Thoughts on Listen, Time Heist, and The Caretaker
Episode 4: Listen
New Who, especially in episodes written by Steven Moffat, has a penchant for making us afraid of ordinary things. "Blink" is probably the most obvious example - I know I'll never be able to turn my back on an angel statue without feeling at least a little apprehensive about it - and "The Empty Child" made it impossible to see gas masks the same way ever again. Similarly, in "Listen" we are treated to one of the scariest episodes of Doctor Who in quite a few years. What's scaring us? A creature under a blanket. It may be a fearsome beast, or a child playing a joke; we may never know which.
Which is where this episode sort of lets me down.
Don't get me wrong; I think this episode is the best writing Steven Moffat has done for Doctor Who in a long time. It's well-written, obviously carefully thought-out, well-acted, psychologically fascinating, plus that blanket scene was so creepy it actually had me considering turning a few lights on. Fantastic!
Let's start with the positives: the opening monologue is brilliant. Having the Doctor talk to himself as he delivers a speech about a creature who listens when you talk to yourself has got to be one of the best ideas for an opening Moffat has ever had. It's both amusing and thrilling, and extremely effective.
This episode also has some killer one-liners, showcasing that razor-sharp wit Moffat's best scripts have to offer, and this one is no exception. Some delightful examples:
[Clara walks into her bedroom to find the Doctor sitting at her mirror]
Doctor: "Why do you have three mirrors? Why don't you just turn your head?"
Later - [Doctor, Clara, and Orson in the TARDIS]
Doctor: (to Orson, about Clara) "It's because her face is so wide. Do you know she needs three mirrors?"
[when Rupert explains that not every book is a Where's Wally book]
Doctor: (tossing the book aside) "Well, that's a few years of my life I'll be needing back!"
And, of course, one of my favorite scenes between the Doctor and Clara this season:
[Clara, smiling, hugs the Doctor as he tries to pull away]
Doctor: "No, not the hugging! I'm against the hugging!"
(Just my personal addition, Capaldi seems seconds away from cracking a smile during this scene. He and Coleman just seem to get on so well together; it must be hard sometimes to act like that towards someone you really do enjoy working with!)
The concept of a dream that everyone has having some kind of meaning behind it is an incredibly intriguing concept. I think I would be more convinced of it had I ever had that dream; unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I haven't. I know I can't be alone; perhaps Moffat is using this episode so that everyone who watches it will dream about it, thus having that dream, therefore making it a self-fulfilling prophecy?
...Yes, that sounds like the kind of thing Moffat would enjoy.
What I'm saying about this episode is that, while each individual part of it is well done, when trying to pull them all together it doesn't always quite hold. There's Clara's date with Danny, the Doctor trying to find a hidden monster, Danny's past, Danny and Clara's grandchild at the end of the world (which kind of takes away any suspense of them getting together, but never mind), and then Clara ending up on Gallifrey in the Doctor's childhood, which ends up tying back in to the Doctor's search for the monster. It kind of makes sense (in the kind of nonsensical sense Doctor Who always makes), but in the process it tends to feel a bit unfocused. "Blink" worked because its story line was tightly written and very suspenseful; that's not to say "Listen" isn't a good episode, it's just not quite as tight.
I think my main disappointment lies in there not being a monster under the blanket after all. Wouldn't that have been the creepiest monster of Doctor Who yet! No need for the sight of an angel statue to give you the creeps; whenever you started talking out loud to yourself, you would get a shiver up your back! I wanted there to be something in the dark; instead, we get another examination of the Doctor's psyche, which in itself isn't a bad thing - I just wish there wasn't so much of it this season.
I'm also not sure what to think of Clara determining all of the Doctor's beliefs. It's a time travel paradox, so I suppose I shouldn't think too hard about it (or I'll probably end up hurting my brain); it just pulls her back into an Impossible Girl-esque arc of always having been there in the Doctor's life. I'm not sure a companion should hold that sort of influence over the Doctor; in a way it diminishes him and all the beliefs that make him who he is. Why should they be attributed to a single person? I'm thinking too hard about this, aren't I?
