Flatline (Doctor Who)

"Flatline" is the ninth episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is trapped inside his time machine and spaceship the TARDIS after the TARDIS's external dimensions get shrunk by two-dimensional extraterrestrial creatures, which he ultimately dubs the Boneless, in present-day Bristol.

The episode was watched by 6.71 million viewers and received positive reviews, with particular praise for Coleman's performance.

They race back to the other community service crewmen to warn them the murals in a pedestrian subway are additional Boneless.

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.

[5] The episode received positive reviews, with many praising Jamie Mathieson's script, Jenna Coleman's performance and the uniquely designed monsters.

Neela Debnath of The Independent praised Coleman and Peter Capaldi's performances and believed this episode to be stronger than the previous week's "Mummy on the Orient Express", also scripted by Mathieson, although she was critical of the CGI effects.

[18] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy gave a mixed review of the episode, calling it "a bumpy ride."

[15] Reviewing the episode for The Daily Telegraph, Michael Hogan noted that Christopher Fairbank was billed as the guest star but Joivan Wade outshone him.

[6] Pearson Education published a novelisation of this episode by Nancy Taylor for students of English language reading 24 May 2018.