Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn't Know About Heaven Sent

[@WhoCulture]

Catch up on our other 20 Things videos here! The Day of the Doctor: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4TXdoyleMt3bLs Blink: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYm6f6WeZ995kLs Our next one is in the works, and it’s going to be FLOODED with awesome details.

[@mattthesilent777RED]

Top 10 best episodes of my fan fiction

[@quietdemon8138]

Oooh ‘flood’ means either ‘Waters Of Mars’ or ‘Before The Flood’

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@@mattthesilent777REDThere are 0.

[@BafflingBard]

Fun fact: Using the data at the start, it means that the Doctor died approx. 78,214,350,000 times

[@OakholdC]

*The Mercs from TF2:* Allow us to introduce ourselves

[@danthemeegs8751]

MATHS

[@michaelr3578]

Or about 30 billion less times than the amount of humans who have existed in the history of earth (109 billion).

[@Totalbollocks88]

If I didn't know better, I'd say the dr was over 2 billion years into the future

[@TheSlavik1986]

Fun fact: it doesn't matter how many times his clones died since he didn't remember any of this.

[@joshhale1340]

I don't think any other doctor, especially the new who ones, could've pulled off an episode like Heaven Sent apart from Peter Capaldi. Having just him and hardly anyone else to bounce off. He is the doctor

[@WhoCulture]

Agreed - it feels tailor-made for him.

[@SergioKrutov]

Somehow I can imagine any of the Doctors in this episode... In my mind I can see quite vividly Baker, Ecclestone, Smith, Tennant and others - like shots from parallel dimensions. Except 13th...

[@ShouPow]

​@@SergioKrutovc'mon subconscious misogyny ~~

[@SergioKrutov]

​@@ShouPow I'd consider this option, yet I can totally imagine Joe Martin's version of the Doctor in these scenes. It's about acting and portraying a character, not about gender

[@lorifintel9784]

​@@SergioKrutovthis

[@lxjshrss4854]

Heaven Sent was what got me hooked on Doctor Who. I’d watched Smith’s first episode with my girlfriend at the time and liked it, but it didn’t exactly grasp me enough to want to continue watching. About a year and a half later I had a friend over when Heaven Sent was about to be aired and they asked if we could watch the new Doctor Who episode airing live because the previous episode had someone dying and left everything on a huge cliffhanger. And I’m so glad I watched it with them. I knew a little about Doctor Who-I knew the Doctor was a time-travelling alien and had a companion who travelled with them and regenerated every so often and, well, that’s about it. And Heaven Sent blew me away. The entire episode had me at the edge of my seat and watching Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor work through the Confession Dial time and time again for so very long was such a fascinating experience that it had me hooked from there on. It had me feeling so many things for a character I wasn’t even that familiar with, which to me just is evident of Capaldi’s skill as an actor. I watched the next week’s episode and then went back and watched everything that led up to it starting with Eccleston. Capaldi’s performance in Heaven Sent had me fascinated and wondering who exactly this Doctor was and what made him this way. And wow. Heaven Sent will never not be a favourite episode of mine and it solidified Capaldi as the Doctor who got me into Doctor Who. He’ll forever be my Doctor.

[@bazzer124]

"Heaven Sent" is top 5 NuWho episode material for me. Brilliant script and Capaldi just kills. Cheers....

[@TrakeniteAdventuress]

Top 1*

[@TrinidadBadness]

Top 1

[@kelaxuspokefan5726]

Bet bit of info from this list... Number 2! As soon she started talking about it I was gasping in anticipation. And, that part about not being able to turn the portrait around because he knew he would draw more strength from her smile... Died right there.

[@kelaxuspokefan5726]

Did I mention this is my favorite episode...? Lol

[@ZebitasMartinex]

Greatest episode ever Oh, not only Doctor Who, I mean im history

[@ChrisMentzer]

Rachel Talalay is an awesome director!!

[@joannelively9934]

I absolutely love heaven sent & how it's about grief & the music score is absolutely beautiful . Capaldi is just brilliant in it ❤❤

[@DavRossTheWhovian]

Heaven Sent is his best brilliant one man show from Capaldi.

[@foxxknight8847]

3 weeks is actually LONGER than I thought. That pile of skulls in the lake gives you an idea of how many resets...

