Doctor Who "Deep Breath" & "Into the Dalek"

"I'm not your boyfriend." 

And with that that, Peter Capaldi's Doctor, the 12th(ish) of his line, establishes the new status quo for NewWho. Since the 2005 revival and spurred by the Eighth Doctor's relationship with his companion in the ill-fated American movie, the Doctor has been increasingly made into a young heartthrob, less a quirky uncle and more a quirky boyfriend. It's been cited as both a boon to the series for its ratings and a curse to long time fans as many point out the boyish good looks of both David Tennant and Matt Smith have brought legions of squealing fangirls to the fanbase, some of which who know nothing about the old series nor care to. Regardless, it's a problematic and somewhat sexist accusation. A good series will bring fans in from all walks of life and all genders. And little is said of how the modern female companions of the Doctor are also being used as everything from manic pixie dream girls to sexpots to sexless schoolmarms. 

But enough about that. Let's take a deep breath and dive into Series 8 with "Deep Breath."

Hoo boy. Where to start? This is a Steven Moffat, who I think is now one of the more controversial figures in Who fandom. He is either best known as the man who took Doctor Who and made it truly great with some of the best episodes of the series or infamously known as the man who ruined Doctor Who with contrived plotting and vicious tropes. My opinion falls somewhere in the middle. Moffat has wrote some of the best episodes in the series' entire run (see: The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink), but also some of the worst (see: The Time of the Doctor, the one discussed here-in) in my own opinion. Moffat also was showrunner for what is arguably my favorite Doctor ever, the Eleventh, played flawlessly by Matt Smith. It was during Smith's run that Doctor Who finally hit mainstream success in America and it's hard to argue with results. But seriously, the man is starting to spread himself thin in the writing department and it's starting to show.

My issue with "Deep Breath" isn't with The Doctor himself (who I shall refer to as Twelve from this point onward) but with the overall plot. The introduction of a new regeneration has the tendency to be a little wonky and it takes an episode or two for the actor to really get it down (one exception being David Tennant in The Christmas Invasion, probably the best regeneration episode in my opinion). For starters, this episode is way too long. For some reason, the episode was extended beyond the usual 45 minutes into 70 minutes probably to make it seem more "special' or perhaps the BBC just wanted more commercial time. The episode really drags until somewhere near the last third and it is absolutely painful. The story is your standard regeneration episode where The Doctor lands some place and acts all confused and crazy to the surprise of his companion(s) and friends. In this case, it's jolly olde Victorian England where he brings along an unwanted traveler. Or rather, the traveler, being a giant lady T-Rex, brings along the TARDIS in its gullet. They meet up with the old gang composed of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax who inform them that the citizens of London are all combusting, sponataneously. After Vastra sort of shames Clara for not being keen on Twelve's looks since he's an OLD now, Twelve comes to his senses just in time to see that aforementioned T-Rex explode. Some silly "Impossible Girl BS" leads them to an old restaurant which is a front for a downed spaceship populated by Clockwork Men who reveal they're trying to become human by blowing life forms up. I guess. Anyway, Twelve saves the day by way of hot air balloon made of human skin (ew) and the Clockwork Droids are disposed of quickly thanks to Clara and the gang. Twelve returns Clara to modern-day London and tells her that they can't date because it would be just too weird. And Clara just kind of stares weirdly back probably thinking what an odd thing to say that was.

I should have really liked this episode since "The Girl in the Fireplace" is probably one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes ever but that episode is really fun and this one really isn't. It's very convoluted and it's never explained really just how the Clockwork Droids are even harvesting parts by blowing things up. It has that Moffat way of introducing plot points at the sacrifice of another without any kind of connection or resolution. The episode is also filled with wacky slapstick that doesn't quite gel considering the dire circumstances and is used at very poor times. The strongest part of the episode isn't even Clara and Twelve. It's the relationship between Jenny and Madame Vastra, who we finally see kiss even if it the reason was just passed off as "giving each other oxygen." This is a kids show after all *eyes roll* Strax is enjoyable as always but he's still kind of a walking punchline and his lines fall pretty flat in this episode unlike they have in the past. On that note, I really would like to see a spin-off show starring The Paternoster Gang even if it was just a miniseries. Please don't let Moffat write it though.

As for Twelve, I will hold my tongue until the next episode since this episode really isn't even about him. It's actually about Clara. Specifically, he relationship with a man who has literally changed not only his face, but his entire personality. It's like losing a friend, but gaining another and it's easy to understand her fear and trepidation. Moffat even plays off the audience's expectation of this. There is a scene in which Vastra shames Clara into not being sure about Twelve's new face when she should be more trusting of The Doctor as a concept . Obviously, it's proven to her later in the episode that The Doctor will save the day at all costs but it's sort of mean jibe on audience expectations. It's almost as if Moffat is saying "Twelve will be different, IS different. Deal with it." Difference is great, but it is reasonable to assume that there will be certain fears about the direction of the series and its star.

