Test yourself! Take this Deep Breath Quiz | The Series (2005-)

Answer: A giant dinosaur

A tyrannosaurus rex is wading in the Thames, looming over Big Ben. The dinosaur traveled to London when it swallowed the TARDIS. But have no fear, the Paternoster Gang (Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax) are on hand to investigate.
The clock tower was completed in 1858. Long known simply as "the clock tower," the name was changed to Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to celebrate Elizabeth II's 60th anniversary as monarch. The tower is an establishing shot for London in many films and television programs, and has been destroyed several times on "Doctor Who."

Answer: Shush

Strax knocks on the door of the TARDIS. The Doctor opens up, tells Strax "Shush" and quickly closes the door. This is understandable, as he had been pursued and eaten by a giant dinosaur only moments earlier.
The Doctor who emerges from the TARDIS is extremely confused, and uncertain of anybody's name, including Clara - whom he mistakes for his cybernetic assistant Handles. The Doctor also mistakes Strax for a dwarf, listing off the seven dwarves, finally settling on "Grumpy" as an appropriate designation for the Sontaran.

Answer: His eyebrows

The new Doctor delivers a wonderful rant about his eyebrows. Capaldi's eyebrows received a great deal of attention after his brief appearance in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) in which there was a magnificent closeup of his eyes.
"They're attack eyebrows," The Doctor declares. "They're independently cross. They could declare their own independent state of eyebrows." He also claims that his eyebrows could take bottle caps off. This was a sign that while Capaldi takes the role seriously, he does not take himself too seriously. There is a great deal of self-deprecating humor in this episode.

Answer: Spontaneous combustion

The Doctor reads about reports of spontaneous combustion, making him curious. Madame Vastra sees the same reports and comes to the conclusion that someone is burning the bodies to conceal they have been stealing body parts.
There are substances that will spontaneously combust: haystacks, piles of coal, and manure all have been known to build up enough exothermic heat to light on fire. While there are some documented cases of human combustion, it is extremely rare.
For vampires, check out "Vampires of Venice" (2010), with the 11th Doctor and the Ponds. For werewolves, see "Tooth and Claw" (2006), with the 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.

Answer: Mancini's

Clara sees an ad saying "Impossible Girl" and on the reverse there is an advertisement for Mancini's restaurant. It is the base of operations of the Half-face Man and his robot army. The Doctor notices that their fellow diners are not eating, or breathing. The Doctor and Clara are restrained and taken to a subterranean lair.
The restaurant scene is great in setting up the relationship between Clara and the new Doctor. They argue over who is a bigger egomaniac, and the Doctor actually gets Clara to admit that she is.

Answer: SS Marie Antoinette

In a nice piece of continuity, the Half-Face Man was on the Marie Antoinette, which was the sister ship of the SS Madame de Pompadour. The Madame de Pompadour was the ship the TARDIS landed on in "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006). In both cases, The Doctor fought clockwork robots who were harvesting human body parts to repair their spaceships.
The Doctor chased the Half-Faced Man as he was escaping in a balloon made out of human skin (#skinballoon). They argued as the balloon was flying over London, and the Half-faced Man is seen impaled on the clock tower at Big Ben. Whether he jumped or was pushed is not explained.
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was an Austrian princess who became the Queen of France from 1774 to 1792. She was executed by guillotine in October 1793 during the French Revolution.

Answer: Scottish

The new Doctor is most certainly Scottish, which means that he can complain about things (according to him). The Doctor's new Scottish nature is mentioned frequently throughout the episode, becoming almost a running joke. It was fitting that Madame Vastra spoke to the Doctor in a Scottish accent, as actress Neve McIntosh is a native of Paisley, Scotland. And at the end of the episode, the Doctor and Clara are in Glasgow. "Doctor Who" show-runner Steven Moffat is Scottish, and attended the University of Glasgow.
Peter Capaldi is Scottish. He was born and raised in Glasgow. Capaldi attended the Glasgow School of Art, where comedian Craig Ferguson was one of his closest friends. He is probably best known for his work on the BBC political comedy "The Thick of It" in which he played incredibly foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker.
Capaldi's mother was Irish and his father's family was from Italy. He played an Italian in "The Fires of Pompeii" (2008) and there were hints that there is some link between the new Doctor and the character of Caecilius. That character was based on a real banker who lived in Pompeii.

Answer: The 11th Doctor

In a nice exit for Matt Smith, the previous Doctor calls Clara from Trenzalore. He tells her how much the new version of the Doctor will need Clara's help. The 11th Doctor discovers to his dismay this new regeneration is older and has gray hair. "Anything but old," he declares. After the conversation, Clara agrees to stay with the new Doctor. They even have some playful banter.
We met Clara's grandmother in "The Time of the Doctor" (2013). Clara noted quite pointedly that she did not have a boyfriend.

Answer: Missy

At the very end of the episode, we see that the Half Face Man is in a place which is supposed to be paradise, or "the promised land" as he called it. We meet Missy, who appears to be running the place.
There has been much speculation as to who Missy is. She refers to the Doctor as her boyfriend. Missy could be the soul of the TARDIS, some alternate incarnation of River Song, a female version of The Master or a new regeneration of The Rani. Then again, she could be someone else entirely.
Missy is played by Michelle Gomez, another Scottish actress (she is from Ayr). She has been acting since 1989. Her first big film was "The Acid House" (1998). Gomez appeared in "Bad Education," a BBC comedy series in 2012 and was a crazy wedding planner in the 2012 film "The Wedding Video".

Answer: Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat wrote "Deep Breath." Moffat began as the Executive Producer on "Doctor Who" with Matt Smith's first episode in 2010. He has written most of the critical episodes of "Doctor Who" since then, including the entire River Song story arc. Moffat wrote many of the better episodes during the Russell Davies era, including "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace."
Ben Wheatley directed "Deep Breath." This was his first episode of "Doctor Who" as a director. He directed six feature films between 2009 and 2014.
Nikki Wilson was the producer for "Deep Breath". She began working on "Doctor Who" at the start of the eighth season. Wilson was the producer of most episodes of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" from 2008 to 2010.
Billy Hanshaw is a graphics designer who is a fan of "Doctor Who." He designed a title sequence for the show, simply for fun, and put it on YouTube. Moffat saw it, and liked it so much that he had Hanshaw design the new title sequence for Series 8. It features gears and time symbols, getting away from the plasma effects of past sequences.