It feels like such a long wait doesn't it? Ducking spoilers, avoiding sites, staying off Twitter? Series 8 is a hard girl to please eh? Well, we're past the first hurdle. I'm also pleased to announce that the f**king idiot who spoiled the episode for me by claiming that Jack the Ripper would be the villain was thankfully proven false. Dumb ass! So apart from that, how did Deep Breath measure up?
"Jurassic Park eat your heart out!"
Well, let's start things off by saying that the direction, the atmosphere and the CG was out of this world (no pun intended). The dinosaur looked fantastic, as did the CG city views. It felt like a proper movie - well TV Movie anyway. It was visually very fun to watch. Just hope the whole budget hasn't been spent on the first episode. Now that I've gotten a taste of this, I want the whole of Series 8 to look and feel like this.
"Do you guys see that dinosaur's giant zip as well? Good, so it's not just me then!"
Next, we move onto the Doctor. I know he was actually supposed to be my first point, but the new visuals were just screaming out at me. Look at me! I still can't stop talking about it. Moving on! The Doctor! Yes, well unlike Matt's Doctor, it took me a little while to get used to his babbling. But by the time he jumped off the bridge to separate from the others, I knew the role was in safe hands. I do like the PG version-ed Malcolm Tucker, insulting everyone within earshot and mocking them. I also liked how manipulative he comes across. Not to mention confused. That scene with the tramp was magic for me. I think I'm going to like this Doctor very much. I'm not sure yet if he'll be my new favorite, but he'll definitely be high up on the list.
I've always been a great fan of the Paternoster Gang. I like the humor Strax injects into the stories and I love Vasta's mature and insightful personality. She truly shined when she called Clara out on her blatant ageist attitude and really showed her that she's not just ignorant for not noticing it, but also a little brat who can't admit she's wrong. I was rooting for Vasta, but the reveal that Clara was actually "right" (I have no idea how that happened - she is prejudice) left a bad taste in my mouth. The bits with Strax was entertaining enough and even Jenny (who I adore) got in some nice parts, be they comedic or otherwise.
I will admit, the villain story ending up being a kind of The Girl in the Fireplace sequel was okay. It wasn't outstanding or anything, but considering what the episode's actual purpose was, it was a clever idea to use it. Surpassing the body horror bits from The Girl in the Fireplace, Deep Breath featured an even larger assortment of squick moments that were both well-thought out and expertly executed. Classic Steven Moffat! The no breathing parts were especially chilly.
One of my biggest hopes for Series 8 would be Clara and her Mary-Sue personality. I'll be honest with you guys, whenever she ended up in danger, I was rooting for the villain. She comes across so ignorant, selfish and downright pathetic, it's hard to enjoy the episode. Vasta outs her as a hypocrite, ageist and I suppose a racist from Vasta's POV and Clara tells her 'how dare you?'. How dare you Clara? The Doctor just spent 900 years fighting another bloody war. You ask how he can change back. That is awful. You deny your attraction and in the same breath admit that the only reason you did fancy him was because he was young. Twit!
But this episode does you one better. It's like The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak. Despite being in the wrong multiple times over this episode, Clara is forgiven within seconds. She is shown to come out victorious in all her confrontations/arguments (even when she is clearly on the wrong side of it) and then she goes and pulls out her Mary-Sue personality by:
1) Holding her breath for over 2 minutes on the first go
2) Showing unnaturally high intellect by correctly deducing the newspaper puzzle in seconds
3) Beating a logic robot with troll logic and winning. (Really, there are worse things than death I assure you)
4) Oh and did I mention how she ends up being 'right' despite clearly being wrong?
Did you notice?
This episode has at least two really bad goofs. The bucket of water Strax puts on the table magically disappears in the next shot without being moved and the way the Half-Faced Man lands after being pushed/jumped is wrong. Unless he was completely hollow underneath his clothes, you can't be impaled horizontally like that.
