Listen

"Question: Why do we talk out loud when we know we.'re alone? Conjecture: Because we know we're not."

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 13th September 2014

Series: 8.04

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The Doctor sets out on a mission to find out why we talk to ourselves when we're alone. Or are we? A children's home in the 1990s and the last planet at the end of the universe seem to hold the answer. 

Verdict 

Listen was an outstanding episode of Doctor Who and certainly a lot better than I remembered from original broadcast! Now, given that I originally gave the episode a rating of 9/10, I guess you can see where this one is going. I complained hugely about the character of Orson Pink last time around with me wrongly thinking he was a distant relative of Danny and had actually survived all the way until the end of time and the universe itself. When watching on broadcast I must have been distracted slightly at a pivotal moment for the episode when it was said that Orson was the first recorded human to time travel. I missed that last time around and once I noticed my mistake I just knew this episode would get full marks. I think it was in his DWM column that Steven Moffat stated that he wrote this episode to prove that he can write stories other than series openers, finales and specials. I'm not sure what he felt he had to prove after the massive successes of the likes of The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink but I'm glad he did feel a need to write a mid-series episode as what he gave us was phenomenal. I just love the idea of the Doctor coming up with his own theory on why people randomly talk aloud when alone. I think we've all done it but his curiosity was overcoming like never before! It was even more extreme than in The Daleks and that's saying something. The dinner date between Clara and Danny was pretty irrelevant to the episode and I do wish they stopped with series arcs. I really don't care who the companion is dating! However, Clara did look unbelievable. Jenna truly is mesmerising. The Doctor parking the TARDIS in Clara's bedroom, knowing she was on a date, to be hiding in case the date was a success was just brilliant and perfect for this incarnation of the Doctor. He'd summoned her for help with his theory. The preceding moments with the Doctor giving his thoughts on a creature evolved to hide were sublime. I loved how the Doctor wanted a sign of their existence and he got with the chalk being taken and 'Listen' appearing on his blackboard. Clara linking up with the TARDIS interface was good and I liked the Doctor giving her instructions not to get distracted but just at the pivotal moment her phone rang and the thoughts of Danny were implanted into her mind. The arrival at the children's home in Gloucester was very funny because of Clara's reaction. The moment she saw little Danny, or Rupert, in the window was nice. The Doctor entering the home for a 2am inspection was brilliant and I liked how Clara blatantly ignored his instruction of going back to the TARDIS. She knew that it wasn't her childhood that they were visiting. The prospect of going back and seeing your own childhood from the perspective of being grown up is a magnificent one and I really would love to go back and watch myself from afar. I'm so glad technology wasn't what it is today 10 years ago. I'd adore going back to see myself playing the Playstation 1, GameBoy Advance and Snake on my Nokia phone! It's not quite the mid-'90s but it suffices. I really adored Clara in consoling Rupert about his nightmare of someone grabbing your ankle from under your bed. Except it wasn't a nightmare. The idea of the hiding creatures was marvellous and the moment Clara and Rupert were under the bed and something sat on it was chilling. The Doctor's arrival was fantastic and I liked how he encouraged Rupert to hold on to being scared. I loved the fact that Moffat kept it open about these creatures actually existing. It really could have been just one of Rupert's friends fooling around. But that's not my consensus. I absolutely despise religion but the supernatural is something I'm really open to believing. Why do we talk to ourselves when we can just as easily here our own voice and what we'd want to say in our heads? Are we alone? Who knows. I'd love to think that we're not. The Doctor massively encouraging the creature that it had been given what it craved in not being seen was stunning and I liked Clara guarding underneath Rupert's bed with the gunless soldier. That was a nice touch. Orson was an intriguing character and after my disaster of not picking up that he was a time traveller on original broadcast really is embarrassing. I liked how it was mentioned time travel runs in the family suggesting what appeared the obvious that Clara and Danny will end up together. Where that leaves Death in Heaven though I'm not sure. The journey to the very last planet is a daunting prospect and I loved how immediately the Doctor noticed the door was locked. If there was nothing left then what was there to be scared of? The Doctor's curiosity was at an all time peak and I really can't recall a time where he went this far because he just wanted to know something. His aggressiveness in ordering Clara into the TARDIS or she doesn't travel with him again showed just how much he wanted her safe, but how much he wanted to know. He strived for the information and despite the ambiguous nature once again, I hope he got what he was looking for. After Orson rescued him, something even more incredible happened. The TARDIS landed on Gallifrey. The scene in the barn was just amazing and once the word 'academy' was mentioned I was overwhelmed with excitement. There she was, Clara Oswald, giving the Doctor his nightmare. The flashback to The Day of the Doctor with the War Doctor returning to the place he cried as a child to destroy his planet and people in order to wipe out the Daleks was excellent. Clara striding back into the TARDIS knowing that she'd set the motion in works for the Doctor's nightmare theory was wonderful. It left the ambiguity open once again as to whether there are creatures perfectly adapted to hiding. I was surprised though that the Doctor did as he was told and left without asking questions. However, that shows just how much Clara means to him and how he values what she says. Overall, a Moffat masterpiece and I'm really intrigued to see where this story will rank in DWM polls to come. Much better than on broadcast! 

Rating: 10/10