Thank the (Time) Lord, Peter Capaldi has landed.

High fives to all the Whoovers who set the alarm clocks to make the ABC's 4.50am live feed of Season 8, Episode 1.

I managed to get around my distaste at having to rise at such an ungodly hour by not going to sleep in the first place. Saturday night was spent at a wedding reception, and by the time I returned home, the best plan seemed to be to kick right on through.

So recapping in an off-kilter mental state seems appropriate for the debut episode of the Twelfth Doctor, as Dozen himself spent most of it running around with crazy eyes and rambling nonsensically.

SPOILER WARNING, read further at your own risk.

Series 8, Episode 1: Deep Breath

The first episode for a new Doctor must be a nightmare for all involved. After working up a different take on the regeneration itself, writers then need to find a way for the Doctor and his companion to chew over the changes, solve whatever immediate crisis looms, engender a deep abiding love for the new Doctor and lay the groundwork for following episodes.

It's a tough job, and possibly something we all should have kept in mind before declaring that Capaldi's debut would be awesomely amazing and perfect in every way. There were great character moments and a conclusion that showed a lot of heart and promise, but overall Deep Breath was solid, not spectacular like Matt Smith's turn in The Eleventh Hour.

A quick plot summary: an oversized T-Rex shows up in the Thames in London, and spits out a Tardis-shaped hairball. Crime-fighting trio Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax are conveniently on hand to find an unsettled new Doctor and a confused Clara rolling about in the muddy river banks. Investigations into a string of deaths caused by spontaneous combustion lead them all to the droid they were looking for - a clockwork repair bot that's been replacing itself with human parts for centuries.

With the clockwork droid's ship revealed as the S.S. Marie Antoinette, a sister ship of the S.S. Madame de Pompadour, that sense that Stephen Moffat was just ripping off his earlier story The Girl in the Fireplace was justified (he even had Dozen riding a horse, for crying out loud). But of course, the real plot was the Doctor's new face, and what that means for his relationship with Clara.

The episode is thick with face-related references: Capaldi not wanting to look in a mirror because "it's furious"; Madame Vastra constantly lifting and lowering her veil in an extended lacy metaphor; the clockwork droid killing the dinosaur for an optic nerve and killing a man for his "good eyes"; the Doctor ripping the face off one breathless droid minion, then disguising himself in the face of another; all those close-ups of Clara's face as she struggled to hold her breath to fool the minion droids.

Then there was that sumptuous broom analogy the Doctor delivered to the clockwork droid: you replace the handle, then the brush, over and over again, and so it isn't the same broom anymore. There was a start of recognition as the Doctor realised the analogy could just as easily apply to him. Does he wear faces that reflect his insides, or do his outsides only reflect what others want to see? Was he really always a force for good, or had he been hiding his moral ambiguity beneath straight teeth and boyish charm?

In the final confrontation, we see that potential in the Twelfth Doctor - he plainly speaks of the possibility of having to kill the droid, before physically fighting him and suggesting one of them has lied about their basic programming (self-destruction versus murder).

We don't see whodunnit, but in the end the Doctor is alone, no witnesses to what happened, no need to explain himself to a companion.

All this led to the bittersweet appearance of Matt Smith, dialling in from near his end in Trenzalore, urging Clara to help his next incarnation. In his loveliest moment, Dozen wished Clara could see him, the real him. He had said he was not her boyfriend, and when she replied she never thought he was, he said it wasn't her mistake.

It seems the Doctor was finally … facing the truth (groan).

Twelve doesn't want or need the physical approval of his companions. He has come to realise that if people are going to travel with him it needs to be because they see him as an intellectual, an adventurer, even a grumpy old man, not as nerdy crumpet. Old school Whoovers will no doubt be crossing their fingers for another regular male companion to take up residence inside the Tardis, one who's not tied to an existing female (eg Mickey, Rory).

Of course the irony is that Peter Capaldi is the silveriest of silver foxes and Clara's not the only one who wanted to throw her arms around him by episode's end. I mean, it's good for the series that he's not a "huggy" Doctor, but still...

Now for some complaints about the episode.

Its key fault seemed to lie with the Victorian-era Scooby Gang of Vastra, Jenny and Strax. It felt like the story could have been done without them; that they were there to pad out the running time and act as exposition monkeys for Clara.

Sure they turned up at the droid's spaceship lair in their fighting onesies to kick some clockwork arse, but it was still Clara who ultimately saved them by ordering them to hold their breath.

And what's with Vastra and Jenny dropping constant references to being married? Throw in a reference for the absolute newcomers, but regular viewers are aware. Vastra and Jenny are a demonstrably affectionate couple. We've already drawn the erotic fan art. If you want to be seen as forward-thinking just be forward-thinking. I'm sure there's a piece of writerly advice that runs along the lines of "show, don't tell".

And while Dozen might have a few extra wrinkles, it's the Comedy Sontaran (Seintaran?) that's really getting old. Strax has some fun lines, but Moffat must be resigned to never bringing the Sontarans back in any truly threatening way. They're now the roly-poly lovable army of cloned warriors with a death-in-battle fetish.

And while the giant T-Rex was cute, and a big brassy opener, it seemed to be a case of style over substance. The tramp the Doctor used as a springboard for ideas did far more during this episode than the dinosaur and the Scooby Gang combined.

Highlights

That stunning new title sequence with tickety-tockety proper old clockety clocks and Capaldi's mesmerising eyes looming out of the time vortex.

The clockwork droid going all Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs and constructing a hot air balloon out of human skin.

Lowlights

Clara's hair. OK, fair enough, put her in Victorian garb because it suits the steampunky vibe and damnit bustles are amazing. But seriously, how did her hair go from a messy bedhead nest to a perfectly curled and pinned up-do? Those styles take ages to do, and I doubt a modern gal like Clara has the technical know-how to achieve it. It's a pedantic complaint I know, but it really bugged me.

The epilogue sequence of a mysterious woman, possibly an evil Mary Poppins, claiming responsibility for the whole thing and telling the clockwork droid he had made it to heaven. I generally enjoy little codas like that, but for some reason this one was frustrating. I wanted this first episode to end with Doctor Dozen and Clara accepting the new dynamic in their relationship, not introducing an otherwise perfectly acceptable campy villain.