Flatline (Doctor Who)
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"Flatline" is the ninth episode of the eighth series of the British
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television programme ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. It was first broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 18 October 2014. The episode was written by
Jamie Mathieson Jamie Mathieson (born 1970) is a British television screenwriter. A former stand-up comedian, he has written for a number of UK science fiction TV shows, namely '' Being Human'', ''Dirk Gently'', and for series 8, 9 and 10 of '' Doctor Who''. ...
and directed by
Douglas Mackinnon Douglas Mackinnon is a Scottish film and television director from Portree, Isle of Skye. He has directed many episodes of television drama and at least three television films. His work includes '' Bodies'', ''Gentlemen's Relish'', ''Robin Ho ...
. In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
) is trapped inside his time machine and spaceship the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
after the TARDIS's external dimensions get shrunk by two-dimensional extraterrestrial creatures, which he ultimately dubs the Boneless, in present-day
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Assisted by local
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
artist Rigsy (
Joivan Wade Joivan Wade ( ; born 23 July 1993) is an English actor known for playing Manyou in the BBC comedy television series '' Big School'', Jordan Johnson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Cyborg (comics), Victor Stone/Cyborg in the HBO Max se ...
), the Doctor's companion
Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
(
Jenna Coleman Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Qu ...
) carries the miniature TARDIS with her and temporarily takes over the Doctor's role of trying to protect humanity from alien incursions. The episode received positive reviews, with particular praise for Coleman's performance.


Plot

The
Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...
discovers something draining energy from the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
and materialises in Bristol.
Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
befriends Rigsy, a
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
artist assigned to community service on a council estate. He tells Clara that several people have gone missing. When Clara returns to the Doctor, the exterior dimensions of the TARDIS have shrunk too small for the Doctor to leave. The Doctor passes Clara his
sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multi-tool, multifunctional tool in the British television science fiction, British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor. Like th ...
,
psychic paper This is a list of notable or recurring items from the BBC television series '' Doctor Who''. C Celery The Fifth Doctor wears a sprig of celery in his lapel. He claims that he is allergic to certain gases in the praxis range; if those gases ...
, and an earpiece to let him communicate with her, and she carries the TARDIS in her bag, acting as the Doctor. Clara convinces PC Forrest to let her and Rigsy into the flat of the first disappearance. They hear Forrest scream from the next room. They see no sign of her, but find a strange mural on the wall. The Doctor recognises it as a human nervous system, and suspects it is Forrest's. He warns Clara and Rigsy that there are two-dimensional creatures, the Boneless, which are flattening the missing persons into two dimensions. Clara and Rigsy escape before they are attacked. They race back to the other community service crewmen to warn them the murals in a pedestrian subway are additional Boneless. Some crewmen are killed while Clara leads the rest through a train yard into tunnels. They are followed by the Boneless, which take the form of the people they killed to use the third dimension. The Boneless surround the others by flattening the doors into two dimensions. The Doctor jury-rigs a device to undo this flattening to give the group time to escape. In their haste, Clara drops the TARDIS in the path of an oncoming train. The Doctor turns on Siege Mode, preventing any physical damage but leaving him without enough power to deactivate Siege Mode. Clara has Rigsy paint a realistic door on a large poster. The poster is hung over an access tunnel to lure the Boneless to it. The Boneless, thinking it is a flattened door, funnel their energy into it to restore it, but instead they power the TARDIS that Clara placed behind the poster. The TARDIS reverts to its normal size and form, and the Doctor erects a barrier to hold the Boneless in place. Realising the Boneless have no peaceful intentions, he returns them to their dimension. The Doctor asks Clara how she enjoyed being the Doctor for the day. Elsewhere, Missy watches Clara, muttering to herself that she has "chosen well".


Continuity

The TARDIS exterior was also shrunk to the size of a dollhouse in the serial ''
Logopolis ''Logopolis'' is the seventh and final serial of the Doctor Who (season 18), 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March ...
'' (1981), with the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
trapped inside.


Production

The read through for "Flatline" took place on 19 May 2014. Filming began soon afterwards, on 28 May, and concluded on 18 June 2014. It was filmed in
Barry Tourist Railway The Barry Tourist Railway (formerly the Barry Island Railway) is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is a key element of the Barry Rail Centre which also includes engineering and training f ...
which stood in for Bristol, along with
Wenvoe Tunnel Wenvoe Tunnel is a disused tunnel on the defunct Barry Railway that runs under Culverhouse Cross in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, on the western outskirts of Cardiff. It was opened in 1889 on a line used to carry coal to Barry Docks. Th ...
, also in
Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
.


Broadcast and reception

Overnight viewing figures were estimated at 4.6 million. The episode was watched by a total of 6.71 million viewers. In the US, this episode was seen by 0.75 million viewers. It also received an AI of 85, considered excellent.


Critical reception

The episode received positive reviews, with many praising
Jamie Mathieson Jamie Mathieson (born 1970) is a British television screenwriter. A former stand-up comedian, he has written for a number of UK science fiction TV shows, namely '' Being Human'', ''Dirk Gently'', and for series 8, 9 and 10 of '' Doctor Who''. ...
's script,
Jenna Coleman Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Qu ...
's performance and the uniquely designed monsters. Neela Debnath of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' praised Coleman and
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
's performances and believed this episode to be stronger than the previous week's "
Mummy on the Orient Express "Mummy on the Orient Express" is the eighth episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 October 2014. The episode was written by Jamie Mathieson, and di ...
", also scripted by Mathieson, although she was critical of the CGI effects. Matt Risley of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the episode 8.3 out of 10, praising the concept of the episode and the performance of Coleman, but criticising the guest cast. Morgan Jeffery of
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
gave a mixed review of the episode, calling it "a bumpy ride." He too was critical of the supporting cast, citing lack of depth to their personalities. He was, however, positive of the CGI, calling it "the most impressive and distinctive this show has featured in recent memory." Overall he gave the episode 3 stars out of five. Reviewing the episode for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', Michael Hogan noted that
Christopher Fairbank Christopher Fairbank (born 4 October 1953) is an English film, stage and television actor. Career In 2010, he appeared as a detective in ''Five Daughters'', and as Alfred "Freddie" Lennon in the biopic ''Lennon Naked ''Lennon Naked'' is ...
was billed as the guest star but
Joivan Wade Joivan Wade ( ; born 23 July 1993) is an English actor known for playing Manyou in the BBC comedy television series '' Big School'', Jordan Johnson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Cyborg (comics), Victor Stone/Cyborg in the HBO Max se ...
outshone him. He stated that the episode had "outlandishly original ideas, smartly executed. It was thrillingly unsettling and ultimately satisfying." Dan Martin, for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', wrote that Jamie Mathieson's script "is one of the more effective demonstrations of how to do the 'cheap one'." Martin also stated that Clara is "becoming more and more like the Doctor". Alasdair Wilkins of
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
awarded the episode a B+, stating that "the show is on a hot streak we haven't seen in a long, long time". Wilkins closed his review by saying "'Flatline' isn't perfect, but it underlines just how great the 12th Doctor and Clara have been for each other, and how great their pairing has been for the show, if for no other reason than their complex relationship has forced the show to be thoughtful in a way it hasn't in quite some time".


In print

Pearson Education Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, ...
published a novelisation of this episode by Nancy Taylor for students of English language reading 24 May 2018.


References


External links

* * * {{Master stories, selected=Television Twelfth Doctor episodes 2014 British television episodes Films with screenplays by Jamie Mathieson Doctor Who stories set on Earth Fiction about size change Fictional dimensions Television episodes set in Bristol