Can You Hear Me? (TV story)

Can You Hear Me? was the seventh episode of series 12 of Doctor Who.

It extended on the ongoing story arc of "the Timeless Child" a bit further, by showing the Doctor in the middle of her vision previously seen in Spyfall: Part Two.

The episode touched on the subject of mental health, which prompted the inclusion of a BBC Action Line tag at the end of the episode upon its original broadcast.

Synopsis
What connects the nightmares of a young girl from 1380 Aleppo to strange happenings in the present day? Who is the shadowy figure who appears in the night? And what have they got to do with a young woman in the far future, trapped in an impossible prison? Time catches up to the Doctor's friends, whose wants and dreams are set on colliding. They must now embark on a mission that will draw out their innermost fears, to be confronted.

Plot
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Cast

 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
 * Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
 * Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
 * Zellin - Ian Gelder
 * Rakaya - Clare-Hope Ashitey
 * Tahira - Aruhan Galieva
 * Tibo - Buom Tihngang
 * Sonya Khan - Bhavnisha Parmar
 * Grace O'Brien - Sharon D Clarke
 * Maryam - Sirine Saba
 * Anita Patel - Nasreen Hussain
 * Gabriel - Everal A Walsh
 * Fred - Michael Keane
 * Mum - Amanda Liberman
 * Old Tibo - Willie Jonah
 * Andrew - Anthony Taylor

Crew
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Locations
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The Doctor
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TARDIS
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Science
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Individuals

 * Zellin and Rakaya identify themselves as immortals and gods.

Species

 * Zellin alludes to the Eternals and the Guardians of Time, and specifically references the Celestial Toymaker.

Food

 * Ryan brings chips to Tibo's flat.

Medical ailments and remedies

 * Graham is afraid that his cancer could return.

Technology
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Popular culture

 * Ryan and Tibo play a FIFA video game.

Story notes

 * This marks the first Doctor Who television story to have a question mark in its title.
 * The episode had a "cold opening", the first for the series since the two-part opener Spyfall.
 * The episode features an animated segment during Rakaya's tale of her and Zellin's coming-to-be up until her imprisonment. This is the first in-story animation since series 2 story Fear Her. It was created by Nina Chakrabarti and DNEG.
 * Eight months before the episode's broadcast, the production team contacted the mental health charity Mind's media advisory service for feedback concerning their tackling of mental health issues.
 * Zellin's hand effect was achieved via a combination of a fingerless prosthetic hand and digital effects.
 * Some fans were impressed by the episode's way of tackling mental health issues, but voiced disdain towards the Doctor's apparent dismissal of Graham's fears about his cancer returning, saying it was out of character. The BBC Complaints department later adressed the situation, saying the scene's intention was to show the Doctor struggling to deal with the subject matter properly, thus not being able to find the right words.

Ratings
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * Yaz tells Sonya that she has been to California, (TV: Spyfall) Madagascar, Hong Kong, (TV: Praxeus) and Gloucester. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)
 * Sonya recalls hearing about the recent events in Gloucester, and that her dad thought the Russians were responsible. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)
 * The Dregs appear in Ryan's nightmare. (TV: Orphan 55)
 * The Doctor recalls speaking of the Timeless Child. (TV: Spyfall)
 * Zellin mentions the Eternals, (TV: Enlightenment, et al.) Guardians, (TV: The Ribos Operation, et al.) and the Toymaker. (TV: The Celestial Toymaker, et al.)
 * The gods refer to human lives as "ephemeral". (TV: Enlightenment, et al.)
 * Yaz was bullied at school. (TV: The Witchfinders)
 * The Doctor previously met two immortals who enjoyed "playing" with people. (PROSE: Falls the Shadow)

Home video releases
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