Deep Breath (Doctor Who)
"Deep Breath" is the first episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One and released in cinemas on 23 August 2014. It was written by showrunner and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Ben Wheatley.
242 – "Deep Breath"
Derek Ritchie
Steven Moffat
Brian Minchin
76 minutes
23 August 2014
In the episode, the newly regenerated Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), and Clara (Jenna Coleman) land in Victorian London where they find a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions. However, their friendship is put in jeopardy as Clara struggles to cope with the Doctor's new incarnation.
The episode has the first full-length appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, with Coleman reprising her role as his companion Clara from the last series.[1] It also features Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, and Dan Starkey reprising their roles as Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax,[2] as well as Capaldi's predecessor, Matt Smith, in a cameo appearance. The episode sets up the main story arc of the series revolving around a mysterious woman called Missy (portrayed by Michelle Gomez), who is often seen welcoming people who have died throughout the series to the "Promised Land", a place that serves as an apparent afterlife to deceased characters.
Deep Breath was watched by 9.17 million viewers, the highest ratings for a premiere since Matt Smith's first episode as the Doctor in 2010 and received positive reviews, with many critics praising the performances of Capaldi and Coleman, Moffat's script, and the introduction and stylisation of the new Doctor, though Smith's cameo received mixed reviews.
Broadcast and reception[edit]
Pre-broadcast leak[edit]
On 6 July 2014, the scripts for the first five episodes of the series (including "Deep Breath") were inadvertently leaked online from BBC Worldwide's Latin America headquarters, prompting a plea from BBC Worldwide to keep the storylines of the five episodes secret.[18] Also leaked was a black-and-white rough cut of "Deep Breath", missing most of the visual effects but otherwise mostly complete.[19] The BBC blamed the leak on the fact that the files had been stored on a publicly accessible server in its new Miami-based headquarters.[20] Steven Moffat, speaking at the London Film and Comic Con, called the leak "horrible, miserable and upsetting".[21]
Cinemas[edit]
The episode had its world premiere in Cardiff on 7 August 2014 as part of the series 8 world tour.[24][25] As part of the tour, advance screenings were also held at other destinations on the tour.[26][27][28] As with "The Day of the Doctor", "Deep Breath" received a worldwide cinema release at participating cinemas on 23 August 2014.[29] The episode received a midnight screening in 12 cities across the United States on 23 August, and a larger showing in 550 cinemas on 25 August.[29][30] The cinema screenings of the episode were accompanied by a five-minute prequel.[31]
Ratings[edit]
Upon airing in its 7.50pm timeslot, the "Deep Breath" simulcast entertained an average audience of 6.79 million in the United Kingdom. The episode reached a peak of 6.96 million viewers, watched by nearly a third of all viewers on the evening of broadcast with a 32.5% audience share.[32] The final ratings for the week, which do not include BBC iPlayer viewers but do include viewers who watched the programme within a week of its transmission, showed 9.17 million viewers (37.9% audience share) saw the episode, making it the second highest rated programme for the week on British television.[33] This was also the highest final viewing figures for a regular series episode of Doctor Who since Matt Smith's first full episode, "The Eleventh Hour", was broadcast in April 2010, although Christmas specials and the 2013 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" had scored higher viewing figures.[34] Its chart position meant it became only the eighth episode of Doctor Who to be one of the week's top two most viewed programmes.[34] In terms of L+7 ratings "Deep Breath" had 10.76 million views.[35] The episode also topped BBC iPlayer for August, getting 2.06 million requests within eight days.[36]
In the United States, the premiere airing on BBC America had an audience of 2.19 million viewers, the highest Saturday ratings for the network and just under the highest viewership from "The Day of the Doctor" special, combining for a total of 2.6 million viewers, a significant increase from the 1.5 million that had watched the Series 7 premiere in 2012.[37][38] In Australia, the episode had a total of 1.19 million viewers on ABC.[39] In Canada, "Deep Breath" had almost 1.4 million viewers overall on Space,[40] becoming the second most-watched broadcast ever on this channel.[41]
Home media[edit]
"Deep Breath" received a standalone DVD and Blu-ray release in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2014,[65] the United States on 9 September,[66] and Australia on 10 September.[67] Thereafter, it was released in the Complete Eighth Series DVD and Blu-ray box set in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014,[68] Australia on 19 November,[69] and in the U.S. on 9 December.[70]