Yeah I love season 1, Eccleston was great, but there were just a lot of bad episodes. I tried to get friends in to it, and the pilot is a turnoff, and followed closely by the slitheen it isn't a very appealing start, most of my friends find. But it also has the Doctor Dances and those episodes are I think the best in the series.
I really liked season 8 because I found that I didn't dislike any episodes, and I just loved Flatline and Mummy on the Orient Express. I like Clara in S7, but I didn't like the episodes that much.
You're right about Deep Breath. The doctor didn't have his real 12 persona yet, with the whole amnesia thing.