Until about 11.00am on the 7th of August, I was one of the unlucky ones – one of the thousands of fans that DIDN’T have a ticket to see Deep Breath. Sure, Mrs Wings, Xander and I were in Cardiff, had seen Cats the Musical (if you’ve not seen it, don’t its 3 hours of my life I will never get back, and this comes from someone who loves musicals) been to the Doctor Who Experience, got a new t-shirt (so did Mrs Wings), but we were basically resigned to seeing the Red Carpet, maybe catching a glimpse of Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman – and then going shopping.
Then, the most amazing thing happened, a random stranger, I don’t know his name (but if he is a member here “hello and I am eternally grateful”) wandered past and casually asked “did anyone need a ticket, I’ve got two spare!”. He didn’t have to ask twice, quick as a shot I dragged him to the nearest cash point, paid the asking price and was in. The only thing is, we only had two tickets, and not being able to leave an 8 year old child on the streets of Cardiff, it was decided that Xander and I would go while Mrs Wings went shopping, which she found terribly difficult… Then, to top it all off, Capaldi walked past, stopped to be interviewed for the news right next to us, signed autographs and I had a chat with the great man. I also met the soon to be regular Sam Anderson.
So far, so marvellous, surely the episode would be a let down…
St David’s hall was like the gathering of the chosen ones, us special (and very lucky) fans were going to be the first people “in the world” according to Moffat to see this episode, and asked if we could not give “spoilers”. Well okay, but surely this episode is beyond spoilering. Maybe Moffat was being ironic…..
So, for those who don’t want spoilers, what was the episode like?
I made no secret of my dislike for Smith’s Doctor, everything about him felt wrong and contrived, I had pretty much lost faith in the show during his era… Capaldi is everything Smith wasn’t, he is effortless, he is ancient and terrible, he is not only the oncoming storm – he is the ship crashing on the rocks, he is dangerous, he is frightening, he is charming, he is mercurial, he is funny, he is vulnerable, but above all this he IS the Doctor, instantly and irrevocably.
The episode itself feels at once familiar and different, it’s the same writer and production team, but a new director Ben Wheatley brings a level of class and sophistication to the proceedings, especially in the one-on-one character scenes, first between Vastra and Clara where Vastra explains regeneration in a way it hasn’t been explained before, then between the Doctor and the homeless man in the alleyway, and later between the Doctor and Clara in a restaurant. These scenes ooze class and professionalism and Wheatley really brings out the best in his actors.
The episode is set in Victorian London, has a post regenerative Doctor being cared for by the Paternoster gang – Madame Vastra, Jenny and comedy Sontaran Strax. Clara is struggling to come to terms with the man the Doctor has become, at one point, Vastra says to her “did you think the Doctor was your dashing young man? The Doctor is not young”, it’s a really powerful take on his character.
The episode runs for about 80 minutes and does sag a bit in the middle, there are a few scenes between Clara and Strax which could have been trimmed, but hey ho, when it hits the mark, it hits the mark and this happens in the quieter character scenes rather than the action sequences – and surprisingly it’s the action sequences that tend to drag. It’s very very difficult to write this without spoilering, but when you see it you will know what I mean, but in the scene where the Doctor looks at the camera near the end, he has never been more ancient, terrible and morally ambiguous since Hartnell’s early episodes.
So is it any good? Those holding their “Deep Breath” (sorry) can rest assured that it is. It’s not the best story, or best debut story for a Doctor ever, but it is by far THE best debut by a Doctor – and what a Doctor! Capaldi is effortless. He just IS the Doctor. It’s not like he’s acting, I expected to be comparing him with Malcolm Tucker, but no, he is just so the Doctor that I forgot I was watching Peter Capaldi.
Throughout the episode there are several seeds planted for this season’s arc, and a scene at the end that will have fans of a certain Doctor reaching for their hankies and gasping, and a following ending scene that again sets up more of the season arc.
And exhale…
Everything is going to be fine in the world of Who – in Capaldi we trust.
I give the episode 7/10 but I give Capaldi a huge 12 out if 10.