Doctor Who: Flatline Review from the archives

 

Found this old review of Flatline featuring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.  Thought I'd share:

Flatline: Series 8 Episode 9.

Featuring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor; Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Guest starring Jovian Wade as Rigsy and Christopher Fairbanks as Wade.

Written by Jamie Mathieson (Being Human BBC version of Dirk Gently and various series 8-10 Doctor Who).

Produced by Nikki Wilson (Produced various episodes of Who since 2008).

Directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Sherlock, Outlander, Knightfall and several episodes of Doctor Who).

First Broadcast: 18th October 2014 (UK).

Capaldi, prior to Doctor Who, had been best known as foul mouthed spin Doctor Malcom Tucker, He took over the role of the Doctor in 2013, His eyebrows made a guest appearance in the 50th anniversary episode ‘The Day of the Doctor leading to many comments about attack eyebrows and the significance of this emphasis. Personally, I was relieved to be younger than the actor playing the Doctor again. I was aware, however, that there was a whole generation of fans who were more accustomed to younger actors playing the Doctor. I was confident that I’d enjoy Capaldi’s interpretation. The worry, in the back of mind, as someone who remembers the 16 years of televisual absence, was how would an older actor regularly playing the Doctor go down with the newer fans: would they turn off? Would we be back to other Media only stories of the Doctor?

Capaldi’s interpretation, particularly in series 8, appeared to be of a spikier, more alien Doctor when compared to the incarnations played by Tennant and Smith, I liked this direction. Indeed, the line ’This is Clara, she cares, so I don’t have to.’ I found delightful, although I worried it might alienate newer viewers. I remember, as a 14-year-old, who had enjoyed Davison’s portrayal as a Kindly, moral force, being irritated by the more cantankerous version offered by Colin Baker.

It’s with these mixed feelings that I watched series 8 of Doctor Who.

Flatline intrigued me from the on-set with the extreme close up of a worried looking bearded man on the phone asking for the Police. ‘Hello’, he nervously stuttered ‘Yes, I know who did it all- I figured it out. No, No I can’t speak up.’ We then see a medium long shot of the man in an ordinary looking living room hued in orange brown nervously crouched over the phone. An eerie leeching sound becomes louder and suddenly the man disappears. His scream echoes as the phone dangles in slow motion. The camera pans around towards a wall. All we can hear is a puzzled voice from the phone enquiring whether the man is in a safe place. The camera tilts to a Dutch angle shot as it slowly zooms into what would appear to be a 2D smear of the man along the wall. The camera slowly pans down and rests on the agonised silent scream expression of the man’s mouth. The opening credits inevitably kick in at this point. The word ‘Wow’ springs to mind.

I like how in our first scene with the Doctor and Clara we see Clara explaining that her boyfriend is territorial about her leaving her belongings in the TARIS and yet doesn’t mind her travelling with the Doctor. The Doctor, himself, is indifferent to this information further emphasising his alieness: a human male would probably have plenty to say on this matter and it would be very much on their mind. Some things, however, don’t change: The Doctor hasn’t quite landed the TARDIS in the right place immediately bringing back memories of Sarah Jane Smith at the end of the ‘Hand of fear’. Her destination, Croydon, turns out to be Aberdeen. This time the Doctor isn’t out as much. London is missed and they end up in Bristol: only 120 miles out as the Doctor remarks.

Whilst in the TARDIS, we are introduced to our second mystery: it’s shrinking! We are treated to the sight of the Doctor and Clara struggling to get out of a miniaturised version of the TARDIS. We soon find out that the Doctor will step back in the TARDIS whilst Clara will do the actual physical investigating. This is a clever way to justify the Doctor ‘Lite ‘requirement of the episode: Clara becomes in essence the Doctor whilst the Doctor, himself, becomes an unseen mentor relegated to primarily observing the events of the episode. His interactions are largely unseen although it is pretty clear that the dilemma can only be resolved with an intervention by the Doctor at the climax of the story.

We see a brief clip of the guest stars interacting. There may be a time when I can see Christopher Fairbank in a show without hearing Timothy Spall’s attempt at a Black Country accent shouting ‘Moxy.’ However, that time has not yet arrived. It is quickly established that Fairbank’s character is a ‘git’ and Wade’s character, Rigsy is the one we are going to be rooting for.

This story is about Clara demonstrating that she is equal to the Doctor. In effect she has learnt from the Doctor to be enquiring and to never give up. It is a detective mystery story, horror and alien invasion wrapped up in one with Clara, with some assistance from Rigsy and the Doctor, determining who the boneless are: are they a menace or a species trying to contact with another species in another dimension. I enjoyed the investigative aspect and the fact that Clara and the Doctor try to make sure that the Boneless are not a misunderstood alien species with ultimately benign intentions who are inadvertently causing death. To me this insistence in trying to communicate with the Boneless, trying to understand them is quintessential Doctor Who. It seems in this episode that any existential doubts that the Doctor had about his identity post regeneration are answered in this episode. He comes to the conclusion that I am the Doctor and I fight the Monsters echoing the Doctor’s modus operandi laid down in ‘The Moonbase’ where we hear the Second Doctor declare: ‘There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things which are against everything we believe in. They must be fought.’

Of course, all these comparisons are entirely subjective: others may link Capaldi’s speech to Tennant’s ‘It is defended’ speech to the Sycorax. One doesn’t need an encyclopaedic knowledge of who to enjoy the episode. These comparisons are merely thoughts triggered off in the mind of the reviewer. One can make such comparisons if one wishes. In this story we see Capaldi’s Doctor more or less finding his feet; he answers most of the niggles preoccupying his mind since his regeneration.

Overall, Flatline is a very good story: a god use of horrific imagery to get people diving behind the sofa; some good comedic moments especially the ‘Adams family’ nod; good performances by Capaldi; Jenna Coleman; Jovian Wade and Christopher Fairbanks. It is a story where the 12th Doctor finds his voice and the threat is creepy and memorable. It is an episode where Clara demonstrates her abilities: ‘I am the one person who is going to get you out of here alive. Her demonstration of her problem-solving skills is really at the fore of this episode: tricking the Boneless into re-energising the TARDIS enabling the Doctor to inflict the killer blow was exciting to watch. I like the resolution especially the intriguing sting suggesting that all’s not well in the Doctor’s conscience after all: ‘You were an excellent Doctor. Goodness had nothing to do with it.’ Thought provoking stuff indeed. Fabulously written, directed and acted.