Konterr Brilliant and touching

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

brpri357 ***May be some spoilers here--OK, there ARE spoilers--lots of them***Sooooo, here I go...Been a Doctor Who fan for a very long time back to the classic shows. For the most part, I've enjoyed a lot of the new versions from Christopher Eccleston onwards, though there were definitely some stinkers and so-so's mixed in from time to time. And, so here we are with the latest incarnation. Having finally gotten Series 8 from the local library, I did a Doctor Who marathon and watched the entire season in two days. Honestly?? I was ready to pack it in by about the 4th or 5th episode. Don't want to do too many spoilers, but here is my overall take rather than going through and commenting on individual episodes:1. Capaldi is OK but the Doctor, other than occasional bursts of brilliance, is a disappointment. 2. Clara needs to go. Enough with the lying and lecturing already. 3. Can we please have some stories that are actually really good? 4. And what is the problem with revisiting old villains (or friends) and they are basically pointless? 5. When is the Doctor actually going to be The Doctor?Now to address this episode, the start of it all in this version:1. Hello, Doctor, hello? Where are you? Who are you (pun intended)? 2. Clara, come on, are you really that stupid? Grow up girl and get your act together. 3. Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax: too bad your characters were completely wasted and we had to focus so much on, ahem, things not in any way advancing the plot--speaking of which... 4. Oh, plo-oootttt, come out, come out wherever you are! 5. Is it at all possible to make the villains actually villains? 6. Oh you poor, poor dinosaur. So much potential gone up in smoke for what, what I ask? 7. And lady at the end of the trail, I assume you're going to be significant to the story arc at some point, right? Can you tie up all your little loose ends in a nice little package so we know how it all fits together, or is that too much to ask?I am really disappointed. I wanted to like it. In fact, I wanted to love it, but, with a couple of exceptions, most of this drivel is unwatchable or likable. Too, too bad.JMHO for what it's worth. I know, not much.

kathrynlet I really wanted to like the new doctor and I hope with time I will. This however was not the way to introduce him. A heavy handed story with all the wrong elements. Let's start with the weak villains that could have been so cool. We did steam punk robots before and they were scary, these were laughable. I was continually jarred by CGI that was horrific and clunky, case in point the Dinosaur. Then there were the obvious continuity issues throughout the episode. At Demons Run Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax were good fighters. Here, they look pathetic. We even had to have manufactured side drama between Jenny and Vastra just to bloat the run time. The same thing with Strax and Clara. Clara continues to be a weak and wooden character. This troubling trend of one-dimensional assistants has been going on for while though Clara is by fare the worst. I blame the writer(s) and director(s) for this. I really hope this is not an indicator of the quality of the show but I am worried.

Dr Moo The 11th Doctor is dead. Long live the 12th Doctor! That's not the way Clara sees it though: She's upset that the young man Matt Smith that she'd been best friends with had vanished and been replaced with the older Scottish fellow Peter Capaldi and that's understandable.The main complaint people had about the casting decision of the 12th Doctor had been his age (had people forgotten William Hartnell's 1st Doctor or John Hurt's war Doctor?) and it seems Clara is present to help people with this issue make the transition. Madame Vastra is on hand to address the complaint head-on: Did you think he was young?! She asks it with an air of condemnation upon all who had a problem with the age difference and Neve Mackintosh delivers it well, but that's to be expected if her past appearances are anything to go by.It takes all of about five seconds to believe Peter Capaldi is the Doctor; I'm not sure what it is about him but whatever it is he has it. He plays the part as if he was younger and more youthful than he actually appears and comes across as if he were a naughty child who knows he'll be in trouble later but does what he wants anyway while he still can. This is a bold move but it works well thanks to the combination of the excellent writing and acting by all involved. His Doctor is much less trustworthy too: At one point he leaves Clara trapped in a room of evil robots with not even a hint of advice for her except something he said earlier, leaving her to her own devices.But it's here we see that we can still trust him as he arrives in time to save her. Ben Wheatley's direction is superb here and cannot be flawed as he calls upon his past experience to create a real sense of horror that goes on long enough that you'll probably cross the edge of your seat and fall onto the floor. His direction is great throughout actually and he may be the best director Doctor Who had ever had at this point.Moffat's script is a good one too, with dinosaurs and robots showing up in Victorian London to wreck havoc and generally be nasty and unpleasant. He works in the new Doctor in no time at all and sets up for the series 8 story arc nicely with a brilliant tease to end the episode all while allowing for Clara to actually become a proper character. While it's not perfect it does come pretty darn close and Matt Smith's closing cameo is a nice way to end, totally what the 11th Doctor would do. 9/10

NineTenElevenTwelve Peter Capaldi certainly starts his era on a high note with "Deep Breath"! While the new Doctor's personality hasn't been fully defined yet, he's still a joy to watch and is a wonderfully sharp change from Matt Smith's kinder and more welcoming Doctor. Capaldi brings a vibe of unpredictability to the role that shrouds this new Doctor in a veil of mystery. How far will he go? Where does he cross the line? I don't know and I can't wait to see how his role develops!Jenna Coleman absolutely shines in this episode as Clara Oswald. In fact, this episode is as much Clara's as it is the Doctor's. Clara's reactions to the new Doctor and the situations she finds herself in feel very believable. Her conflicted feelings about the Doctor's change bring an emotional punch to the episode and she really starts to come into her own as one of the best companions the show could ask for. As with Capaldi's Doctor, I can't wait to see how Jenna's Clara continues to develop!I've always loved the Paternoster Gang and it was a delight to see them make a reappearance for Capaldi's debut episode. All of them get a fitting amount of screen time as well as flat out awesome moments of action and dialogue.The main villains of the episode, not to give anything away, are intimidating and very interesting. They also act as a very nice reference to a previous episode (and I won't say any more than that).Overall, "Deep Breath" is just a great start for the Twelfth Doctor's era with nice emotional moments, welcome development for its characters, and several interesting surprises.