Episode 001 of Who·ology starts in a very convenient place– Episode 01 of Season 08. Our first real glimpse of Peter Capaldi is a good one. We also get Clara wrestling with everything she thinks she knows about the Doctor and some old friends helping her (and possibly the audience) see that though the appearance may change, the Doctor is still the Doctor!
Check out Episode 001:
Who·ology #001 – S08E01 Deep Breath
This is awesome! I think you are spot on with some of your assessments. Clara was the highlight of this episode for me. I can think of two scenes in particular where Jenna Coleman was outstanding. Those scenes being her standing up to Madame Vastra and her refusing to give up information about the Doctor. The latter in particular was very touching considering it looked as if the Doctor had abandoned her. It made me think of 2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” It was great to see that, when everyone else fails the Doctor remains faithful. The parallel to the faithfulness of God is obvious.
I must confess though, I am one of those new Whovians. I started with “Rose” and have only seen a few of the Classic Who episodes (of course Tom Baker ones). I had no trouble with the quasi-boyfriend relationships, in fact I think they offered some emotional depth to the Doctor that helps make him feel a bit more human. I realize that not everyone wants a “human” Doctor–in fact some people strongly oppose it–but for me it always added to the show to see the interesting, flirty, complicated relationship between the the Doctor and his different companions. When I think of 11 and Clara’s relationship I think: “That seems in step with what would actually happen in our world.”
Of course “Doctor Who” is all about change being a good thing: “We all change. When you think about it, we’re all different people all through our lives, and that’s okay, that’s good, you gotta keep moving” (11th Doctor). So I don’t think the different tone of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is a bad thing, I just think the 11th Doctor and Clara’s relationship deserves more credit than you gave it (also 10 and Rose’s relationship).
Thanks for the great podcast! I look forward to hearing more.
First off– THANKS for listening 🙂
Second, I think there is a lot to Rose’s and 10’s relationship outside of infatuation, for sure, but it wasn’t my favorite aspect of it. With Clara and 11, I feel I would have liked to have seen Clara finished when she sacrificed herself in The Doctor’s timeline. It would have given her choice more weight instead of The Doctor being able to enter his own timeline to save her. Since he saved her, it devalued her sacrifice and put the weight back on them being some girlfriend/boyfriend duo.
With that said, I still think she has a ton of potential, and I am big fan of Jenna Coleman. I like that with certain scenarios off the table, we have a chance to have more depth from the companions (ie. Donna & The Doctor).
Also, your 2 Timothy reference is spot on! That is awesome.