[@diamondaxe4133]

Not to mention that most of skulls had probably decayed over time too.

[@mythcafe]

My mum doesn't like heaven sent for some reason it is personally one of my favourite episodes

[@matthewparker5277]

I don't mean to be rude but your mom is plain wrong and you need to let her know that

[@hunyesmith03]

Might be time to contact the nursing/old people’s home with opinions like that! Lol. I kid, each to their own, but imo Heaven Sent is a masterpiece!

[@DanBrizuela]

Such an amazing and exquisite episode. Moffat’s writing is incredible and Rachel’s direction is flawless.

[@hannahrhind603]

I love how much Ellie loves river song cause I love her just as much 😂

[@weatherwitchandfelinefamiliars]

What a fabulous video this was 😊 I was quite taken by the different names for episodes in other countries, I'd like to see more like that another time. It hadn't occured to me that Doctor Who would ever be seen with Adverts, (poor America!), such a great programme then spoiling the awesomeness and tension with adverts 😮

[@CraigR0binson]

20 things I didn't know?! If Ellie is presenting and none of them are about River Song, I walk!

[@WhoCulture]

You didn’t think we’d have an Ellie video without a River Song nod, did you?!

[@doctorwhoarabic7571]

1:54 it's 'The impossible test' in Arabic

[@GeneratorRexNerd]

Interested

[@TrainedArcTrooper]

“Bumped off by a bloke in a bedsheet” 😂

[@TrakeniteAdventuress]

#13 In World Enough and Time, the doctor remarks that he has hidden talants, and hidden arms. Clearly, its one of these hidden arms that was holding the other spoon Also, #7, given that series 9 is only 12 episodes long, it means that the cyber cameo in the Matrix continued the trend of Cybermen in the 12th episode slot, even if it wasnt the penultimate episode of the series

[@ericreese7792]

You win the No Prize for that one.

[@peterratter6603]

I love Heaven Sent. I don't know if it is my *favourite* episode ever, but it's certainly up there. That said, I think (one of) my favourite Moffatt era episodes is 'Listen'. That was the first one to really have me sat back, jaw agape, thinking, "Oh, my Gods, man, how long have you been planning this???"

[@usualblokeluke]

Still my favourite episode of the whole series Everything is firing on all cylinders and knows exactly the story it wants to tell I'm very happy we don't see the confession dial castle again afterwards because it helps to make the place feel all the more isolated and scary

[@MrMelontastic]

Why Capaldi is my fave Doc

[@generalbutterscotch4887]

If I recall correctly, the reason Catherine Tate is credited in Midnight is because Donna was originally meant to be on the train with the Doctor, but at the last minute they decided to make it a Companion-Lite episode and reshot everything.

[@GuillaumeLeclerc]

Thanks 🙏 second time I saw the episode I went : THE SPADE!!!

[@dearls921]

Oh thank you for the excellent excuse to go rewatch this episode

[@conwarlock3537]

I really didn't think a cycle would take three weeks. I always thought it'd be something like 3-4 days

[@michaelbiscay9836]

#21 (or just to add on to #2) The first time the doctor got to the diamond wall, he was naked.

[@gerrimilner9448]

i recently watched the philadelphia experiment (83 & 12 versions, the same day) in one of them they use one of the origanal doctors opening time spinning thingimy, made me smile heaven sent is the best episode

[@flareinc7413]

Mall minority here but I liked everything in Clara's storyline Inc her getting a long happy ending w Áshildur.

[@alexsimmons4093]

Assuming the average energy of a punch is 700 joules. He exerted the equivalent of 13086 tonnes of tnt over his time there, assuming 4 punches per cycle.

[@damienkakoschke3099]

She also directed Tank Girl and I DID hold that against her for a very, very long time. It's only once I saw her work on Doctor Who & TV in general over recent years leading up to this episode that I felt like it was time to judge her on her more recent work. After this episode, all's forgiven Rachel, now I'm a fan.

[@frankharr9466]

I DIDN'T know any of that. Thank you.

[@BeeWhistler]

Gotta say it… Has River Song really ever said, “Goodbye, sweeties” because I really don’t think so…?

