"Can You Hear Me?"

There is a great deal to commend "Can You Hear Me?", however the debut script from promising playwright Charlene James (with help from Chris Chibnall) has some problems which stem from one main factor – failure to integrate the monsters of the week with the issue of the week. We have the introduction of Zellin and Rakaya, a sub-group of the Eternals (with namechecks for the Guardians and the Celestial Toymaker) who feed off nightmares. We have the monsters in the shape of the Aleppo nightmare creatures. However, in a coda, we look at how people suffer by keeping their pain to themselves. These low-key scenes are quietly brilliant, particularly Yas’s journey from troubled teenager to promising police officer. This is the kind of thing that Charlene James has excelled at before and it shows. Although this does have a certain connection to Zellin and Rakaya’s parasitism of nightmares, it is not a great one and there is the feeling that it is an attempt to blend two very promising individual stories together, with not entirely successful results.

Whatever flaws there are in the writing, the realisation is astonishingly good and the lack of cohesion between the two main strands in the plot are considerably lessened by the visualisation. The effects are stunning as are the sets, with the harp-like interface for the alien space ship being very original. The detached fingers would be all-but-impossible to ruin as a scary concept, but director Emma Sullivan goes the extra mile in all respects. Particularly impressive is the realisation of the nightmare creatures, who are just another monster on the page and as a CG maquette, but are terrifying in Sullivan's hands, especially when their hands grab someone, in the teaser. The best indication of Sullivan's skill in this area is the realisation of Yas's nightmares – simple, yet unsettling. There is also the great use of animation for the story of Zellin and Rakaya's origin and imprisonment (with a nod, I’m sure, to Sapphire and Steel. The casting of Ian Gelder is key to making Zellin as effective as he is and we have the effortlessly charismatic Clare-Hope Ashitey as Rakaya. Aleppo has recently been in the public eye for being one of the most horrific parts in one of the most horrific places on Earth. It is useful to remember that Syria was not always thus and Aleppo arguably has a history and culture unequalled in the world. Aruhan Galieva portrays Tahira with real passion, making her another inductee into the 'companion who could have been' category. Special mention must be made of Nasreen Hussain as PC Anita Patel, the person whom Yas really needed to meet to become who she was.

The regulars are on fine form, with Yas continuing to impress as it is her story that is easily the most compelling here. Bradley Walsh makes Graham's fear of his cancer returning quietly effective and it’s good to see Sharon D Clarke back. Tosin Cole is not to be overshadowed, though - if there's one thing that shows how delivery can elevate a line, it's Ryan's 'I brought chips though!'. Jodie Whittaker is given rather less inspired dialogue but, again, she really goes to work with what she has.

If there's one scene which shows the main problem with "Can You Hear Me?" it's the Doctor's reaction to Graham opening up to her. Especially after the excellent scenes with Yas and Ryan's friend Tibo, it comes off as clumsily bathetic, which the performances of Walsh and Whittaker can only partly compensate for. There are some moments of true excellence in this story, but it's a pity that they could not have been woven into a narrative that could have produced a true classic.

NEXT: "The Haunting of Villa Diodati"