Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-ray Movie Review

"If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have my back..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown October 18, 2014

When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions. Who is the new Doctor and will Clara's friendship survive as they embark on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy? The Doctor has changed. It's time you knew him. Directed by acclaimed director Ben Wheatley and written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, the beginning of the Twelfth Doctor's era stars Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald, and sees the return of Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey).

The eighth season's extended opener isn't without its flaws, but almost every single one is a fundamental issue with the episode's scripting and production rather than anything rooted in Capaldi's energizing, take-no-prisoners performance. (Introductions to new Doctors are historically and notoriously jarring, so don't be shocked if you find yourself pining for Matt Smith. Or Tennant again.) It's too long, its pacing is a tad stilted, its climactic sword battle is weirdly stocky, and the episode could've easily been trimmed down to a more satisfying 45 minutes. It doesn't help that McIntosh, Stewart and Starkey occasionally feel as if they're having trouble acclimating. But the bumps and bruises don't spoil the proceedings all that much and the extra bits don't prevent the adventure from eventually finding its footing. More importantly, the first episode is a lot of fun, with plenty of laughs, gasps and cheers to go around. A TARDIS-chomping T-Rex... in London! Clockwork robots! The Doctor coming to grips with old age, wrinkles and a Scottish accent! Strax and Clara! The restaurant trap! The Doctor and Clara's bumpy relationship! "I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you!" The phone call! "Anything but old!" And plenty more.

Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Deep Breath features a crisp, proficient 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation; one that leaves little doubt that the upcoming Complete Eighth Series set, due this December, will be another worthwhile Doctor Who release. Colors are warm but carefully saturated, with lovely Victorian hues, lifelike fleshtones, strong primaries and deep, satisfying black levels. Contrast and clarity are consistent and impressive too. Edges are nice and sharp (without any ringing or aliasing to report), fine textures are refined, close-ups pop, and delineation is revealing. FX shots are home to a few minor eyesores, but none trace back to the quality of the encode. Artifacting, banding and other issues are nowhere to be found either, and the grain-like noise that was such a component of the Series 5-7 visual aesthetic, though still in play, has been reigned in. (The grain didn't bother me -- Deep Breath almost looks too pristine by comparison -- but others found it slightly distracting.) All told, the eighth series' opening episode is striking. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season's episodes fare.

Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Deep Breath's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track delivers a solid (albeit somewhat unremarkable) lossless experience. Dialogue is clean, clear and intelligible, without any lines being buried beneath the action. LFE output does well with dinosaur stomps and roars, heavy clockwork gear clunks, mechanized elevators, collapsing ceilings and other elements. And the rear speakers do a good job of making the adventure more immersive, with touches of light ambience that give the various environments and interiors a sense of fullness and real space. The only slight knock? Prioritization is decidedly decent, with nothing in the way of technical issues, but the episode's sound design tends to slightly favor front-heavy conversations over other more enveloping effects, low-end power and the series' score. No matter. Fans will be pleased.

Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Prequel (HD, 6 minutes): Strax broadcasts a warning to his fellow warriors about the Doctor's impending regeneration, although the result is more a tongue-in-cheek overview of the various Doctors and the saga thus far than a more legitimate prequel short.
• Behind the Scenes (HD, 12 minutes): A promotional behind-the-scenes featurette, with just enough insight into the production of Deep Breath and footage of key moments (Capaldi's first table read among them) to make it worth watching.
• Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor (HD, 31 minutes): Peter Capaldi is revealed as the Twelfth Doctor to an ecstatic live studio audience in this BBC television special. A six-minute interview, as well as some well wishes from Matt Smith, follows.
• The Real History of Science Fiction: Time Travel (HD, 45 minutes): A lineup of notable actors and filmmakers (Neil Gaiman, Rian Johnson, John Landis, John Carpenter, Ed Neumeir, David Tennant, Karen Gillan, William Shatner, Richard Dreyfuss, Rutger Hauer, Christopher Lloyd, Keir Dullea, Zoe Saldana, Haley Joel Osment and others) gather to talk about time travel, its appeal and its contributions to science fiction.

Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Deep Breath is bumpier than it should be, but try and look past its flaws. Capaldi is well on his way to forging his own path as the Doctor, Coleman is stronger than ever, and as Doctor Who season openers go, this one is both compelling and fun. The eighth series only gets better from here(minus a few weaker episodes), so there's plenty more to enjoy on the horizon. BBC Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release delivers too, with a terrific video presentation, a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a small but appreciated supplemental package. (A commentary would have been great, but I'm guessing we'll get those with the Complete Eighth Series set this December.) It's probably best to wait for the full season to be released, but if you can't hold off till winter, this standalone release of the first episode will serve as a nice appetizer.