History Recap / DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath

** He also can't quite place where he's encountered [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace organ-stealing Clockwork Droids from a time-travelling 51st century spaceship]] before. Mind you, he never found out what the SS ''Madame de Pompadour'' was actually called, so that doesn't help; not to mention that the clockwork droids have been on Earth so long they no longer look ''anything'' like their original form, except for still being clockwork.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Strax throwing (i.e. ''heaving'') the rolled-up newspaper at Clara's face and knocking her to the floor. It's also worth noting that technically speaking Sontarans have no gender distinctions anyway.

* CovertPervert: A scene opens with Vastra supposedly painting Jenny, who's in a low-cut dress and in a pose that displays a fair amount of cleavage. It's then revealed that Vastra is actually working on a pinboard of the Half-Face Man's murder locations and only had Jenny posed and dressed as such because she "brighten[s] the room tremendously". Suffice it to say that Jenny is upset. Vastra lamely tries to excuse it as "[[BlatantLies art]]". Then, when Clara comes in, Vastra tells her to put her clothes on the stool.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-Universe: The policeman who thinks a dinosaur vomiting up a large blue box with "police" written on it has ''laid an egg''. Vastra is concerned about his grasp of basic biology.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: As the TARDIS bounces around out of control, it arrives in the distant past long enough to get swallowed whole by a big honkin' ''T. rex'', which gets dragged along for the ride. Then it upchucks the TARDIS. The Doctor can even understand it and knows that it's female. ''She'' is later killed by being burned to ashes for a small piece of optic nerve that the Half-Face Man droid needs to mend his ship. The Doctor takes this very poorly because it was an innocent and scared creature feeling lost and alone after being plucked from her time period and put somewhere totally unfamiliar.

--->'''Jenny:''' OI! ''[smacks Vastra in the head, who hisses in response]'' Married!

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: The dinosaur in the first part of the episode is fairly accurate for a ''T. rex'', but two or three times the size of any therapod that ever lived. This is lampshaded when [[TheProducerThinksOfEverything Jenny and Vastra discuss this very issue]], with Jenny claiming that the fossils she's seen don't measure up to the living thing before them, while Vastra then points out that she was ''there'' and ''then'' and that they were generally that size.

* AFriendInNeed: At the end of the episode Clara is still very uncomfortable with the Doctor's new personality and is on the verge of leaving. She then gets a temporal phone call from the Eleventh Doctor, asking her to fulfill this role for him once again, as the Twelfth Doctor is more frightened than she is.

** The Twelfth Doctor's first moments are this [[UpToEleven up to Twelve]] as he suffers regeneration insanity to a greater extent than most of his predecessors. He mistakes Clara for both ''[[CompanionCube Handles]]'' and Strax (after initially thinking Strax to be one of the Seven Dwarves). Later, he rants incoherently about the pointlessness of bedrooms and thinks everyone with an English accent has developed a ''fault''. He also tries not to flirt with a dinosaur (although that, like his conversation with a cab horse, might just be an "all you Earth creatures look alike to me" thing). He gradually calms down, and by the end his final personality, while not without eccentricities, seems a lot more grounded and down-to-earth than his previous incarnation.

* ServileSnarker: Vastra tells Clara that she and Jenny are married, and they only pretend to be maid and mistress for appearances' sake. Jenny asks why in that case she still has to pour the tea.

* IntimateArtistry: Subverted. Jenny poses in her underwear while Vastra is working at an easel. Vastra then turns the easel around, revealing she’s not painting, but rather [[StringTheory compiling information on the Half-Face Man’s murders.]] When Jenny exasperatedly asks why she had to stand there in the first place, Vastra lamely answers, “…Art?”

The one where the Doctor calls a dinosaur sexy. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It Makes Sense In Context.]]

Written by Steven Moffat. The first episode of Series 8 and the first episode to fully feature the [[Creator/PeterCapaldi Twelfth Doctor]]. Touting a feature-length run time of 76 minutes, this premiere is the most likely reason why Series 8 has only 12 episodes as opposed to the traditional 13, almost taking up the time of two normal-length episodes. It also featured the return of the Clockwork Droids, first seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace The Girl in the Fireplace]]" (albeit in a somewhat different form).

