Doctor Who SE30E10: "Midnight"

[Bounty]

Starting now, and so far it looks pretty fun... we'll see, eh?

[Zac Naloen]

I was expecting utter rubbish. But I actually rather enjoyed that.

[Bounty]

The episode felt like it could do with a final draft, and it definitely didn't need the constant mood music. But I liked it, it was a nice take on horror and disaster movies. I especially liked that the creature was kept a mystery, mostly, and the epilogue was nice and simple.

As for next week's trailer, it doesn't look bad. There. I said it.

[Big Orange]

5/5

Wow, maybe not quite as polished as Moffat's two parter, but more tense and frightening in my opinion - a creature more sinister and inscrutable than the Vashta Nerada, with characters who die properly.

Troughton "Junior" is so much like his dad.

[Zac Naloen]

5/5 is an exaggeration I think.

But it was a definitely above par in quality.


The most sinister thing about the creature was that it's mind was more powerful than the Doctors. I wonder what it's intention was and if it actually had anything to do with Rose showing up on the monitor.

[Glimmervoid]

Nice Episode, technically good but I felt it lacked the heart and soul that makes episodes really good.

Did anyone else notice that last week we had killing dark and this week killing light?

[General Zod]

Surprisingly good with a lot more tension than the Library two-parter. The lack of an explanation to what the thing actually was is pretty much the only thing I see keeping it from being a 5.

[Bounty]

The lack of an explanation to what the thing actually was is pretty much the only thing I see keeping it from being a 5.

Why does it need to be explained? I thought it was a very good idea to keep the mystery alien a mystery. Makes it a bit spookier.

[General Zod]

Why does it need to be explained? I thought it was a very good idea to keep the mystery alien a mystery. Makes it a bit spookier.

It makes for a nice one-off, but it also makes it feel like one of those episodes that's going to be totally ignored down the road.

[EnsGabe]

Why does it need to be explained? I thought it was a very good idea to keep the mystery alien a mystery. Makes it a bit spookier.

It makes for a nice one-off, but it also makes it feel like one of those episodes that's going to be totally ignored down the road.

So ... it makes a nice one off?

This episode was much better than expected. The Doctor was still shouting the entire time, but there was no running, which made for a nice change of pace.

[Lord Woodlouse]

It's the best single episode RTD has written. Nicely psychological, and chilling in that this is one of the only creatures in Who to essentially defeat the Doctor, depriving him of his greatest ability... the ability to speak.

[Big Orange]

I like the intense mystery surrounding the monster and how it could've evolved in the seemingly barren and very hostile planet Midnight. Well, what ever IT was had mass and shape, before it forced it's way into the craft and possessed Sky...

[mr friendly guy]

Nice story, the storyline was creepy and it reminds me of the Hincliffe days where DW stories had a good element of horror in them.

I agree with Zod though. Not knowing what it was let it down a bit, although in a series like Doctor Who with some levels of continuity I wouldn't be surprise if some writer in the future decided to try linking this in and explaining it away.

Bounty asked why it needed an explanation. Generally leaving it mysterious works in certain situations like "pure" horror stories, or in Star Trek where we can get the feel that yes our science hasn't explained everything. However in Doctor Who where the character is a member of a race with massive knowledge, has been around billions of years and someone like the doctor who doesn't just go "ah its too hard to I won't try to explain it". Thus leaving it mysterious tends to go against one of the themes of the program.

I give it 4/5.

[Drooling Iguana]

That was one of the most tedious tings I've ever sat through. I never thought that a single 45-minute episode could be even more padded than the worst 6-parters of the old series, but apparently I was wrong. Yes, the thing copies what people say, and every single passenger is an idiot. We know, get on with it. Unfortunately, there was just no plot to get on with, so it just ended up going in circles repeating the same damn points over and over again.

Moffat really can't take over soon enough.

