 "Listen" is the fourth story of Season Thirty Four (New Series 8) and has been written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. It explored the theory proposed by The Doctor due to past experiences, leading to some exploration of his childhood.
This story stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman with Samuel Anderson guest starring.
Samuel Anderson appears as both Danny Pink and Orson Pink, but was credited only as 'Danny Pink' both on-screen and in the Radio Times.
This is Samuel Anderson’s second appearance as Danny Pink, a troubled war veteran turned maths teacher and Clara Oswald's love interest. He was first seen in "Into the Dalek". In this story he also portrays his descendant, Orson Pink, Earth’s first time-traveller. Danny Pink's birth name is also revealed to be Rupert, and his reasons for becoming a soldier are explored.
This story co-stars Robert Goodman playing the part of Reg - the man The Doctor chats to at the children’s home. He previously appeared in Gangs of New York, Game of Thrones and Ripper Street.
This is not Robert Goodman’s first Doctor Who appearance. He previously featured in various small roles back in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a Mandrel in the 1979 Fourth Doctor story "Nightmare of Eden", a Citizen in the 1980 Fourth Doctor story "Full Circle", a Time Lord in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Arc of Infinity" and a Hyperion III officer in the Season Twenty Three (The Trial of the Timelord) 1986 story "Terror of the Vervoids".
Director Douglas MacKinnon has previously directed the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky", the 2012 Eleventh Doctor story "The Power of Three" and 2013 Eleventh Doctor story "Cold War". He therefore is the first person to have directed stories featuring the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors during their respective eras. Douglas MacKinnon, also directed "Time Heist" – the next story of this season. In addition Douglas MacKinnon's work, on the second series of the crime thriller Line of Duty, has been highly acclaimed.
The read through for this story took place on the 11th February 2014. Filming began on the 17th February 2014 at The Rest in Porthcawl, Bridgend. Filming continued at the Mimosa restaurant in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, on the 24th and 25th February 2014. Filming also took place in Bute Park and Whitchurch in Cardiff. Filming was completed on the 24th March 2014.
The Twelfth Doctor uses for the first time his psychic paper when he enters the children's home. The psychic paper was first seen in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "The End of the World" and later employed on several occasions by the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors.
This is the first time we see The Doctor as a child and it is revealed that in his youth he didn't want the other boys to hear him cry, which is why he sleeps in a barn.
The Gallifreyan adult, who visits the young Doctor in the barn, is heard to be sceptical of him joining the Academy and becoming a Time Lord.
Aside from archive footage, and body/voice doubles, this story marks the first time in years that the First Doctor has appeared in a story, as well as being played by a different actor (he has now been played by three different actors). This story also marks the very first instance The Doctor has been portrayed as a child in the televised series. He is also only the second Time Lord to be shown as a child. The first was The Master.
Clara's encounter with The Doctor as a young boy marks the second time a version of her has met his original incarnation, and the first from his perspective. In the 2013 story "The Name of The Doctor" one of Clara’s splinters, created after she entered The Doctor's time stream, had met the older First Doctor, suggesting which TARDIS to steal as he escaped from Gallifrey with his granddaughter Susan.
The reasons for the War Doctor choosing an abandoned barn for his activation of 'The Moment' in the 2013's Fiftieth Anniversary story "The Day of The Doctor" are revealed. This is the barn shown, in this story, to be The Doctor's childhood home on Gallifrey. Archive footage of John Hurt, from the fiftieth anniversary special, is seen in this story showing the War Doctor approaching the barn.
The Doctor mentions once more about being a father (see "An Unearthly Child", "Fear Her" and "The Doctor's Daughter").
Clara wonders if asking to be brought back in her recent past might break the laws of time. She also asks if it is bad if she meets herself which The Doctor replies that it is potentially catastrophic. We have previously witnessed several individuals encounter themselves thanks to time travel, and often there have been no ramifications, such as when the Third Doctor and Jo Grant met and had a brief conversation with themselves in the 1972 story "Day of the Daleks". However, in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead", when The Brigadier came into physical contact with another version of himself, a single momentary touch was enough to create a massive discharge of energy. Rose Tyler in "Father's Day" also persuaded The Doctor to take her back in time so that she could witness previous events which again resulted in catastrophic events.
Discounting TARDIS-orchestrated scenarios, Clara is the seventh companion to glimpse or encounter themselves in the past or future after Jo Grant ("Day of the Daleks"), The Brigadier ("Mawdryn Undead"), Peri Brown ("Peri and the Piscon Paradox"), Rose Tyler ("Father's Day"), Amy Pond ("The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood", "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang " and "Time") and Rory Williams ("The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood " and "Time").
