Take a Deep Breath, Doctor Who is back

With an almighty “shush!” Peter Capaldi silences his naysayers with an impressive debut as the twelfth Doctor.

Right from the get-go Capaldi’s Doctor is an utterly different beast to Matt Smith’s inquisitively charming incarnation of the Timelord. Capaldi’s post-regeneration mania feels more fierce and unpredictable; from flirting with a dinosaur (this is Doctor Who remember) and calling Clara “thingy”, viewers are left on the back-pedal as the new Doctor flings himself into life as he finds himself in Victorian London.

Surprisingly we are given less of Capaldi than we might expect for his debut, with writer Steven Moffat deftly choosing to focus on the reactions of his friends to his new face. The veil scenes between Madam Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) as the former berates Clara for her judgemental reaction to the Doctor’s new yet older face are inspired. The scene is almost metatextual since it mirrors the reactions of some viewers who are used to the fresh-faced Doctors of recent years. The metaphorical representation of the veil is also used as a vehicle which opens up discussions of age, sexuality and difference as Vastra opens up about the prejudice she receives as a result of her reptilian skin and other- worldliness. Such discussions are refreshing and important to see in Saturday night tea-time entertainment.

From flirting with a dinosaur viewers are left on the back-pedal as the new Doctor flings himself into life as he finds himself in Victorian London.

Meanwhile the new Doctor continues his quest to, at times not exactly subtly, dispel concerns about his age. Falling from a tree, commandeering a horse and giving chase to a burning dinosaur Capaldi delivers a fast-paced and wonderfully funny performance interposed with a severity that already seems to characterise his Doctor. Declaring Earth “the planet of the pudding brains” and demanding a coat from a homeless man whilst frightening the very same man with a self-deprecating monologue about his new appearance (watch out for the ‘attack eyebrows’) the Doctor has never felt so alien.

With a feature-length episode the pacing often feels a little uneven and it is only when Coleman and Capaldi reunite at a sinister restaurant manned by the episode’s villainous clockwork robots that the episode really makes its mark. The long dialogue scene between the pair as they realise that neither one of them invited the other is a delight and showcases that the new TARDIS team work well as a quick-witted pair and will provide moments of comic-relief in a series that is being promoting as so much darker.

pictured: Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), the 12th Doctor (Capaldi), and soon-to-be-revealed new companion Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson) source: doctorwhotv.co.uk

The internet is buzzing with reactions lauding Capaldi’s performance and while it really is good, Jenna Coleman is perhaps the star of “Deep Breath”. In a stomach-turning twist the Doctor seemingly abandons Clara for being “too slow” and left with the advice to hold her breath to avoid detection she must make her way through a horde of clockwork robots. The scene is beautifully directed (and was one of the highlights of the cinematic viewing) and Coleman really conveys the confusion and fear of her abandonment in such a perilous situation. Liberated from her “Impossible Girl” storyline, Clara can now develop as a character that does not have an on-going mystery over her and hopefully we will see more of her working life as an English teacher.

The episodes denouement will leave many viewers quite disturbed. Did the Doctor push the Half-Faced Man to his death? Peter Capaldi’s literally snarls as he wrestles with his enemy and the dark gaze directly into the camera after his enemy plummets below certainly gives credibility to this notion. The change to a darker tone is incredibly apparent but it is to be hoped that Capaldi’s Doctor still retains some sense of charm and heroism otherwise his aloof portrayal may distance some viewers.

Capaldi’s debut doesn’t feel as instantaneous as Matt Smith’s “The Eleventh Hour” but the twelfth Doctor isn’t as receptive as Smith’s eleventh, viewers will have to stick with this Doctor to warm to his character. Nonetheless, the promise of a much darker Doctor really is a good avenue for the show to explore. With a rich history of 2000 years the Doctor himself admits that he has many things to answer for and if “Deep Breath” answers anything, it is that Capaldi is truly the man to take the show in that direction. Is he a good man? Keep tuning in.