Advanced Review Round-Up: Heaven Sent

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The Doctor is trapped. Worse, he’s being hunted.

Heaven Sent. Peter Capaldi is on his own – apart for the mysterious Veil, played by Jami Reid-Quarrel, who we last saw as Colony Sarff at the beginning of Series 9. So is this just a 55-minute monologue? Is it a snorefest? Or does the experiment pay off? Let’s find out, shall we…?

MCMBuzz doesn’t clear much up; assuring us that there’s “the mother of all montages,” Dave Golder says:

“Some people will get it and love it. Some people will not get it and hate it. Some people will get it and hate it. Some people will not get it and love it. By “get it” we don’t just mean “understand it” – although there is an element of that. But also “get it” in the sense of “getting into the spirit of it.””

So it’s typically experimental, and it’s divisive, in the same way as Midnight, Sleep No More, and The Edge of Destruction (and then some) are.

Golder does, however, say:

“[T]he main narrative is clear, strong and ingenious, with a fantastic – epic (in a sense) pay-off. The weirdness is in the margins, the details and a certain storytelling device… The direction from Rachel Talalay is superb; this could have been slow and talky but she keeps it pacy and visually interesting. Sure Moffat has written some magnificent visual to play with, but even in the less “showy” scenes she keeps the episode looking amazing.”

Doctor Who TV agrees, comparing it to Listen:

“It’s deeper, you need to watch it several times to appreciate and it’s completely absorbing. Full of metaphors and open to interpretation, people will get many different things out of it. Some may dislike it for its shunning of a conventional format and strangeness, but for those that it clicks with, it is utterly rewarding.”

Naturally, they too heap praise onto lead man, Peter Capaldi:

“If you thought Capaldi was good in The Zygon Inversion that was just an appetiser. Sustaining a 50-plus minute episode pretty much by yourself is no mean feat, but Capaldi is more than up to the task… It’s also quite distressing at times with the Time Lord physically and mentally tortured with very visible wounds (the Daily Mail will have a field day!).”

Oh, The Daily Mail have a field day at anything remotely controversial on the BBC. Remember the fuss after… erm, just about every episode? At least they’re talking about it! (I guess.)

Cameron K McEwan of BlogtorWho also says the episode has its distressing moments:

“I think younger viewers, and those of a sensitive disposition, may be scarred for a while (never did me any harm, I should add, the Mandrels scared the hell out of me back in ’79 and I turned out ok). We’ve never seen a Doctor so raw and so scared before, it’s absolutely engrossing.”

Thankfully, the darkness is balanced out by a decent helping of humour, which he says includes “a neat dig at gardeners, a cracking corridor gag, and another fourth wall-breaking nod to the audience.”

He further says that this is the Doctor’s personal Hell. He concludes:

“Heaven Sent is a true work of art, fitting for any visual arts museum anywhere.”

Everyone is naturally saying Capaldi is brilliant, but rather refreshingly, Den of Geek credits someone who generally doesn’t get noticed by the mass media:

“Will Oswald has edited episodes of Doctor Who dating back to 42, but this feels like one of his toughest challenges. It’s vital in Heaven Sent that there’s a sense of mystery to it, as well as an ability to actually follow what’s going on. That you can is testament to his abilities too.”

The site also says:

“It’s a shame that synopses seem to be dropping big details, but I guess that’s the nature of the beast now when you’re trying to attract an audience… Heaven Sent is exceptionally gripping television. It’s one thing having such a bold idea for an episode, another managing to pull it off so convincingly as they manage here. Beware, as always, the spoilers. Try to watch it live. Mourn the fact there’s only one episode left of the series…”

The Metro’s Tim Liew isn’t so gushing about its pace, but nonetheless enjoyed it:

“Indeed this is, until its final seven minutes, this year’s most leisurely paced story, with a plot that unfolds gradually and the Doctor spending most of the episode talking to himself. But the final act changes everything. I rather suspect this is going to be one of those ‘Marmite’ episodes that viewers will either love or hate, with no middle ground in between. I loved it.”

So there we have it. Altogether, this sounds like an exceptionally exciting story. And if you weren’t buzzing enough already, Metro has one final tease to entice you…

“The contents of the Doctor’s confession dial are finally revealed.”

I admit: I can’t wait.

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