Episode Review- Series 8 - Episode 1- 'Deep Breath'
So, just to
give a bit of context, this is a new thing that I will be doing throughout the
whole series 8 of Doctor Who. I feel that this is a great time to do it as this
is a whole new look on the doctor, as the actor is not the usual type for the
doctor, it will be exciting a different to see the character played by a
unusual actor. There will be lots to review from the narrative, to visual
effects, so I am going to kick off with the review of the first episode, ‘Deep
Breath’.
This was the first episode we see Peter Capaldi playing the doctor in full. So, seeing as he is new I thought I would talk about him being the doctor, and how well I think he settled into the role.
At the start of the episode, it took a bit of getting used to, he is a 'different' sort of doctor, as most of the recent doctors have been quite funny, up-lifting, I found that Capaldi took a different approach to the doctor to make him unusual from the rest, I was getting a 'dark' vibe from him, and I think he isn't a happy man and he moans a lot, which adds comedy to his character. I had to adjust to his fast paced voice, I don't know if you can relate, but at the start of the episode, I wasn't certain on what Capaldi was saying, and his accent is quite native, which takes some getting used to, which I did in the middle of the episode.
To summarise, Capaldi's acting was 'Brilliant' that is one of many things the casting team are good at the BBC, casting decisions, he definitely is a varied actor, I have seen him on many different programmes, and he can create a character that is unique!
Now moving on to the narrative, I think the story was a great way to introduce the doctor to the world. Some people I have spoken to about the episode have said 'I wish we saw the crash landing of the 'tardis', at the beginning of the episode', I think it was a good idea not to include the crash scene, as I feel it would be repetitive to the previous doctor's regenerations, so not including made the episode that extra bit better, as it is a very predictable scene.
Now, adding to the exciting part of narrative, we see all manner of stories of events, we see a giant dinosaur parading through London in victorian England, Moffat doesn't let us down with that quirky and fun idea. We also have a new 'alien', I say new, it was a cyborg/clockwork/human thingy, I am not certain on the character name, but it does remind me of the clock-work robots on an older episode with Tennant, which we did hear a reference of this episode, which was a nice touch, keeping the other episodes alive within the new series, which kept the narrative alive too. Moving on, we see a nice appearance of 'Strax' and 'Madame Vastra' (well known lizard from previous episodes).
Lastly on the narrative side, we see Matt Smith former doctor, he phoned back Clara to tell her to 'look after him' meaning his future self. I thought this was a great thing to do, Moffat linked the actions in the Christmas special to the new episode, we see the 11th doctor, talking from 'trenseilor'. Again I like how the writers are integrating and keeping his previous lives alive, that way the narrative is much easy to understand.
At the start of the episode, it took a bit of getting used to, he is a 'different' sort of doctor, as most of the recent doctors have been quite funny, up-lifting, I found that Capaldi took a different approach to the doctor to make him unusual from the rest, I was getting a 'dark' vibe from him, and I think he isn't a happy man and he moans a lot, which adds comedy to his character. I had to adjust to his fast paced voice, I don't know if you can relate, but at the start of the episode, I wasn't certain on what Capaldi was saying, and his accent is quite native, which takes some getting used to, which I did in the middle of the episode.
To summarise, Capaldi's acting was 'Brilliant' that is one of many things the casting team are good at the BBC, casting decisions, he definitely is a varied actor, I have seen him on many different programmes, and he can create a character that is unique!
Now moving on to the narrative, I think the story was a great way to introduce the doctor to the world. Some people I have spoken to about the episode have said 'I wish we saw the crash landing of the 'tardis', at the beginning of the episode', I think it was a good idea not to include the crash scene, as I feel it would be repetitive to the previous doctor's regenerations, so not including made the episode that extra bit better, as it is a very predictable scene.
Now, adding to the exciting part of narrative, we see all manner of stories of events, we see a giant dinosaur parading through London in victorian England, Moffat doesn't let us down with that quirky and fun idea. We also have a new 'alien', I say new, it was a cyborg/clockwork/human thingy, I am not certain on the character name, but it does remind me of the clock-work robots on an older episode with Tennant, which we did hear a reference of this episode, which was a nice touch, keeping the other episodes alive within the new series, which kept the narrative alive too. Moving on, we see a nice appearance of 'Strax' and 'Madame Vastra' (well known lizard from previous episodes).
Lastly on the narrative side, we see Matt Smith former doctor, he phoned back Clara to tell her to 'look after him' meaning his future self. I thought this was a great thing to do, Moffat linked the actions in the Christmas special to the new episode, we see the 11th doctor, talking from 'trenseilor'. Again I like how the writers are integrating and keeping his previous lives alive, that way the narrative is much easy to understand.
Next, Visual effects, this is always an area the BBC team never fail to disappoint, if your a long 'whovian' then you will know that the VS on the show are incredible and immersive. I am just going to cover the basis of the effects, there are plenty of effects on the episode that I probably won't mention, (there were so many!).
Dinosaur, London, both of these were all CGI and graphical effects, the actors were standing on a little bit of set and the rest of London (big ben) was all generated, but I didn't really notice this until after I watched 'Doctor Who EXTRA' which is a behind the scenes show. Oh, did I forget the dinosaur was fake too, I know I thought it was real, sorry to disappoint but it was CGI, but it was bloody fantastic, and the actors had a great reaction to an invisible dinosaur! There were loads of effects through out but it is hard to keep track of them all.
To conclude, I think the episode overall was greatly written, and the narrative was great with references from previous episodes a while ago, to the former doctor speaking from the Christmas special, the episode was an all round, amazing start to the series, and I am really looking forward to the next episode, this saturday.
Well, thats the end of the first review for this series, see you next week for the 2nd instalment of the blogs! Thanks for taking the time to read my crappy, poorly written blog, but I really enjoy writing these, and I am glad to share my thoughts on the episode.
What did you think of the episode? Do you like the new doctor? Email me your thoughts at kadebeadman@gmail.com or comment below!
Bye, Kade!
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