Peter Capaldi's fourth story is funny, frightening and a revelation for long-term fans of Doctor Who.
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| What's that in the shadows? (Image: Deviantart) |
In 'Listen', the
Doctor joins those other great British folk heroes and loners Sherlock Holmes
and James Bond in having a troubled start to his life. There have been hints
about this in Doctor Who before - his 'black day' when he poured out his
troubles to the hermit that lived behind his house ('The Time Monster'), just scraping
through the Academy's exams on the second attempt ('The Ribos Operation') - but
here we see it confirmed.
The shock on
Clara's face when she realises the sobbing child in the bed she's hiding under
is the Doctor brilliantly reflects the thrill I and millions of other viewers
must have felt. In effect, 'Listen' is the last of the Time Lord's Skyfall, as
the clip of the War Doctor (John Hurt) choosing the dilapidated barn in the
wastes of Gallifrey for a final act of violence is now given a context by the
childhood unhappiness he felt there. It's clever stuff indeed.
'Listen' gets
cleverer. The Twelfth Doctor's obsession with discovering if the nightmare of
someone under your bed has a basis in reality, is shown to be a by-product of
his companion Clara's advice to him as a boy in that barn. OK, it's yet another
piece of Steven Moffat timey-wimeyness, but the emotional power of it is so
strong that it's almost worth having gone through all the maddeningly
convoluted storytelling in Series Six to get here.
With only three
principal speaking parts in the story, Capaldi, Coleman and Samuel Anderson
really get to blossom. The leading man is restrained and sympathetic, a stand
out when he tells Rupert Pink that 'scared is a superpower' and making the
tantalising comment about his 'Dad skills'. As we've seen before Capaldi
clearly relishes his character's darker side, as here he makes the most of the
Doctor experimenting on Clara in a ruthless quest for knowledge. From the
romcom scenes with Danny Pink in the restaurant to gently whispering
reassurances in a Gallifreyan child's ear, Jenna Coleman continues to impress
with both her comedy timing and emotional range. Anderson is great, too: funny,
moody and subtly different as time traveller - chrononaut? - Colonel Orson
Pink. These three are without a doubt the strongest line up of regulars the
series has had for years.
In a story set
mostly at night, director Douglas Mackinnon creates a murky, edgy mood
throughout that reaches the peak of its effectiveness in the scene where he
makes a mound of bedclothes absolutely terrifying (and I bet you anything you
like it turns out to be Missy under there). Other images that'll remain with me
forever are two visually stunning moments: the Doctor sitting cross-legged on
top of the TARDIS in space, then looking in through the police box's open doors
as it sits at the bottom of the ocean. Not showing the child-Doctor's face was
a good piece of directorial judgement too.
Ultimately,
'Listen' is a well told and well-made shaggy dog story, that's also a
great piece of fan fiction with an effective emotional punch. It'll divide
opinion, I'm sure, but that's one of the joys of Doctor Who. The story
is low key but epic, creepy, humane, slightly self-indulgent and rather
wonderful, another love letter by Steven Moffat to the series he's been in love
with since he was a boy.
That's four out
of four so far. Can they keep it up? Looking at the trailer for 'Next Week', it
certainly looks like it.
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