For the first episode of a brand new Doctor, I felt that too much time was initially spent with other characters. Unlike some, I don't mind Vastra and co, but I wanted to meet Twelve, not see more of that strange marriage where Jenny still waits on Vastra in private. Strax can be funny in small doses, but here nothing he did seemed to matter. Did we even learn anything new about the trio? Longer scenes are only a good thing if they develop plot or character, they also need to be well chosen and well placed. Nice sonic tool though - was that the winner of the Blue Peter competition?
Clara is more important, especially considering her relationship to the Doctor, but the scenes with her and Vastra (and Jenny) seemed like a checklist of how we should see her. A similar list (imo) should have been distributed to writers/directors of Series 7b before they started, so that regular viewers already knew all about her. This was an exposition dump. People who had never watched before might already have been lost by all the other flim-flam. If someone new to the programme asked you where they should start watching, would you say Deep Breath rather than Eleventh Hour? That was a similar length yet concentrated on the Doctor, the companion and their relationship. I haven't watched Rose since 2005 but I'm sure it was the same.
Perhaps after the Doctor had been tucked into bed, Clara could have received the call from Eleven and resolved her issues with Twelve then. Rather than Vastra with her clunky veil on/veil off speech, the (previous) Doctor could reassure Clara himself. They could then meet at the restaurant within 15 minutes.
I saw it as time spent on people who didn't develop beyond what we already knew (and weren't of interest in such a key episode) and a companion who knew all about regeneration reacting as selfishly as Rose, who in her defence had no idea of what was happening. Sadly the Doctor spent time snoozing/rambling like Ten's first episode - it all picked up at the restaurant, but it could easily have got there earlier.
Comments
Clara is more important, especially considering her relationship to the Doctor, but the scenes with her and Vastra (and Jenny) seemed like a checklist of how we should see her. A similar list (imo) should have been distributed to writers/directors of Series 7b before they started, so that regular viewers already knew all about her. This was an exposition dump. People who had never watched before might already have been lost by all the other flim-flam. If someone new to the programme asked you where they should start watching, would you say Deep Breath rather than Eleventh Hour? That was a similar length yet concentrated on the Doctor, the companion and their relationship. I haven't watched Rose since 2005 but I'm sure it was the same.
Perhaps after the Doctor had been tucked into bed, Clara could have received the call from Eleven and resolved her issues with Twelve then. Rather than Vastra with her clunky veil on/veil off speech, the (previous) Doctor could reassure Clara himself. They could then meet at the restaurant within 15 minutes.
I saw it as time spent on people who didn't develop beyond what we already knew (and weren't of interest in such a key episode) and a companion who knew all about regeneration reacting as selfishly as Rose, who in her defence had no idea of what was happening. Sadly the Doctor spent time snoozing/rambling like Ten's first episode - it all picked up at the restaurant, but it could easily have got there earlier.