Like Amy Pond in "Time", Clara admires herself. Her remark about how she looks from behind mirrors the Tenth Doctor remarking how rare it was to see the back of his own head (in this case the Fifth Doctor's in "Time Crash"), though Clara's assessment is more positive.
Upon seeing herself, Clara is heard to say: ‘Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?’ - quoting Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Clara is seen twice connecting herself to the TARDIS telepathic interface - first to retrieve the source of her nightmare and then to pilot the TARDIS.
Clara's words 'one day you're going to come back' and 'fear makes companions of us all' are both phrases The Doctor used in his early travels.
Clara's words 'fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly' echoes what The Doctor told her was the 'promise' related to his name (see "The Day of The Doctor").
The ominous chiming of the Cloister Bell is again heard when Clara is about to operate the TARDIS. It was first heard in the 1981 Fourth Doctor’s final story, "Logopolis", when he described it as ‘a sort of communications device reserved for wild catastrophes and sudden calls to man the battle stations’.
The real name of Danny is Rupert and as a child, in the 1990s, he lived in the West Country Children's Home in Gloucester.
Clara is heard to say that she has never been to Gloucester before.
The Doctor is able to sit on the roof of his TARDIS to meditate in the quiet vacuum of space without suffocating because the TARDIS can extended her air shields (see "The Horns of Nimon", "The Time of Angels", "The Beast Below" and "The Time of The Doctor").
The idea of something scary under the bed has been used in another story written by Steven Moffat - the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "The Girl in the Fireplace". During that story one of the clockwork droids hides under Reinette’s bed. When The Doctor finds it, the robot gets to its feet and stands behind Reinette. The Time Lord then advises the young girl, ‘Don’t look round!’. In this story, when the mysterious figure in Rupert Pink’s bedroom stands behind The Doctor, Clara and Rupert, The Doctor says the exact words to Clara. Moments later, when Rupert asks ‘Has it gone?’, The Doctor again replies ‘Don’t look round!’.
The Doctor, upon awaking in the TARDIS, is heard to say, ‘The Sontarans! Perverting the course of human history!’ repeating his first words as the Fourth Doctor in the 1974/75 story "Robot". In the 1973/74 Third Doctor story "The Time Warrior", the Sontaran Commander Styre is seen giving medieval villains advanced weaponry. The Doctor was appalled at this and is heard to state ‘Human beings must be allowed to develop at their own pace!’.
When Clara sees Orson Pink in his spacesuit she initially mistakes him for The Doctor. This is because Orson Pink’s spacesuit strongly resembles the one used by The Doctor that was first seen in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit" and, in the 2013 story "Hide", Clara saw The Doctor wearing it - or a similar version of it - when they visited different periods of Earth’s history. She was heard commenting that the spacesuit’s colour was ‘a bit boisterous’.
It is revealed that Colonel Orson Pink is the first recorded human to time travel. Despite the account about Orson Pink being a pioneer of time travel in 22nd century, in the 1977 Fourth Doctor story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" it was suggested that time travel was still experimental on Earth in the 51st century.
It is hinted that Orson Pink is the great-grandson of Clara Oswald and Danny Pink. The Doctor finds him thanks to a trace left by Clara Oswald in the telepathic circuits of the TARDIS.
The Doctor is heard to refer to the Where's Wally? book series.
The Doctor again is seen using chalk (see "Deep Breath", "Into the Dalek" and "Robot of Sherwood").
The Doctor previously visited the end of the universe in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "Utopia".
The Doctor uses mind control (see the 1966 First Doctor story "The War Machines") to make Rupert Pink sleep and scramble his memory about their rendezvous, by pressing his fingers against his temples.
Like two previous stories in this season, "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek", during the title sequence this story's name is not in capitals, as has been the norm for previous stories in the show.
This story contains a number of errors. Namely: Orson Pink has a Sanctuary Base Six badge on his spacesuit (see "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit") which was not established for another two thousand years. And it cannot belong to The Doctor as it is in the news footage before he time travels; During moments when the TARDIS is shaking in flight or is being moved, nothing falls over or moves while it does this, such as the candlesticks.
The script for the story was one of five scripts leaked online from a BBC Worldwide server in Miami, where they had been sent in preparation for broadcast in Latin America. Also a rough version of this story was leaked online. The leaked version was black-and-white, and its visual and audio effects and music are preliminary and incomplete. This leak followed similar leaks of the preceding stories "Deep Breath", "Into the Dalek", and "Robot of Sherwood", and the following story "Time Heist". The BBC released a statement urging fans not to spread spoilers from the pirated copy.
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The Firsts:
The first time we see The Doctor as a child.
The first story where the Twelfth Doctor uses his psychic paper.
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(Position = 5 out of 12)
