Listen is an interesting episode of Dr Who from Steven Moffat. The story begins when nothing at all whatsoever causes the Doctor to suddenly take an interest in dreams and childhood fears of something under the bed. This non-event leads him to come up with a theory based on zero evidence or investigation on his part that we are all shadowed by a perfectly hidden other life form. With narrative cause and effect and the need for incident jettisoned, this episode gets off to a very odd start, with the Doctor talking to himself, as himself giving himself a lecture. Peter Capaldi somehow makes this bizarre scene watchable. Meanwhile companion Clara is having a very bad dating experience with Danny Pink. They are both touchy, oversensitive and keep saying bone-headed stuff. Unlike the usual mix of the mundane and the fantastic, this is strictly mundane and seems like it belongs in a Moffat rom-com like Coupling rather than Who. There are some good bits in the episode as it progresses, notably a freaky scene in a kids bedroom (young Danny) involving an enigmatic presence under a sheet and much implication of unseen menace, which is always a good idea. Theres a trip into the future which is involving. But ultimately it fails to join its dots or pay off. Were left with an enigmatic menace which is almost certainly all in the Doctors head. The big problem is, there just isnt enough specific stuff to suggest a real menace might exist. Whats more, Clara ends up involved in a scene which seems to reveal how the Doctor came by this notion in the first place and its so Scooby Doo as to kill the interest. As an hour of atmosphere and suspense, then, Listen is reasonable viewing. As satisfactory television, its short of the mark. There needed to be something which rekindled the Doctors interest in his childhood dreams and fears, there needed to be some indications of what the unseen menace could be or could want, there needed to be some genuine ambiguity and mystery. Listen is not as downright awful as In the Forest of the Night or as blatantly silly as Kill the Moon, but it stands as an oddity which reveals all that is good (the suspense) and really bad ( narrative) about Moffats writing.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 02:39:42 +0000
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