[Tychu]

That was one of the most tedious tings I've ever sat through. I never thought that a single 45-minute episode could be even more padded than the worst 6-parters of the old series, but apparently I was wrong. Yes, the thing copies what people say, and every single passenger is an idiot. We know, get on with it. Unfortunately, there was just no plot to get on with, so it just ended up going in circles repeating the same damn points over and over again.

Moffat really can't take over soon enough.

I agree with the talking Iguana. This was another typical Davies story. The biggest thing that drew me off of this episode was the constant stupidity of everyone. The episodes started off very clever and I enjoyed it alot. But

Now here comes the part were everyone will probably rip me apart but here goes.
I am not a homophobe and don't have anything against homosexuals but the episode started to go downhill the very minute Davies had to put his usuall two cents in and mention that Skye was a lesbian. That part was not even needed, it played no part in the rest of the story and immediately aftewards I think (have to painfully watch it again but) immediately afterwards was when everyone started shouting and screaming and acting like bafoons. I was actually getting a headache watching and listening to them.

So once again....goodbye Russel T. Davies and hello Steven Moffet or Stephan Moffat.

[Tychu]

Damn no edit button.

I should have put "I agree with the hungry Iguana" Sounds funnier


But the one good thing that you get out of this episode IMHO is that we now know why the doctor travels alone, takes only the best and likes to stay with his companions when he has them is because he sees and knows everyone else are worthless and destructive in a time of trouble or disaster. You could tell that the Doctor really wanted Donna to tag along and he was upset that she wasn't there. The first scenes on that plane? I guess was about him feeling out of place in a cabin full of groups or couples. This Season's big gimmick is mainly about Who and What The Doctor (himself) is all about.
Season 1 - Who and What is Doctor Who (the show)
Season 2 - What are the Time Lords and why do they regenerate
Season 3 - Who hates the Doctor
Season 4 - Who and What is Doctor Who (the man)

[NecronLord]

Bounty asked why it needed an explanation. Generally leaving it mysterious works in certain situations like "pure" horror stories, or in Star Trek where we can get the feel that yes our science hasn't explained everything. However in Doctor Who where the character is a member of a race with massive knowledge, has been around billions of years and someone like the doctor who doesn't just go "ah its too hard to I won't try to explain it".

Let's be fair, it's not as if even the Time Lords knew everything. As of the Invasion of Time there were entire species unknown to them.

One thing that did detract from this, to my mind, was the notion repeated rather a lot, that nothing could survive outside: Really? Not Daleks, Krotons, Cybermen or any of a dozen other essentially inorganic races? Nothing in really powerful body armour?

[Bounty]

One thing that did detract from this, to my mind, was the notion repeated rather a lot, that nothing could survive outside: Really? Not Daleks, Krotons, Cybermen or any of a dozen other essentially inorganic races? Nothing in really powerful body armour?

Obviously anything armoured could survive, if you coat it with whatever material the shuttle was made of. But apparently no-one thought it possible that there could be native life, which makes sense considering how hostile the environment was.

Now here comes the part were everyone will probably rip me apart but here goes [].

I'm not sure I understand what the problem is.

[mr friendly guy]

Let's be fair, it's not as if even the Time Lords knew everything. As of the Invasion of Time there were entire species unknown to them.

Which is why I refered to the Doctor's tendency to investigate and find the truth. If the Doctor didn't already know the answer from learning about it in Time Lord classes (ie the arrival of the Slitheen) he would work it out by the end of the storyline. Like I said, not finding out the answer goes against the themes which have been espoused previously in DW.

One thing that did detract from this, to my mind, was the notion repeated rather a lot, that nothing could survive outside: Really? Not Daleks, Krotons, Cybermen or any of a dozen other essentially inorganic races? Nothing in really powerful body armour?

Keep in mind it was the professor who kept on mentioning that. It seemed that he was a foil for the doctor, making claims based on his limited scientific knowledge. In fact he seemed to be the stereotypical scientist as potrayed in tv, and not like a real one - ie unlike real scientist he refuses to change his views despite the evidence.

