Doctor Who has long been associated with everyday fears, from shop window mannequins to excess body weight. But Steven Moffat goes right back to basics for Listen, creating a story around the things that lurk beneath your bed. You might think this is a bit
simplistic at first, however the writer uses this idea as a springboard for an involving episode that has the feel of a play about it. It's been a while since we've had intimate drama like this in the show and the result is the meatiest Capaldi instalment so far.
The main story of the Doctor's investigation into aloneness is supported nicely by Clara's date and the proper introduction of Danny Pink. Paranoia over unseen creatures is contrasted with paranoia over making first impressions and the way the elements are drawn together is quite satisfying. The relationship between Time Lord and companion is fast becoming one of the more interesting ones - two people of wildly different ages who are nonetheless equals and not a trace of sex in sight. Peter Capaldi's incarnation is one that truly could go anywhere and it's fun watching him develop. The Twelfth Doctor doesn't dominate the screen like former selves yet still has charisma. Listen sees him interact with a child, though I'm still unsure how younger viewers are taking to this new take.
There's also a sense of Moffat revisiting and refining key concepts that have underpinned his era and working on them again with a restraint and maturity befitting his leading man. He has crafted a script that is complex without being boastful, scary without being
overconceptualized. The TARDIS top opening is weird and there's a dodgy bit of wire work but these are minor quibbles. Arguably this most cerebral of writers is giving his series room to breathe for the first time.
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