Deep Breath: Initial Reactions

There are two types of post-regeneration stories – ones that feel as though they have something to prove, and the ones that don’t (there’s also the ones that really need to be proving something but fall flat on their face, but we won’t go into that now). For example, the Third Doctor’s debut in Spearhead From Space successfully worked to show the BBC that the show could survive and didn’t warrant cancellation, while The Eleventh Hour focused on proving to an audience of skeptical Whovians – both ones that were attached to Tennant and others who believed the new Doctor was too young – that Matt Smith would be a great Doctor. Deep Breath, however, had that feeling of content; it was more about establishing Capaldi as the Doctor than proving that he was capable of taking on the role. Because, let’s face it, nobody’s really skeptical about his performance – instead this year more doubt seems to lie with Steven Moffat’s writing.