Every once in a while Doctor Who is able to stop you in your tracks. The show can deliver an episode that is not just a great landmark for the series but astonishingly good storytelling overall. People often cite Blink from the modern era as being the benchmark of what is truly possible when Who fires on all cylinders, well, believe it or not, Listen just might stand proudly alongside it. The episode opens with the Doctor ruminating on disguise, how something can adapt and stay hidden, soon becomes evident he is not just dealing in hypotheticals, there may be something else in the TARDIS with him. The Doctor pulls Clara out of the aftermath of a failed date with Danny Pink to investigate his theory, something he may have been ruminating on by himself for a very long time it seems. His belief is that everybody at some point in their lives has the exact same nightmare, something grabbing your legs from under the bed. Confirming Clara her self had the dream like everyone else he has observed, he ties the TARDIS into her memory to go back to when she herself had the dream and find out what it was that reached out for her.
Obviously its not as clear cut as that to figure out the mystery, but what starts as a search for a monster actually ends up being an examination of fear. Moffat has time and again used the idea of something in the corner of your eye or some common object actually being a terrifying entity. Listen is terrific at capturing that chilling feeling at something being in the room with you, exacerbating the panic and tension of the situation, elevating a creaking door or clanking pipe into something more, or is it? Because its uncertain here whether there really is anything to fear but fear itself. Listen is more of a focus piece looking at a slightly unraveled Time Lord, left too long to his own devices he has allowed a mild paranoia to creep in, ruminated too long on a memory and concocted a mission to explain his own fears. Listen flitted between the scary and the hilarious, was large in scale and ideas while remaining very intimate, but was totally absorbing throughout.
Capaldi has certainly found his groove in the role. This is a far more in control Doctor, a quiet menace, in his element. A whispered performance far more suited to Capaldi than anything bombastic you would expect from Smith. He’s more often likely to use a piece of chalk than his sonic screwdriver. His snarky rapport and callbacks to the size of Clara’s face are hilarious with perfect timing. But it is his showing of the Doctor’s vulnerability and fear that really leave a mark. That being said, I don’t really like his sparkly new bedazzled jumper.
Moffat again shows off his ability to write relationships, honed from his time on Coupling. The “date scene” between Clara and Danny gives a very accurate and entertaining look at the pairings first romantic outing. A relationship that already seems to be more mature than anything we’ve seen on the show in recent memory. The time traveling nature of the show also gives some additional dynamics to the date as well as seeds a fascinating bond between the pair back in Danny’s childhood. Good writing had already set the two on a great path, using the dynamics of the show has enhanced that with depth and real weight. Clara who has been so superbly reinvigorated this season gets another reason to adore her. We often see the Doctor’s actions forge his Companions into stronger individuals and really unleash there potential. Here the tables are turned, it’s suggested that the Doctor’s path may have been set in motion by Clara. True she recites something she heard the older Doctor say back to his younger self so now we’re dealing with a chicken and the egg scenario within temporal mechanics. To avoid getting a headache, it is a rather touching moment and offers further empathy towards this crotchety incarnation of our beloved Time Lord.
I mentioned Blink earlier. I will line these episodes up alongside each other but there are caveats in this. Blink is fantastic science fiction and storytelling in general. It is an incredibly clever concept, astonishingly well executed. The Doctor himself is more of a side character in the episode though which while I don’t feel undermines it, somewhat increases its general accessibility, its central idea is one that could be adapted in a plethora of ways. Listen differs in that the focus is Doctor heavy, its storyline and premise equally clever but is far more entwined with the show and history of the protagonist. The Time Lord’s past, a nod to the War Doctor, continued reinforcement of the bond between Doctor and Companion Clara as well as a stronger link with the incoming Danny Pink, all deftly delivered in one episode. While Blink may me more entertaining and better regarded, Listen deserves equal plaudits for crafting a tale tied so strongly to the mythos of Doctor Who.
Listen is simply one of the best episodes of Doctor Who in years. It is a clever and yet simple central idea that does what the show does best — drive people to hide behind the sofa, but it then builds on this to develop the entire cast, reframe motivations and enrich the 50 year history of the show and character of the Doctor. That is no mean feat and is something to be applauded for in its attempt and execution, while still providing a great piece of entertainment. Superb.
Next Week: Time Heist — “The Doctor turns bank robber when he is given a task he cannot refuse — to steal from the most dangerous bank in the cosmos. With the help of a beautiful shape-shifter and cyber-augmented gamer, the Doctor and Clara must fight their way past deadly security and come face to face with the fearsome Teller: a creature of terrifying power that can detect guilt…”