To say that the latest season of Doctor Who was much anticipated would be one hell of an understatement. With over a year to go before its premiere, a new actor stepped up to the plate: Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, known for his gutter mouthed presence on the BBC Two satirical series The Thick of It. His first appearance was by way of minimalism in the 50th Anniversary Special,- a shot of his hand, and a shot of his eyes. He then filled Matt Smith's clothing in the 2013 Christmas special, with the question that left us hanging: "Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?" And now, he's here. The Twelfth Doctor's opening story isn't exactly a million miles away from what we've seen in previous first episodes in the previous 51 years the show has been on the air- for one, there's the obvious "post-regenerative crisis", the story is rather familiar, and most importantly, it's mostly a set-up episode.
And yet at the same time, it manages to accomplish a lot in the first episode. For one, it's feature length at 87 minutes long, and the episode manages to accomplish setting the tone for Capaldi's less wacky and more grounded portrayal- though that isn't to say he doesn't have his outbursts of zaniness. The plot bears a lot of similarity to the third Doctor's opening episode "Spearhead From Space", with the main threat here being humanoid automaton-type clockwork robots. The threat is established quite late into the episode, but it does work. When we first see the Doctor, he's stuck in something of a daze- he blurts out a lot of nonsensical phrases, mixes people's names up, and, of course, faints. A dinosaur romps through Victorian London and spits up the TARDIS- before continuing to roam through London in a very confused and afraid state. Of course, in a later scene, during The Doctor's post-regenerative crisis, he attempts to tell the dinosaur that he'll get him back to his time, but he dies. He disappears for a while continuing to struggle to accept his latest regeneration, but when he does accept it, it's here where he and his companion Clara get tangled in a dangerous plot- they become prey to murderous automatons.
It's a pretty simple plot, really, and sometimes, simple is what's best. Here, Moffat doesn't delve too much into the techno-babble that has plagued the previous season, and leaves it to The Doctor, Clara, Madam Vastra and Jenny, and our favourite potato-shaped Sontaran Strax to carry the episode with their wit and charm. Capaldi is full of his usual snarky and cynical charm, and you can tell right off the bat that he's going to take the show for quite the walk. Coleman really gives an excellent performance as Clara as per usual- she emotes a lot more and watching her struggle to accept the new Doctor is very powerful. Of course,a s per usual Doctor Who tradition, the imagery is the strongest point- with the special effects really having come a long way, and gorgeous cinematography, it's no wonder Steven Moffat wanted to be seen on the big screen.
Of course, the episode isn't entirely perfect. For one, the new version of the Doctor Who theme is really quite awful- not the episode's fault, obviously, but the new theme's main hook played on a rather off-key sounding synthesizer, it is kind of distracting. The main baddie "Half Face" is quite lame- he isn't in the episode much, and for a reason. He isn't really given much to work with, and while he does shine a bit near the end, it's a bit half baked. Also, a rather gratuitous cameo by Matt Smith near the end felt very unnecessary and gratuitous, seemingly thrown in there to pander. But these faults don't detract from what is an overall solid episode- after all, it's an opener, and it does its job. Let's just hope the next 11 weeks will hold up. And based on the preview shown before the ending credits, it looks like we are in for one hell of a ride.
And yet at the same time, it manages to accomplish a lot in the first episode. For one, it's feature length at 87 minutes long, and the episode manages to accomplish setting the tone for Capaldi's less wacky and more grounded portrayal- though that isn't to say he doesn't have his outbursts of zaniness. The plot bears a lot of similarity to the third Doctor's opening episode "Spearhead From Space", with the main threat here being humanoid automaton-type clockwork robots. The threat is established quite late into the episode, but it does work. When we first see the Doctor, he's stuck in something of a daze- he blurts out a lot of nonsensical phrases, mixes people's names up, and, of course, faints. A dinosaur romps through Victorian London and spits up the TARDIS- before continuing to roam through London in a very confused and afraid state. Of course, in a later scene, during The Doctor's post-regenerative crisis, he attempts to tell the dinosaur that he'll get him back to his time, but he dies. He disappears for a while continuing to struggle to accept his latest regeneration, but when he does accept it, it's here where he and his companion Clara get tangled in a dangerous plot- they become prey to murderous automatons.
It's a pretty simple plot, really, and sometimes, simple is what's best. Here, Moffat doesn't delve too much into the techno-babble that has plagued the previous season, and leaves it to The Doctor, Clara, Madam Vastra and Jenny, and our favourite potato-shaped Sontaran Strax to carry the episode with their wit and charm. Capaldi is full of his usual snarky and cynical charm, and you can tell right off the bat that he's going to take the show for quite the walk. Coleman really gives an excellent performance as Clara as per usual- she emotes a lot more and watching her struggle to accept the new Doctor is very powerful. Of course,a s per usual Doctor Who tradition, the imagery is the strongest point- with the special effects really having come a long way, and gorgeous cinematography, it's no wonder Steven Moffat wanted to be seen on the big screen.
Of course, the episode isn't entirely perfect. For one, the new version of the Doctor Who theme is really quite awful- not the episode's fault, obviously, but the new theme's main hook played on a rather off-key sounding synthesizer, it is kind of distracting. The main baddie "Half Face" is quite lame- he isn't in the episode much, and for a reason. He isn't really given much to work with, and while he does shine a bit near the end, it's a bit half baked. Also, a rather gratuitous cameo by Matt Smith near the end felt very unnecessary and gratuitous, seemingly thrown in there to pander. But these faults don't detract from what is an overall solid episode- after all, it's an opener, and it does its job. Let's just hope the next 11 weeks will hold up. And based on the preview shown before the ending credits, it looks like we are in for one hell of a ride.
