Heaven Sent (TV story)

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Heaven Sent was the eleventh episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

It includes Clara Oswald as a manifestation of the Doctor's imagination after he lost her to the Quantum Shade in Face the Raven, the episode showing the Doctor dealing with and grieving over Clara's death.

The episode is notable for revealing the inside of the Doctor's Confession Dial as the Doctor's final test, a prison that is bigger on the inside and very much like a miniscope. As the Veil could only be stopped by a confession the Doctor reveals that he had left Gallifrey due to being scared, and not because he was bored as he had claimed in the past.

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.

Furthermore, the Doctor revealed that the hybrid myth was wrong, that it was not half-Dalek half-Time Lord, but that "the hybrid is me".

This story takes place over an outstandingly long period of time, seeing the Doctor stuck in a recursive cycle that lasts for at least 2 billion years, during which he repeatedly perishes and comes back to life.

Synopsis

Trapped in a world unlike any other he has seen, the Doctor faces the greatest challenge of his many lives. One final test. And he must face it alone. Pursued by the fearsome creature known only as the Veil, he must attempt the impossible. If he makes it through, Gallifrey is waiting…

Plot

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Cast

Uncredited cast

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. Though, when he reaches the Azbantium Wall, the Doctor regains his memories of all his previous times, exclaiming the he remembers and knows how much time has elapsed.
  • 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 shepherd boy.

Story notes

  • Whilst the episode was promoted by various news outlets as a one-hander, the presence of an imagined 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 with him having all but one line of dialogue.

Ratings

Filming location

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Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

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Continuity

  • The Doctor retains his confession dial. (WC: Prologue, TV: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar, 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," apparently 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 quotes "The Doctor will see you now." The Eleventh Doctor had said this once before. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
  • 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.)
  • The Doctor quotes "being young and telepathic". Susan also mentioned being telepathic. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace and The Sensorites)
  • The Doctor admits to being afraid. He had done so before. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace)
  • The Doctor jokes being "good at traps". (TV: The Time of Angels)
  • The Doctor mentions that if he dies too quickly, he cannot regenerate. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
  • The Doctor confesses he did not leave Gallifrey because he was bored, but because he was scared. (TV: The Sensorites et al)

Home video releases

DVD releases

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Blu-ray releases

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External links

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Footnotes