[Vaporous]

They lost me as soon as they tried to tell me the Doctor needed to take a tour bus.

[mr friendly guy]

To elaborate on my theme about the Doctor knowing the answer in the end, I think a way leaving it mysterious would work is it hints at something epic. For example in the "Satan pit" with the language which is so old even the TARDIS doesn't recognise it. And even then in that two parter the Beast gave hints of his origin.

Having a mysterious (ie the heroes doesn't work it out) "alien of the week" may work for Star Trek, but thematically I just don't feel it works as well.

[Plekhanov]

Now here comes the part were everyone will probably rip me apart but here goes.
I am not a homophobe and don't have anything against homosexuals but the episode started to go downhill the very minute Davies had to put his usuall two cents in and mention that Skye was a lesbian.

Why shouldn't he? How was Skye having recently split up with a female as opposed to a male partner in any way problematic?

That part was not even needed, it played no part in the rest of the story

Wrong, establishing Skye's character as being in a fragile emotional state was actually of significance to the story. Or did you miss the part about how she was apparently possessed first because she was the most scared?

and immediately aftewards I think (have to painfully watch it again but) immediately afterwards was when everyone started shouting and screaming and acting like bafoons. I was actually getting a headache watching and listening to them.

Wrong again the shouting started 5 minutes later, but even if it hadn't what the hells the arguably excessive amount of shouting got to do with Skye having broken up with a woman instead of a man? If she'd said 'he' instead of 'she' would there have been any less shouting?

There were plenty of problems with this episode, the tourist bus not having cctv to allow the tourists to see the diamond planet or even the crew to see where they're driving for example. Skye being vulnerable because she'd recently broken up with a woman instead of a man however...

[Admiral Valdemar]

They lost me as soon as they tried to tell me the Doctor needed to take a tour bus.

He didn't "need" to take anything. The point was experiencing the journey and the people itself. That's like saying you don't need to visit Egypt to see the pyramids if you have Encyclopædia Britannica's images.

[Lord Woodlouse]

I agree with the talking Iguana. This was another typical Davies story. The biggest thing that drew me off of this episode was the constant stupidity of everyone. The episodes started off very clever and I enjoyed it alot. But

Now here comes the part were everyone will probably rip me apart but here goes.
I am not a homophobe and don't have anything against homosexuals but the episode started to go downhill the very minute Davies had to put his usuall two cents in and mention that Skye was a lesbian. That part was not even needed, it played no part in the rest of the story and immediately aftewards I think (have to painfully watch it again but) immediately afterwards was when everyone started shouting and screaming and acting like bafoons. I was actually getting a headache watching and listening to them.

So once again....goodbye Russel T. Davies and hello Steven Moffet or Stephan Moffat.

I actually thought it was radically unlike RTD's regular fair. RTD usually depends on spectacle, and this episode was almost entirely carried forward through conversation. I found it refreshingly unlike RTD's regular work.

There was a lot of unanswered questions in this episode, but that seemed very deliberate and that mystery worked very well to demonstrate why the creature (names, anyone? ) was so threatening. The Doctor didn't know what it was, he found it fascinating and that same fascination for one of the few times in the show's entire history actually turned out to be his undoing rather than the solution. As I say, this episode was terrifically different, and I worry that some of the naysayers are concentrating on the fact that the plot unfolded with conversation rather than running around.

...and yes, Plekhanov has explained pretty firmly why your "OMG! gay!" response was entirely uncalled for.

[The Guid]

For a forum that often bitches about how unscary Dr. Who is and how it is targetted at children here was an episode that was aimed at horror, had no plot holes that I could find, succeeded in being genuinely freaky and had a mystery.

Since when did the Doctor have to know everything?

Since when was a mystery and not knowing what was going to happen not exciting.

I gave it 5/5, I think there are people who would be arguing differently if Moffat had written the episode but want to bitch about it because Davis wrote it. I thought it would be bland because it was a Davis. I was wrong. Dead fucking wrong. I got over it. Who else will?