Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Who Reviews Can You Hear Me? by Matt Rabjohns





Every now and then Doctor Who produces a story that truly thunders into you and knocks you flat with the beautiful themes it raises within it. I felt this when watching The Green Death and Arachnids in the UK and Praxeus, but now even more so I am feeling it now that I've viewed the nigh on perfect Can You Hear Me? I apologise beforehand if there is a lot of gushing in this review but I can’t help it and I won’t apologise for it either!
The themes of mental illness and how they are addressed in this story are absolutely perfectly judged. The production team make their point without being too overtly sentimental. But the themes in the story definitively bring one helluva lump to the throat. I am all for Doctor Who giving us lessons in morality and being open to learn about the more difficult aspects of human existence. There is so much good to be found in learning about all the different types of mental illness there are around the world. Compassion and concern for our fellow man is not an unworthy mantra, it’s a resonant plus point that I for one am delighted to know I care about. Mental health affects so many people around the world, countless thousands suffering it without ever being diagnosed.  I love and value people who spend their lives trying to aid those who suffer such great afflictions of the mind and spirit. As a sufferer of Asperger's Syndrome myself, this resonates with me no end.
One has to say for a start that the companions in this story are all treated fantastically well. Particularly Yaz. Mandip Gill almost made me cry with her character being superbly fleshed out in this story. She is so strong in this story and the pathos oozing from her character is nothing more than a wonder to behold. If I loved Yaz before this story, now I absolutely want to take her out for dinner!  Her fifty pence scenes with the police officer and the themes of suicide contemplation are so touchingly written and the heart swells with emotion when watching these highly charged and emotive scenes.
Ryan too gets to be given a decent slice of the plotting too. And his interactions with his mate Tibo (played exceptionally well by Buom Thingang) are also very very good indeed. As is Graham's confiding in the Doctor about his fears of his cancer returning are amazing. That the Doctor seems to be awkward and offers no real answer to his fears is a great stroke of showing off how the Doctor's sometimes social awkwardness sometimes affects her still. It’s a brilliant scene indeed.
Ian Gelder as Zellin, the immortal God of the piece, is absolutely superb in the role. And the antics of his fingers flying into people's ears to invade their nightmares and feed off them is truly disgusting and creepy in the extreme. It is an absolutely awesome plot thread when the Doctor uses the God's own prison against them at the climax. It’s one of those frequently awesome Doctor Who moments of "Yeah, stick that up your pipe and smoke it!" Ian gives plenty of nuance and menace to the role, choosing (wisely) to be a villain who seldom shouts. His whispering smug self-assuredness make him a chilling new villain for the show. ​
The character of Rakaya too is brilliantly portrayed by Clare Hope Ashitey. That a being would be fed with the nightmares of other races is a nasty image. And Clare certainly goes for the role with both hands and makes her mark well. Maybe she could have been used just a little more, but I can forgive this as the rest of the story is absolutely nonstop compelling. ​
This story manages to be both very scary and unsettling and yet poignant as heck all at the same time. The foes of the piece actually seem to come over as written like being the high mountains that mental illness sufferers have to contend with, but this story shows how with other's help, some of these supposedly impossible mountains can be climbed and overcome. It is a wonderfully woven theme throughout a belter of a script from newcomer Charlene James. if this is how strong Charlene is in the writing department then one cannot wait to hear more from her imaginative and emotive pen.
The scarier scenes pervade the drama, such as the beginning scene where the Aleppo beast massive claws close around a girl’s face. This is a brilliant and very unnervingly directed scene. Emma Sullivan is to be thoroughly commended for her perfect direction. Honestly this feels like it's been directed by Rachel Talalay, it’s that good. Can’t wait to see more directed drama from Emma too! She packs the story with some great terror and some overwhelmingly choking emotional resonances. ​
Jodie's Doctor also gets to have yet another triumphant scene where she puts the immortal gods in their place when telling them categorically that the human race is not weak. Its yet another one of her character-building moments that just makes me adore her persona even more than ever now. I am absolutely delighted with Jodie. She attacks the role of the Doctor with delightfulness and seriously awe-striking aplomb. She is quickly becoming my favourite modern era Doctor and of this there can be no mistake.
And this story also made me smile when it had Zellin talk of the Celestial toymaker and The Guardians and the Eternals. Love it when we get these little nods back to the classic era of the show. Glad to see that whilst forging ahead, the show never forsakes its brilliant and wicked and awesome roots!
And one other perfectly presented scene is the one where the Mother berates her son by telling him there are no such things as bogeymen. When for several people in the world there most assuredly are bogeymen. Every day of their lives are plagued by them for some. That Zellin appears and the small boy recoils in terror at his dark menace is perfectly done.
This story for me assuredly earns its place as one of the classic episodes of the show. Its oozing with intense scenes. It has scares and tears in equal measure. It has superb villains; it has superb supporting characters and it has a powerhouse theme that could not have been portrayed any better in my opinion. Can You Hear Me just reminds me of why I love the show so much. That the show is still managing to come out with stories as strong as this after over 55 years is absolutely amazing. Further cements in me why I will always say that Doctor Who is without a doubt the most awesome TV show ever created on God's earth. Wow. I want more stories like this in future please!






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