Whatever its flaws, this episode is still an excellent example of the kind of stories Doctor Who can do. The writing and psychology behind it are fascinating, and I think this is probably the first episode to have potential to become a classic within the Twelfth Doctor's era.
Other notables:
-The psychic paper is back!!
-If that was a kid under the blanket, I would have loved to have seen his face when the Doctor was yelling things like, "Go in peace!" His thoughts were probably something like: 'Um...okay...'
Episode 5: Time Heist
"The Satanic Nebula...or, the Lagoon of Lost Stars...or, we could go to Brighton! I've got a whole day worked out!"
This is quite possibly my favorite opening line of Season 8, and definitely my favorite opening line in a long time. To the Doctor, Brighton holds just as much potential for adventure as a nebula or a lagoon. I suppose it does, at least when he's there!
Again, let's start with positives: this is not a story about the Doctor! Of course it involves the Doctor, and we learn more about him through the story, but ultimately the main focus is not him or his psyche or whether he is a good man or not, points which "Deep Breath," "Into the Dalek," and "Listen" were all constantly occupied with. No, here we've gotten back to basics; it's a survival story, a rescue mission. Like Ten saving the Ood in Season 4, Twelve saves the two Tellers, within the most ridiculous bank heist ever seen. Does the story have its flaws? Yes, of course. But at least here we've gotten back to what the show has as its best: a genuine care and appreciation for life in all its forms, and saving others when they can't save themselves. It's a beautiful thought, and it's the reason why I really love the reveal at the end of this episode.
Another positive is the characters. Psi and Sabra are a great addition to the cast, if only for one episode (we're assuming; there's always a chance they'll be back for the season finale). Unlike, say, Journey Blue in "Into the Dalek," each of them comes across as likable and well-written as characters; they both have intriguing back stories and add some human element to the bizarre Bank of Karabraxos. Miss Delphox, the head of security at the Bank, however, can come across as a bit campy. I can't tell if it's uneven acting on Keely Hawes' part or just lazy screenwriting (her odd monologues to herself seem to suggest the latter).
What's obviously the most interesting element of this episode is its narrative structure. Rather than tell the story in the correct order, Moffat and Steve Thompson choose to go all Memento on the audience and start in the middle, slowly working through what has led up to the current events throughout the episode. It's definitely a clever idea, especially with the added plot fixture of the memory worms and the amnesia they cause. Unfortunately, I feel like the episode length doesn't let the idea reach its full potential. While Memento has two hours to work its magic, "Time Heist" only has forty-five minutes; the unfortunate side effect is that the end 'reveal' feels very rushed, and sets the pacing a bit askew for the audience. Moffat and Thompson bit off a bit more than they could chew; still, I'll give them points for trying something different!
The only other thing that bothers me a bit is when Psi and Sabra are revealed to be not dead ("Team Not Dead" after all!). While I'm not saying I wanted them to die, I'm just a bit fed up with Moffat and his emotional cop-outs. If a character is dead, let them stay dead - if everyone can come back to life, the show loses its tension, and the audience checks out emotionally. Moffat is notorious for this - the three recurring characters of his own invention - Captain Jack Harkness, River Song, and Clara Oswald - have all avoided death in some way. While we did see Jack die as the Face of Boe, in the rest of the show he is still the man that won't die. While we saw River die in her first episode, her timeline is so messed up, she could come sailing in at any moment and it would make perfect sense because "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey." Clara Oswald is the Impossible Girl - no matter how many times she died, she always came right back in her next life, as Oswin, as the governess in "The Snowmen," as all the countless Claras who followed the Doctor through all his lives. What I'm trying to say is, Moffat seems to have an allergy to character death - the fans say he kills off his characters, but even if that's true, he always brings them back. This is starting to occur in 'Sherlock' as well!
Enough with all the resurrections! If you kill off a character, make them stay dead!! I can't feel emotional over someone whose died who I know is just going to show up again later; it's an emotional cop-out, and I'm getting a bit tired of it.
