Doctor Who, Season 8, Episode 1, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi)
Rights Notes:
For show promotion only
Photo Credit: Adrian Rogers, ©BBC/BBC WORDLWIDE 2014
At the start of season 8 of “Doctor Who,” there is apparently “something impossible” in the Thames. Why, it’s a time=traveling dinosaur! And the dino- has vomited a blue police box from outer space, the Tardis, of course! Here we go again. The Doctor has regenerated and, in his Twelfth’s iteration, he’s older, funnier and even more eccentric than before.
Peter Capaldi is instantly endearing, vulnerable, hilarious and prone to fainting as the Twelfth Doctor. His movements possess a floating quality. While they’ve all been eccentric, Capaldi brings a new kind of crazy to the proposition. (He’s also easily frustrated with the stupidity of those around him, having landed in London, on “the planet of the pudding brains.”)
Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Steven Moffat (“Doctor Who,” “Sherlock”), the feature-length season premiere “Deep Breath,” stars Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald, and brings the return of in Victorian England, with Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint and Dan Starkey as Strax.
“Doctor Who: Deep Breath” premieres Saturday, Aug. 23, locally at 6 p.m. on BBC America, with a 15-minute live pre-show, followed by the series premiere of “Intruders” and then by “Doctor Who: After Who Live at 9:00 p.m. The pre- and post-shows are hosted by comedian Chris Hardwick. No spoilers, suffice to say the handoff to the next Doctor is handled with a nice final surprise.
