24 Aug 2014

Capaldi debuts as the new Dr Who

10:38 pm on 24 August 2014

Some Doctor Who fans in New Zealand have been getting a sneek peek today in cinemas of the first episode featuring Peter Capaldi as the twelfth actor to play the Doctor.

Peter Capaldi

Peter Capaldi Photo: AFP

Capaldi's first episode, Deep Breath, began showing in some New Zealand cinemas earlier today.

Critics in the UK have hailed Capaldi's feature-length debut as the 12th Doctor, the BBC reports.

The Telegraph said the Scots actor "crackled with fierce intelligence and nervous energy".

While in the Guardian, called his performance "wise and thoughtful", though decried the plot as "demented".

Richard Beech, in the The Mirror, agreed Capaldi had "all the hallmarks of a great Doctor" and called the opening episode, "an impeccable debut".

The BBC makes huge profits from selling Dr Who abroad and increasingly of screening of special episodes in cinemas this new episode will be shown to paying audiences in hundreds of cinemas across 24 countries from Kazakhstan to Ecuador.