Doctor Who: EVERY Steven Moffat Episode Ranked Worst To Best

33. Deep Breath

Doctor Who Deep Breath
BBC

It's always interesting to see how new incarnations respond to regeneration. Some, like Eleven, spring straight back into action and relish in discovering their new personality, while others, like Ten and Twelve, seem to require a little more cooking time and pass out shortly after changing.

And it's the Doctor wrestling with his new face that makes Deep Breath a gripping debut story for Peter Capaldi's Time Lord.

Twelve is entirely different to Eleven, and while that's a good thing, it is quite jarring at first – so it was smart of Moffat to make the Doctor feel jarred as well, with a touching cameo from Matt Smith to plead with Clara, and by extension the audience, to give this new Doctor a chance.

Throw in a T-Rex standing in the middle of Victorian London, the welcome return of the Paternoster Gang, the first appearance of Missy, and Moffat's pleasant knack for referencing previous stories with the return of the Clockwork Droids and the sister ship to the SS Madame de Pompadour, and while I clearly don't think Deep Breath is one of Moffat's greatest, I do enjoy quite a lot about it.

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.