[@soundgal_sine_qua_non]

She says goodbye sweetie to Eleven in the Name of the Doctor before fading away

[@soundgal_sine_qua_non]

#15 is a really fascinating point. That is one of the things that does feel off in that storyline, and I'm glad Moffat acknowledged it.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Most movies on IMDB don't score more than 7. Blink and Heaven Sent beat all the Hollywood blockbusters.

[@MadnessHEROReverend]

There was one more room that didn't reset. The room where the Doctor changed into his own clothes, setting his wet clothes by the fire. The real question is, what did the Doctor change into the first time round?

[@youknow227]

2:52 So capaldi will look like this in 100 years?

[@JrrrNikolaus]

surprised this episode is so acclaimed, was really not my cup of tea.

[@TokenDrew]

Wait yall liked this episode that much? I only watched it once and moved on..... Ok I'm watching it again.

[@hunyesmith03]

I thought Rachel Talaley was pronounced like Ta-La-Ley instead of Tala-ley. Interesting. I wonder which is correct? I do like the way you pronounce it though, sounds cool.

[@TheyMightBeBricks]

So dang good because it felt like Moffat was channeling Sherlock big time

[@Andrew-up3dr]

7.82661855 × 1010 weeks roughly

[@the-narrator-18]

but im germsn is did not say the fear of the doctor

[@rafayetrahmanratul1059]

Heaven Sent didn't had companion name on the opening scene, cause at that moment and in Doctor's knowledge, he had no companion and Clara was dead. On other companion lite episode, Doctor still had companions, even if they appeared for just a few seconds.

[@L0g0Z0g0]

In russian two versions: from the phrase that hell bent is made with good intentions (idk how it translates), or sent from heaven (I've heard this 2)

[@WhiskeyBrewer]

So Moffat's original Heaven Sent idea could have been an 8th Doctor story as thats who he wanted to write for, but Big Finish didnt have McGann at the time

[@BritishBeachcomber]

LMoffat is a genius. Just imagine what the Whoniverse would be like if Steven was a time traveller...

[@MrPonytron]

The 12th Doctor is easily in my top 3 favorite Doctors thanks to Heaven Sent. The other ones are the 4th and 10th Doctors

[@alvarohernani6645]

In Spanish the translation of the title was pretty close to the original, but i prefer watching it in English, it's a good way to learn

[@zacharybrafman402]

This episode is soooo gooood ❤❤

[@TheTideKing004]

I still think "how many seconds in eternity" would have been a better title for the episode.

[@kieronparr3403]

Why didnt he use the shovel

[@ShorebillySanctuary]

U do a Who vid & not mention River? Never let that day arrive! #teamriver

[@JonEVodunakaBroXVII]

I tried to share this with my mom. She just didn't see how awesome it was

[@RogerOThornhill]

My favorite Doctor Who episode, and one of my three favorite episodes of any tv show ever.

[@taliesinllanfair4338]

Was never a fan of Capaldi as Doctor Who but the amount of respect this episode gets I think it deserves a rewatch.

[@matthewbolitho-jones]

I like Heaven Sent

[@OperationBlueprint]

Still concerned about RTD2. Most of the best and iconic episodes in his run were written by other people. Particularly Moffat's episodes.

[@nitricoxidegod]

👍

[@johnglielmi6428]

The one thing I didn't understand about the Doctor being in the confessional dial for 4.5 billion years, and the thing would reset every three weeks, why didn't the damage to the wall reset as well.

[@mooncaketin]

IIRC in a previous Whoculture video, Stephen Moffat said the wall wasn't part of the confession dial, but a barrier between it and the outside world.

[@josephcooter5763]

May Freddy should have made a Cameo. That would have improved the episode tremendously.

[@Hamster_Bros_r2d2]

in the first cycle did the doctor run around naked

[@WhoCulture]

We’ve covered this in another video but Steven Moffat has stated that no, he wasn’t naked originally (thought it’s funny to imagine!)

[@tracyroweauthor]

technically, while the Doctor was in the Confession Dial for four billion years, because he keeps going back to the pattern of himself in the transmat, he doesn't actually age at all and doesn't actually experience the amount of time wandering through the castle more than once (in his experience) because he's not carrying over the memory of each previous time there.