Lastly, that new theme tune and opening credits. They sound freaky eh? Not in a bad way. It feels very alien compared to the last piece we had. I can already tell, it will be the lighter fluid fueling a lot of fans' Moffat hate. The opening visuals I really like. I don't care if a fan provided the inspiration, it looks and feels very Doctor Who. But can we please just stick with one opening for more than a season please?
Pros and Cons
"Sorry guys. But Vasta's eyes kept me from saying something witty/snarky. That's how good she is."
I've always been a great fan of the Paternoster Gang. I like the humor Strax injects into the stories and I love Vasta's mature and insightful personality. She truly shined when she called Clara out on her blatant ageist attitude and really showed her that she's not just ignorant for not noticing it, but also a little brat who can't admit she's wrong. I was rooting for Vasta, but the reveal that Clara was actually "right" (I have no idea how that happened - she is prejudice) left a bad taste in my mouth. The bits with Strax was entertaining enough and even Jenny (who I adore) got in some nice parts, be they comedic or otherwise.
"Doubles as a deadly flamethrower and marshmallow cooker!"
I will admit, the villain story ending up being a kind of The Girl in the Fireplace sequel was okay. It wasn't outstanding or anything, but considering what the episode's actual purpose was, it was a clever idea to use it. Surpassing the body horror bits from The Girl in the Fireplace, Deep Breath featured an even larger assortment of squick moments that were both well-thought out and expertly executed. Classic Steven Moffat! The no breathing parts were especially chilly.
"So how long do you think until they realize we're not actually reading the menu?"
One of my biggest hopes for Series 8 would be Clara and her Mary-Sue personality. I'll be honest with you guys, whenever she ended up in danger, I was rooting for the villain. She comes across so ignorant, selfish and downright pathetic, it's hard to enjoy the episode. Vasta outs her as a hypocrite, ageist and I suppose a racist from Vasta's POV and Clara tells her 'how dare you?'. How dare you Clara? The Doctor just spent 900 years fighting another bloody war. You ask how he can change back. That is awful. You deny your attraction and in the same breath admit that the only reason you did fancy him was because he was young. Twit!
"Only 21? Bush Leagues taker - Bush Leagues!"
But this episode does you one better. It's like The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak. Despite being in the wrong multiple times over this episode, Clara is forgiven within seconds. She is shown to come out victorious in all her confrontations/arguments (even when she is clearly on the wrong side of it) and then she goes and pulls out her Mary-Sue personality by:
1) Holding her breath for over 2 minutes on the first go
2) Showing unnaturally high intellect by correctly deducing the newspaper puzzle in seconds
3) Beating a logic robot with troll logic and winning. (Really, there are worse things than death I assure you)
4) Oh and did I mention how she ends up being 'right' despite clearly being wrong?
Did you notice?
Lastly, that new theme tune and opening credits. They sound freaky eh? Not in a bad way. It feels very alien compared to the last piece we had. I can already tell, it will be the lighter fluid fueling a lot of fans' Moffat hate. The opening visuals I really like. I don't care if a fan provided the inspiration, it looks and feels very Doctor Who. But can we please just stick with one opening for more than a season please?
Pros and Cons
+ CG, direction and visual feel
+ Opening visuals
+ The new Doctor's attitude to all things great and small
+ Paternoster Gang
+ Jenna's performance
+ The Doctor 'abandoning' Clara
- Clara's Plot Armor
- The dinosaur didn't get enough screen time lol.
Rating this story: 8/10. A really good start considering all the flank this episode has gone through with the recent leaks and sorts.
+ Opening visuals
+ The new Doctor's attitude to all things great and small
+ Paternoster Gang
+ Jenna's performance
+ The Doctor 'abandoning' Clara
- Clara's Plot Armor
- The dinosaur didn't get enough screen time lol.
Rating this story: 8/10. A really good start considering all the flank this episode has gone through with the recent leaks and sorts.
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