Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)

2015 Doctor Who episode

261 - "Heaven Sent"

Doctor Who episode
Cast

Doctor

* Peter Capaldi – Twelfth Doctor

Others

* Jenna Coleman – Clara
* Jami Reid-Quarrell – The Veil

Production
Directed by| Rachel Talalay
Written by| Steven Moffat
Produced by| Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)| Steven Moffat
Brian Minchin
Music by| Murray Gold
Series| Series 9
Running time| 54 minutes
First broadcast| 28 November 2015 (2015-11-28)
Chronology
| ← Preceded by
"Face the Raven"  | Followed by →
"Hell Bent"

|

List of episodes (2005–present)

"Heaven Sent" is the eleventh and penultimate episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 November 2015. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Twelfth Doctor is imprisoned in a waterlocked castle by his people, the Time Lords. A shrouded creature pursues the Doctor in an attempt to interrogate truths from him. The episode is a bottle episode that primarily features the Doctor without a companion or any guest speaking characters. It was watched by 6.19 million viewers in the United Kingdom.

"Heaven Sent" received universal acclaim, with praise for Capaldi's performance, Moffat's script, and Talalay's direction. Many labelled the episode the strongest of the ninth series and one of the strongest of the show overall. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form). The episode was voted the best Doctor Who story ever by readers of Doctor Who Magazine in 2023.

## Plot

[edit]

The Twelfth Doctor is teleported into a glass chamber within an empty castle in the sea. He is pursued by a cloaked veiled figure,[N 1] which evokes the Doctor's childhood fears. When the figure corners the Doctor, he admits he is afraid to die. The figure halts and the castle reconfigures itself. The Doctor jumps out of a window into the sea, finding many skulls under the water. The Doctor concludes that the castle is a torture chamber. He takes advantage of the figure's slow reaction time to explore the castle, finding several strange remnants of his predecessors, such as dry replacement clothes, a skull connected to the transportation chamber, and the word "bird" written in dust. The Doctor investigates clues left in the castle, directing him to find Room 12. He delays the figure by alleging knowledge of "the Hybrid"; the movement of the reconfiguring castle causes the skull to fall into the sea.

The shrouded figure, referred to as the "Veil" in the credits, as shown at the Doctor Who Experience.

Inside Room 12, the Doctor discovers a wall of azbantium; a mineral harder than diamond, behind which he theorises the TARDIS to be. He realises that "bird" refers to "The Shepherd Boy", a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm in which a shepherd's boy says to an Emperor that a second of eternity will have passed when a bird chisels a diamond mountain down to nothing with its beak. The Doctor temporarily despairs following an epiphany: the prison was made solely for him, and thus the skulls were his own and he has been in the castle for 7000 years. Revitalised by a vision of his dead companion, Clara, the Doctor punches the wall while reciting the fable. The figure mortally injures the Doctor, disabling his regeneration. He crawls back to the teleportation chamber, and burns his body as a catalyst to restart the teleport, aware that due to the resetting rooms, a "blueprint" of himself is inside. He then falls to the ground, writes "bird" in the dust, and disintegrates, reduced to the skull which the Doctor had seen earlier. A new Doctor appears, starting the cycle anew.

After many more cycles,[N 2] the Doctor finally breaks through the wall. He finds himself outside the Capitol on Gallifrey; the castle was in his confession dial.[N 3] The Doctor tells a young boy to tell the Time Lords that he is on his way and that he knows what they did. He then proclaims the Hybrid prophesied by the Time Lords is "Me".[1][N 4]

### Continuity

[edit]

As he walks down the corridor, the Doctor says to his unseen adversary "the Doctor will see you now". The Eleventh Doctor shouts this same line to the Atraxi in "The Eleventh Hour" (2010).[2]

The Doctor tells himself "Assume you're going to survive. Always assume that." This is what Clara says of the Doctor in "The Witch's Familiar": "he always assumes he's going to win. He always knows there's a way to survive".[3]

The Doctor confesses that he ran from Gallifrey because he was scared, and that the pretense of being bored was a lie. Originally, in The War Games (1969), the Second Doctor admitted to his companions that "Well, I was bored".[3]

Once he arrives on Gallifrey, the Doctor tells the young boy to announce that he "came the long way around", finally finishing the objective set by the Eleventh Doctor in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) saying that he was going "home, the long way around".[3][4]

## Production

[edit]

The teleporter set, on display at the Doctor Who Experience.

This episode primarily features the Doctor, with the non-speaking Veil portrayed by movement artist Jami Reid-Quarrell (who also appeared as Colony Sarff in "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar" earlier in the series). Former companion Clara and an uncredited Gallifreyan child also make brief appearances.

Before series 8 began, Moffat promised a cliffhanger for series 9,[5][6] and teased in Doctor Who Magazine Issue 475, "I've figured out the cliffhanger to the penultimate episode of series 9. And it's a whopper. Ohh, I don't think you'll see this coming!"[7]

The read through took place on 18 June 2015 and filming began on 24 June 2015.[8] Filming for the castle interior scenes took place in Cardiff Castle and Caerphilly Castle, in addition to constructed sets in the Roath Lock Studios.[9]

## Reception

[edit]

The episode was watched by 4.51 million viewers in the UK overnight, a 20.7% audience share;[10] the consolidated figures were 6.19 million viewers with a 24.9% share.[11] It received an Appreciation Index score of 80.[11]

### Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)| 9.81[12]
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)| 89%[12]
Review scores
Source| Rating
The A.V. Club| A[13]
IndieWire| A+[14]
IGN| 9.5[15]
Paste Magazine| 10.0[16]
PopMatters| 9/10[17]
Radio Times| [18]
SFX Magazine| [19]
TV Fanatic| [20]
Vulture| [21]

"Heaven Sent" received critical acclaim, with the majority of critics declaring it the greatest episode of the ninth series, and possibly one of the greatest episodes in the show's run. Many instances of extremely high praise were aimed towards Steven Moffat's script, Rachel Talalay's direction, and Peter Capaldi's performance.[22][23][24] The episode has a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 9.8, the highest average score of the series on the website. The site's consensus reads "Peter Capaldi turns in a one-man command performance in this episode's exploration of grief, and a surprise turn of events sets up an explosive season finale".[25]

Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times awarded the episode a perfect five star rating, saying that "Peter Capaldi's one-man show is an instant classic" and a "tour de force" for his magnificent performance. He also said that the episode's structure "works perfectly without ever seeming contrived" with Moffat's "trademark intricacy", and that Talalay "steeps the production in atmosphere and sustains the momentum right until the final revelations".[23]

Calling the episode a "mind-bending masterpiece", Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy stated that it was also "one of the most surreal episodes to date" with Moffat "cleverly subverting the expectations of a low-budget escapade, with a surplus of Capaldi awkwardly expressing his inner thoughts aloud." He said that the episode was "as far from big, broad, family-friendly entertainment as you can get", and that and "its rejection of the standard Doctor Who trappings might be too much for some"; but if viewers embrace the weirdness, then you'll end up captivated, calling it "demanding and intelligent science-fiction, the likes of which BBC One should be commended for airing".[26]

Peter Capaldi received widespread critical acclaim for his performance in the episode.

Alasdair Wilkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an 'A', for the fifth time this season, writing "This season has been a remarkable achievement for the show, and, pending next week's finale, it's got a real chance to go down as the best season of the revival, topping even Matt Smith's debut in season five. And hey, maybe "Hell Bent" will be the perfect capper to this season, or maybe it won't. But the genius of the construction of this season's endgame is that "Hell Bent" could be an unmitigated disaster and it still wouldn't really undo the genius of "Heaven Sent" or "Face The Raven" before it."[13]

Awarding the episode a score of 9.5 and deeming it "amazing" and the highest of the series, Scott Collura of IGN particularly praised the episode's conclusion by stating that "the realization that the sea of skulls is actually a sea of Doctor skulls" is a thrilling, brilliant twist, played beautifully with a "gentle guitar-driven score. He further praised Capaldi's performance, calling it "a breathtaking one-man show".[27] Referring to it as "an epic one man show", Tim Liew of Metro also acclaimed the episode, saying that he "loved it". He particularly praised Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi, stating that Moffat "takes a bold step by stripping his story back to its bare bones" and Capaldi "delivers 100%, carrying every scene"; he also praised the "superb new musical score" from series composer Murray Gold.[22]

Mark Rozeman of Paste Magazine also awarded the episode a perfect score (10.0), labeling it "a masterpiece of the highest order", whilst Ian Berriman of SFX Magazine also awarded full marks, saying "Heaven Sent stands as the best episode of the season so far: madly surreal, ingeniously baffling, immensely creepy and downright gruelling in its latter stages, with a tremendously impactful payoff".[16][19]

### Accolades

[edit]

In 2016 "Heaven Sent" received a nomination for Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form).[28] "Heaven Sent" is also the first episode of Doctor Who to be submitted for nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award, due to BBC America being one of the series' co-producers. The episode was submitted to support Capaldi for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Moffat for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and Talalay for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, in addition to several other Creative Arts Emmys.[29]

In 2023, a Doctor Who Magazine fan poll voted Heaven Sent as the best Doctor Who story of all time.[30] The Daily Telegraph ranked the episode the 16th best of the entire programme in 2023.[31]

## Soundtrack

[edit]

Further information: Doctor Who: Series 9 (soundtrack)

Selected pieces of score from this episode, as composed by Murray Gold, comprise the entire third disc of the ninth series' 4-CD soundtrack, which was released on 27 April 2018 by Silva Screen Records.[32][33]

## See also

[edit]

* Teletransportation Paradox

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The figure is not identified in the episode but called "Veil" in the credits.
2. ^ Described as lasting four and a half billion years in the following week's episode "Hell Bent".
3. ^ Referred to in the 2015 episodes "The Magician's Apprentice" and "Face the Raven" as the Doctor's "last will and testament".
4. ^ "Hell Bent" clarifies that the Doctor's declaration expresses his belief that the Hybrid is Ashildr, who became a human-Mire hybrid in "The Girl Who Died" and later adopted the name Me.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Moffat, Steven (2015). "Heaven Sent Screenplay" (PDF). BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
2. ^ "Doctor Who: Heaven Sent Viewing Notes". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
3. ^ a b c "BBC One – Doctor Who, Series 9, Heaven Sent – Heaven Sent: The Fact File". BBC.
4. ^ "'Doctor Who': 10 Things You May Not Know About 'Heaven Sent' – Anglophenia – BBC America". BBC America.
5. ^ Jenna. "Doctor Who Showrunner Promises "Whopper" Series 9 Cliffhanger". The Gallifrey Times. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
6. ^ PCJ. "Moffat Promises Cliffhanger "Whopper"". Combom. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
7. ^ Ainsworth 2018, p. 98.
8. ^ "Heaven Sent, Series 9, Doctor Who – Heaven Sent: The Fact File – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
9. ^ Ainsworth 2018, p. 118.
10. ^ "Doctor Who News: Heaven Sent – Overnight Viewing Figures". The Doctor Who News Page.
11. ^ a b Ainsworth 2018, p. 127.
12. ^ a b "Heaven Sent". rottentomatoes.com. 30 November 2015.
13. ^ a b ""Heaven Sent" · Doctor Who · TV Review The Doctor is all alone in a perfect episode · TV Club · The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. 29 November 2015.
14. ^ Kaite Welsh (29 November 2015). "Review: 'Doctor Who' Season 9 Episode 11, 'Heaven Sent': – Indiewire". Indiewire.
15. ^ Scott Collura (28 November 2015). "Doctor Who: "Heaven Sent" Review". IGN.
16. ^ a b "Doctor Who Review: "Heaven Sent"". pastemagazine.com.
17. ^ Jones, Craig Owen (1 December 2015). "Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 11 - "Heaven Sent"". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
18. ^ Patrick Mulkern. "Doctor Who series 9 episode 11 Heaven Sent review". RadioTimes.
19. ^ a b Ian Berriman (28 November 2015). "Doctor Who S9.11 – "Heaven Sent" review". GamesRadar+.
20. ^ Alihan (29 November 2015). "Doctor Who". TV Fanatic.
21. ^ "Doctor Who Recap: Echoes of Death". Vulture. 28 November 2015.
22. ^ a b Liew, Tim (28 November 2015). "Doctor Who: Heaven Sent review – an epic one man show | Metro News". Metro. Tim Liew. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
23. ^ a b Mulkern, Patrick. "Doctor Who Heaven Sent review: Peter Capaldi's one-man show is an instant classic". radiotimes.com. Patrick Mulkern. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
24. ^ Wilkins, Alasdair (28 November 2015). "The Doctor is all alone in a perfect episode". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
25. ^ "Heaven Sent". rottentomatoes.com. 29 November 2015.
26. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (28 November 2015). "Doctor Who review: 'Heaven Sent' is a mind-bending masterpiece". digital spy. Morgan Jeffery. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
27. ^ Collura, Scott (28 November 2015). "DOCTOR WHO: "HEAVEN SENT" REVIEW". IGN. Scott Collura. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
28. ^ "Heaven Sent Nominated for Hugo". Doctor Who News. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
29. ^ Berkshire, Geoff (16 June 2016). "2016 Emmy Ballot Oddities: 'Doctor Who' In the Running, 'Game of Thrones' Finale Goes Down to the Wire". Variety. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
30. ^ Vickers-Green, Laura (10 November 2023). "Doctor Who Fans Have Crowned the Best Episode – Do You Agree?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
31. ^ Fuller, Gavin; Michael Hogan, Catherine Gee, and Ben Lawrence. "Doctor Who: the 60 greatest stories and episodes, ranked". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
32. ^ "Series 9 Soundtrack Confirmed for Release in 2018". Doctor Who TV. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
33. ^ "Doctor Who Soundtrack Doctor Who: Series 9". Silva Screen Records. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Ainsworth, John, ed. (22 August 2018). "Sleep No More, Face the Raven and Heaven Sent". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 83\. Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Twelfth Doctor.

* "Heaven Sent" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
*   * "Heaven Sent" on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
* "Heaven Sent" at IMDb

* v
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Doctor Who episodes

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Missing episodes

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Series 9|

| Special|

* "Last Christmas"

|

* "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar"
* "Under the Lake" / "Before the Flood"
* "The Girl Who Died"
* "The Woman Who Lived"
* "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion"
* "Sleep No More"
* "Face the Raven"
* "Heaven Sent"
* "Hell Bent"

Special|

* "The Husbands of River Song"

* Christmas and New Year's specials
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Links to related articles

* v
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Doctor Who episodes by Steven Moffat

Ninth Doctor|

* "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances"

Tenth Doctor|

* "The Girl in the Fireplace"
* "Blink"
* "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead"

Eleventh Doctor|

| Series 5|

* "The Eleventh Hour"
* "The Beast Below"
* "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone"
* "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang"

|

Series 6|

| Special|

"A Christmas Carol"

|

* "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon"
* "A Good Man Goes to War"
* "Let's Kill Hitler"
* "The Wedding of River Song"

Series 7|

| Special|

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"

|

* "Asylum of the Daleks"
* "The Angels Take Manhattan"

Special|

"The Snowmen"

* "The Bells of Saint John"
* "The Name of the Doctor"

Specials|

* "The Day of the Doctor"
* "The Time of the Doctor"

Twelfth Doctor|

| Series 8|

* "Deep Breath"
* "Into the Dalek"
* "Listen"
* "Time Heist"
* "The Caretaker"
* "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven"

|

Series 9|

| Special|

"Last Christmas"

|

* "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar"
* "The Girl Who Died"
* "The Zygon Inversion"
* "Heaven Sent"
* "Hell Bent"

Special|

"The Husbands of River Song"

Series 10|

| Special|

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"

|

* "The Pilot"
* "Extremis"
* "The Pyramid at the End of the World"
* "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls"

Special|

* "Twice Upon a Time"

Fifteenth Doctor|

* "Boom"
* "Joy to the World"

Mini episodes|

* "Time Crash"
* "Space" / "Time"
* Night and the Doctor
* "The Night of the Doctor"

See also|

* The Curse of Fatal Death

* v
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Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor stories

Television

| Series 8|

* "Deep Breath"
* "Into the Dalek"
* "Robot of Sherwood"
* "Listen"
* "Time Heist"
* "The Caretaker"
* "Kill the Moon"
* "Mummy on the Orient Express"
* "Flatline"
* "In the Forest of the Night"
* "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven"

|

Series 9|

| Special|

"Last Christmas"

|

* "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar"
* "Under the Lake" / "Before the Flood"
* "The Girl Who Died"
* "The Woman Who Lived"
* "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion"
* "Sleep No More"
* "Face the Raven"
* "Heaven Sent"
* "Hell Bent"

Special|

"The Husbands of River Song"

Series 10|

| Special|

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"

|

* "The Pilot"
* "Smile"
* "Thin Ice"
* "Knock Knock"
* "Oxygen"
* "Extremis"
* "The Pyramid at the End of the World"
* "The Lie of the Land"
* "Empress of Mars"
* "The Eaters of Light"
* "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls"

Special|

"Twice Upon a Time"

Other appearances|

| Major|

* "For Tonight We Might Die"

|

Minor|

* "The Day of the Doctor"
* "The Time of the Doctor"

See also|

* "The Fires of Pompeii"

Books

* The Blood Cell

Video games

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