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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