While "Time Heist" isn't the best episode, I definitely give it points for trying. It's got some great characters, snappy one-liners, and a unique plot structure that definitely keeps it interesting!
Other notables:
-After this episode, I feel the Doctor's new "catchphrase" might be "Shut up!"
-Doctor: "Calories consumed on the TARDIS have no lasting effect."
Clara: "What? Are you kidding?"
Doctor: "Of course I'm kidding! It's a time machine, not a miracle worker!"
Best conversation about the TARDIS ever.
-"Robbing a bank. Robbing a whole bank. Beat that for a date!" Doctor, are you being...possessive over Clara? I can't tell if it's adorable, or kind of awkward. Adorably awkward? Awkwardly adorable?
Episode 6: The Caretaker
A big problem of Season 7 that a lot of fans commented on was the characterization (or lack thereof) of Clara. Because of the Impossible Girl arc, the writers had to hold back giving her whole back story, but a major backfire of that was the sense that we didn't know her, and her whole identity as a character just flatlined. She was cute, sassy, and kind, but beyond that, Clara just felt like a void of a character. For me personally, I could identify with companions like Rose, Donna, and Martha; with Clara, I felt like there was nothing there to identify with.
Well, either Moffat listened to the fans or finally turned his brain on, because Clara is an actual person this season, with faults just like everyone else, and it isn't displayed any better than in "The Caretaker."
In "Deep Breath," the Doctor remarks on Clara being a "control freak"; while I thought that was sort of odd, since Clara hasn't had enough agency before to be in control of anything, it's definitely something they're playing up this season. While I hadn't seen much evidence of it before Season 8 (besides convincing the Doctor to use the TARDIS to help her cook a Christmas turkey in "The Time of the Doctor" - come on, Clara, really? All the uses for the TARDIS and you're going to use it as a time-travel oven?), and I personally dislike it playing into the stereotype of the controlling shrew, it does help in giving her something that separates her from the perfect Impossible Girl of Season 7.
Her "control freak" nature is captured very well in the first few minutes of the episode, in a montage of her going back and forth between her life as a teacher at Coal Hill and her life with the Doctor. Another criticism of last season was that Clara transitioned too easily between these two parts of her life. The whole point of showing the companion's life before the Doctor is that you can't have it both ways; your home life starts getting involved, which was Jackie for Rose, Wilf for Donna, and Rory for Amy. Eventually one life starts encroaching on the other, and you have to make a choice. Clara, while clearly seeing the signs that she can't keep up both lives, has yet to admit defeat, and tries to convince herself that she can handle it, even while it's perfectly obvious that she can't. Clara of Season 8 has flaws and blind spots just like anyone else; again, while I'm not a huge fan of the "control freak" stereotype, I definitely prefer this over the immaculate, impossibly perfect Impossible Girl.
Another key fixture of this episode is Danny. While the montage gives us a good idea of Clara's life, its downfall is that it doesn't give us a good idea of her and Danny's relationship. During the montage we apparently skip over a good part of a year, but even though we see Danny and Clara together, we don't see enough to understand their dynamic or to even get to know Danny very well. Even though he was introduced in the second episode, Danny still feels like a stranger, and that's not a good thing for someone who is the reason Clara might leave her life with the Doctor. How do we sympathize with her potentially choosing him over a life traveling all of time and space when we don't even know him?
It's actually a bit sad how Danny comes across in this episode; that is, he's actually kind of annoying. Danny's the reason the Doctor can't get rid of Skovox Blitzer, because Danny takes down one of the generators needed to send Blitzer into the future. When Clara and the Doctor show him the TARDIS, "It's bigger on the inside" and everything, Danny isn't in awe - he just looks at it with this irritated expression. I don't care how mad you are at your girlfriend, it's a frikkin' time machine! You should be standing in complete amazement right now!
