Series 8...So far
Deep Breath
It's out with the new and in with the old in
Peter Capaldi's debut episode,
Deep Breath. Whilst I haven't haven begun to voice my opinion on
Matt Smith's Era on this crummy little thread, I can simply say I was very back-and-forth for most of his run and a 'breath' of fresh air is certainly what the show needed about now. Enter
Peter Capaldi. The old Scot famous for swearing his way to television success (though if we're mentioning
The Thick of It, my favourite character is actually
Glen Cullen) is also proving to be one of the most memorable and unique Doctors.
The episode starts off with a lot of mystery and intrigue, we see a pretty impressive Dinosaur,
Capaldi stammer out some goofy and confused dialogue and we're surrounded by the familiar faces of
Vastra, Jenny, Strax and Clara to help ease us through what is arguably a huge change, specifically in tone.
The plot is reasonably basic, there's a robot that's harvesting organs and tissue to sustain itself forever and The Doctor has to stop him, if he can pull himself together. The actor who plays the robotic villain is actually rather good, though I cannot remember his name right now, and he certainly brings a lot to the feel of the episode. The show is mostly stolen by
Capaldi, although much like
Tennant's introduction they keep him in the background until the end.
Positives for this episode are mostly the direction
(Ben Wheatley) and
Capaldi's performance. There's a lot of witty dialogue and a genuine mystery beginning to form around why he has such a familiar face, and it really adds to the episode. Along with that, there's a gag with
Stax and a newspaper that I laughed pretty hard at when I first saw it at 4:50 am.
Negatives for this one reside mostly in pacing, the overall conclusion and that they really try to sell him as the mean guy way too much. It's similar to
Tom Baker's Robot, which was also a rocky debut but sold the different character rather than the show, and luckily further episode ease out this sudden smack of cruelty.
Overall,
Deep Breath is a strong start to a potentially great series
Into The Dalek
The second episode in a series is always tricky to do and personally I don't think they've made a perfect one since the revival just yet.
Into The Dalek is a good episode, however, despite the fact that it feels like it should be one that's more suited for the middle of the series.
The plot is mostly about The Doctor and co. shrinking themselves down to enter a damaged Dalek that believes it is good. Naturally, The Doctor is suspicious and wants to ensure that there is no way The Dalek's can ever be good, because how can they be?
Positives for this episode are mostly around its climax and finale, as most of the themes hinted at or set up in the beginning come back near the end for a pretty decent emotional payoff. The effects are pretty most of the time, and you can spot a few references to a similar episode from the classic series
The Invisible Enemy.
Capaldi's also pretty great, though he's more interesting when he's alone than when he is with
Clara.
Yet again pace is a negative, it's all very clunky. Along with that the similarities to 2005's
Dalek are incredibly apparent.
Danny Pink is also drier than dirt.
Overall,
Into The Dalek is a pretty good episode, but it feels like it's in the wrong place and some of it is way too familiar for investment. Still cool, though.
Robot of Sherwood
This one got a weird amount of hate last week when it aired...I think that's weird.
Robot of Sherwood is fast, easy to follow and has a lot going for it. The entire cast really shine, specifically the guest stars and supports, and the whole episode has a rather beautiful look to it.
I guess some issues occur around the plot, which follows our protagonists as they meet
Robin Hood, of whom our Doctor believes is not real. Soon they uncover a sinister plot the Sheriff of Nottingham has devised which could potentially destroy the world. It's all very silly, but it is largely easy to follow and it's nice to go to the past and have it not be London in the 1800's.
My personal negatives would only be a very noticeable greenscreen during the dungeon scene and the fact that
Capaldi's left with not much to do about halfway through.
Other than that, I think that
Robot of Sherwood is a perfectly fun episode that I've watched a few times since it aired last week. Sure, the resolution is confusing, but it's all so well-put-together, who can deny its charms?
Listen
Sigh.
It has potential, mainly in its initial premise and themes. But the inclusion of more Danny Pink focus and the overall end 25 minutes just takes a great premise and drops it on it's head.
The positives? Uh. I can't really mention the plot because that's the main mystery of the episode, but there's a scene under a bed that's pretty tense and an archive-footage cameo is nice.
The negatives? Everything else falls flat. The resolution is confusing and groan worthy, the plot goes from decent to dull incredibly fast and even Clara begins to feel stale as she repeats lines you swear you've heard her say in other episodes.
Unless you're dying to watch it, you can skip this one.
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