The start of a Doctor’s new tenure in the longest running sci-fi TV show in the world is always preceded with an equal mix of both nervous trepidation and excitement for both fans and critics alike and that was definitely the case for Peter Capaldi’s first full episode in charge on Sunday night. The opening installment of Doctor Who Series 8 felt action packed, intense and frenetic and while it’s probably too early to tell for sure, it would appear that there’s just as much excitement still to come as there has been in the build up, and just a little of nervous trepidation too.
While Matt Smith started out with magic, mystery and whimsy, Capaldi crash landed like a furious and slightly disoriented hawk owl in Deep Breath, the opening episode of series 8. It made for a stark contrast that set down a clear marker of what to expect from the rest of the series; namely, fast paced action, dark secrets, serious gravitas and just enough silly to survive.
If you remember Capaldi’s regeneration arrival, you’ll know that he suffered from an element of memory loss and struggled with knowing how to navigate the TARDIS just after the change over, which is exactly how he crashes down in Victorian London in the opening episode. In the process he also manages to bring a 50 foot dinosaur with him thanks to his messed up time travelling skills.
However, that turns out to be the least of his worries, sad though it is for the lonely beast, as he uncovers the presence of a sinister alien underbelly to the city, as well as needing time to allow him and Clara to come to terms with the reality of the regeneration. Luckily, they have a bit of help from Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax of the The Paternoster Gang to get them through all of the drama.
It made for a solid platform for the new Doctor to start his tenure, helping to alleviate the loss of Matt Smith, who puts in a minor appearance to soften the blow on all counts, and introduce a new style of Doctor to the show. Capaldi’s wily old rook of a performance makes for an interesting change from the smiles and quiffs of 10 and 11, but it opens up the potential for a bit more bite to the series, and from the look of things that’s exactly what we’re going to get, especially with the intrusion of the Dalek’s in the second episode, Into The Dalek, which is just as intense and action packed as the first.
That’s not to say that all of the fun has gone though, as there was still a fair amount of comedy in and amongst the frowning eyebrows and deep creases of the new face of Doctor Who. A lot of this can be attributed to the continuation of the Doctor’s sharp movements, random access memory and the fact that he spends about 30% of the first episode in a Victorian nightgown, although, in all fairness, Strax, Clara, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint all added to the comic flair in the opening entry to Doctor Who Series 8.
While Capaldi has done a lot to make the character his own, it’s still not clear cut in any way at this point. There’s a whole lot more episodes still to come in the series, and not all of them will be on the same level as Deep Breath and Into The Dalek, so it’ll be interesting to see how well he manages to hold his burgeoning nerve and stand his broadening ground to really become the ultimate Time Lord.
There was a lot of positives to take from the opening episodes, and even the negative aspects of some of the special effects are sort of endearing as they’ve become part and parcel of the Doctor Who experience. While the efforts that went into creating the dinosaur towering over London are admirable, they’re a million miles away from the impressive visuals in films like Jurassic Park, but that never really takes too much away from the show.
All-in-all, and to use some Matt Smith inspired football terminology, they’ve made a good start, but it’s all to play for, it’s a game of multi-dimensional halves and that was way offside (in the case of Michelle Gomez, who plays Missy, the self-professed girlfriend of the Doctor and The Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere). There was a lot of energy in the interaction between Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, and this could be the Sonic Screwdriver that the new series needs to unlock the potential of the show.
Doctor Who Series 8 review: 4.4/5