* SpotOfTea: When it looks like progress is being made in the case, Vastra orders up more cups.

* NotSoDifferent:
** In a "BreakThemByTalking" lecture to the Half-Face Man, the Doctor passionately argues that it is moving closer to death with each organ it replaces. He then makes the mistake of holding up a dinner tray as a mirror. [[RuleOfSymbolism Both sides are reflective.]] His words could apply equally to both of them.
** The Doctor's sleep-translation of the dinosaur -- ancient, scared and alone -- can refer just as easily to himself.

* TheseusShipParadox: The Doctor posits this to the Half-Face Man, [[NotSoDifferent and in a way himself]], by comparing them to a broom that has had all its parts replaced.

* TimeAbyss: A central theme in this episode, coming to a head when the Doctor faces off against the Half-Face Man and a strong impression of NotSoDifferent. The Half-Face Man is a machine from the 52[[superscript:nd]] century who crashed on Earth at least during the time of the dinosaurs and was harvesting biological parts to hold himself together and wait until he could return to his own time on TheSlowPath. But the sheer length of time has the Doctor posit that because [[TheseusShipParadox every part of its body was replaced it is no longer the same individual]] and that there is no "Promised Land" ending to the journey.

** When Clara drops the sonic after they're both tied up and her legs aren't long enough to reach it, Twelve mutters, "Times like this, I miss [[Creator/KarenGillan Amy]]".

'''The Doctor:''' ''Murder is against mine!''...'' (A few minutes later)'' I think one of us [[ImpliedDeathThreat was lying about our basic programming.]]

The one where the Doctor calls a dinosaur sexy. ItMakesSenseInContext.

** Used for a BaitAndSwitch when the episode opens with the T-rex roaring against a primeval sky...which turns out to be Victorian London.

'''The Doctor:''' ''Murder is against mine!''...''(A few minutes later)'' I think one of us [[ImpliedDeathThreat was lying about our basic programming.]]

->''[[FamousLastWords "Goodbye, Clara. Miss ya."]]''

The one where the Doctor calls a dinosaur sexy.

* AccidentalInnuendo: While doing her mandatory medical exam, Strax points to her "upper thorax" and mentions that she will probably be retraining "fluid" in the future.

* RealityEnsues: Although we've seen past companions freaked out or suspicious over a post-regeneration change, this is the first time a companion has seriously considered not traveling with him further. Even after Vastra's WhatTheHellHero speech, it's only a temporal phone call from the Eleventh Doctor that convinces Clara to give Twelve a chance.

* Gorgeous Period Dress: Madam Vastra and Jenny Flint in this story wear period dresses as well as in their appearances in other episodes.

In Victorian London, a ''TyrannosaurusRex'' has surprisingly appeared in the Thames outside the Houses of Parliament, prompting the arrival of Madame Vastra and the Paternoster Gang to investigate how it got there. When it vomits up the TARDIS, which in turn reveals the newly regenerated Twelfth Doctor and Clara ([[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor last seen in the TARDIS as it was crashing]]), that particular mystery seems to be solved -- but when the dinosaur spontaneously combusts later that night, our heroes realise that something more complicated is at work. The incredibly disoriented Doctor launches himself into an investigation of who or what is going around incinerating people (and dinosaurs), and for what sinister purposes, while Clara tries to adjust to the new man that her friend has become and to decide whether or not she can continue to trust him.

* ''TyrannosaurusRex'': The Doctor accidentally brings a giant one to London. The Half-Face Man later kills her for one inch of her optic nerve.

* Gorgeous Period Dress: Madam Vastra and Jenny Flint in this story wear period dresses and in their appearances in other episodes.

* Gorgeous Period Dress: Madam Vastra and Jenny Flint in this story period dresses and at times in several other appearances.

* AmbiguousSituation: Lampshaded with the Half-Face Man's death. When he suddenly appears in a place called Paradise, Missy asks if he was pushed out or jumped of his own free will, since that part isn't shown, only the landing.