[@SergioKrutov]

Well... He says he remembers it all the monent he gets to the wall... So his last "version" that escaped remembers everything. That's why Clara asked him in "Hell's bent" what was with his eyes and how long was it since he'd last saw her

[@tracyroweauthor]

@@SergioKrutov he doesn't remember everything. He simply puts together all the pieces when he goes through the puzzle each time

[@SergioKrutov]

@@tracyroweauthor I just quoted his words, it's for you to decide what to make of it

[@trinityj1]

@@tracyroweauthor He says 'that's when I remember', not 'that's when I realise'. I think we're meant to interpret there's a continuity of his consciousness and in some way he really did experience all of that time. Otherwise you could argue the real him died and the Doctor who walks out at the end is just a clone, and that's obviously not the intention.

[@tgiacin435]

I’m pretty sure 12’s time in the dial was all in his mind. Otherwise the Doctor died either the first time he used a T-mat at 2, or when he was killed and sent to the dial

[@bigmemvb]

The Doctor sees that the stars have moved, thats why they know how many years have passed. Other time lords also later confirm in Hell Bent that they are at the end of the universe at that time.

[@tgiacin435]

@@bigmemvb us, but the Doctor would’ve aged all that time. Time wise, they can’t be at the end, we see what the end of the universe looked like in utopia. However, I will admit they’re probably at the end of the universe physically. And 12 looking at the stars. The stars were generated by the dial. With it being a mind prison, the Doctor’s body wouldn’t age, or die.

[@SamButler22]

It's scone not scone ;)

[@ozhowlett]

I am assuming that they didn't credit Jemma in this episode because they wanted to keep the fact that she is in the episode a suprise

[@mikeb6253]

As am American I love long binge episodes

[@brianterrill9587]

I still think it all happened in his head.

[@mattthesilent777RED]

I see Big Finish as story ideas being wasted for a media that only a few out of all fans of the show will interact with.

[@thechillindude4478]

I do kind of agree. I downloaded the first set of the 9th doctor episodes cos well it was finally his return. But it's just so ridiculously expensive. You'd be spending 100's of pounds to listen to everything you want to

[@DrWhoFanJ]

And no rational person does because they know that’s not true. (Also, a medium*; media is a plural noun not a singular.)

[@craytherlaygaming2852]

The constant death loops, and the very specific billions of years spent in the confession dial, along with the Veil sorta growing to care and understand the doctor made me wonder if one of the writers involved was inspired by Toaru. Specifically A Certain Magical Index New Testament Volume 9 which has a very similar story except with a different meaning and theme. The main character is constantly going through a loop of the same hells, dying over and over again for billions of years. And the antagonist in the end grows to understand him, and decides to conceded the battle to them similar to how the veil tried to help the doctor. The 12 doctor also works really well as how a darker version of Toaru's main character might behave, how he might end up in his elder years. The elements of the confession dial, and the overly specific billions of years spent in it rather than the classic 10,000 years, always made me wonder if someone in the team was a toaru fan. Wouldn't be the first time Doctor who has taken inspiration from Anime, manga, and lightnovels. The End of Time apparently was confirmed to have taken inspiration from multiple anime including Dragonball for the design of the alien ship, and the FMA movie for the scene where the doctor crashes through the skylight.

[@IreneWY]

This episode proved that he was an amazing dramatic actor and just had no chemistry with Clara 🤷‍♀️. As soon as they ditched her, his acting could shine through.

[@DrWhoFanJ]

Not entirely sure how something can “prove” what is objectively untrue. 🤷‍♂️🙄

[@IreneWY]

@@DrWhoFanJ I think you're in confusion about the meaning of the word "objective" :*

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@@IreneWY And I know I am not.

[@xgropo]

Guess I'm the only one that thinks was a dumb script. Capaldi is a great actor, but the story was nonsensical

[@anneclough7064]

No you are not the only one. I found Heaven Sent boring and repetetive.

[@jesseszymcik3026]

I will never understand how the two episodes i find the most ghastly boring are so widely loved. I liked Heaven Sent less than liked Blink. Ew.

[@TheNorwegianguy.]

I don’t know why people like this story. In my honest opinion it’s the worst episode of doctor who ever.

[@weirdguy59]

I know this is all about HS, but I just wanna say that Hell Bent is underappreciated and is perfect as a follow up to HS.

[@Jordan_brothers]

Hell bent is brilliant

[@Gamer-g2v1r]

It got, and still gets, too much hate.