Doctor Who: What Goes Bump in the Night

Listen or "Things that Go Bump in the Night"

The Doctor chases after the bogey man as Clara and Danny fail at having a date. Royally.

The Doctor bounces around the TARDIS, talking about evolution. He says that creatures have evolved into perfect hunters and other perfect things. But he wonders if anyone had ever evolved into perfect hiders. So…I have to echo everyone else wondering if he’s also forgotten the Silent. Talk about perfect hiders. Anyway, he talks about when you feel compelled to talk aloud—is it because you subconsciously know you’re not alone? Or when the hair stands up on the back of your neck though there’s no reason? How do you find the perfect hiders? He turns around to his chalkboard, which now reads: “Listen.”

Title drop! And CREDITS!


Meanwhile, Sam’s sitting in a restaurant and is very nervous. Aww, are he and Clara out on a date? They are! Clara joins him and says they are finally getting those drinks. Well, you know, that stop in Sherwood Forest probably messed up her schedule. Anyway, they talk and laugh and seem to be getting along. And then Clara makes a comment about Sam’s military service and he starts going off about the 23 wells he dug. I don’t know. All I know is that Clara ends up storming out.

("Oh yeah?")

("Yeah.")

She takes off her jacket, throws down her purse and jumps on her bed when she gets home. The Doctor then makes a comment about how she has three mirrors, spooking her. She pretty much tells him she’s not in the mood but he’s like “Tough. I’ve got a mystery and we’re going to solve it.” To the TARDIS!

(The Doctor has no time for your emotional baggage, Clara)

In the TARDIS, he talks about the perfect hiders (once again, the Silence?) and then about a dream everyone seems to have throughout history. Where you wake up in the middle of the night—or think you do—and get the feeling you are not alone. So you turn on the lights and sit up in bed. As your feet rest on the floor, something grabs your foot from under the bed. He asks Clara if she ever had that dream. She says she did. (And right now, I’m glad I don’t have an “under the bed” to speak of. I have drawers under my bed).

The Doctor drags her over to the TARDIS console and has her stick her hands in some weird goo. He tells her not to worry if something bites. What? Anyway, he connects her to the TARDIS and tells her to think about having that dream. The TARDIS will look through her timeline and take them to that moment. But as they fly, Clara’s phone rings. She realizes it’s Danny and she starts thinking of him. The Doctor tells her to focus.

The TARDIS lands and the Doctor is certain they are in the right time. Clara’s not so sure. Especially when she exits into the fog covered street she doesn’t recognize. The Doctor tells her to wait and a young boy yells down to her. He introduces himself as Rupert Pink and says he hates his name. Clara defends the last name Pink. But that wasn’t what Rupert was talking about. Clara asks why he isn’t in bed and Rupert says there’s something under the bed. Clara goes up to him.

(Isn't he adorable?)

Meanwhile, the Doctor bothers some poor security guard. He talks about the dream and talking out loud. The security guard just wants to be left alone.

Upstairs, Clara talks with young Rupert. He’s still sure something’s under his bed. So Clara climbs under it and encourages him to do the same. 

(He thinks Clara is off her rocker)

She shows him there’s nothing and there’s nothing to be scared of. And then the mattress dip. Rupert says they’re alone in the room. They come out and a figure rises on the bed, covered in blankets. Creepy.

(Who is under the covers?)

The Doctor distracts them, sitting in a rocker in the corner. He says it could be a friend playing a prank but it’s more likely the dark entity he’s been seeking—the perfect hider. So, it’s a Silent? Hey, guys. I miss those Area 51 Rejects. Anyway, he tells Rupert to close his eyes and not look at it. He makes the boy promise—aloud—to never look at it. Rupert does so and the creature disappears. Or the bully slunk out of the room. Whatever.

(Or everyone forgot about the Area 51 Reject).

Clara puts Rupert to bed but the boy is still scared. The Doctor tells him that fear can be a good thing, like a superpower. Clara spies some toy soldiers. She puts a few under his bed, saying they will keep him safe. One toy is missing a gun but he’s determined to be the leader. “Dan the Soldier Man” he is dubbed. 

(Dan the Soldier Man)

And Clara finally figures out what fans guessed a few scenes ago—Rupert will become Danny. Anyway, the Doctor uses telepathy to put the boy to sleep and they return to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS returns her to just after she stormed out of her date with Danny. She goes back in and apologizes to Danny. They resume the date and continue talking. Until Danny notes she’s no longer wearing her jacket. He asks where it went but she doesn’t have an answer. It gets worse when she spots what appears to be the Doctor in an orange space suit. Is that a shout out to The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit? Anyway, Danny feels she’s not being honest. He gets mad and storms out. This might be the worst date ever.

