Saturday, August 23, 2014

New Doctor Who? Meh?

I am writing this less than an hour after watching the premiere of "Deep Breath" the first show in Season 8 of Doctor Who.

I wanted to get this down before getting tainted by other people's opinions other than the few I saw the show with tonight.

Also, I admit, I am not very good at giving reviews, because I tend to think most things I watch are pretty much awesome.

But, I am not as overwhelmed as I feel I should be about "Deep Breath".

In my mind, I am trying to compare this episode with the first episode of any new Doctor.

"Eleventh Hour", the first Matt Smith episode, made me excited about him, especially the moment when he walked through the holographic representations of his past selves.

"Rose" and "Christmas Invasion" which kicked off the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras respectively were wonderful adventure stories.

Again, by the end of both episodes I was thrilled to join the new Doctor in the TARDIS.

I can't necessarily say that about this Doctor.

Now, to start, I am not judging Peter Capaldi himself.

I think he could make an excellent Doctor, but the first episode wasn't that exciting.

In many ways I have to go back to classic Who in comparison.

I hate to admit it, but my initial similarity when looking at a first Doctor episode is "The Twin Dilemma", Colin Baker's first episode.

That's not good.

"The Twin Dilemma" is typically ranked down near the worst episodes of the past 50 years.

Colin Baker's take on the doctor didn't sit well with audiences then or now as he seemed a little crazy and at one point even tried to kill his companion.

Some people argue that Colin Baker's doctor was the beginning of the end as the series was canceled just five years later.

I think I now understand why BBC sent Capaldi and Jenna Coleman on a world wide tour to get fans excited about the new season.

This episode left me feeling rather bland about what's coming.

Will I still be watching? Sure.

I will likely keep watching "Doctor Who" until it is taken off the air again.

The concern is not for the die hard fans, but for the ones who were just watching for the young Tennant and Smith portrayals of the Doctor.

I think it's the reason for a surprise phone call near the end of the episode.

It wasn't a call for "Clara", but for those fans who might stop watching now.

Certainly Moffatt might be playing the long game here and hoping to wow us by the end of the season.

I certainly hope that's true otherwise I have to say I am worried about this series.

So, what were your thoughts on the show? Let me know in the comments...

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