nothing. It's like a mask. He can look young or old. It is not an indicator of actual age.
 
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