The last straw came when he asked Clara "Why do you fly off in the box with him?" Danny is the kind of person the Doctor, and we as the audience, don't like and don't identify with, because this shouldn't have to be explained! The companions stay with the Doctor because they have a sense of adventure, this ultimate need to live beyond their own average, everyday lives. Danny's astonishing lack of adventure, shown by his question, has me questioning whether he's really a character I can like, or even respect. Obviously Clara sees something she likes in him; unfortunately we as the audience don't know what that is. All we really have to go off of is this episode, and it doesn't show Danny in a particularly good light.
The Doctor and Danny's rivalry over Clara's life doesn't really shine a good light on anyone. We knew it was going to be potentially awkward, but the end result is almost cringe-worthy. Surprisingly, the Doctor seems to come out the best of the lot; while he seems to be angry at Danny just for the sake of being difficult, in the end it's Danny who figures out what the real problem is: "I need to be good enough for you. That's why he's angry. Just in case I'm not." Perhaps Danny's comment on the Doctor being Clara's "space dad" is one of the more accurate descriptions of the relationship, although it's obviously more complicated than that. It's clear from Clara's relief when the Doctor gives his approval (although actually he's approving her dating Adrian, the teacher with the bowtie - seriously, Doctor, how vain can you get?) that it means the world to her. How unfortunate, then, that her actual boyfriend ends up being a person who mocks the Doctor and chastises him about acting like a commanding officer, bringing up a military past that the Doctor would rather forget. This moment showed Danny at his worst, and frankly it's going to take one hell of a good character arc to make me like him again.
Even Clara doesn't come out unscathed in this terrible confrontation. When asked by Danny what's going on, in a desperate attempt to keep up the illusion of her control over her life, Clara finally bursts out with, "It's a play!"
No, Clara, no.
Then it just gets worse. When Danny asks who the Doctor is, Clara dithers, not really sure, as most Whovians are when explaining the Doctor to novices of the show, how to explain him in a way people who don't know him will understand. As the person the Doctor is closest to, the one who has been with him through everything, loss and heartbreak and death, and even regeneration, you expect her to say something like "He's my friend!", just something simple that explains the essence of this intricate, complicated, amazing friendship.
Instead, what does she say? "The Doctor is...an alien!"
No, Clara. No. NO.
The Doctor deserves so much more than that! Even he looks disappointed, and maybe even a bit hurt, at her words. How can that be all that you think of him? I was disappointed in Clara; we'd come so far with her character development, only to have her drop something as awful as that. Hopefully we can just chalk this up to bad writing, and hope that that kind of treatment towards the Doctor never happens again between him and his companion.
It's still making me cringe just thinking about that scene.
The episode on the whole isn't bad; Danny at least redeems himself slightly at the end by saving the world via a fancy flip (Is he a gymnast now? Is that what we're supposed to like about him?). I wish there was more of a focus on the actual plot; Skovox Blizer is, after all, one of the deadliest killing machines ever. You'd think there'd be more of him with just that qualification. Still, it does do a good job developing the characters (even if that development isn't always where we want them to go), and it actually has quite a lot of amusing moments. It may not be my favorite episode, but it's good enough to deserve a re-watch or two, although I may just skip over the whole Danny-Doctor-Clara confrontation.
Other notables:
-"I'm a caretaker now. Look, I've got a brush" - I guess Eleven never truly leaves.
-Courtney: "It says 'Go Away Humans.'"
Doctor: "Never lose your temper in the middle of a door sign!"
-After hearing her name in "Listen," we finally get an introduction to the next companion of the series, Courtney Woods. So far we don't know much except she's a "disruptive influence," which I guess is as apt a description for the Doctor as any as well. I was a little surprised that the Doctor ended up taking her into space; I guess he's feeling like he may need to know his options if he ends up companion-less? Although you probably shouldn't make a habit of taking away random schoolchildren in your big blue box, Doctor; it could potentially look a bit sketchy...
-Another appearance of the Promised Land. I wonder what has Missy looking so troubled?
Season 8 Ranking So Far:
1. Listen (Episode 4)
2. Into the Dalek (Episode 2)
3. Deep Breath (Episode 1)
4. The Caretaker (Episode 6)
5. Time Heist (Episode 5)
6. Robot of Sherwood (Episode 3)
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