Heaven Sent (TV story)
Heaven Sent was the eleventh episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.
As the episode takes place shortly after the events of Face the Raven it shows the Doctor dealing with and coming to terms with Clara Oswald's death, after he lost her to the Quantum Shade. The episode also delved into the Doctor's mind, as Clara appears as a manifestation of the Doctor's imagination during times of stress. Surprisingly the Doctor also revealed the reason he left Gallifrey was because of fear, and not because of boredom, as he had claimed before in the past.
The episode is notable for revealing the inside of the Doctor's Confession Dial, revealing it to be the Doctor's final test, a prison that is bigger on the inside and very much like a miniscope.
It is also notable for showing the Doctor finally finding his way back to Gallifrey since he found out that it was not in fact destroyed in the Time War, but placed in a pocket universe, which he and his twelve predecessors had placed it in to save it. Not counting it's short appearance in The End of Time, and the three times it appeared in The Day of the Doctor, this episode, as well as the finale for series 9, marked the first time the Doctor had set foot on Gallifrey since Doctor Who started broadcasting again in 2005, and narratively for the first time since the Time War.
Furthermore the Doctor revealed that the hybrid myth was wrong, that it was not half-Dalek half-Time Lord, but that he was the hybrid, what this means is unknown for the moment.
Synopsis
The Doctor is alone and trapped in a place unlike any other and he must face his greatest challenge yet. One final test. A fearsome creature called the Veil is stalking him an he must do the most impossible. He must complete the task, and Gallifrey awaits his return...
Plot
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Cast
Uncredited
- Gallifreyan boy - unknown
Crew
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References
- What seems like more than two billion years passes for the Doctor within the confession dial. However, as the Doctor keeps reverting back to his state upon arrival, he likely did not age at all.
- The Doctor says he hates gardening.
- A portrait of Clara is hanging in the castle.
- The Doctor discusses the Brothers Grimm to the Veil and the tale of the Shepard Boy.
Story notes
- Whilst the episode was promoted by various news outlets as a one-hander, the presence of manifestations of Clara and the Veil, and the appearance of the young boy at the end of the episode, technically go against this; however, the bulk of the storyline was carried by the Doctor alone.
Ratings
- BBC One Overnight: to be added
- BBC America Overnight: to be added
Filming location
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Production errors
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Continuity
- The Doctor retains his confession dial. (WC: Prologue, TV: The Magician's Apprentice, Face the Raven)
- The Doctor remembers Clara's death and how she told him not to take revenge. (TV: Face the Raven)
- The Doctor refers to a skull which he finds as his "predecessor," not knowing how correct he is in that reference. The Tremas Master had previously referred to a skeleton in the Death Zone on Gallifrey in the same way. (TV: The Five Doctors)
- The Doctor imagines Clara writing on a blackboard (TV: Listen)
- The Doctor mentions the Gallifreyan prophecy about the Dalek-Time Lord hybrid, (TV: The Witch's Familiar) and, after admitting that nothing can be "half-Dalek," admits that he is in fact the hybrid. The Doctor's eighth incarnation had once purported to a human hybrid. (TV: Doctor Who) In one account, however, he dismissed this as manufactured by the Chameleon Arch. (COMIC: The Forgotten)
- The Doctor returns to Gallifrey, having got there "the long way round". (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- The Doctor previously had a connection to a room with his incarnation's number (TV: The God Complex)
- The Doctor admits he is afraid of dying. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
- The Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice et al.)
Home video releases
DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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External links
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