Doctor Who - Series 8, Episode 1: 'Deep Breath' (2014)

★★★☆☆

5 word summary:

Good start but not great.

5 sentence review:

I wasn't too excited for this episode, not because of the change of Doctor, but because I felt as though this was going to be too try-hard for the first episode to impress, and it was over-done but still enjoyable.

This episode contained a lot of familiar faces, phrases, even plots and for me that isn't clever and referential but instead, lazy.

The new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, is great but that was quite expected because he's a talented actor and a fan of Doctor Who so his acting comes from a place of immense experience and passion.

The plot was a little bit flimsy, robots occasionally killing people to rebuild themselves doesn't seem like the biggest problem the Doctor has ever faced and certainly not one that requires 5 people to team up to solve.

It certainly wasn't a spectacular opening to the series but there were some major positive points and hopefully the momentum will build into a wonderful series.

5 good things:

1. Love a dinosaur.

2.  Capaldi seems like a good choice.

3.  Capaldi's outfit is wonderful.

4.  This Doctor and Clara work well together (I especially liked their conversation in the restaurant)

5. Matt!

5 bad thing:

1.  Not so much continuity as just repeating fan favourites because he wants to make the fans happy.

2.  I'm a bit bored of the slapstick sontaran and interspecies lesbians, give them a spin-off so I don't need to see them in the show so often.

3.  The newer version of the theme song.

4. The ending was enigmatic, s that necessary right at the beginning? Give us a little time to adjust and not have to wonder.

5. Did they have to kill the dinosaur?