(Pulling out the suit for old times' sake?)

Clara follows the astronaut onto the TARDIS, but it’s not the Doctor. It’s…Danny? No, wait, it’s Orson Pink. He’s from the future! And he must be from Clara’s timeline because he used the residual memory from her connection with the TARDIS to get him. The Doctor reveals Orson is a time traveler and he was sent to the end of the universe. You mean, like how we went there during the Last of the Time Lords arc? Wait, we’re not going to mention that? The Doctor really did forget the entire David Tennant years!

(Are combs nonexistent in the future?)

The Doctor puts the TARDIS into motion, taking them forward to where he found Orson. It’s a lonely outpost in the middle of nowhere at the very end of the universe. The Doctor says there’s nothing out there—they are the only living things. So no Master? No last remnants of humanity clinging to the idea of Utopia? No Ten running around with Martha and Jack?

Orson stays in the TARDIS while the Doctor and Clara wait for night in the outpost. When the ambient lighting kicks in, we see Orson left a message for himself: Do not open the door. He needs reminders? So it’s the Silent? Anyone? Orson and Clara talk. He reveals time traveling runs in the family and then reveals another family heirloom—Dan the Soldier Man.

(Why the reminder?)

Then comes the knocking. This fascinates The Doctor and he approaches the door, quoting a poem or a riddle. "What's that in the mirror, or the corner of your eye?” he says. Umm, Sister Mine? She still around? “What's that footstep following but never passing by?" The Doctor orders Clara to go into the TARDIS but she refuses. He grows stern with her and threatens her into going into the TARDIS. Clara storms inside, disturbing Orson. She turns on the screen and watches. The Doctor stares at the door. The screen briefly goes dark and when it comes back, the Doctor is holding on as items are sucked outside. Orson dons his suit and travels outside to rescue the Doctor.

(You can't leave him alone for a minute)

He brings in the Doctor, who is out cold. Clara decides to steer the TARDIS, locking back into its consciousness. She trusts the TARDIS to get them somewhere safe. When it lands, she finds herself in a barn. Someone—a child—is crying. Clara climbs into the loft, thinking it’s Rupert. She tries to comfort him.
The barn door opens and she hears voices. Panicking, Clara hides under the bed. A man and a woman approach the bed. The woman says the child’s been crying a lot and refuses to come into the house with the other boys. She tries to coax him inside, but the boy continues to cry. the man is less sympathetic. He says the boy will never make it at the Academy if he keeps crying. And then he’ll never be a Time Lord. Clara realizes it isn’t Rupert; it’s the Doctor. And he’s probably still recovering from looking into the very heart of the time continuum.

The man and woman leave and the young Doctor starts to get out of bed. Clara reaches out and grabs his foot. She realizes that she is the perfect hider the Doctor has been searching for. I still think he’s just forgotten the Silent along with nearly everything else from the David Tennant era. She convinces the Doctor to go to bed and then returns to the TARDIS. The grown up Doctor is awake and she makes him promise to never look at where they’ve been. He agrees.

(Clara is the thing that lives under your bed)

As the Doctor sets the TARDIS into flight, we learn that Clara told the young Doctor the speech about fear he told Rupert. Clara also reveals this is the same barn the War Doctor returned to when choosing to blow up Gallifrey or not. She also gives the boy Captain Dan the Soldier Man to keep him safe. Aww.

But wait. Is it just me or does that twist make no sense? I didn't think the barn was on Gallifrey. If it was, how was it spared from the Time War? Because it was deserted? I don't think so. Or am I just confused? 

Orson is returned to his time period and the Doctor realizes that maybe the perfect hider doesn’t exist. The Area 51 Rejects are breathing a sigh of relief somewhere. After hugging the Doctor, Clara visits a depressed Danny. They agree they were horrible at this date thing but decide to continue to see where things take them. Aww.

(All together now: Aww!)

An interesting episode. But I feel like the whole idea about the “perfect hider” was pointless since we know there’s a perfect hider. Why couldn’t the Doctor just investigate why everyone has had the same dream at one point in their lives? And what was up with the figure in the bed? Was it a Silent? Was it a kid pranking Rupert? What was going on?

Next time: A bank robbery!

Screen caps from here.