Which bring us to the next episode, "Into the Dalek" which is firmly and solely about Twelve and what type of Doctor he is. And oh boy is he different. Twelve is dour, standoffish, and unequivocally now the straight man. He lacks any of the punk-rock charm of Nine, the bookworm nature of Ten, or the puckish glee of Eleven. This is a brand new direction for The Doctor. And I'm not sure if I like it.

"Am I a good man?" asks the Doctor to Clara near the start of the episode. We get Clara's answer at the end but are we meant to think that answer is a possible, even perhaps a resounding no? In my mind, the answer is yes. We've already been told the answer. The Doctor is indeed a good man, because he is more than human. At the same time, he can also be less than human or very much human but he always represents the good against the growing evil spread across time and space. With Twelve, are we meant to think that this isn't actually true? If so, this is such a harsh proposition. And yet the devil lies in the details.

It's surprising that Doctor Who has never done a riff on Fantastic Voyage before, considering its grounding in science fiction. It's certainly not The Doctor's first shrink-down adventure. A classic example can be found in the First Doctor's serial, Planet of the Giants. In this episode, Twelve and Clara along with some generic space marines shrink down and enter the innards of a "good" Dalek to fix a radiation leak. "Good" however is a relative term in this episode and the Dalek is merely malfunctioning due to said leak. After Twelve fixes the problem, the Dalek, affably named Rusty, goes on a rampage and kills some people both inside and outside his body. Twelve eventually mind-melds with Rusty and shows him the error of his ways, thus creating the first "good" Dalek. However, the Dalek's shift to "good" entails murdering other Daleks which is, in of itself, a terrible act. Rusty and Twelve are seemingly the same thing: two old creatures in the universe who are in need of repair and have messed up concepts of "good" and "bad." The Doctor is at his darkest ever, going so far as to let two space marines die at the greater good of saving others without so much as a single tear. Yikes.

This episode is a big improvement over the series premiere yet I'm still not sold on Twelve and this new status quo. This was a very grim episode and even though there were some fun moments, there were no moments of near zaniness that reek of Doctor Who. It seemed like no one was having any fun and in turn I wasn't having any fun either. And they were inside a Dalek for God's sake. There was a lot to take home from this episode that I like though. The episode immediately reminded me of Nine's "Dalek" especially in Twelve's first encounter with Rusty. These two could go hand in hand as companion episodes because they both establish The Doctor's character after their respective intro episode and also are part of only a few episodes that humanize the Doctor's greatest enemy. The Daleks aren't exactly the most glamorous villains in the Who universe but in some way they serve as the ultimate antithesis to The Doctor and when they are placed on the same spectrum, that's when things get interesting. In Nine's series finale, the Dalek Emperor says that Nine is no different than him because of their utter disregard for the rules or humanity. However, Nine quickly proves this wrong by saving Rose from ending the universe. In "Into the Dalek," Twelve "saves" the Dalek by teaching him hatred, pitting him against his own race. He than leaves the space marines behind and the "good" Dalek leaves to go...well, who knows? It's a harsh, hopeless conclusion. 

"Am I a good man?" asks Twelve. 

"I don't know." replies Clara, adding "That's not the point."

Maybe it is to some of us, Clara. Maybe it is.

Afterthoughts

- On Peter Capaldi: In no way do I think Peter Capaldi isn't right for the character. I think Capaldi is BRILLIANT in the role. If it was any role but The Doctor, I'd love it. But I'm not sure this is my version of The Doctor

- It seems every person (or cyborg) that dies because of Twelve ends up in a place called "Heaven" which is run by a mysterious woman named Missy. Who is this person? Friend or foe? Is she a Time Lady? The Rani, perhaps? She also claims to be romantically involved with The Doctor too, but I mean who isn't at this point?

-We meet a future companion named Danny Pink in "Into the Dalek" as a love interest for Clara. Could he be the spark of hope for this grim show?

- Who References: The downed spaceship in "Deep Breath" is the sister ship to the SS Madame de Pompadour from "The Girl in the Fireplace." Pretty neat. Also, Twelve distinctly references his first visit to the planet Skaro from the First Doctor serial "The Daleks."

-That cameo at the end of "Deep Breath" almost makes up for "The Time of the Doctor." ALMOST.

- Next on: Maybe we'll have some honest-to-God fun with The Merry Men in "Robot of Sherwood Forest". Here's hoping the Sheriff of Nottingham isn't just a dumb cyborg. Until then though: