# Doctor Who Revival S8E4 -- Listen (boxed spoilers until it airs on the West Coast) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382 "2014-09-13T12:36:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/81 "2014-09-16T16:28:30Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > If it all really was nothing, then what was under the blanket? That wasn’t human. The thing is, it was all in The Doctor’s mind all along. Everything that happened had a normal explanation that was given, but The Doctor convinced himself it was down to unseen creatures. Who wrote “LISTEN” on the blackboard? Flashback at the end shows it was The Doctor. Where did the cup of coffee go? The Doctor stole it. The knocking on the door? The hull expanding in the heat, and contracting in the cold. The thing under the blanket? Another child from the home. > [@](#): > > And what was with the Doctor desperately seeking out the creature and then pointedly not looking at it? And then going looking for it again? WTF? Because he thought little Rupert was in danger? He wanted to confront the creature without putting a child at risk. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/82 "2014-09-16T17:20:22Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Because he thought little Rupert was in danger? He wanted to confront the creature without putting a child at risk. Thing is, we already know Rupert lives since Clara was just on a date with him. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/83 "2014-09-16T17:34:53Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Thing is, we already know Rupert lives since Clara was just on a date with him. The Doctor didn’t know that, though, did he? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/84 "2014-09-16T18:13:13Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Thing is, we already know Rupert lives since Clara was just on a date with him. The timey-wimey tangle of cause and effect doesn’t work that way – [e.g.](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Pyramids_of_Mars_(TV_story)): > [@Pyramids of Mars](#): > > Sarah suggests they should just leave in the TARDIS, because they know that the world did not end in 1911. The Doctor demonstrates otherwise by moving the TARDIS forward in time to 1980. There, the TARDIS doors open onto a blasted wilderness, with thunder, rain and lightning hammering down on to ash fields. Sarah understands that they have no choice but to return to 1911 and stop Sutekh, or the future will be lost. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/85 "2014-09-16T18:36:12Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > The Doctor didn’t know that, though, did he? Right - Clara was hiding that fact. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/86 "2014-09-16T19:47:09Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Right - Clara was hiding that fact. That’s another thing I was wondering about. Why? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/87 "2014-09-16T20:41:18Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > That’s another thing I was wondering about. Why? Because she’s a young woman trying to go on a date with a cute guy and being awkward about it. It was the most believable part of the episode for me. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/88 "2014-09-16T22:23:36Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Because she’s a young woman trying to go on a date with a cute guy and being awkward about it. It was the most believable part of the episode for me. Yeah, but you would think if the Doctor is on a monster hunt and Rupert is involved it might be important to let the Doctor know. I guess she’s just trying to exclude him from her personal life. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/89 "2014-09-16T22:59:17Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Yeah, but you would think if the Doctor is on a monster hunt and Rupert is involved it might be important to let the Doctor know. I guess she’s just trying to exclude him from her personal life. I don’t blame her. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/90 "2014-09-16T23:00:12Z")
And another thing, was was is so effing important that the Doctor not know that Clara was visiting him in his childhood, that she was the one under his bed giving him the supposed dream that everyone apparently has? I mean, I get he shouldn’t go out there and meet himself, and maybe it makes a weird sense somehow that she shouldn’t just admit she’s a stranger who snuck in and is under his bed accidentally, no monsters, sorry old chap, ha ha. But why not tell the 2000 year old version of the Doctor now? > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The thing is, it was all in The Doctor’s mind all along. Everything that happened had a normal explanation that was given, but The Doctor convinced himself it was down to unseen creatures. > > [snip] > > The thing under the blanket? Another child from the home. I suppose it’s possible it was another child from the home wearing a monster mask. That would account for the shape of the head being weird. He was trying to scare Rupert, and got, not one, but _two_ adults in the process. AWESOME! (Or should that be “BRILLIANT!”?) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/91 "2014-09-16T23:21:22Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > OK, this may be way off base, but the TUTB looks to be bald with deep set eyes. Like a Sontaran. > > [**standingwave** ’s screen capture](http://www.imagebam.com/image/2b6d80351500354.jpg) > > [Strax](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110701041641/tardis/images/5/57/Nurse_Strax.jpg) > > Maybe Madame Vastra sent Strax to check on the Doctor and he’s being really circumspect about it. Or they just reused an old Sontaran head mask. Well the Doctor did mention the Sontarans in this episode too. Maybe that’s relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/92 "2014-09-16T23:27:05Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Well the Doctor did mention the Sontarans in this episode too. Maybe that’s relevant. We could see how the blanket draped over the head and shoulders of the whatsit and the ratio of head width to shoulder width was pretty similar to human. With a Sontaran, it would have been mostly head, with only little shoulder bumps. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/93 "2014-09-16T23:40:11Z")
I got confused by this episode. :o Please could some kind soul post a synopsis? ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/94 "2014-09-17T02:05:08Z")
[QUOTE=glee] I got confused by this episode. :o Please could some kind soul post a synopsis? [/QUOTE] Hope this helps: [Listen (TV story) | Tardis | Fandom](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Listen) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/95 "2014-09-18T09:37:05Z")
There was something under the blanket, and it wasn’t a kid! They intentionally showed us a blurred view of it, they didn’t need to if we were to assume it was a kid. Here is what I think, I think this episode is going to be referenced in either a future episode or possibly the season ender. And the thing was either the return of the Silents, or more likely linked to Missy. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/96 "2014-09-18T18:31:14Z")
I had as many complaints about this episode as I had about every other episode this season, and yet for some reason I liked it. Moffat wanted to do a monster episode where you never see the monster. But he didn’t. As aired, it’s a monster episode in which it turns out there was no monster. That’s different. I’m totally loving Capaldi now. And I enjoy the accidental insults to Clara. He’s not being mean. He doesn’t realize they’re insulting. He’s oblivious. One thing: I haven’t seen a lot of the originals, but I was always under the impression that Time Lord was a race, not an occupation. Earth is populated by humans, and Gallifrey was populated by time lords. So how could the father say, “He’ll never become a time lord at this rate” (or whatever it was exactly)? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/97 "2014-09-18T18:40:21Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Here is what I think, I think this episode is going to be referenced in either a future episode or possibly the season ender. And the thing was either the return of the Silents, or more likely linked to Missy. It’s the Silence, not the Silents. As in “Silence must fall.” Of course, the Silence was really just the named of their splinter group. I don’t think they ever named what species they were. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/98 "2014-09-18T19:40:45Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > One thing: I haven’t seen a lot of the originals, but I was always under the impression that Time Lord was a race, not an occupation. Earth is populated by humans, and Gallifrey was populated by time lords. So how could the father say, “He’ll never become a time lord at this rate” (or whatever it was exactly)? From the Wikipedia: It is implied (in The Invasion of Time and The Deadly Assassin) that the terms “Gallifreyan” and “Time Lord” may not be synonymous, and that Time Lords are simply that subset of Gallifreyans who have achieved the status of Time Lord via achievement in the Gallifreyan collegiate system; in the episode “The Sound of Drums” The Doctor talks of ‘children of Gallifrey’ which implies that children are Gallifreyan before they are Time Lords. Although this is still unclear as in “Journey’s End” the Daleks call the Doctor “the last child of Gallifrey” and in The “End of Time” a Time Lord on the high council states that a prophecy referring to the Doctor and the Master “speaks of two children of Gallifrey”. Romana and the Doctor have also referred to “Time Tots”, or infant Time Lords,[44] and (in “Smith and Jones”) the Doctor refers his compatriots and he playing “with Röntgen bricks in the nursery”.[16] In “The Sound of Drums”, the Master is seen as a child, apparently at the age of 8.[29] ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/99 "2014-09-18T19:45:59Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > One thing: I haven’t seen a lot of the originals, but I was always under the impression that Time Lord was a race, not an occupation. Earth is populated by humans, and Gallifrey was populated by time lords. So how could the father say, “He’ll never become a time lord at this rate” (or whatever it was exactly)? Actually a native of Gallifrey is a Gallifreyan. The show uses Time Lord as a synonym, but that’s not really the case. For example, one episode of old Who had the [Outsiders](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Outsider) who lived outside the capitol, rejected technology, and dressed in animal skins. Edit Didn’t see Sage Rat’s post. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382/100 "2014-09-18T20:42:15Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > I had as many complaints about this episode as I had about every other episode this season, and yet for some reason I liked it. > > Moffat wanted to do a monster episode where you never see the monster. But he didn’t. As aired, it’s a monster episode in which it turns out there was no monster. That’s different. > > I’m totally loving Capaldi now. And I enjoy the accidental insults to Clara. He’s not being mean. He doesn’t realize they’re insulting. He’s oblivious. > > One thing: I haven’t seen a lot of the originals, but I was always under the impression that Time Lord was a race, not an occupation. Earth is populated by humans, and Gallifrey was populated by time lords. So how could the father say, “He’ll never become a time lord at this rate” (or whatever it was exactly)? All Time Lords are Gallifreyan, but not all Gallifreyan are Time Lords. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-revival-s8e4-listen-boxed-spoilers-until-it-airs-on-the-west-coast/698382.md?page=6)